“Audrey Powers.”
“Hope I didn’t wake you up, child, but I had to tell you I think you should come over here and have a look at the Colonel’s neck. Believe me, I never saw him in so much pain. He said he’d take a hot shower and he’d be all right. I told him he was fooling himself; if water could stop pain, there wouldn’t be no acupuncturists, and television would be out of business.”
Sometimes her Aunt Lena could draw a straight line and get a curve. “How does television get into the picture?”
“Well, that’s the way they make their money, isn’t it? Aspirin, Tylenol and Aleve. But at least you don’t have to tell your doctor to prescribe them for you. Come over before he leaves for work. I declare, I don’t see how a man that big can be scared of doctors.”
“Aunt Lena, I can’t do that without his permission. He wouldn’t like it. I will call him and feel him out, though. Thanks for letting me know. Bye.”
She made the coffee, got a glass of orange juice and sat down at the kitchen table with that and her mobile phone. She half hoped he had left home by then, because whether they admitted it or not, her status with him had changed and she didn’t know how he would react to her cautioning him about his health. She sucked in her breath and dialed the number.
“I was just about to phone you,” he said after they greeted each other. “Did you sleep well, and how are you this morning?”
She told the truth. “I didn’t sleep well, and I woke up as groggy as a drunken chicken.”
“What?”
“You wouldn’t leave me alone, so I went downstairs and slept on my back porch. That accounts for my morning grogginess.”
“I don’t know how to take that. I thought I left you happy and that you’d sleep like a lamb.”
She reached over to the stove for the coffeepot and poured another cupful of coffee. “You left me happy, Nelson. Never doubt that. How are you?”
“Great. I’ve got some readjusting to do, but that’s to be expected.”
What was he talking about? Her heart nearly stopped beating. “Readjusting to what?”
“To you, lady. You’re causing me to rethink my life.”
She wasn’t sorry to hear that, but she wouldn’t say so. “Oh! Well, join the crowd.” Either he didn’t plan to tell her about that neck pain or her aunt had exaggerated. She had to take a chance.
“By the way, I meant to give you a copy of some exercises for your neck when it gets out of hand, but we got into, well...you took my mind off it last night. Want me to mail them to you? Or I could drop them off.”
She wondered if his silence indicated annoyance. After a time he said, “Are you suggesting that we won’t see each other again before the United States Post Office can deliver a letter to me? Didn’t you say you were willing to see if what we have is solid enough to build a future on?”
“I did, and I’m sticking with it.” He’d pledged the same, but didn’t that mean he should level with her about his health or anything else that mattered to him?
“I’ll be by this afternoon with the exercise plan.” She didn’t doubt that once he realized that the exercises would give him relief, he would perform them assiduously.
“Good. If I haven’t gotten home, wait for me.”
Indeed she would, and she would give him her professional opinion about ignoring a serious health problem. He might not like it, but that wouldn’t stop her.
* * *
However, Nelson’s neck was not his major concern that day. He arrived at work half an hour early and began drafting alternative strategies for landing in hilly, bare and arid terrain with three different types of aircraft. Several hours later when he studied the results of his morning’s work, pride suffused him, and looking at what he’d done was like a shot of adrenaline urging him to action. He had to get back to Afghanistan, had to finish the job. But did he have the freedom to do that? Could he leave Lena and Ricky? And what about Audrey? Worst was the niggling question of whether the pain he lived with would place his men at risk.
He told himself he could handle it, and was about to ask for an appointment with the Commandant when his phone rang.
“Checkmate twice.”
He lunged forward. If he had a pain then, he didn’t feel it. “Yeah.”
“Starbucks in fifteen minutes.”
As usual, she faced the door and sat with her back to the wall. “I take it your desk is clear and you locked your briefcase in a drawer.”
He nodded, wondering where his orders would take him. “There’s a car right out front, USMC issue.”
“Where will it take me?”
“Home.”
“What about my own car?”
“It’s being examined for evidence of tampering. Now go.”
He stood and glared down at her. “What the hell am I looking for when I get home, Marilyn? I’m damned sick and tired of this cat-and-mouse stuff. Is anything wrong with my family?”
“I imagine you are. You’re wasting precious time. Our man has everything under control. See you.”
He had no choice but to go. He got in the car, slammed the door and said, “Step on it.” He normally drove to and from work in twenty to twenty-five minutes, depending on traffic, and although his driver pressed the speed limit, the car seemed to crawl and the twenty minutes seemed like several hours.
“I’ll wait for you here,” the corporal said, “in case you need me.”
Not liking the sound of that, he jumped from the car and ran up the walk. As he put his key in the lock, the door opened and he faced a six-foot-three stranger, a hulk of a man. But at that point nothing shocked or surprised him. He pushed past the man and would have headed into the house if the heavy hand on his shoulder hadn’t given him cause to ask questions.
“Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?”
“I’m on your side, Colonel,” the man said, showing his ID.
“If somebody doesn’t tell me what’s going on, I’ll—”
“Everybody’s okay. A man snatched your nephew, and your housekeeper became hysterical and had to be sedated. A nurse is with her in her room.”
