by Alice Orr
He’d been right about how much it would bother him to tell this story. The words had left him in a rush, leaving a dark place of hurt behind. What he hadn’t anticipated was that, along with the hurt, came release and relief.
More than that though, he knew it was what Katherine had just said that made him feel freer inside himself than he had since he couldn’t remember when. He turned to look at her and saw proof of her belief in him shining out of her beautiful eyes. He wondered what he’d done to get so lucky.
He didn’t want to return to the center just yet, didn’t want to be separated from Katherine at all. And, in spite of his tangled emotions where his family was concerned, he had the troubles of another family to worry about, too. Katherine readily agreed to a detour to Tooley’s neighborhood to look for Coyote. Though they spent the better part of an hour cruising the streets, they found no sign of the boy. Obviously, Coyote was too street-smart and too scared to come out of hiding. When Katherine said she’d informed the police about the situation, Vic told her she’d made the right decision.
As they made their final trip past Tooley’s apartment building, he looked at his watch and swore. He’d completely forgotten what day it was.
“I have a favor to ask of you,” he said when Katherine looked at him in concern.
“What would that be?”
“I told you about the open house I have every holiday season. The party’s this afternoon, and I could use some help putting it on.”
“This afternoon! Aren’t you cutting last-minute planning a little close to the last second?”
Vic laughed and was relieved to hear he still could.
“I’m not quite as bad as all that. The food’s taken care of. Sandra Thomas, from the center, caters for me every year. The part that isn’t quite nailed down yet is the decorating. I need a hand with that before people start showing up.”
Katherine reached across the seat and touched his arm.
“My hand is yours,” she said.
His heart leapt so hard, and so unexpectedly, in his chest that he had to brace himself against the impact. He might have sat there grinning goofily at her all day if a horn blast from behind hadn’t reminded him he had to make a right turn and take them both home.
THE PROBLEM of Coyote and Sprite Bellaway stayed in Katherine’s mind even as she helped Vic decorate for the party. It was still with her as they greeted his guests at the door.
She would never have guessed she’d end up hostessing Vic’s holiday open house, but here she was doing exactly that. She was glad she’d worn a dress and high-heeled boots today, after all. A few minutes in the bathroom, some Mercurochrome, a bandage and Mrs. Maltese’s donated stockings took care of the damage she’d done to her knee during her ill-fated attempt at wall climbing. Remembering that awkward scene, and how much she’d been frightened at first by the huge and fierce-looking man who apprehended her behind the Maltese mansion, also made her think about what Vic had revealed to her while they were driving back to Albany. The man who had gripped her by the arm and all but carried her into the grand, spacious house that turned out to be Vic’s family home certainly did fit the stereotype of a mobster muscleman. So had the old family friend who had come to the center to say hello to Vic.
Vic’s mother, however, had been another story entirely. She didn’t fit any of those stereotypes at all. She was, in fact, the kind of gracious and elegant woman Katherine had always hoped she herself would grow into someday. Mrs. Maltese also very obviously adored her son. It was difficult to imagine her ever doing anything that might jeopardize his well-being in any way. Still, Katherine knew that Vic could be correct in his suspicions about his father’s background. From what she understood about Vic already, she could tell—or at least she believed she could tell—he wasn’t the kind of man who would have tormented himself for half his life over a delusion.
The thought of that torment, and the imprint of it she had seen earlier in his eyes, made Katherine all the more determined that this should be the most joyful holiday party he had ever given. She rose to that challenge with a sparkle she hadn’t realized she still possessed. She’d believed that the capacity for high social spirits had been burned out of her by the sadness of losing Daniel. Instead, today she found herself greeting each newcomer with a bright smile and a heartfelt happy-holiday wish. Each time she went to the door, too, she hoped to see tiny Sprite Bellaway standing outside. The family friend she was staying with had planned to bring the little girl to Vic’s party.
Katherine and Vic didn’t have much time at all to talk, though she saw plenty of him as he mingled with his guests and often sent her a devastating smile. She poured punch and chattered while she made certain every guest was stuffing himself or herself from the trays and bowls and chafing dishes of good food, which Sandra Thomas kept full to brimming. That went on all through the late afternoon, till at dusk, Santa Claus appeared carrying a bulging bag over one stooped shoulder.
Katherine hadn’t known there would be a Santa at the party. Apparently, the kids from the center hadn’t, either. Their surprise and delight were wonderful to see as a cheer went up, followed by cries of, “What’s in the bag, Santa?” Katherine had no idea who Santa might actually be. He brought to mind the Secret Santa of the newspaper articles along with a rather wild thought. What if this was the same person? She was telling herself how absurd that had to be when Santa looked up from his gift-distributing to favor her personally with a particularly hearty, “Ho, ho, ho.” She knew instantly then that Santa was none other than Vic Maltese himself. She’d have recognized those eyes under any disguise. There wasn’t a hint of torment in them now. Suddenly, Katherine realized, with a pang of warmth, which travelled directly to her heart, that the joy in Vic’s eyes was the best present Santa Claus could possibly have given her.
