“What is it?” Dean said.
“It’s Dad,” I explained. “Looks like another heart attack. He’s in the emergency room. I have to get over there right now.”
“Wait,” Dean said. “I’ll drive you. We can get there quicker with the lights and siren.”
Dean and I hurried to the garage and slid into a cruiser. Dean pulled out onto the street and turned on the flashing lights and hit the siren. We made it to the hospital in six minutes. Dean parked the cruiser while I ran into the emergency room and asked for Doctor Samuels. The nurse picked up the desk phone and paged the doctor and in just a few seconds, he appeared from somewhere down a long hallway.
Gloria had slipped Dad’s keys back into his pants pocket before she’d had him wheeled inside. She slipped away before Elliott had arrived. She caught a cab and took it back to her place. I had told her not to leave her name at the hospital and not to let Elliott know where my attack had taken place. She reluctantly agreed and went back to her house to wait until she heard anything further on my condition.
The next morning I lay in my own room, resting after a stressful night. As I opened my eyes, I saw Elliott standing over me. He was rubbing my hand and his eyes were closed. I squeezed his hand and he opened his eyes to look at me.
“Dad,” he said. “Are you all right? What happened to you last night?”
“I’m doing okay,” I said, lying through my teeth.
“How did this happen?” Elliott said. “What were you doing?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I was just trying to move a few things around in the garage and I could feel the pain in my arm coming on, so I drove myself here and checked in. That’s all. No big deal.”
“No big deal?” Elliott said. “That’s not what the doctor told me. He said you were lucky to come in when you did. A few more minutes and you’d have died. You really have to take it easier. No more heavy lifting or anything strenuous, do you hear me? I mean it.” Elliott’s brow furrowed while he worked something out in his mind. “Hey, wait a minute,” he said. “When you left Dean’s office, you said you had a date.”
“I didn’t say I had a date,” I told Elliott. “You said I had a date.”
“And you didn’t deny it,” Elliott said. “Is that what was going on when this happened?”
Elliott had caught me completely off guard and I couldn’t come up with a quick answer. “I, uh…”
“I uh is right,” Elliott said. “You were overworking your heart muscle, not to mention some other muscle, weren’t you?”
“Stay out of it,” I insisted. “It’s none of your business.”
“It becomes my business if it threatens your life,” Elliott said.
“I’ll be out of here in a day or two,” I said. “And we can get back to work on that Bellamy shooting. How’s that going anyway?”
“Never mind the Bellamy shooting,” Elliott said. “And don’t try to change the subject. You will have to recuperate at home again. This time the doctor says you’ll need to remain quiet and rested for maybe six months. More, if you don’t behave. Really, Dad, you’re like a little kid. I have to keep an eye on you twenty-four hours a day.”
“But what about the business?” I said.
“I can handle the business,” Elliott said. “Don’t you worry about the business. You just worry about getting better.”
“You can’t do it all by yourself,” I said. “You’ll need some help.”
Elliott thought about that for a moment and then added, “I can always call Gloria to come back for a while and help out. She knows the business and she’s probably still doing nothing at home, living off her insurance money. That can’t last forever and she’d be glad to have something to do. I’ll call her later.”
“Call her now, would you?” I said. “I just want to make sure she’s available.” I couldn’t tell Elliott the real reason I wanted him to call her.
“You’re probably right,” Elliott said. “Besides, if she knew you were here, she’d want to visit. Hang on while I try her number.”
Elliott pulled his cell phone from his pocket and opened the Contacts page, scrolling down to Gloria’s number. He hit the speed dial button and listened. “Hello?” he said. “Gloria? This is Elliott Cooper. Remember me? Yes, I’m fine. And you? Listen, the reason I’m calling is to ask if you’re available for some more work with the company. I’m going to need you for a few months. Dad’s had another heart attack and he’ll be off of work for a few months at least. Wait a minute, I’ll ask him.”
