Spilled Blood
Page 15
Gavenia greeted them at the door, and there was something different about her. She still wore a long dress that covered her ankles, but instead of mourning black it was an iridescent blue, and Krystal noticed for the first time that she had blue eyes unlike her brother’s nearly black ones. There may even have been a hint of rouge on her cheeks, but most startling was the smile on her face when she greeted them.
“Please, come in,” she said enthusiastically. “We’re very pleased you came.”
She led them to the room where Krystal had pictured Padruig as a bat hanging from the ceiling. This time, the curtains were not drawn across the tall windows, which allowed light to flood inside. The antique furniture that before had appeared dull and drab, shone in the light in mellow tones of fine wood and bright, silken upholstery. There was an unmistakable lightness to the atmosphere that had been entirely absent before.
“Padruig, our guests have arrived,” announced Gavenia.
Krystal had been so absorbed in the room’s transformation that she had missed Padruig sitting in a corner at a low table across from a little girl of about ten or eleven with blond hair that fell in curls around her shoulders. Between them on the table was a checkerboard.
Padruig stood and came to greet them. He wore the same dark clothing, but his perpetually dour expression had been replaced by an actual smile, or as close as he could get to a smile. Krystal suspected all his clothes were dark and that his normally stern expression had been set for so long it would take a long time for the proper muscles for a smile to regain their elasticity. Once again, he reminded her of Ebenezer Scrooge, but on this occasion the Ebenezer Scrooge of Christmas morning.
“Thank you for coming,” said Padruig, his voice still low and raspy but with none of the old hostility. “I wanted to see you again to thank you personally for all you did for me.” He cast his eyes toward the little girl who was still seated at the table studying the checkerboard. Padruig called to her. “Won’t you come over here, dear, and meet our guests?”
The girl stood and came to them. She wore a robin’s egg blue dress and white shoes. “Hello,” she said.
Gavenia said, “This is Caitlin, our niece. She will be living with us from now on.” Gavenia beamed at the little girl who smiled shyly at them.
So, thought Krystal, this is the daughter of Jaidon and Christanna. The girl had been in the custody of Child Services after her parents were murdered and must have been handed over to Padruig and Gavenia as soon as Padruig was cleared. They were her only relatives.
They enjoyed a pleasant lunch and said their good-byes, with Padruig insisting on vigorously shaking each of their hands at the door.
In the car, Strachey said, “That little girl is going to change the lives of those two. They’re both smitten with her.”
“I think you’re right,” replied Krystal. “I wonder if Padruig’s main concern all along was for little Caitlin. I’m sure she’s brightened Gavenia’s life. She has no children of her own, and I suspect she’ll spoil Caitlin rotten.”
Strachey smiled. “It will be like being raised by doting grandparents.”
“She must remind Padruig of Christanna,” said Krystal, “the love of his life. I hope she will comfort him, bring him out of his shell.”
She was reminded of Padruig and Christanna’s ill-fated romance as boarding for her flight to Miami was announced. She heaved her bag over her shoulder and joined the queue, hoping she had made the right decision.
THE END
Afterword
Charlotte, North Carolina, is a main character in this book. It is one of my favorite cities, not least because I have dear friends there, and I would feel remiss if I didn’t say a few words about it.
After smallpox wiped out the Catawba tribe in 18th century, a wave of Scots-Irish immigration dominated the southern Piedmont region, and from a few primitive log buildings at a crossroads in the forest, in 1755, Charlotte became the “Queen City,” named after German princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg who was the Queen Consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Today the city prospers as a major financial center with the second-most banking assets after New York City.
Charlotte is now the most populous city in North Carolina and continues to grow. There are professional football and basketball teams, NASCAR racing, a major professional golf tournament, a ballet company, and a symphony orchestra.
With all its sophistication one still hears a soft “y’all” sprinkled in conversation, yet while the old families and traditions remain, they are slowly being supplanted by newcomers attracted by the business opportunities and employment, and the Southern charm of the city might be fading just a bit in the face of this onslaught of modern day carpetbaggers.
Acknowledgements
I owe a great debt of gratitude to two great writers: Jake Needham and Brendan DuBois.
Brendan literally out of the blue kindly offered to read the original manuscript and promptly suggested I cut a significant amount of verbiage. His advice? “Let the characters tell the story, let your characters carry the story along.”
Now, Brendan is an accomplished, bestselling author with hundreds of published works. He’s written science fiction, mysteries, and is a collaborator of James Patterson. Believe me, I paid attention to what he said and cut several thousand words from the original text of this book, as well as change its original title.
Brendan feared I might take umbrage at his criticism of my hallowed words. I did not, and I think the changes made for a better, more engaging story.
Jake reviewed the manuscript, too, and suggested I do a bit more proof-reading, advice I took immediately, which greatly improved the story. Jake has been a friend for a long time and his advice is always wise and well-received.
My high-school classmate, Judy Williams also offered generously of her time between globe encircling trips to proof the manuscript and thank Heaven she did. Thank you, Judy.
I also want to thank my former business partner, Hilary Coman, who is a proud Charlotte native, for introducing me to her city and sharing her knowledge of banking practices.