Even Mariette Dugan showed up for some eggnog. She had a photographer in tow, of course. Mariette didn’t strike Katherine as a woman who was ever one-hundred-percent off the job. The photographer set about at once snapping shots of Vic in the Santa suit. Katherine didn’t believe for a minute that Mariette’s motives were either sentimental or charitable. She would use these photographs to promote her Secret Santa story and squeeze just a little more play out of the series before the day after Christmas made it old news.
Katherine actually hoped the big contributor’s identity wouldn’t be revealed. There was more magic to the generous gesture while it remained anonymous, as if the spirit of the season had been the real benefactor who brought so much relief and happiness to so many people who truly needed those unexpected gifts. She’d heard several reports of how just about every staff person at the center had been happily busy all day making phone calls, handing out money orders, delivering food baskets and wrapping presents. Part of Katherine regretted missing out on the fun of spreading so much joy and goodwill, but she reveled in the new knowledge she had of Vic and in the closeness she’d felt between them as they’d silently scoured the neighborhoods earlier. Besides, she knew that being at Vic’s side today was the most important, and the happiest, holiday duty she could possibly perform. She was thinking about how special that experience had turned out to be when the phone began to ring. Vic, as Santa, was still being mobbed by children under the tree so Katherine answered the call.
“Could I please talk to Mr. Maltese?” a young boy asked at the other end of the telephone line.
Katherine recognized the voice at once. The child had never been far from her thoughts all day.
“Coyote, is that you? This is Katherine Fairchild. Where are you?”
There was silence from Coyote for a long moment, and Katherine was afraid he might be about to hang up the phone.
“Mr. Maltese is right here,” she said. She gestured at Vic, but he didn’t appear to notice her over the clamoring of the children who surrounded him. “We both want to help you. Please, tell me where you are. We’ll be happy to come for you if you need us to.”
The silence conti
nued, but for only a moment this time.
“I’m at the cathedral next to the Plaza,” Coyote said. He sounded like he might be shivering from the cold.
“You mean the cathedral near Empire State Plaza?”
The expanse of marble concourse and tall state office towers across State Street from the Capitol Building was referred to by just about everybody locally as the Plaza. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception wasn’t far from there. Katherine had gone inside once just to sit for a while and feel the peace of the place.
“That’s where I mean. Next to the Plaza, just down the street from there,” Coyote said. “I hitchhiked here from that huge house you drove to this morning. I was hiding in the back of your car. I saw that big guy drag you away, but I never did find out where he took you. When I went to get back in the car, the same guy was driving it away so I hid till he was gone. Then I got out of there as fast as I could.”
Katherine could hardly believe what she was hearing. Coyote Bellaway had stowed himself away in the back of her car? She’d had no idea he was there. She would have liked to question him further about why he’d done that, but finding that out wasn’t what really mattered now. She could hear Coyote’s fear in his voice, and his exhaustion, too.
“Go to the front of the Cathedral, by the steps,” she said. “Mr. Maltese and I will be there very soon.”
“Come as fast as you can, please.”
“We’ll be right there,” Katherine said, and hung up the phone.
She signalled to Sandra Thomas, who was just passing by with a tray heaped high with cookies.
“We need you to take over here, Sandra,” Katherine said. “Vic and I have to attend to an emergency situation involving one of the children.”
Sandra nodded and immediately launched herself into the swarm of children surrounding Vic.
“Santa has to go now,” she boomed. “His sleigh is double-parked. But, Mrs. Santa sent these just for you guys.”
The tray of cookies distracted the children long enough for Katherine to drag Vic away and tell him quickly why the party had to be over for him for now. He followed her immediately, without even so much as a parting, “Ho, ho, ho.”
Chapter Twenty-One
They made it across town to the Cathedral in record time, even with Vic taking the time to change out of the Santa Claus suit.
“My guess would be that Coyote is trying to be as inconspicuous as possible,” Katherine had said. “Being met by a man in a red suit stuffed with pillows might defeat that purpose.”
Vic had to agree with that logic. But he definitely didn’t agree that there was any logic at all to having Katherine come along on this little adventure. He had no idea what might turn out to be waiting at the other end. What if somebody had intimidated Coyote into making that phone call to Vic’s house? What if this was a setup? With those possibilities in mind, and maybe some worse ones too, Vic had stopped by the hallway cabinet on the way out of his house and retrieved his gun from the hidden compartment there.
“What’s that for?” Katherine asked.
Naturally, she’d refused to credit his objections to her coming along to meet Coyote. Naturally, she was also watching every move Vic made. He wouldn’t have put it past her to follow him upstairs so she could make sure he didn’t sneak out the bedroom window when he was supposed to be changing his clothes. They were better off that she hadn’t, of course. The thought of getting Katherine into his bedroom and keeping her there was very tempting even for a man on a mission of mercy. Maybe too tempting to resist.
“Why are you taking a gun?” Katherine repeated, not allowing him to avoid the question as he would have preferred to do.
“Just in case,” he said, figuring she’d give him an argument for sure about carrying a firearm. He was more than a little surprised when she didn’t.
