01 Untouchable - Untouchable

by Lindsay Delagair

  “And then,” Gwen interrupted. “All hell breaks loose.”

  Evan glared at them all, “If I walk out of this place right now and get blown away, I don’t want anyone to…”

  “Boy!” Giorgio snapped. “Don’t tell me what to do if someone shoots you. An eye-for-an-eye just as the Bible says…”

  “Forgiveness is what it really says,” I spoke up, knowing that was not something that was done in this family; you do not interrupt the father. Giorgio turned to me, his face flushed with anger. I figured I’d better clarify before he opened his mouth to chastise me. “I’ve already forgiven Micah for what he has to do.” That seemed to calm his father, but I had to continue. “But I couldn’t have done that if God hadn’t already shown forgiveness to me.”

  “You don’t understand these matters,” he stated, gripping my hand. “But you are a strong young woman and I truly believe you have forgiven him. I don’t think I would have your type of strength.”

  The wait staff began filing into the room, bringing in the appetizers for the first round.

  “We can talk later, right now we’re going to eat” Giorgio stated as the dishes filled the table.

  “What do you suggest I start with?” It wasn’t hard to read whose ego at the table liked being stroked the best.

  Giorgio smiled and I didn’t have to ask after that. As each course came out, he told me what I should try—absolutely fascinated that I could handle the spicier dishes. We continued on this way all the way through to dessert. I felt bad for ignoring Evan most of the time, but he kept squeezing my hand under the table to let me know I was doing well by impressing his father.

  David kept giving me nasty glances across the table, but when his father would look at him, the face would return to serene, until his father looked away.

  Gwen, who I found out was the oldest sibling, was very interesting. Evan had told me she was as corrupt as the rest of them, but I got the distinct feeling that she wanted to see her baby brother get out of the family business before it killed him.

  The table was cleared and I thanked my host for all the delicious food. Evan was rising, pulling the keys from his pocket, when Giorgio asked us to stay for a few drinks and enjoy some karaoke in the bar.

  “Dad, if I drink then she has to drive home. I don’t think Gwen has enough officers to catch us if Leese is behind the wheel.”

  “Who said you can’t have a coke?” His father laughed. “I’m enjoying your—your friend’s company.”

  It was nice to hear him refer to me as his son’s friend and not his target.

  “Would you like to sing?” Evan said turning to me.

  “Oh, no, that’s okay—I…”

  “Does she sing well?” Giorgio asked.

  “She could be a star, if she wanted to, Dad,” he replied with an enormous smile.

  “Then it’s settled. You’re singing for me, Leese.” He was leaving no room for rebuttal.

  “I don’t know what to sing for him,” I hissed at Evan as he was moving me up to the karaoke stage.

  “I know exactly what you are going to sing. Get out your iPod. Benny,” Evan yelled to the man in the karaoke booth. “Can you use music from one of these if you don’t have it in your collection? You’ll need to dub out the singers voice.”

  “Yeah, sure, I can handle that. Just show me which song.”

  He scrolled through my iPod and finally turned it toward me so I could see what he’d picked out. I had more than just Christian rock on it so I knew he could find something, but when I saw what he chose, I was stunned.

  “You want me to sing Perfect People—in a bar?” I figured he had lost his mind. “And besides that—I—I thought this song was a little on the painful side for you last time?”

  “I know my dad, Leese. He needs this song just as much as I did. Maybe someday there will be hope for my family, but it’s got to start somewhere.”

  His encouragement filled me with the desire to illuminate some minds tonight. “Okay,” I whispered, but before he walked away, I grabbed his arm and motioned him to lean his ear toward me. “The gun won’t fall out of the holster if I’m dancing around with the mic will it?” I knew I couldn’t be perfectly still when I was singing; I had to dance.

  He kissed my cheek and laughed. “No, you’re safe.”

  I took the stage as the music was ready to start and had a moment to intro my song. “This song is just to remind us that we’ve all made mistakes in our lives that scar us, but God accepts us as we are because there’s no such thing as perfect people.” I nodded and the music began. It wasn’t hard to forget where I was. It might as well have been Wednesday night youth group for all I cared. I put my all into the song, hoping and praying that he was right; someday there would be hope for his family. As the song finished I was surprised that the crowd was just as responsive as if they had been in church. They were clapping and cheering and I could see Giorgio was nodding his head and Celeste was drying her eyes.

  “That was wonderful,” Gwen was saying as I came down from the small stage. I noticed that she had my iPod in hand and was going through all the songs that I had saved. “Do you know all these songs?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “I mean the words; can you sing anything that’s on here?”

  By this point Evan was standing beside me smiling. “Pick one Gwen; she can sing it.”

  “Sing this one then,” she said turning the iPod toward me.

  I knew the words, but there was no way I was singing that song with him in the room. “I—I can’t sing that…”

  He grabbed the iPod, “Stupid Boy? That’s one I haven’t heard.”

  “You said you could sing any song on here,” Gwen continued. “Do you know the words or are you simply refusing to sing it?”

  “Can you sing it, Leese?” He was giving me an intent stare.

  “You—you won’t like it,” I mumbled, knowing it would break my heart to have him hear it.

  “Sing it for me,” he said, suddenly understanding that there was something in it that his sister wanted him to hear, and that I didn’t.

