Knoton stood up and walked down to the edge of the bed, while Nick pulled out cartons of food.
“The doctors said it was all right now and then, Lee,” said Flint’s son, opening one of the white boxes and taking out a set of chopsticks.
“Nothing wrong with my digestive system,” Flint said reaching out for the carton with greedy hands. “I’m here for another week. All I got to look forward to are these meals. Tomorrow is pizza.”
“In that case, I’m going to leave you to today’s lunch.” I gathered up my things and went to the head of the bed. “I’ll see you in a few days, Flint, after I get back from a trip.” I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Can’t wait to see you again, Papoose,” came Flint’s garbled reply, shoving rice into his mouth with plastic chopsticks. “Just bring me some eggrolls, will you? They got better ones in San Francisco.”
“Don’t eat with your mouth full, Dad.” Knoten chastised his father.
“Sez you,” Flint replied but closed his mouth.
I laughed and headed for the door. Nick followed close behind.
“I’ll walk you out, Lee.”
I turned and looked at him. Something had to be on his mind. The Nick I knew never extended himself for anyone, in particular me. But those were days of old, I reminded myself. No use holding a grudge about what once was.
We walked down the corridor toward the elevator, the smells and sounds of the hospital rampant and everywhere. The walls had been painted the same pale blue color as Flint’s hospital gown. Somebody on the board obviously liked the color, or they got a good deal on paint and supplies.
“Let’s go into this room here.” Nick pointed to a small waiting room filled with chairs and a sofa for patients’ friends and family. The large pane of glass inset into the wall revealed the emptiness of the room, a place which promised to be quieter than the noisy, busy corridor.
I walked in and turned back to Nick, curious. “What is it? I’ve got a plane to catch.”
He looked ill at ease, licking his lips a few times, glancing everywhere but at my face.
“Lee, I wanted to apologize…for…apologize for everything.”
“That’s a little broad. Everything, what?”
He came closer and looked directly into my eyes. I felt and smelled his breath on my face. The scent of your first love is something you never quite forget.
“I did a lot of bad things to you. Those other women, they never meant anything to me.”
“Nick, this is old news. It’s history. What’s done is do—”
“No, I need to say this, Lee. More for me than for you. Okay?”
He looked like he was asking my permission to speak, so I nodded in assent, not saying anything more.
“I had a lot of problems when we first met. My father had just left Mom and me, the stint in the marines was over, and it sounds stupid to say this now, but I was feeling worthless. I…” He stopped speaking, his mouth opening and closing in quick movements, as if the words came forward to his lips but rushed back inside again.
“You,” I prompted.
“I thought being with other women would make me feel like more of a man. When you fell in love with me…” He broke off and went to the sofa. “Can we sit down for this?”
I followed and sat down next to him. He reached out for my hand. I let him take it but scooted an inch or two away.
“When you fell in love with me, I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I didn’t think I deserved it. Anyway…” He let out a deep sigh and then a self-deprecating laugh. “Anyway, I see now I tried to destroy what we had and succeeded. When you finally challenged me about the infidelities, I…” He paused and looked away. “I still can’t believe I struck you. I feel bad about that.”
“You beat me up, not once, but on two separate occasions, Nick.” My voice was harsh and unyielding. “Men
are often contrite about brutality after the fact. It’s an old story.”
He nodded and in a barely audible voice said, “I know, I know. But I’ve been taking anger management classes, and if this means anything to you, I’ve never struck another woman since. Not even Kelli, and sometimes it almost seemed like she was asking for it.”
His last comment shocked me. Another symptom of this illness is men often think women are ‘asking for it.’ “Promise me you’ll continue with your anger management classes, Nick. There isn’t any woman I know who wants to get knocked around. That’s a fallacy.”
He dropped my hand and pulled his own onto his lap, almost defensively. But his eyes never left mine.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me, and I’m not even asking you to. On a lesser note, I’m sorry about hitting on you in Flint’s kitchen, too. You were right; it was insulting and stupid. But what I really wanted to say to you is...” He paused and leaned into me. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I screwed it up royally, but it doesn’t take away what we had together. I want you to know I know that.”
