Chasing the Wind

by Pamela Binnings Ewen

  "As in two or ten?"

  "Somewhere in between, I guess."

  Rebecca lowered herself into the chair. Amalise's career would not survive this night if she passed on this message. If the injured child were Amalise's own, or there was some other close relationship to explain, things would be different. But who was this child?

  "Rebecca?"

  "I'm here." She dropped her elbow onto the desk and her head into her hand, shrugging the phone close to her ear. She looked at her watch. It was already 8:35. "If I do what you ask, you'll be finished here, Amalise. The firm is counting on you."

  There was a long pause before she answered. "I know. I'll have to take my chances."

  Rebecca squeezed the space between her brows between her thumb and finger. "Please don't do this. You've worked too long, Amalise. Too hard."

  "I love this little boy, Rebecca." Rebecca heard the surprise in Amalise's voice. "I do. I don't know how this happened, but there it is."

  Rebecca could hear a small child crying, then Amalise's voice low, muffled, soothing. Another announcement in the background broke the silence between them.

  Amalise's voice caught. "Please do this for me." She paused. "I'll see you later."

  "Wait!"

  But she'd hung up.

  Rebecca straightened, looked at the phone in her hand, then slowly turned around and hung it up. Swiveling back to the desk, she knit her fingers together and stared unseeing at the books in Amalise's bookcase. A part of her wanted to weep for Amalise. They had survived law school together. They'd both been summer clerks for the firm, the first women ever hired for such a job at Mangen & Morris. And they had broken barriers together as associates in the firm's class of '76.

  But a part of her also thought of the slow, steady climb toward becoming the first female lawyer up for partner. She would have no competition for the spot if she passed on Amalise's message. She fought against these thoughts, struggled against the growing temptation to do exactly what Amalise had asked.

  She could do her job and Amalise's part as well. She could be the heroine who saved the closing, the one who'd stepped into the gap. And after that, if she worked hard enough for two tonight, a partnership would virtually be assured.

  But there was another option, she knew.

  She pushed back the desk chair and stood. Drawing in a deep breath, she looked at the telephone, then released her breath and looked up at the ceiling. Reflecting. Weighing.

  Then she blew out her cheeks, picked up the phone, and dialed.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Jude arrived at the hospital at 8:55, stood just inside the emergency room door, and looked around. It had taken twenty minutes to get here, from the moment he'd hung up from Rebecca's call to the hospital parking lot. It was a miracle he hadn't gotten a ticket. There wasn't much time, Rebecca had said. She'd cover for Amalise as long as she could, but they'd notice pretty soon.

  Dividing the room into sections as he did when searching for something out on the gulf, he scanned each square of the grid, narrowing his eyes against the bright fluorescent light. Within seconds he spotted them on the floor to his right, pressed against the wall. The child was stretched out on a blanket on the hard tile floor with his head in Amalise's lap.

  Charity was a big, hard-working hospital. A teaching hospital with good doctors, and the primary destination for any ambulance in the city in an emergency situation. If the occupied chairs, stretchers, and gurneys were any indication, he figured Amalise and the child could be waiting there for days.

  So he adjusted his original plan and walked toward her. As he grew close, she looked up. The blank expression disappeared as her eyes widened.

  "Rebecca called," he said before she could ask. He stooped down before her, eyes on the child. The boy from Kerlerec Street, he figured.

  Rebecca had warned him that Amalise's clock was ticking. No time for delay or emotion right now. Jude fixed his eyes on Amalise. Dark rings circled her eyes.

  Looking up at him, her mouth tightened and she hugged the child closer. His eyes traveled down and met the child's. Large and soft and brown, warily they watched him. In the instant something turned inside, a small nudge that told him to listen to the whispers in his mind: What you do for the least of them, you do for me.

  "What happened?"

  "I think he's broken his leg." She indicated the right leg. "He fell down some stairs."

