The book now felt foreign in her hands. It had been his all along, and now she was returning it to him. She carefully tucked it by his side, beneath the blue satin blanket that was turned up to his waist.
It hadn't taken Stephanie much work, just a few phone calls to West Virginia and a check of some L.A. County records. Although he had stretched the truth on many occasions, at least one story he had told her was entirely true. So according to his wishes, Eddie Floyd Messina would be laid to rest next to his beloved momma.
Chapter 43
Stephanie leaned over and kissed Frank on the forehead. His eyes opened slowly.
"Hey, you've got company. Are you going to sleep all afternoon?" she asked. She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him again. "How are you feeling?"
"I just got better." Frank smiled and reached for her hand.
Donelli walked over to the side of the bed and stood beside Stephanie. "They treating you all right here, Frankie?"
"That's just like you, Tony," Frank said. He nodded at Stephanie. "As soon as a guy's flat on his back you start moving in on his action."
Donelli winked at him. "Are you sure you're doin' all right?"
"The doc was in awhile ago. She thinks I'm coming along just fine. I may get to go home Friday."
"I know," Stephanie said. "I already talked with her. She also said you'll be needing someone around for a few days to help you with things." She stroked his cheek with her fingers. "I know just the person."
Frank smiled at her. "Don't you have to go back to work?"
"I'm taking a few weeks off. Hal said I could have as long as I needed."
Frank's hand again closed around hers. "Are you doing okay?"
"I think so," Stephanie said. "But I can't get it out of my mind. I should have seen it coming somehow, especially with Dirk or Gerry."
"That's nonsense. How could you have known?" Frank tried to sit up but let out a groan.
"Let me help," Donelli said. He pressed the button to raise the top half of the bed. "Frankie, some of the tests are in already. The wound measurements from Thomas, Pennington, and Mr. Creighton match up with Yates' commando knife, and the bullets taken from Mrs. Creighton's body were fired from the gun Meharis had in his hand."
Stephanie shook her head. "I still wonder where he got the gun. He couldn't have had it with him when he flew in. He would have never made it out of the airport."
Donelli sat down and loosened his tie. "We know where the gun came from. The same night the Creightons were killed someone broke into another house and did some rearranging of a few of their possessions. The only thing taken was a gun...the one Meharis had on him."
Stephanie looked down. "I still can't believe they were going to kill us."
"They had to," Donelli said. "You went to such great lengths to protect their identities that once you and Blancett were dead, there would be no one to tie them to anything."
"But what about the others at the reunion?" Stephanie looked at Donelli. "Surely they would have suspected something if Hal and I were murdered."
"That's why they took you and Blancett to the cabin and why they had your car," Frank said. "They were probably going to stage an accident or something. That wouldn't have raised as much suspicion."
"Right," Donelli said. "There was no link to the psychologist. They had Cindy Pennington's file with them in the van. She probably would have just disappeared." Donelli put his hands behind his head and leaned back against the wall. "I'll tell you another thing, Stephanie. Your friend Weasel saved your life. He must have seen your card in Dr. Thomas' hand and made the red X on his forehead. He probably didn't have time to call you himself, but he knew if he dialed 9-1-1 you would eventually be contacted and take that as a warning sign. I had Weasel's prints compared to those found on the psychologist's phone and there was a match."
"There's something I want to know, Stephanie," Frank said. "How did Weasel keep track of all the people in that book?"
"Well, I've found out that he didn't keep track of everyone," Stephanie said. "I talked with another Family member and I had her make a list of all the people she could remember from The Family. She came up with quite a few people who weren't in the book. As for how he did it, I'm not sure. When he was in Mother Earth's Family he had access to social security cards and other types of ID. You can find out a lot of things if you know where to look. Weasel was pretty street-wise. Once he knew someone's address, it wouldn't be that hard to get other information and keep it updated. He had access to a car and a phone at Severman House, and Colonel Willis told me there often were long-distance phone calls that couldn't be accounted for."
"But why the masquerade as Xeno?" Frank asked.
"I think he always wanted to be something other than what he was," Stephanie said. "He was Xeno, at least when he was in The Family, but he wasn't the Xeno he described to me. This time he just happened to get caught up in everything that followed." Stephanie's voice broke. "I know he really liked me, but he didn't want me to know the truth about him. That explains why he stole that body and put it in the alley to make me think he was dead, and why he didn't say anything when he hid me in that locker in the cabin. It would have killed him if the truth had come out." Stephanie rose and walked over to the window. She stood there and looked out on the city. "In the end, I guess it did."
Epilogue
Today was the perfect day. Frank was taking Kurt to a Raiders game. Afterward the two were going out for hamburgers. There was a chance Stephanie might even make it back home before they did.
She checked her purse to make sure she had her plane ticket.
The summer had slipped away from her and melted into autumn, but she had barely noticed. Hal had tried to keep her busy with challenging assignments so she would have little time to dwell on the past.
She got out a sweater because she knew it might be chilly.
Her series on Mother Earth's Family was chosen Story-Of-The-Month by the California Newspaper Association. That made her a finalist for the year-end Sentinel Award. Mr. Zollinger said she would have no competition at all, but somehow that wasn't so important anymore.
She picked up a magazine to take along with her on the plane.
She had bought Hal an engraved nameplate when his appointment as City Editor came through. He had stopped smoking and was down to one Cherry Coke a day.
She made sure Eye's Odd had plenty of food and water.
Once a month she met Barbara Moran for lunch. The last time they were together Barbara told her she was pregnant. Stephanie was very happy for her. She knew how much Barbara and Ron wanted a child.
Stephanie looked at her watch. It was almost time to leave.
Jessie had come down with pneumonia near the end of the summer. Stephanie had been worried about her, but she was now feeling much better and was her spry, lovable self again. And Jessie simply adored Frank. He would stop by on Friday nights to have a brandy with her and play a game of Scrabble.
Stephanie got in her car and started for the airport.
In September she had spent a week back home in Iowa. Her father, now dean of behavioral sciences at the university, promised her he would come out for the holidays to meet Frank.
The flight was smooth, the magazine boring. Stephanie slept most of the way.
She couldn't help but think of Weasel from time to time. The guilt had eased and she was now able to smile when she remembered some of the things he had said and done. She could almost picture him standing at the Pearly Gates telling St. Peter that he had once dated Miss America.
Two hours after she rented the car she was there.
She rang the doorbell and waited. She had rehearsed it many times, but there really was not much to say. The door opened.
"Hi, Stephanie. Come on in. It's so good to see you again."
Stephanie followed her inside and sat down. They drank coffee and talked about a lot of things. Then it was time. Stephanie took her hand.
"Alexis, there's som
ething you should know about Pokey."
Contact the Author online:
Website: www.nicholassarazen.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Family Reunion Page 25