Killer Cupid (The Redemption Series: Book 1)

by Maeve Christopher

  “Yeah, well you’re not supposed to be staying here either. I promised Earle and Pearson I’d get you back by now. Where are the Aldridges anyway?” He kept his voice hushed.

  “They went to get something to eat. They’ll be back shortly. I’m staying here, but you should leave. Go get some rest. Did Raphael leave?”

  “Yeah. They just left. The others left hours ago. Ya know Pearson’s gonna be bullshit if I come back without you.”

  “It won’t be the first time.”

  “I guess. So are you gonna let George live?” Eduardo smiled.

  “Maybe.” David grinned back at him.

  ***

  General Pearson and Dr. Earle were not pleased, and not surprised, Eduardo returned alone. His family was relieved that Debbie was recovering, and David had controlled his temper. They planned to visit the hospital to see her the next morning, and hopefully reason with David.

  Eduardo had other plans for Saturday. He easily convinced Nita to go to the ocean. It had been way too long since they’d been sailing. He deliberately drove past the marina where David’s boat was docked, and located the General’s personal boat that he had so generously offered for the big day.

  “Ahh, this is the life.” He looked up at the cloudless sky and kissed Nita. “Ya wanna do it in a sailboat?” he whispered into her ear.

  Laughing, she stretched her body cat-like against his. Finding this irresistible and encouraging, he skillfully unbuttoned her shirt.

  “Eduardo, why do I have the feeling we’ll have the Coast Guard and the Navy here watching us?”

  “Ooo kinky,” he breathed into her ear.

  They whiled away the day on the sailboat, talking, making love, enjoying each other’s company, and the deep blue ocean rising up to meet a flawless sky. He felt truly relaxed for the first time in a long time. Eduardo decided the moment had come.

  He took a small box from his backpack. Nita watched him with a curious look. She smiled as he put his arm around her pulling her close.

  “Nita, I’m not the greatest when it comes to poetry, but I want you to know how important you are to me. How much I love you. I’ve always loved you, for as long as I can remember. We’ve been apart way too long. I don’t want to be apart again. I want us to spend our lives together. Marry me.” He kissed her and opened the case to reveal the diamond ring.

  Tears came to her eyes. “Yes, Eduardo, yes, I’ll marry you.” He put the ring on her finger, and she said she loved it. They admired how it sparkled in the sunlight. And he noticed the tiny rainbow appeared.

  Glori

  Cin and I went to the hospital with her parents and the Aldridges early Saturday morning. David was beside Debbie, dozing, his head on his arm, propped on the side of the bed. Debbie was sound asleep.

  George and Marion left the room to meet Dr. Gallagher in the hallway, and I stepped to the door to listen in to what the doctor had to say. Eavesdropping was always one of my specialties. Cin thought maybe General Pearson would have a position for me.

  Dr. Gallagher said, “Debbie’s doing much better now. Fortunately, she’d been gaining some weight and some strength since she left here the last time. Dr. Larson feels it was, perhaps, some sudden shock that threw her heart into an arrhythmia. We’ll examine her again, but I expect we could discharge her later today or tomorrow morning. She will just need rest, and some good nutrition.”

  George’s voice was strained. “I’m afraid I’m to blame for this episode, Dr. Gallagher. I forced Debbie to leave that military base, well, suddenly, yesterday. I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know what is best for her at this point.” Marion put her hand on his arm.

  Dr. Gallagher sounded curious. “I didn’t know Mr. Henning was in the military. Debbie did see more of him when she left here in January?”

  “Yes, yes.” George looked startled, like he gave away some state secret. But it did feel like forever since we’d called him “Henning.”

  “Yes,” he blustered. “Debbie has fallen in love with him, I’m afraid, and I don’t think she needs a boyfriend or a husband at this point. But what do I know?” He rubbed his chin, and fell into his own thoughts.

  Marion piped up. “Dr. Gallagher, we do want to do what is best for Debbie. Do you think it would help her heart to marry this young man?”