Elliott pressed the phone to his chest and turned to me. “She wants to know if it would be all right if she came here to see you.”
I nodded but said nothing to give my feelings away.
Elliott put the phone back to his ear. “That would be all right,” he said. “You’ll have to keep it brief. He still needs a lot of rest. Sure, he’s in room…” Elliott stopped and stepped out of the room briefly to look at the number on the door and then stepped back inside. “He’s in room 307 at the end of the hall. I have to get back to the office, but you can come by here anytime this morning. Yes, and thanks for your help with the business. I can’t tell you for sure how long we’ll need you, but thanks again.”
Elliott hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket. “Gloria says she’ll try to stop by here sometime this morning. I have a few things to take care of at the office, but I’ll be back this afternoon. Do you need anything while I’m out?”
I pulled the drawer open on the small cart next to my bed and retrieved my car keys. I tossed them to Elliott. “Could you make sure my car gets back to my house before someone tows it or steals it?”
“Sure,” Elliott said. “I’ll take care of that a little later, when Gloria comes by the office. We’ll come by here and pick it up then, okay?”
“Thanks, Elliott,” I said and closed my eyes.
“You get some rest now,” Elliott said. “I’ll see you later.”
He left my room and I opened my eyes again, not really tired. It was just a way to get him to leave. I didn’t think it would be a good idea for him to still be here when Gloria arrived. I was sure he might catch us looking at each other a certain way and start to put the whole thing together. Now he may never have to know about us.
It was ten-fifteen when my door opened and Gloria poked her head in. “All right if I come in?” she said.
I smiled broadly and nodded. Gloria stepped up to my bedside and held my hand. The machine next to me that had been steadily beeping out my heart rate suddenly started beeping more rapidly and Gloria quickly released my hand and stepped back.
I turned my head and looked at the machine’s display. My heart rate was dropping back down into the normal range again.
“I’m sorry,” Gloria said, slipping her hands into her pockets.
“Don’t be,” I said. “This isn’t your fault. You can’t help being the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Maybe not,” Gloria said. “But if we hadn’t… I mean, if you wouldn’t have… Oh hell, there’s no getting around this thing. If we try to keep going like we have been, you’re going to die and I don’t want to be the one responsible for that.”
A tear rolled down the side of my face as I lay there. “I might as well die if we can’t be together anymore,” I said. “Where’s the quality of my life without you?”
Gloria shook her head. “No, Clay,” she said. “I can’t do this anymore, knowing what might happen to you if I do. I don’t like this any better than you do, but I won’t put you at risk again. I’m sorry. I love you, but I’m sorry. It’s for your own good.”
Now she was crying as well. Gloria wiped her eyes and then bent down to kiss my forehead. The heart monitor’s beeping began to increase and she quickly stepped back and blew me a kiss before hurrying out of the room.
I laid there, both cheeks now soaked with my tears. My heart was killing me; not from the attack, but from the hole Gloria had just left in it.
I hoped I would just go quietly in my sleep tonight. What was left for me now? A few minutes later I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember was opening my eyes and looking up at Dean and Elliott standing over my bed.
“What time is it?” I said.
Dean looked down at his watch. “A little after three,” he said. “How are you doing, buddy? They tell me this was a close one.”
I sighed heavily. “All right, I guess, all things considered.”
“Hey,” Dean said. “You ought to count your lucky stars and be thankful I’m not Andy Reynolds. When he stands over you, it’s all over.”
He was probably right. Having the county medical examiner standing over you is the last thing I’d want, and would probably be the last thing I’d ever get before they lowered me in the ground and threw the dirt on top of me.
Elliott stepped up to my bedside. “Did Gloria stop by?” he said.
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said. “She stopped in for a couple of minutes but had to leave again. Did you ask her about helping you out again while I’m laid up?”
“Yes,” Elliott said. “She’ll be in tomorrow morning. How about you? Are you feeling any better?”