  He nodded. Felt along the boy's hip, his thigh, his knee, ran his hand down the shinbone, and the boy cried out. Amalise let out a small anguished sound.

  Jude looked up. "It feels like a break just above his ankle." He gently nudged the boy's chin, looking at him. "I bet that hurts, Buddy."

  Luke shrank back against Amalise.

  "His name is Luke."

  Before Amalise could object, Jude slid his arms under the blanket and Luke and picked him up in both arms.

  Amalise scrambled to her feet. "Wait! What are you doing?"

  He rose and looked at her, the boy cradled in his arms, the blanket hanging down around him. Luke was silent, watching them.

  Jude's brows knitted. Too much time was passing. "I'll take him to Touro Infirmary. It's smaller and there won't be a wait."

  Amalise's eyes opened wide, and she nodded. "Yes. Of course. I didn't think of it."

  He turned toward the door, motioning her to follow. When Luke cried out and stretched out his arm for her, she took his hand and held it all the way to the doors.

  As they approached the exit, Jude turned and backed through the door, holding it open. Cradling Luke against him, he could feel the rapid thud of the child's heartbeat. The door closed behind them and they stood in the November cool, just outside the waiting room, under the portico. Amalise reached across and pulled the hanging blanket up over Luke, gently tucking it around him. Then she slid her hand over his forehead, stroking it. Jude stood still, letting her soothe the boy, until gradually he felt the little heartbeat slow.

  At last a slow shuddering sigh ran through the child, and Jude felt an almost imperceptible release of tension in the small body in his arms.

  Amalise met Jude's eyes and smiled. "So Rebecca called you."

  "She's worried. You'll be missed soon." He looked down at Luke. The boy was light as a feather. And sound asleep.

  "I had to make a choice, Jude."

  Now would come the hard part. He nodded and met her eyes. "I understand. But now you have to get back to work."

  "I can't leave him." Her eyes darkened as she looked at him. "He calls me Mother." Her voice was thick with emotion. "Would a mother leave her child?"

  He held her eyes. "He'll have a whole lifetime with you, Amalise, if that's what you both want." He saw her quick look, saw her thinking. "But right now you have to trust me."

  She looked at him. "I do."

  He nodded. "You may love this child, but you also love your work, and the two don't have to be mutually exclusive. So let me help." He nodded at Luke. "Look, he's asleep. I'll take care of him tonight. And tomorrow."

  She began to protest, but he interrupted. "I'm good with kids. We'll be fine."

  "I can't leave him."

  "God gave you a mind as well as a heart, chère. I'm offering help. Don't drop the ball."

  Her eyes were fixed on Luke. "He is asleep."

  "Right. So don't wake him."

  Her eyes turned up to him, those dark eyes that he so loved. If she loved this child, he would too. Perhaps she sensed something of that thought, because he saw just the beginning of a smile hovering at the corners of her mouth. She wanted so badly to believe him, he knew.

  "Rebecca's covering for you, but you don't have much time." He looked at her. "She said to tell you that."

  Still she hesitated.

  "Where's your car?"<
br />
  Seconds passed and in the red glow of the neon emergency sign, he saw her arrive at a decision and a smile lit her face, sparking her eyes. She pointed. "It's right over there."

  "Good. Now get going. I'll treat him like my own. I'll call you from Touro and take him home with me tonight."

  She stood there for a minute. Then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, and whirling, raced for her car, digging into her purse for the keys as she ran. He watched until the headlights went on, and then hugging Luke close, he headed for his own.

  Sitting in Amalise's office, Rebecca glanced at her watch and pulled the next of Amalise's unfinished purchase agreements from the stack on her desk. She'd completed her own allocation this afternoon around the time Amalise had disappeared. As minutes ticked past, she bent and wrote, filling in the final information for the closing.