  Gallagher’s mouth dropped open. “Well, Marion, I don’t really know. I would think it could help. I mean she’s been gaining weight, doing better since she left here. And if that’s been because of him, well…”

  “There’s a big problem here, I think, Doctor. He’ll probably be leaving the country. I don’t know if she could take that. I mean she would be in a strange place, with a foreign language. What should we do?” Marion looked up at him imploringly.

  “Why don’t you ask Debbie that, Marion?” Duh.

  “Debbie?” Marion and George spoke at once. George was ready to yell again. “Gallagher, how is Debbie going to know what is best? She is a child! I don’t know how many times I’ve told you. She doesn’t even know enough to eat! How is she going to know? She has stars in her eyes. She’s in love. Or she thinks she is. What I worry about is six months from now and she’s off in some foreign country somewhere homesick, not eating, then what?”

  “Mr. Aldridge, I really can’t tell you. But something must be able to be worked out. Would you be able to visit her? Or perhaps her friends could visit her, too. And if her maid, Sally, went with her, well she may be just fine. I know Sally’s been with her forever. She’d be a comfort to her. In any case, Mr. Aldridge, Debbie’s anorexia is a chronic disease. Debbie will need to combat this for the rest of her life. It won’t matter where she is—the most important thing is the love and support she gets.”

  As they stood thinking, I noticed Frederick and Maria Lambrecht getting out of the elevator, Frederick’s arm around his wife’s waist. David’s parents – they knew what a good marriage was. From everything I could tell, they had a great relationship. Especially for all the stress they were under. Marion waved to them to get their attention.

  George called out to them. “Frederick, Maria! Thank you for coming.” He shook their hands vigorously, and I was surprised that he was so glad to see them. Marion actually hugged Maria.

  “How is Debbie?” Frederick asked.

  “Much better today, thank you.” George took Dr. Gallagher by the arm to introduce him to the Lambrechts.

  “Nice to meet you.” Gallagher shook their hands, not knowing who these people really were.

  Realizing the name confusion, George explained, “These are, uh, Mr. Henning’s parents.”

  “Oh, oh I see.” Dr. Gallagher nodded, smiled, and excused himself.

  “The last we checked, David was asleep in the chair in Debbie’s room, dear,” Marion said to Maria.

  Maria smiled at her. “I’m relieved he didn’t make trouble here, for you and George. I hope he behaved as a gentleman. I know he was so very upset yesterday.”

  “Yes, he was very angry at us, dear. He barely said a word to us. I suppose I understand. We probably did the wrong thing by taking Debbie home yesterday. Well I guess she loves him so much, well her heart almost gave out from the shock of being taken from him.” Marion was becoming emotional. Maria put her arm around her shoulder and guided her to a chair.

  “Oh, Maria, perhaps they could just be married and stay right here in Beverly Hills. I’m sure David could find a good job here.” Marion pulled out a well-used handkerchief.

  George shook his head, and paced around the waiting room. Frederick leaned against the doorframe, not sure what to make of all this. And Cindy and I took the whole thing in. It sure was weird seeing ol’ George and Marion acting human.

  Then the rest of the family showed up, and Cat prayed over Debbie. Cin and I thought George might actually approve of David marrying his daughter.

  David

  It was Sunday morning when Debbie was discharged from the hospital. David accompanied her and her parents to their ho
me. He carried her upstairs to her room, and carefully arranged her on the pillows atop her bed.

  Sitting beside her, he surveyed the room. It was the bedroom of a young girl, decorated completely in white. Debbie’s paintings and some fresh flowers added the only color. A gentle breeze tossed the sheer curtains on the large window next to the bed.

  Marion entered the room with her nurse Sally, and introduced her to David. “Mr. David, I sure am pleased to meet you. I want you to know, I’m so grateful to you for savin’ Miss Debbie’s life.” Sally nodded emphatically, much the way Debbie always did.

  “Well thank you, Sally, but I’m sure the doctors had much more to do with it.”

  “I don’t think so, Mr. David.” Sally was adamant.