He looked away for a moment; then his eyes came back and met mine again. For an instant, I saw remnants of the boy I fell in love with. He was in there somewhere, covered in lots of garbage.
I nodded, not sure of what to say. I didn’t want to encourage him into thinking we might share something again, if that’s where he was going with this. But I also didn’t want to blow him off, either. If this was some sort of twelve-step program to better mental health, I didn’t want to quash it.
“I understand, Nick,” I said, patting the hand resting in his lap. “And we all make mistakes. The past is the past. Let’s just put this behind us, shall we?”
He stared at me for a moment, let out a laugh, and shook his head. “Spoken like the best of therapists.”
I rose, straightened my skirt, and looked down at him. “Nick, it’s been four years. As Tio says, ‘Learn from your mistakes and move on.’ Or as he would say, muévete. You and I, we’ve moved on.”
I saw his face lost in memory. “That’s so like Tio. I think of him often, and Richard, and even Lila. I was sorry when your father died. I lost your family, too, when I lost you.”
He looked back at me, expecting me to say something, maybe like they missed him, too. They didn’t, but even if they did, I wasn’t going there.
“Nick, I’m with someone, and you’re with…well, you’re not with someone at the moment, but you really loved Kelli, didn’t you?”
“I did, yes,” he said slowly.
“See? You’ll find someone else, I guarantee, especially when you get all buffed up again.” We both laughed, and the mood lightened momentarily, but Nick became serious again. Sometimes when you gotta be heavy, you gotta be heavy.
“I would have liked to try again with Kelli, if only…but she’s gone now and…” He made another dramatic pause. “Life goes on.”
Gee, I wish I’d said that. But it fit right in with the ridiculous kind of conversation we were having. I didn’t reply but turned away and picked up my bag. Without looking at him, I said, “While we’re on the subject of my family, I would appreciate it if you didn’t use Richard’s name again if you go in hiding. Or anyone else’s in the family.”
“I wasn’t thinking straight. I promise to never do that again, especially now I’m on my way to becoming a PI. That’s not going to bother you, is it?” His voice had an anxious quality to it, as if my answer was important to him. “I’ll be based here in Las Vegas. I don’t see myself ever leaving and going back to the Bay Area. ”
“Just do right by Flint. He’s a good man. Besides, you mess with him, he might squash you like a bug.”
“Don’t worry.” He gave me a little kid grin then sobered. “This is a second chance. I’m not going to blow it.”
He rose and walked toward me. Opening the door of the small room, I stepped into the corridor. I turned back and extended my hand.
“Goodbye, Nick. Maybe I’ll see you around, maybe I won’t. Either way, have a good life.”
He took m
y hand with a smile, glancing down at it and then up into my face. “The same to you, Lee. Thanks for saving my ass. Maybe I can do the same for you sometime. It’s such a lovely one.”
* * * *
Richard answered on the fifth ring, as I walked to the rental car in the parking lot of the hospital. A sudden desert wind came up from nowhere and blew the matching neck scarf from my three-piece tailored outfit into my face and over my eyes, transforming the colors of the blah parking lot into vivid hues of turquoise, teal, and purple. I pushed the recalcitrant scarf back down on my neck and answered my phone.
“Hi, Richard, you got the info I need?” I said, pressing the fob to unlock the car door. I thought fleetingly of how I would never take one of these things for granted again. I slid into the car on smooth, mock leather car seats, while listening to Richard’s chastising voice drone on.
“I got it, Lee, but I don’t like it. Not any of it. This is dangerous. You shouldn’t be going there by yourself. Actually, this is insanity.”