  Beads of perspiration formed on her brow and over her upper lip as she worked, setting each completed agreement aside and picking up the next. She'd made the call to Jude about forty-five minutes ago, she guessed. Any minute Raymond or Preston would be down here looking for both her and Amalise and wanting the purchase agreements.

  Amalise drove within the speed limit, stopping at every light, avoiding the delay a speeding ticket would cause her, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel and worrying about Luke, the unfinished work on her desk, and the time ticking away. Robert may have already noticed her absence. She fixed her eyes on the red light above and willed it to change.

  The length of any traffic light was relative, she knew, the time stretching in inverse proportion to your panic. This red light seemed endless. She gazed at a solitary man stumbling toward her. He walked in the gutter near the curb, as if the curb would lead him in the right direction. She reached back and locked her door, then she went back to staring at that light.

  There was still a chance she'd make it back to the office undiscovered.

  At last the light turned green. Stepping on the gas, she drove on toward the central business district and the First Merchant Bank Building, all the while silently thanking Rebecca for calling Jude.

  In the conference room, Bingham watched as Doug pushed back his chair and stood. "I'm taking off," he announced. He looked at Preston. "Everything under control?"

  "Yes, we're almost there."

  Doug scanned the conference table and the neat stacks of documents beginning to make their way around the edges of the table, each one piled fifteen high—originals for the various lenders and their counsel.

  Doug nodded. Slipping his jacket on, he turned to Bingham. "You planning to get some sleep tonight?"

  Bingham nodded. "I'll be leaving soon." He glanced at Robert, then back at Doug. "Where are those purchase agreements for the agents? Are they ready? We want those guys spreading out over the area first thing Friday morning, making offers and tying things down while everyone's still in a good mood after Thanksgiving turkey."

  From the other end of the table, Raymond looked up. "Amalise and Rebecca are working on those. They'll be here soon."

  Doug shot his sleeves and adjusted his cuffs. "Go check on that for Bingham, will you? Timing's everything now."

  Raymond pushed back his chair. "Sure thing. Right away." He followed Doug to the door.

  Bingham lit up a cigarette and nodded. "Good. We'll wait. I don't want to leave until we're certain we're rolling down the final hill."

  Robert snorted. Bingham glanced at the clock. He sure hoped that Amalise showed up with those agreements soon. A few more minutes and Robert would go track her down, causing a scene.

  Rebecca glanced at her watch and knew this wasn't going to work. It was 9:30, and beside her were seven, maybe eight more unfinished purchase agreements. She had left the conference room almost an hour ago, and Raymond would be looking for her. She sucked in her bottom lip, eyes on the pile of work still to be done.

  Then she set down her pen and pressed the phone button for Ashley Elizabeth's desk. Standing, she picked up Amalise's unfinished agreements, bundling them in her arm, taking the finished ones in the other. Ashley Elizabeth appeared in the doorway.

  "Amalise is in trouble," Rebecca said, and Ashley Elizabeth's face blanched. She handed the finished agreements to Ashley Elizabeth and asked her to take them to the typing pool. But not right away.

  Rebecca tossed her head. "Now here's what we need to do."

  The car seemed to move in slow motion. By the time Amalise pulled into her regular parking spot, it seemed as though hours, not minutes, had passed since she'd left Jude and Luke.

  The garage elevator was lumbering and slow. Under the harsh fluorescent light, she studied the metal walls, picturing chaos in the conference room as Raymond or Preston or, worse, Robert discovered her extended absence. As the doors slowly parted, she shot out of the elevator and dashed past the ticket booth toward the opening to Common Street. Three seconds to the corner, she figured. Three more to cross the street and reach the door of the First Merchant Bank building. She prayed the security guard would be there to open the door right away.

  Ashley Elizabeth had returned to her desk with the completed agreements from Amalise's office. Rebecca held onto the unfinished files and flew down the hallway toward her own. As she set them down on her desk, she heard the elevator bell ding, probably announcing an unwelcome arrival.

