by Gale Deitch
Then silence.
We waited only a moment and then May made several desperate attempts to start the engine, and finally successful, our vessel roared to life and jerked forward.
Unprepared for this sudden burst, I was propelled from my bench seat by the force of gravity, and as May made a sharp left into the channel, I rolled out of the boat and into the water. Momentarily, my body sunk below and then, belted into my safety vest, bobbed to the surface. Swallowing a mouthful of water, I choked and gagged on the putrid taste of the river.
Searching for May’s boat, I saw it retreating into the distance and realized she had surged ahead, unaware of my absence. I waved my arms in the air and yelled to her, although I knew it was fruitless.
My only choice was to stay put until she realized I was gone and turned around to come back and get me. My heart raced as my thoughts went back to my near-drowning experience at summer camp. I tried to calm myself, repeating Katie’s words. “What’s the worst thing that could happen, what’s the worst thing that could happen.”
I heard the sound of movement behind me and slowly turned toward Gus’ boat that still hummed quietly nearby.
From inside, I saw his fingers reach up and grip the edge of his boat. Then his head emerged, his hair and face streaked with blood. He spotted me and, with venom in his eyes, a slow grin widened across his face.
The words repeated in my head. “What’s the worst thing….”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Well, well, well, Trudie Fine. Missed the boat?” Gus snickered at his joke then began to cough and wheeze. He spit a small glob of bloody mucus into the water and watched it float away.
I looked frantically around me to see if May’s boat, or any boat, was heading our way. But by now it was late afternoon. The sightseeing tours had ended until the evening “Monuments at Night” sailings, and other smaller boats had pulled back into their docks for the day.
“Just you and me, it seems,” he said, reading my mind. “What a shame, huh?” He anchored both hands on the edge of the boat and pulled himself up, throwing one leg over the side and straddling it; then he lifted the other leg and splashed into the water. Holding onto the boat, he dipped underwater for a moment then surfaced. He ran his hand over his face and hair, washing off some of the blood.
My heart beat out of my chest. Soon Gus would be coming for me, and I was totally helpless. Up to this point, I’d been bobbing in place. Checking to the left and the right of me, both shores were within sight, an easy swim for most. But I didn’t know how to swim, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to get very far with this life vest on. I lifted my legs to float on my back, my only ability in the water, and began to kick my legs and stroke my arms to move away from him.
“Where you think you’re going, sweetheart?” He pushed his legs against the boat and propelled himself toward me.
I kicked harder and paddled more quickly knowing there was no way I could get away from him.
He stroked toward me, caught my leg and pulled me to him. “I guess your restaurateur days are over, huh? Just like your friend Micah.” He chuckled. “I showed him, didn’t I?”
I gasped. “It was you. You killed Micah.”
“’Course I did. Tired of him taking everything away from me.”
As he put both his hands on my shoulders, I gasped in a large breath, and he pushed me below the surface. He held me under as I struggled to get loose. When I was sure I couldn’t hold my breath another second, he took his hands away and let me surface.
I took loud intakes of breath, struggling to get air into my lungs.
“How’d you like that, sweetheart? Being held down? Like she did to me all that time I worked for her trying to get ahead.” He appeared drowsy, his eyelids even closing a couple of times. He seemed to be having trouble keeping them open. I noticed more blood oozing from the side of his head.
His eyes sprang open, and he seemed dazed for a moment as if wondering where he was and what I was doing there. Then recognition sparked in his face.
“You know, you’re not easy to get rid of. You’re like a cat. Nine lives, you know? Couldn’t mow you down with my car. You even survived that fire. Like Teflon.”
I opened my mouth in surprise. The car. The fire.
“No, course I didn’t set that fire. Why would I burn down my future? Wasn’t anywhere near that fire. If I was, and if I’d known Katie was in there, I’d a’ gotten her out.”
It was Gus all along. Maybe not the fire, but Micah and the car that tried to run me down.
He shook his head. “So what’s it going to take to get rid of you, sweetheart? Well you can say goodbye to the world because this is it for you.”
As he put his hands on my shoulders again, I inhaled the largest breath I could before he plunged me down into the water. I thrashed around wildly, trying to kick him away. But he only pushed me down lower.
I exhaled a stream of bubbles and, writhing in pain, felt as if my lungs might burst. Was this really the way it was all going to end? I began to give in to it, to let it happen. Give up.
Then I thought of the things he’d told me. Somehow I had to get out of this alive to tell what I knew, what Gus had done. No, I would not give up. Trudie Fine does not give up. I reached out and grabbed his groin with both hands then squeezed as hard as I could.
He let go.
I floated up and broke the surface of the water, inhaling loud, gasping breaths. My lungs burned with the effort and felt as if they would collapse.
Through my discomfort, I heard Gus yowling and cursing as he thrashed around in the water.
My head bumped against something. The boat. It must have drifted toward us. I reached up to hold on to the fiberglass rim and began to edge myself around it. If I could put a little distance between Gus and me, it might give me some time. Time for May, or someone else, to get to me.