“I suppose,” I said. “I’m sure not looking forward to another boring three months at home watching the grass grow.”
“Sorry, Dad,” Elliott said. “I just came from the doctor. He tells me it could be as much as six months this time and you’d better really take it easy, too. I mean it, Dad. No exerting yourself, no undue stress or excitement and no work at all during that time. Are we clear here, Dad?”
“Clear as mud,” I said.
Elliott gave me a look that said he didn’t believe me.
“Dean?” I said, turning to my best friend. “Could I ask you for a favor?”
“Anything, pal,” he said. “What is it you’d like from me?”
“Just shoot me now, would you?” I said. “Put me out of my misery and let’s get this thing over with.”
Dean reached into his coat and laid his hand on the butt of his revolver. He winked at me and then withdrew his hand again. “I think I’ll have to pass on that request, Clay,” Dean said. “My captain frowns on his lieutenants committing murder.”
“Mercy killing,” I said. “It’s not murder if I ask you to do it, is it?”
“At least you still have your sense of humor,” Elliott said.
There was a long lull in the conversation and then I said, “So whatever happened with that Bellamy character?”
Dean pulled a notepad from his pocket, flipped it open to the last few pages and read to me. “Lester Bellamy, 41, from Van Nuys originally. Last known address…”
“You can skip all that preliminary crap,” I said. “Get to the good stuff.”
Dean flipped another page over and continued. “Ballistics matched up the slugs from the first two shooting victims to Bellamy’s revolver. We couldn’t match up the third, since it went all the way through his head and disintegrated against a brick wall. Chances are all three were connected, though.”
“How so?” I said.
“They sent Bellamy up for a liquor store holdup seven years ago,” Dean said. “The three victims, Edgar Polton, Bradley ‘Brick’ Thurman and Henry Mancini were all in on that holdup but only Bellamy and Polton got caught. Thurman and Mancini got away clean. Well, almost clean, considering how they ended up. The district attorney cut Polton a deal and he turned state’s evidence on Bellamy for immunity and he walked.”
“Well when did Bellamy get out?” I said.
“About two months ago,” Dean said. “Just about the time of the first killing. Bellamy’s been a busy boy, hunting down the other two and exacting his revenge.”
“So it wasn’t a vigilante, like we originally suspected,” Elliott said. “Just four pillars of society getting thinned out of the herd. All in all, I’d say this whole episode has a happy ending, wouldn’t you, Dad?”
“Yeah, that’s great,” I said. I couldn’t smile, despite the fact that the world was a better place without Polton, Bellamy, Thurman and Mancini in it. My heart was still aching for Gloria and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.
“Thanks for your help,” Dean said. “Both of you, I mean it.”
“Our bill will be in the mail to you in the morning,” I said. “Any chance of a bonus?”
“You mean like a box of donuts?” Dean said.
“Skip the donuts,” Elliott said. “The doctor’s got you on a strict diet for the next six months. You’re going to have to forget about fried foods, fatty foods, most sweets and carbs. You’re going to have to drop thirty pounds and take a few inches off your waistline.”
I scrunched up my face at the thought of carrots and salads and low calorie meals. Diet soda and heart healthy food would make up the lion’s share of my intake for the next six months and the thought of that was almost enough to make me want to eat something else—my gun.
“We’re going to get out of here and let you rest some more,” Elliott said. “I’m going to get that same woman I used before to stay with you while I’m at work. We’ll get through this thing all right if you’ll just cooperate and do what the doctor tells you.”
“All right, all right,” I said. “I’ll do it. Are you happy now?”
Elliott and Dean both smiled. “Very,” Elliott said. “I’ll look in on you again tomorrow. The doctor says I can take you home on Friday.”
“We’ll see you later, Clay,” Dean said, as he and Elliott left the room.