  She searched her desk for the purchase agreements she'd finished up earlier that day. In the hallway, the elevator doors clunked open, scattering her thoughts. She heard footsteps and then Raymond's voice calling out to Ashley Elizabeth. Whirling, she found the completed agreements she was seeking on the end of her credenza, ready for delivery to the conference room. With a deep breath, she scooped them up and, piling them into her arms, hurried back out into the hallway.

  Raymond was walking toward Amalise's office. Ashley Elizabeth stood up, holding something as she stepped around the desk directly into Raymond's path, head down, as if absorbed in reading.

  Raymond raised his arms as they collided.

  Ashley Elizabeth dropped the papers, and her hands flew to her face. Stumbling back against the desk, she cried out. Raymond reached out and caught her. "Steady," he said.

  "Oh!" She gave a nervous laugh and shook her head. "Excuse me. I didn't see you there." She looked around. "I must have been in another world. Are you looking for Amalise?"

  "Yep."

  "She's in the restroom. Can I help you?"

  Rebecca saw that Ashley Elizabeth had spotted her. She hurried up, clutching the armload of finished agreements.

  "I need the purchase agreements she's been working on."

  "Raymond," Rebecca called.

  He turned on his heels as Rebecca arrived, arms full of documents. She caught her breath as she halted just beside him. "Amalise asked me to bring these up to you. They're finished. She'll be there shortly."

  "Great." He took the documents from her. "And how about yours? Bingham's hanging around until they're all on the closing table."

  Rebecca flushed and, despite her attempt to smile, felt tension tighten the corners of her mouth. Amalise would owe her for this one. She flipped back her hair. She'd never failed to meet a deadline before. Not ever.

  But she looked straight into his eyes and said, "Mine aren't quite finished." At his frown, her face grew hot. "But I'll get them to the conference room as soon as possible."

  "Bingham's not going to like that, Rebecca."

  Behind him, Ashley Elizabeth grimaced.

  "It won't take long." Rebecca walked him to the elevator. When he pressed the call button, she waited, praying that Amalise wouldn't step out when it arrived.

  "Well, hurry it up, will you. He's not leaving until those agreements are done."

  She could hear the elevator grinding up from a lower floor. Please don't let Amalise be inside. T
he bell rang and she watched the doors part.

  Without another word, Raymond stepped inside. As he leaned forward and pressed the button for the eighteenth floor, Rebecca slowly began to breathe again. She watched the doors close and stood there for a moment staring at them. Then she turned toward Ashley Elizabeth's desk and signaled her.

  Ashley Elizabeth picked up the purchase agreements that Rebecca had given her earlier from Amalise's desk and headed for the typing pool while Rebecca returned to her office. She figured another forty or fifty minutes to complete the rest of Amalise's unfinished work.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  At one minute after midnight, the start of closing day, Bingham strolled the circumference of the conference table, hands behind his back. Things were taking shape, although that pretty redhead had been off the mark on the purchase agreements. He wouldn't care, except that he was tired and ready to hit the sack.

  Beauty's negligence was Mangen & Morris's problem, not his. Amalise was here now, probably had been here all along despite Robert's paranoia. Still, even now Robert was watching every move she made, streaming his dislike. He felt the tension between them in this room like a physical thing.

  So Bingham cruised the table, keeping his eye on Amalise and Robert under his lids and watching her worry. Well, he told himself, a little concern right now wouldn't hurt Miss Catoir, after what she'd pulled.

  Robert would hang around all night, he supposed, stalking her. Because his hand was in the monkey pot, reaching for those nuts. And nothing in the world right now could free him. Bingham almost smiled at the thought.

  Raymond looked up when Bingham reached him and said it would be a long night. Bingham agreed. Jingling the change in his pockets, he wandered over to the windows. To the right he watched a well-lit tug pushing a loaded barge downriver. Slowly it glided out from under the bridge, heading for the Gulf. He watched until it curved past the Quarter, then the river went dark.