The cathedral stood at the top of a steep hill. Two roads bordered a triangular park across the street from the church and converged at the bottom of that park to form a single road down the hill all the way to the Hudson River. Two Gothic spires thrust high into the night sky above the sandstone face of the old building which had commanded these heights for almost a century and a half. Vic could see why the boy might choose a place like the cathedral to hide. This holy fortress looked like it could stand against any enemy, especially the ungodly ones. He took Katherine’s arm as they crossed the street.
Vic looked around in every direction. He knew he couldn’t depend on the powers of the church alone for protection. He had to keep a sharp eye out for more earthly demons. Down Eagle Street across Madison Place and on the same side of Eagle as the cathedral the Executive Mansion loomed. This was the residence of the governor of New York State, and this area was called the Mansion Neighborhood because of that huge old house. The governor’s residence was lit up now with spotlights set all around the grounds, as if to shield it from the residents of some of the much smaller and less impressive buildings advancing toward the mansion up the hill. By comparison, the cathedral struck Vic as much more vulnerable and exposed the way it jutted right out onto the street with nothing but a cast-iron fence to hold back the dangers of the world.
“Where do you think he could be?” Katherine asked. “He said he’d wait by the front steps.”
Coyote was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the streets were deserted. Last-minute holiday shoppers would have no business in this neighborhood. They’d be crowding the malls on the outskirts of the city tonight.
“He probably decided he should keep out of sight,” Vic said. “Maybe he’s inside.”
He climbed the few stone steps to the wide doors. A wreath of evergreen boughs tied with a wide red ribbon had been hung above each of the three entrances. Vic tried the handles to each of the sets of double doors, but all of them were locked. He turned and shook his head at Katherine as he walked back down the steps.
“Not here,” he said, gazing around again.
“Maybe he got scared and ran away.”
“Maybe.”
Vic scanned the front of the cathedral again. Large pots containing even larger pine trees had been set at each side of the stone steps. Coyote could have hidden behind one of them, but he wasn’t there.
“Let’s check the park across the street,” Vic said.
He hooked his hand around Katherine’s arm as he made his way to the curb.
“I wish you hadn’t insisted on coming along,” he said. “I don’t like the feel of any of this.”
“I care just as much about Coyote as you do,” she said with a tug at his hand as if to pull away from him.
Vic tightened his grip on her.
“That has nothing to do with it,” he said. “I don’t know what we might be walking into here.”
The stark truth of that sent his free right hand darting into his jacket pocket, where it encountered nothing but his car keys. He had told himself that guns weren’t always the answer to a problem, though some of his father’s former associates believed they were. The thought had been enough to make Vic decide to leave the gun in the car until he could scope out the situation. His fingers closed around the car keys as he stopped walking and turned to face Katherine. He could see the resistance in her eyes even before he began to speak again.
“There could be trouble here tonight,” he said trying to make his voice convey the truth of that. “I don’t want to take the chance that you might get hurt. I think you should wait for me in the car.”
“Absolutely not,” she said, pulling harder against his grasp on her arm.
Vic dropped the car keys back into his pocket and took hold of her other arm as well. He pulled her so close she could hardly avoid looking up at him.
“All I’m asking is for you to sit in the car while I scout things out and make sure there’s no real danger.”
She stopped pulling away from him and stared up into his face. In the light of the bright streetlamp he could see the sadness come into her eyes. He would have taken her into his arms
if she hadn’t raised her gloved hands and placed them both flat against his chest.
“I was forced to sit and wait and do nothing while Daniel died,” she said. “Please, don’t ask me to sit and wait and do nothing again.”
The tremor in her voice resonated in Vic’s heart. For an instant, he could see her sitting in a hospital corridor, anguish shadowing her lovely face, her hands clutching each other in her lap. He could imagine how helpless that would feel, and how unbearable. He dropped his hands from her arms and reached up to brush a stray curl away from her cheek. The thought of anything happening to her out here made his fingers tremble, and he had to take a deep breath before he could speak.
“If you’re coming along, you have to be very careful,” he said.
She nodded. “I will be.”
“And let me take the lead.”
He was ready for an objection to that when a sound behind them made him put that last request into action and shove her protectively behind his wake. He spun just in time to see one of the wide church doors slowly opening.
“It’s me,” a boy’s voice called from behind the opening cathedral door.
Coyote’s head emerged a second later. Vic breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could think whether or not he should stop her, Katherine had darted out onto the curb and across the sidewalk. She reached Coyote just as he was letting the door to the church close behind him. She crouched down to his height on the top of the stone steps and wrapped him in an embrace.
“Thank heaven you’re safe,” she said. “We’ve been so worried about you.”
Vic half expected Coyote to pull himself out of her arms. Boys his age had a way of doing that when it came to physical gestures of affection or concern, but Coyote didn’t pull away. Instead, he did quite the opposite. He wrapped his own arms in their pitifully thin jacket as far around Katherine as he could reach. In that one movement, Vic could see, plain as day, the ordeal this little boy had been through and how glad he felt that he was no longer on his own. Vic walked up the steps and put his arm around Coyote, too.