Hand over hand, I moved around to the front point of his boat, grabbing on to whatever ridges I could find to hang on to the smooth, white surface. When I reached the other side, I spotted the controls of the dashboard. If I could get into the boat, maybe I could figure out how to get it moving. How hard could it be? I attempted to hoist myself up, but the weight of the life vest in the water and my extreme exhaustion held me down. I could barely lift up my leg.
I heard Gus on the other side of the boat, grumbling about what he was going to do when he caught up to me.
Somehow, adrenaline kicked in, and I was able to lift myself up enough to catch the edge of the boat with my ankle. Hanging onto the ledge with my hands, I hoisted my body, legs first, up and over and flopped into the boat.
I sat stunned a moment, panting and incredulous that I’d been able to do this.
I heard Gus approaching, saw his fingers curl around the rim on the other side of the boat.
The engine still purred quietly. I just had to figure out how to get this thing moving. My eyes scanned the controls, and I tried to picture how May had driven our boat. I spotted a lever and remembered that whenever she wanted to accelerate, she moved the lever forward. Gus was struggling to get up into the boat with me, so I lunged for the lever and pushed it hard. The boat lurched forward and the motor came to life, hurtling through the water.
I tumbled backwards and landed with a thud on one of the seats.
Hopeful that Gus had lost his grip, I turned to look for him. Still hanging on, he was now making progress, his arm and leg hooked over the side. He dropped into the boat and lay there a moment.
We were speeding through the waterway, no one steering.
Lying only a few feet from me, Gus turned his head and grinned. “Got you now, sweetheart,” he mumbled. As he scuttled toward me, I peered up to see that we were quickly approaching the shore and dock. Too quickly.
There was only one choice to make.
I hurled myself over the side into the water.
I watched the boat speed toward the pier. A moment later, it hit the wood pylons, jumped into the
air and burst into flames, breaking apart in the explosion.
The loud boom resonated in my chest, and the water quaked with the fierce vibration.
Pieces of flaming debris that had shot up into the sky now dropped into the river with an eerie silence.
Numbness took over my body and mind, a sensation of nothingness as I began to shiver uncontrollably. In my stupor, I bobbed in the water examining my fingers with their prune-like wrinkles.
A moment later, the waterway and dock came alive with boats and sirens and emergency vehicles all heading to the accident scene.
Amidst it all, I thought I heard someone calling my name and spotted May and Katie approaching in their boat and looking frantic. My heart leaped in my chest and I lifted my arms high to signal them and began to yell as loud as I could. “Here! May, Katie, I’m here!”
Katie spotted me first and pointed my way.
As they headed toward me, I began to sob.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Maybelline’s looked better than ever when Daniel and I walked in for the Grand Re-Opening. The walls shimmered with a green and purple moiré effect, sparkling Mardi Gras masks hung decorously around the room and an enormous wrought iron and glass chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling.
The room buzzed with the sounds of conversation and the clinking of china and glass. A mellow jazz tune floated in the air alongside the aroma of a filet being prepared table-side. I smiled, enjoying the new ambiance of the restaurant.
Katie, now the hostess, brightened when she saw us and greeted us with big hugs. She wore a black sleeveless dress, sleek-looking even as it stretched over her growing belly.
“How are you feeling, hon?” I asked.
“Wonderful,” she said. “I’ve moved in with May. She takes good care of me. Too good. Feeds me like there was no tomorrow.”
I laughed. “I know what that’s like. I must have gained ten pounds living at May’s house.”
She looked down and put her hand over her stomach. “I think Michael here is going to be a ten-pound baby with all the food I’m eating over there.”
“Michael, huh?” I asked. “Perfect name.”
She escorted us to a table where Zach and Ally already sat, chairs pulled close, his arm slung around the back of her seat. They both stood for hugs and handshakes, Ally looking perfect as always in her red, fitted sheath dress.
Daniel held out my chair for me and pulled his close. He looked so handsome in his jacket and tie, and I linked my arm through his, inhaling the musky scent of his cologne.
“Too bad Stu couldn’t be here tonight,” I said. “He would have enjoyed this.”
“Yeah, but he was excited about getting ready for his trip to Italy. Thanks to you, Trudie, I think he’s finally going to start living his life now that he has something to look forward to.”
“Thanks to my parents. They’ll be good company on Stu’s first guided tour. He’s always wanted to travel, so hopefully, it will be the first of many.”
Peering around the room, I noticed other friends of May’s, food truck and business owners who I recognized from the memorial service. A few tables away, I spotted Alan Bernstein sitting with an attractive redhead. When he saw me, he smiled and waved.
“Not him again,” Daniel said. “Everywhere we go.”
“Of course Alan is here,” I said. “He’s May’s lawyer, and this is a special night. Look, he even brought a date.”
“Thank heaven for that.”
Yes, I thought. Thank heaven for that.
I noticed Jennifer sitting at a table in the corner involved in a serious conversation with her companion, a thin young woman with short, dark hair, and wondered who she was, friend or relative.
“I hope my grand opening is even half as successful as this,” Ally said.
“When is it?” I asked.
“Next month, before the holidays. We’re getting really close, aren’t we Zach?” She turned to him, her eyes glittering.