I laid my head to one side and looked at the heart monitor machine. It beeped out a steady rhythm and I thought how boring that was. I lifted my hand, the one that Gloria had been rubbing, and held it to my nose. The aroma of her perfume filled my nose and erotic thoughts rushed into my head. The heart monitor’s beeping rate increased slightly and I had to lay my hand back down at my side. I could beat this, I thought, if only I could keep Gloria out of my thoughts.
Friday morning came and so did Elliott. He showed up at my door pushing a wheel chair. I was already out of bed, dressed and sitting in the chair next to the bed.
“You ready to go home?” Elliott said.
“I am,” I said, rising from the chair and turning around to sit in the wheelchair. I really didn’t need it to get around, but hospital policy insisted that I at least ride it to their front door. After that I was on my own. Elliott opened the passenger side door of his car and I slid in. Elliott returned the wheelchair to the lobby and slid in behind the wheel of his Toyota. As we rode toward my house, I turned the car radio on and began pressing the preset buttons. I stopped when I recognized Andy Williams’ velvet voice singing Moon River. I stopped pressing buttons and sat back to listen.
“Now that Mancini could write,” I said, enjoying the music.
Elliott brought me home and walked with me into my living room. Mrs. Chandler, the woman who’d stayed with me during my last recuperation, was waiting for us.
“Well, Mr. Cooper,” she said when she saw me. “I understand we’ll be spending some more time together.”
“Sounds like it,” I said.
“You understand, of course, that this means I’ll have a chance to win back some of the money to you took from me,” she said.
“You took her money?” Elliott said.
Mrs. Chandler nodded and pulled a notepad from her purse. “Pinochle,” she said. “This card shark still has a hundred and sixty of my pennies and I want a chance to win them back.”
Elliott suppressed a laugh and then looked at me. “I didn’t know you played pinochle,” he said. “I thought you were strictly a poker man.”
“I didn’t even know how to play it until she taught me,” I said, gesturing toward Mrs. Chandler. I turned back to Elliott. “Can you stay a while?”
“I don’t think so, Dad,” Elliott said. “I have to get back to the office. Gloria’s waiting for me. I think we may have another case to follow up on. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Say hi to her for me,” I said, getting a mental picture of Gloria.
“I will,” Elliott said. “Catch you later, Dad.”
As Elliott drove off I could hear the sounds of shuffling cards coming from the dining room table and I knew I was in for some serious pinochle.
Somebody just shoot me, I thought.
Elliott parked in the lot behind his building and rode the elevator to the third floor. Down at the end of the hall he could see a woman standing outside his office. As he got closer, he recognized Gloria Campbell. She looked a little impatient.
“What are you doing standing out here?” Elliott said.
Gloria shrugged and spread her hands. “No key, remember?” she said. “I gave mine back to you after I left last time.”
“Oh yeah,” Elliott said. “I’m sorry, I forgot.” He opened the office door, hung up his jacket and fished his key ring out of the pocket. He pulled the extra office key off the ring and handed it to Gloria. “Here you go. Welcome back. You ready to get back to work?”
“You bet,” Gloria said. “I need something to keep my mind off the last few months.”
“Pretty boring just sitting home every day, wasn’t it,” Elliott said.
“Something like that,” Gloria said, sitting at Clay’s desk and almost being able to feel his presence.
65 - Reese’s Peace
“Gloria,” I said as I settled into the chair behind my desk, “How about if we spend your first morning back here just talking for a while?”
“Sure, Elliott,” Gloria said, leaving her chair and sitting across from my desk. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to talk about?”
I shook my head. “Not really,” I said. “I just thought we could kind of get reacquainted and just talk a little about the business, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind,” Gloria said, crossing one leg over the other. “Go ahead; tell me what’s on your mind.”
I shrugged and spread my hands. “Oh, I don’t know,” I said, stalling for time. “Let’s take a little thing like coming in here in the morning. Although we both start out with the best of intentions as far as getting here on time, sometimes things happen that prevent either one of us from being able to do that.”
The Complete Cooper Collection (All 97 Stories) Page 186