  Debbie smiled and hugged him like she’d never let go. He used the opportunity to kiss her. He heard George clear his throat as he entered the room, but leisurely finished the kiss. They turned to George.

  “David, I want to tell you and Debbie, I’ve decided to give you my permission to be married. I hope you two will have a long and happy life together.” George was too emotional to go on.

  Marion ran to his side. George put his hand on her back and drew her in a sideways hug. That apparently was his idea of affection.

  Regardless, David was grateful this struggle was over. Relieved and ecstatic, he picked Debbie up off the bed and onto his lap, kissed her, and held her. He felt a sense of joy radiating between them.

  Some time later the maid delivered the news that Eduardo had arrived to bring David back to the base. Distressed, Debbie held tight to his arm. “It’s Sunday, David. Aren’t you going to stay for our picnic today?”

  “I’ll be back later, Sweetheart. I just need to get everything straightened out with General Pearson. You mustn’t worry, okay?”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  He kissed her again. “I love you, Sweetheart.” Reluctantly, he left the room.

  ***

  “Agent Lambrecht, you’re aware you were to remain in this hospital? The doctors, and I, told you on a number of occasions, you are not to be discharged yet.” General Pearson let his aggravation show.

  “Yes Sir.”

  “I know, I know, you’re going to tell me you had to leave for Debbie’s sake.” Pearson put his hand up. “Dammit, David! I’m annoyed with you. And I’m more annoyed with myself.” He stood and stared out the window. “I know my judgment is clouded when it comes to the four of you. I’ve been too personal. Like you’re the sons I never had. I know I’ve joked about it, but it’s no joke. And you, young man, need to listen to me and obey orders. Do you understand?”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “Then get out of here and do what Earle tells you to do.”

  David closed the General’s door behind him, and looked to Eduardo, sitting, waiting for him in the outer office. Eduardo grinned up at him as he passed by, “So? Did you get a spanking?”

  “Shut up, Eduardo.” David strode out the door.

  Nita

  The Aldridges moved their Sunday afternoon party to the Bainbridge mansion. According to Cindy, her parents were much more comfortable entertaining a crowd than George and Marion. Cindy and Glori took me aside, and we ended a tour of their home in Cindy’s bedroom.

  “Where’s Eduardo? Is he coming with David and Raphael?” Cindy asked.

  “Yes, I believe so. He’s in yet another meeting. But I guess that’s good. At least he’s not out there getting shot at.” We sat in comfortable overstuffed chairs by a window with a glorious view.

  “What a scary thing—to have a husband or a boyfriend that has a job like that.” Cindy rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how people do it.”

  “I don’t know either.” I laughed.

  We fell into a long, personal conversation. Cindy and Glori had some interesting stories on Hollywood, and what it was like to be the daughter of one of the most famous actors in the world. Cindy spoke at length about her wonderful family.

  “Yes, it is a blessing to have such a loving supportive family. That’s really the only thing that has helped us through this hell since Eduardo and David left home.”

  Cindy sympathized. “And you never heard from them in three years? Not a phone call or a letter?”

  “They were supposed to be deep undercover, completely devoted to whatever mission they were assigned to. They lived a completely different life, a whole new identity. No contact with family or friends, or any part of their former lives. The only exception was an audio we would receive each Christmas. It made Christmas a particularly stressful time. Especially this last one.” I realized this was not the topic for a party. “We should really change the subject. This is supposed to be a celebration.”

  “Okay,” Glori said, “So what does Raphael say about Cin?”

  Cindy swiped her arm toward her friend. “Glori!”

  “He’s smitten with her, of course.” I winked, and they both beamed at me. “I think you two are going to have a wonderful time. And I know I’m biased, but Raphael is the best. He’s a very special person, and the more you spend time together, I know you’ll find that out. And not to change the subject, but Cat and I just spent some interesting time with Debbie.”

  “Interesting?” Glori smirked.

  Cindy cast a sidelong frown at her friend, as she pulled her legs up under her in an attentive pose.

  “Well frankly, I was shocked. I think she knows more about the Louvre and all it’s artwork than the people that work there. And she’s never set foot in Paris.”