“Yep,” he said, his eyes locking on hers. “The interior’s almost complete, menus are being finalized.”
I gazed at the two of them, so into each other, and knew at that moment that they were definitely a couple now. Zach must have finally come to his senses and let the relationship happen.
Gina approached to take our orders wearing the new wait staff uniform, all black with Maybelline’s stitched in purple italics across the shirt pocket. She smiled at me, something I hadn’t remembered her ever doing before. “Hi, Trudie. Nice to see you.”
Her voice sounded upbeat, almost perky. Not the Gina I remembered from before.
“Great to see you, too, Gina. I’m so glad you were able to come back here to work once the restaurant re-opened.”
“Me, too. May got me temporary work with one of her friends. Kept me going while Maybelline’s was closed.” She scanned the room. “Great to be home now.”
“You seem…different, happier now,” I ventured, not wanting to offend her.
“Are you kidding? Without Gus here hitting on me and bringing us all down, it’s a different place. Everyone is happier.”
I glanced around at the other wait staff and busboys, engaged with their customers, and nodded. “Yes, I can see that.”
“Well, look over the menu. It’s changed a bit. Still great Creole food but a different chef and some new specialties,” she said, holding an order book and pen between her long, metallic blue fingernails. “We’ve got a complimentary champagne cocktail tonight. Can I get them for you?”
We nodded and watched her head for the bar, her sleek, black pony tail swaying from side to side.
When May emerged from the kitchen, resplendent in her purple and green kaftan, all eyes turned her way. I’d forgotten how stunning she was with that regal bearing, the kind of woman whose every move you wanted to watch. She made her way to our table, nodding and commenting to her guests.
May held out both hands to me and I took them. “Trudie, shuga. You’re a knockout tonight. Isn’t she, Daniel?”
He turned to me and grinned. “She’s a knockout every night, tonight especially.”
I’d worn a royal blue V-neck dress, one that Daniel had picked out for me at Charmaine’s. Now that she knew my body type, Charmaine was an expert at finding just the right clothing to play up my assets while downplaying the zaftig parts. She’d even begun keeping an eye out for me on her New York buying trips. Although, I didn’t want Daniel spending so much money on me, I must admit, this dress was one of my favorites.
Gina delivered our cocktails to the table and one for May, who picked up a spoon and clinked a water goblet for everyone’s attention. Then she held up her glass. “I’d like to make a toast. To this couple right here, Trudie and Daniel, one who made this restaurant a safer place and the other who gave us back our businesses here on U Street.”
Everyone cheered and toasted us. Daniel, not the kind of person who likes attention, reddened and peered down into his glass.
After we placed our food orders, Zach glanced at Daniel. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about those guys who were terrorizing everyone up and down the block here. What ever happened to them?”
“Well, in the case of George Benson, it really boiled down to manslaughter.”
“So does that mean they got off?”
“No, they’ll do some time. It wasn’t premeditated, but they were breaking and entering. Fact is, they’re the ones that led us to Gus. Saw him having it out with Micah in the alley right before the murder.”
Daniel put his hand around my shoulder and pulled me to him. “The day May took Trudie and Katie to scatter Micah’s ashes, we were on our way to arrest Gus. Probably missed him by a few minutes. Almost lost Trudie that day.”
“You didn’t suspect Gus before that?” Ally asked as Gina served our appetizers.
“Oh, we suspected him all right. Just didn’t have anything to pin on him yet. Almost everyone we questioned pointed to Gus as a troublemaker who didn’t get along
with anyone. We found his fingerprints on the murder weapon, along with May’s and prints from a couple of other staff. All we could do was collect the evidence and wait for him to incriminate himself.”
Thinking about Gus and that day on the river, I took another sip of my cocktail and swallowed hard. I’d had trouble sleeping, not only as I replayed his attempts to drown me that day, but also as I realized I’d been responsible for a man’s death.
“Can we change the subject?” I asked. “Let’s not spoil a pleasant evening, okay?”
“Sorry,” Zach said. “I’m the one who brought it up.”
“It’s okay. Now let’s eat, guys, before it all gets cold.” I dug into my gumbo, thick and spicy with plump pieces of sausage and chicken. In fact, all the food was even better than I’d remembered. We enjoyed the rest of the evening, chatting, enjoying our meals and each other’s company.
For dessert, Gina delivered my chocolate soufflé, which had risen high above the sides of the ramekin. She took a large spoon and broke the surface, then poured some creamy vanilla sauce into the center. As I scooped out the delicious richness and put it into my mouth, I glanced up at Daniel who was grinning at me.
“That’s the Trudie I know and love.”
I grinned back at him, enjoying my double happiness.
Please enjoy these recipes from
Fine Dining
All recipes provided by D.C. executive chef,
James Turner.
Gumbo
(Maybelline’s specialty dish)
Makes about 10 servings
Brown Roux
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups flour
Combine all ingredients in a heavy bottom sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring with wooden spoon or whisk. This may take 15-20 minutes. Mixture will turn a tan color and slowly darker, almost to the color of a penny. When finished, the roux should have a nutty smell.