“Since when did insanity ever stop me?” I let out a giggle, which floated through the silent air and popped like a soap bubble. Seeing levity was the wrong tactic, I cleared my throat and became serious. “This is the only way, Richard. Gurn is back in Washington, and Flint is laid up. Time is of the essence.” I inwardly groaned. Why didn’t I add, ‘it’s always darkest before the dawn’ while I was at it?
“What’s the matter with you?” he said, his voice incredulous. “Are you on something? Whatever it is, don’t give me any. And what makes you think she’s alive? And in Rio de Janeiro? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“She’s alive. And why not Rio de Janeiro? Where would you go if you had fifty-million dollars?”
“Well, it sure as hell wouldn’t be there. Maybe Paris,” he added with a grumble.
“Richard, what was the ringtone on the cellphone the police found in the backseat of her car?”
The question brought him up short. “Should I know that?”
“It was in the police report. They are very thorough, the Vegas police. She also sang it the day she showed up to my place and took the cats, but nobody would know that but me.”
I started the car, a red Ford Fiesta, and hummed a few bars of “The Girl from Ipanema” as I backed out of the parking space. I heard Richard’s heavy breathing, then movement, and the steady click of his computer mouse. I could picture him, sitting at his desk, ripping through papers, and clicking madly, looking for the answer, which he would eventually find, our Richard. No doubt about it.
“I just gave it to you. ‘The Girl from Ipanema,’ Richard, so stop your search. I’m heading for the airport now. You got me the ticket?” I stuck the Bluetooth in my ear, transferred the call over to it, and pulled out into traffic.
“You have a flight to L.A. in about two hours. Air Rio leaves from LAX tonight at eight p.m. and gets you into Rio at seven a.m., just like you asked. We don’t even know for sure it’s her. The manifest said an eleven-year old girl traveling with her father.”
“It’s her, Richard.”
“Lila’s going to have a cow if D.I. has to pay for a first class ticket to Rio de Janeiro for nothing. Fifty-four hundred dollars!”
“It’s Kelli.”
“All the more reason to go with backup. Or hand it over to the Brazilian police. They’re capable of handling this.”
“I’ve got to do this, myself, Richard. I’m the one she snookered. I’m bringing her back.”
“Ah, gee, you and your macho tendencies, Lee,” Richard whined, quite unlike him. “They get you in trouble each and every time.”
“I’ve got an idea. Let’s do a compromise. Remember the two men who came to see Dad about ten years ago for help on starting their own agency in Rio?”
“Wait a minute, let me think.”
“Gustavo and Heitor Janardo. One had a beard, like Fidel Castro,” I said, hoping to trigger his memory. “The other played with a yoyo.”
“Sure,” he drawled, as the recollection came back to him. “The younger one, Heitor, gave me one of his yoyos and taught me how to do around the world with it. I thought they were out of the business.”
“They are, but they’re working as bodyguards for one of the wealthier hotel owners in Rio. I’ll call them; see if they can help me. Remember, this is not just for me. It’s for Stephen. I know what she’s capable of better than anyone. I don’t want her to get away again.”
“All right,” he relented, emitting a long, drawn out sigh. “If you call the Janardo brothers for backup, I’m with you.”
I heard some papers rustle in the background again, a sound like a ‘thunk,’ and then a few more clicks of the computer mouse. “Here’s what I’ve got. I don’t think she could be at one of the major hotels on Ipanema. I’ve done some checking, and believe me, it wasn’t easy.”
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s always true. But, anyway, I’ve managed to trace every female under forty-years old who arrived about a week ago back to their city of departure. None of them were from Las Vegas.”
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, there’s two twelve hour days, right there.”
“I don’t think she’d stay at a major hotel, anyway,” I said. “She might get noticed.”
“Now you tell me.”
“Check out small hostelries, ones that are directly on the beach.”
“Now you tell me.”
“You’re the best brother a girl could have.” I ended the sentence by smacking kisses into the phone.
“Oh, please. Spare me.” Large, dramatic sigh followed by heavy resignation. “When do you want them?”
“I’ll call you in the morning for the info. Mum’s the word, Richard.”