  Glori rolled her eyes. “Yeah! She can go on about that stuff for hours! Just don’t ask her about the artist’s use of color.”

  I was confused. “What artist’s use of color?”

  “Any artist!” Glori waved her arms to magnify her response. Cindy and I burst into laughter. “I’m serious.” Glori continued, “She can go on and on for hours about all that art shit.” She turned to Cindy. “Remember the day she made you stare at that purple dot till you saw a green dot?”

  I tried to muffle my laughter. Cindy smiled and shook her head. ”Debbie was just giving me a lesson on the color wheel, and complementary colors.”

  “I see.” I nodded. “Well, I know Cat has enlisted Debbie to do the artwork for all of the album covers. Apparently it’s her first real job, and I’m thrilled about it. She’s extremely talented.”

  “That’s awesome!” Cindy clapped. “She’s going to do a great job for you.”

  Glori agreed. “Wow. Debbie’s got an actual art job. Cool! The thing about Debbie, she’s really not as dumb as you think.”

  “Glori!”

  “I was about to say, Cin, if you let me talk, that she’s really really smart. In certain special areas, that is. Take for instance, anything, and I mean anything to do with art and art history and painting and all that stuff. She could teach college classes on all that without even having to prepare. She’s really unbelievable.

  “And how dumb she is when it comes to talking to people? That’s pretty unbelievable too, and it’s all George and Marion’s fault. They actually made her sick with this anorexia disease. I don’t see the half of it compared to Cindy. But I’ll never forget that first day I saw George force her to eat her breakfast, and she spent the rest of the day goin’ up and down the stairs to burn off the calories. She was counting stairs and counting calories. And that was when she was probably eight or nine years old.”

  “Oh! That’s so sad.” I hadn’t realized her eating disorder began at such an early age. “She’s such an innocent.”

  “Yeah. She’s an innocent alright. George and Marion made sure of that. Do you believe before they let Debbie go to college, they met with the Dean and went through all the stuff she could and could not do, and what she could and could not study. No nude paintings for Debbie! No medical illustration classes. And just to make sure everything went George’s way, he donated a building to the college. Nice guy, huh?”

  “Oh.” I didn’t know what to s
ay.

  Cindy blushed. “Nita, we probably shouldn’t be going on like this. We do really care about Debbie, and whether or not people think she’s bright, I know she’s amazing. I’m just grateful she ended up meeting David. Because I know he really did save her life. She wouldn’t have come home from the hospital in January if it weren’t for him.”

  Glori chimed in. “Yeah, the doctors told us this anorexia throws off her whole system. It wrecked her heart. I bet it’s messed up her head too. Cin told me Debbie’s always had these voices inside that keep tellin’ her she’s worthless—like constantly.”

  I sighed. “Yes, it’s a disease that affects the brain chemistry. And certainly, one would not appear too bright if one were so chronically malnourished.”

  “My point exactly!” Glori nodded.

  Cindy pressed her lips until they went white.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Eduardo

  When David and Eduardo arrived at his door, Raphael was on the phone as he stuffed a briefcase with papers.

  Eduardo pointed to his watch. “Geez, don’t you ever quit? It’s Sunday. Don’t you still do that respecting the Sabbath stuff?”

  Raphael rolled his eyes at him while David’s laughter turned to a cough. They headed to the car, and arrived at the Aldridge’s mansion – all the while, Raphael had the phone to his ear.

  Eduardo greeted the guard he knew.

  “The Aldridges have left, but Miss Aldridge left a package for Agent Lambrecht with Sally.” He waved them through.

  Raphael paced around the garden with his phone while Sally led David and Eduardo upstairs to Debbie’s studio. She gave David a package wrapped in white paper with his name handwritten across the top. He undid carefully tied string as they both surveyed the studio. Sally left.

  It was a big airy room with huge windows overlooking the garden. All the cabinets and woodwork were painted white, and the floor was hardwood. The only color came from numerous paintings on the walls and stacked on tables and easels.