“Where’s my child?”
“He’s in custody. Your driver will take you to get him. Clever little fellow. When the guy grabbed your boy, he kicked him in the groin, and that gave our man the chance for a clear aim at the knee. It’ll be a while before he walks again, if ever. I’ll be here when you get back.”
He resisted calling Marilyn and giving her a piece of his mind. She could have told him that and sent him directly to get Ricky. Inhaling deeply and exhaling long breaths, he willed his heart to slow down and his nerves to return to normal. Eventually, his driver stopped at a restored turn-of-the-century mansion in Logan Circle, which, from its exterior, appeared to be the residence of a well-heeled family.
He opened the door and responded to the salute from the young marine who stood between the service colors and Old Glory. “I’m Colonel Wainwright.”
“Yes, sir. Ricky’s right in there having the time of his life.” He pointed to a door off the entrance.
Nelson walked the few steps to what was obviously a reception room, and stopped at the door. A bucket of ice with a variety of soft drinks sat on the table in the center of the room along with assorted fruit and a plate of cookies, and he’d bet anything that his nephew hadn’t told anyone there that he wasn’t allowed to drink soft drinks, only lemonade and fruit juices. Ricky sat in the middle of the floor amidst figures he had constructed from Lego sets. And he had for a companion an attractive young woman, seventeen or eighteen years old, who appeared enchanted with him.
Nelson walked into the room. “I don’t suppose you would consider leaving all this fun and coming home with me.”
“Unca Nelson!” Parts of a train flew in d
ifferent directions. “Did you hear what happened, Unca Nelson? Some people came and took my picture. I kicked the man just like you taught me to do.” Suddenly, his enthusiasm quelled. “But he was a bad man, Unca Nelson, and a nice man had to shoot him. And I think maybe Miss Lena got sick.” He ran to Nelson and wrapped his arms around his uncle’s leg. “Can we go home and see if Miss Lena is all right?”
“Sure, but first I think we ought to clean up this party you were enjoying. And don’t worry about the bad man. He’ll be all right.”
“Heather is my friend, aren’t you, Heather?”
The girl stood. “I’ll take care of it, Colonel Wainwright. He’s a wonderful child. Can I have a hug, Ricky?”
The boy obliged, and Nelson shook hands with Heather and thanked her for caring for Ricky. On the drive home, he wished Marilyn could have listened to Ricky’s questions, every one of them to the point. Most telling was the query as to why a man wanted to take him away.
“Do you want to go back with me this afternoon, sir?” the driver asked Nelson, “or should I come for you tomorrow morning?”
He didn’t like being separated from his briefcase, but he had to check on Lena. “I’ll let you know in a few minutes,” he said. When he entered the house with Ricky, he went directly to Lena’s room and, to his relief, found her sitting on the side of her bed talking with the nurse.
“Thank the good Lord you’re home,” she said. “You can go now,” she told the nurse. The Colonel will take care of everything. Ricky, honey, come here and let me hug you. I declare I never been so scared in my whole life.”
Ricky’s little arms locked around her neck. “I wasn’t scared. I did what my Unca Nelson told me to do.”
The nurse stood and saluted Nelson. “Lieutenant Harriet Ruff, sir. She’s fine now. A bit upset for a while, but she’ll tell you about it.”
He thanked the Navy nurse and walked with her down to the front door. “Do you have transportation back to your post?”
“Yes, sir. I have my car.”
“In about half an hour I’ll be ready to go back to the Pentagon,” he told his driver. “Would you like to stop somewhere for lunch?”
“Thank you, sir, but I can wait till I take you back to your office.”
When he returned to Lena’s room, he found her still sitting on the bed and Ricky leaning against her knee gazing up at her.
He pulled a chair close to them and sat down. “Tell me what happened, Lena.”
She took a deep breath and expelled it quickly. “Well, I took Ricky to the supermarket with me like I always do. You know he loves running up and down the aisles in that mega-store. All the clerks in there are crazy about him. I kept him close to me like you said, and thank the Lord I did. We got to the cashier, and I was paying for the food when Ricky ran between me and the cashier’s counter to grab the shopping cart—you know, he loves to push it. I looked up from counting out my money just in time to see this big fellow run around the side near the exit and grab Ricky. Good thing he was facing Ricky ’cause—”
“’Cause I kicked him right where you told me to, Unca Nelson.”
“When Ricky kicked him, he let the child go and grabbed himself ’bout the time I heard this shot. I didn’t know who they was shooting at. I think I screamed, but I tell you, I don’t remember. Next thing I know I’m here and this nurse is telling me to think pleasant thoughts. I looked at her and said, ‘Honey, you can’t be serious.’”
“We came home in this great big white car, Unca Nelson, and the man said the Marines take real good care of each other.” Ricky grinned, exuding charm as only his father could. “I’m gonna be a Marine.”
“I’m going back to work. I’ll—”
“Who shot the man, Unca Nelson?”
“Someone the Marines sent to take care of you and Miss Lena.”
Ricky’s eyes widened. “Gee!”
