Decked
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Veronica nodded. “I see. I see. Perhaps I shouldn’t have kept my wonderful news till next year.”
“News?” Regan asked.
“Of course I’m going to leave Llewellyn Hall, the fifty acres immediately surrounding it, and a trust to Philip. The rest I’m giving to Saint Polycarp’s, to be used to set up the Sir Gilbert Exner Poetry Center. Dear Philip will continue to extend his magic with the flowers. And it goes without saying that he will have a lifetime professorship at Saint Polycarp’s.”
“That’s wonderful, Veronica,” Regan said as she wondered how the relatives waiting on the pier would react to this news.
Everyone stayed in the Camelot Suite, drank champagne and cheered the Statue of Liberty when they sailed into the harbor. Luke and Nora invited one and all to join them at the Tavern on the Green for brunch.
“Do they allow children?” Immaculata asked hopefully.
“Sure they do,” Luke said heartily.
Sylvie asked anxiously, “Can you put up with Violet? Her plane to Florida doesn’t leave until five.”
“She was the first one to tie Cameron Hardwick to Greece. Believe me, she’s welcome,” Regan said.
Dale turned to Kenneth. “Let’s change our flight home and stay until tomorrow.”
“Done.”
The thought of the fifty-thousand-dollar check and no nightmares about the cops ever catching up with him had transformed Gavin into a near-euphoric mood. He’d spend the rest of the day on the phone talking to all the columnists. Who knows? Maybe he’d get “Gavin’s Guests” back on the air.
NEW YORK
THEY GOT THROUGH customs in a mercifully short time. The only near catastrophe was when Veronica went to pet one of the drug-sniffing German shepherds. “Precious, precious,” she murmured as Regan yanked her hand back.
There was no mistaking the Buttacavola clan, Regan thought affectionately. They were standing directly in front of the customs gate. Mario Junior was a carbon copy of his father. Regan had seen so many pictures of Roz, Mario the Third and Concepcione that she could have picked them out of an aerial shot of Yankee Stadium.
Immaculata swooped down on the children, crushing the bouquet of roses Mario the Third was attempting to hand her. “Wait till we tell you what a hero your grandpa is,” she cried as she smothered them with kisses.
“Mommy just threw up,” Mario the Third reported as he struggled free from his grandmother’s clutches.
“Roz, are you all right?” Immaculata asked in an alarmed voice.
“Morning sickness, Grandma,” Roz bragged with an ear-to-ear smile. “Nunzio or Fortunata will arrive in time for Valentine’s Day.”
“AAAAAHHHHHH!” Immaculata’s scream of delight drowned out the sound of traffic on the West Side Highway.
It was also easy to pick out Veronica’s cousin and her two daughters. The mother was holding a sign. WELCOME, AUNT VERONICA.
“Ah, there they are, my flesh and blood,” Veronica cried as she ran to them. They all dropped into a curtsy.
It won’t do you any good, pals, Regan thought.
“Hey, Regan. Regan.” Jeff’s familiar voice made her spin around. A moment later he was sweeping her up. Over his shoulder she could see Kit’s smiling face.
“I brought you some chocolates,” Jeff said. “Somebody in first class gave them to me.”
“Thanks a lot! The last guy who gave me chocolates tried to kill me.” It was great to see the two of them.
Kit was waving a letter. “The first request for donations to Saint Polycarp’s arrived by Express Mail!”
They all clinked glasses at Tavern on the Green.
Violet Cohn, thoroughly pleased to have been right, was telling Kenneth and Dale how impossibly rude Cameron had been when he waited on them in Greece. “Can you believe I overheard him calling me an old bag?” Their looks of profound shock would have done credit to Sir Laurence Olivier.
Regan could tell that Sylvie and Milton were holding hands under the table.
Gavin was devoting himself to Nora. “When I get ‘Gavin’s Guests’ back on the air, I want you to be on the first program. Boy, will we have a lot to tell the audience.”
Luke murmured, “Nora, be sure to set the dial before you leave the house.”
Veronica turned her attention from her adoring relatives. “And I want a tape of it sent to me. Nora is so dear. Regan told me that the two of you didn’t want me worrying about working on my life story while we were on the ship. That’s so thoughtful. Well, now we have a chance to spend time together.” She raised her glass. “To a wonderful month with my relatives and friends and a safe and exciting cruise home. Regan, do you think you’d like to see me back?”
Regan gasped. “Well, I-I-I don’t know, Veronica.” “Superintendent Livingston tells me that Penelope is dying to join you in New York. Maybe you should give her a chance.”
“You’re right, Regan. The poor dear has had a dreadful time because of me . . .”
“Just one thing,” Regan added. “Wam her to leave her recipe for tasty pasties home. They’d never allow it through customs.”
About the Author
Carol Higgins Clark is the author of ten best–selling Regan Reilly mysteries. DECKED was nominated for both an Anthony and an Agatha Award for best first novel. Carol is co-author, along with her mother, Mary Higgins Clark, of four best–selling holiday mysteries. Also an actress, Carol studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and has recorded several of her mother’s works as well as her own novels. She received an AudioFile’s Earphones Award of Excellence for her reading of JINXED. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and lives in New York City. Visit her Web site at www.carolhigginsclark.com.
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