“What does that mean?”
“What do you think it means?”
There was a quick intake of breath, signaling Richard’s current status. We had moved from resignation to alarm.
“You haven’t told Mom or Tío where you’re going?”
“Not yet.”
“What about Gurn? Does he know?”
“No, this is just between you and me.”
“Where does everyone think you are?”
“Gurn thinks I’m returning home from a day visit to Flint for some R and R while he’s gone. That’s why I offered to take Baba again for him. It’s nice he still trusts me with her.”
“Excuse me?” Strangled laughter ensued here. I waited until he quieted down.
“And Mom and Tío think I’ve gone off with Gurn to D.C. See? That’s how I got Tío to take care of Baba, Tugger, and Lady Gee.”
“So they don’t know you might not be back in time for Stephen’s funeral, which is day after tomorrow? If you’re not here, Mom will kill you.”
“I’ll try my best to be there.”
“You don’t think this is going to explode in your face?”
“Absolutely. Big time explosion. But it should be over by then. This is something I have to do, and by myself, Brother Mine.”
“Man, when you go wiggy, you don’t mess around, Sister Mine.”
Chapter Twenty
In Pursuit of the Missing
The flight to Rio was just as I’d hoped, soothing and peaceful. I rarely fly first class, and usually only at Lila’s insistence. In this case, I knew I had to get a good night’s sleep for the day ahead of me. In first class, the backs of cushy, leather seats went nearly all the way down to form a bed, narrow but doable. A fluffy pillow, soft blanket, eyeshade, comfy slippers, and a strong martini—bruise that sucker, and don’t spare the olives—and I was out like a light.
I awoke to a soaring bird’s take on Rio de Janeiro, a major, tropical city basking on the edge of a continent. The aerial view of the enormous statue of Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer, perched atop the Corcovado Mountain, is truly breathtaking. Throw in world famous Sugar Loaf Mountain directly opposite, and you know why this view is one of the seven natural wonders of the world
.
While the plane taxied to the gate, I turned on my phone. Five messages awaited me, one from Richard, another from Gurn, and three from Lila, not a good sign.
I listened to Mom’s edicts first to get them out of the way. All began with, ‘Liana, this is your mother speaking’ and segued into variations of the “get-your-butt-home-and-now” theme. I assumed my Big Mouth Brother spilled the beans. Boy, was I going to let him have it.
To keep it clear, Lila Hamilton Alvarez does not use words like butt; it’s me giving an overview. My mother doesn’t even use the word derriere, unless she is speaking to the seamstress about the refitting of one of her designer gowns. She contends you have no secrets from your doctor or your seamstress. But at no other time do ladies discuss body parts.
I deleted her messages, because my butt wasn’t going anywhere until I did what I came to do. I tend to discuss body parts.
I moved on to Gurn’s message. This darling, sweet man called to let me know a dozen red roses would be awaiting me on the doorstep when I arrived home from Vegas. That was the day before, of course, and I could only hope Tío had found them and put them in water.
Then I phoned my turncoat brother and let him have it as soon as he answered. When he could get a word in edgewise, he threw it back at me.
“Listen, you ninny. I didn’t say a word. I didn’t have to. Flowers arrived yesterday morning from Gurn, saying how much he missed you. Tío figured out right away you were up to no good. You know, he’s not a stupid man.”
“I never said he was,” I interjected, feeling I was losing ground by the second.
Richard pressed his self-righteous point, the stinker. “If you weren’t home or in D.C., Tío knew you were off getting into trouble. He called Lila, Lila called me, and I never promised I would lie for you.”
“No, of course not.”
“We don’t do that.”
“No we don’t.” I conceded and was contrite. “What’s done is done. Let’s move on, Richard.”
He made a noise like a pelican swallowing a fish too big for its gullet. “Where the hell did that come from? Is that some third rate mantra from a feel-good school of the seventies?”
Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries Boxed Set: Books 1-3 (The Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries) Page 67