He had a few choice words for NSS, and the sooner he got it off his chest, the better he’d feel. He was an officer and, with his status, keeping him in the dark about something affecting his life and the lives of his family members didn’t sit well with him.
When he got back to the Pentagon, he got a hamburger and coffee in the cafeteria, went to his office and dialed Marilyn’s number.
“Checkmate. Are you coming here, or do I go to you?”
“Slow down, Colonel.”
“Either we talk now, or I’m going over your head, and I’m not walking into Starbucks again today.”
“All right. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
That didn’t give him enough time to eat the hamburger and call Audrey, too. He’d eat the hamburger, because not even NSS—knowing what he was certain they knew—was stupid enough to keep him in the dark if anything had happened to her.
“A Lieutenant Colonel of the Army here to see you, sir,” his secretary said.
“Send her in.” He stood, and the first thing he noticed when she walked in was the difference in her demeanor: less officious now that she was on his turf. He stood, but he didn’t shake hands.
“I want to know why a man would attempt to steal my kid, why you’ve had a watch on me and my family 24/7, why you didn’t tell me the score this morning before I left here and why you impounded my car. Let’s have it.” His neck began to pain him, but his anger allowed him to ignore it.
“We were dealing with a group of crooks who steal military and commercial secrets and sell what they get to any person or government that will buy it. In spite of security, they learned that you draw up plans for guerrilla tactics and logistics, something they could make millions on. We impounded your car to see whether anyone had planted a listening device in it, because we began to suspect that as the reason Stacey wanted to visit Ricky. A five-year-old is the perfect person to hide something in your home.”
“And, failing their other tactics, they figured I’d give them anything they wanted in order to get Ricky back.”
“Right.”
“What you did this morning was unforgivable and unfeeling. You could have told me what happened and that Ricky and Lena were safe, but you let me sweat about it.”
“Sorry,” she said, hardly blinking He had to hand it to her; she must have gotten an advanced degree in composure. “I have to follow policy. If we don’t know the whole story, we can’t say anything, and I didn’t know how Lena was.”
He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, not caring if his impatience with her and the NSS showed. “Didn’t it occur to the geniuses over there that I could protect those secrets more effectively if I knew someone wanted to steal them?”
“It surely did, Colonel, but I only follow established policy.”
“What about the guards? Are they still tailing us?”
“Sorry, sir, but until we’re sure we’ve rounded up everyone in that cell, the guards have to stay. And please ask Dr. Powers not to try eluding them. She’s as good for blackmail as your nephew is.”
“What about my car?”
“In your assigned spot. It’s clean, but I suggest you park it in your garage or in Dr. Powers’s garage.”
Better let that pass. “Thank you for coming.” He stood and saluted, terminating the conversation.
Was it over? He drove home past the house with the lion on the front lawn, and relief flooded him when he saw the boarded door and windows. At least they no longer camped in his neighborhood.
* * *
Audrey had just about reached her limit of tolerance with the assorted guards who followed her everywhere but to the women’s room. Indeed, she’d stopped using the one in the hallway because the guard would position himself by the door until she came out and then walk with her back to her office. And on that day, the man stood whenever the door to her office opened and watched like a hawk until he made sure the person who entered was a g
enuine patient. She didn’t bother to ask him about the extra precautions because she knew he wouldn’t answer. A late afternoon call from Nelson—who, after loving her out of her senses the previous night had managed to ignore her for the past eight hours—did nothing to improve her temper.
“It’s been a rough day,” he said after their greetings, “and I need to spend a few minutes with you. Would you have dinner with Ricky, Lena and me at my place? Afterward, we can sit out on the deck and talk. If that’s okay, I’ll be at your house for you around six, and I’ll take you home later.”
She wasn’t so irritated that she couldn’t hear the disquiet in Nelson’s voice and sense in him a need for a calming force. “I’ll be there when you come,” she said.
Later, she reflected that the words had all but flown from her lips, and that their meaning exceeded the simple fact that she would be at home when he arrived. He may not have understood it, but she knew then that she’d told him she was there for him and would always be.
“I’d better ask my Aunt Lena to send up some prayers for me,” she said aloud as she closed her desk and locked it. “I’m in deep here.” Yes, she thought, remembering an old song, Chest-deep in the quicksand of love.
* * *
“Don’t try to cook dinner,” Nelson told Lena. “You’ve had a rough day, and I’m sure you’re tired. I’ll order dinner. I would appreciate it, though, if you’d set the table and include a place for Audrey.”
Ricky nearly fell down the stairs. “Audie is coming. We’re going to see Audie!”
“Yes, and try not break your neck. Watch it when you’re on those stairs.”
“It’s okay, Unca Nelson. The people said I’m very smart. They said so today, Unca Nelson.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t break your neck if you don’t pay attention to what you’re doing. You got that?” He ran his hand over the boy’s hair in a gesture of affection.
“Yes, sir, Unca Nelson. I got it.”
“I ought to be back by seven,” he said to Lena. “Meantime, decide what you’d like to eat.” He hugged Ricky and headed for Bethesda.
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