  Gwen took my arm and walked with me to the stage, but I wanted to know why. “Because,” she began, “I’ve never seen my brother in a bigger mess than this. I’m hoping when this is all over, he’ll get out of Daddy’s business, and the only way that’s gonna happen is if you keep that little bit of a conscience inside him from going back to feeling nothing.”

  “This will break his heart,” I whimpered, knowing I’d give the performance the same command as the last one. “I can’t hold back when I sing.”

  “Yeah, well guess what? That will mean he has a heart to break.”

  I gave no intro, most of the audience knew the song, but it wasn’t his kind of music.

  “She was precious like a flower, she grew wild, wild but innocent, the perfect prayer in a desperate hour. She was everything beautiful and different…” I couldn’t look at him as the haunting words filled every fiber of my body. I had to continue.

  If Gwen was right maybe he’d decide after I was gone that he simply couldn’t do this anymore. Maybe his heart would never go back to the void where it used to hide. “She laid her heart and soul right in your hands, and then you stole her every dream and crushed her plans…you stupid boy…now you’ve lost the only thing that ever made you feel alive…she loved me, she loved me. God please, just let her know I’m sorry…” When the song ended, it felt as if I had wielded a scalpel and slashed a wound right across his chest.

  The applause and cheers were wild and I could hear people shouting out requests, but I couldn’t go another step. I found the closest empty table and crumpled.

  Gwen came and sat beside me, her hand rubbing my back. “You’re even better than I thought,” she said lightly.

  I raised my head, tears in my eyes, “Where is he?”

  “He left the room for a little bit, he’ll be back. If he survives this, you’re gonna leave the ugliest scar right across th
at stupid untouchable heart of his.”

  I didn’t like the way she said, if he survives—God, let him survive this, I prayed silently.

  Celeste and Giorgio came over and sat wordlessly. For the ones in the room who knew what was happening, the song had too much meaning; the exception being David who had been entertaining himself at the bar.

  Evan came out of the men’s room about ten minutes later. He had it together, but I could tell he was keeping it that way by a thread. He made it to the table and Gwen decided it best to leave us alone.

  “Leese,” Celeste said breaking the stillness, “I was trying to find the right time to talk to the two of you, but—well it might as well be now—I got the information I needed just before I came here tonight. We need to speak privately.”

  I looked to Evan. It was what I’d been waiting to hear, but I needed to see if he was okay first.

  “Let’s go back in the banquet room.” He rose and offered me his hand.

  Once we returned to the table in the quiet calm of that room, she began.

  “Leese, do you know a Sharon Norton?”

  “Sharon? She’s one of Robert’s associates. She’s been to the house a couple times when we’d have business parties. She was always stuck up and rude to Mom and me. Why?”

  “She is the one who is behind the second hit.”

  “I barely know her,” I stated, clearly shocked that she was the threat.

  “Well, unfortunately, she knows your step-father too well. I finally found the match in the records that have charges in the same areas on the same dates.” I guess she could see I didn’t understand so she produced a few sheets of paper from her purse. “These are hotel suites that he stayed in for the last six months. Look at her charges.”

  We began comparing the lists, and there were too many times they were in the same town on the same night making charges in the same city, too many to be a coincidence. Robert was having an affair and had been having it for quite some time.

  “But this doesn’t make sense. She is only about twenty-seven, twenty-eight, and she’s a beautiful blonde. She could pick anyone, why Robert?”

  “Money. He’s the one with the access to your mother’s money.” Evan stated plainly.

  “She also made a twenty-five thousand dollar withdrawal, just one day before someone tried to shoot you at the school. There’s more,” Celeste continued. “I recently got some new documents that show he started the process for gaining power of attorney over your mother’s affairs.”

  “What! Mom is competent. He can’t just step in and start taking over her money.”

  Giorgio put his hand on mine, “Look at his charge receipts for the last few months. He has been getting prescription medication from the pharmacy, the kind of things that could make anyone seem incompetent. We’re pretty sure he’s been drugging your mother, and, if you are out of the picture, he will be granted power of attorney.”

  “Can I use all of this to get him arrested?” I asked. My body was beginning to tremble with fury. How could he do this to the woman who had loved him for sixteen years? She would have done anything for the stupid bastard if he would have just asked.

  Evan spoke before his parents could, “I think this is all circumstantial. We’re going to need something more concrete. We could talk to Gwen for a little while. She could tell us what we’d need to stick the scum-bag in jail.”

  Celeste and Giorgio stayed behind as Evan and I headed to the bar. Gwen was arguing with David, but she grew quiet as we approached.

  “I need to talk to you for a minute, Gwen.”

  She looked at him and then motioned to a nearby table.

  We had barely sat down when David sauntered over. He had consumed several cocktails and appeared to be in a very good mood. “You, Miss Leese, are one hot singer, baby.”

  I could see the anger building in Evan’s eyes. “Go away, David. You don’t want to start your crap tonight.”

  “Ah, baby brother, you’re just all pissed off ‘cause little Miss Perfect here won’t give you any.” He winked at me.

  “I’m going to knock you completely out if you don’t shut up.”

  “You know I’m right,” he continued, ignoring the danger. “If you’d just go ahead and get things done with her, you could blow her brains out no prob…”

  I saw the arm come up, but to my shock he was going for what was in his jacket.

  “NO!” I yelled, reaching to stop him.

  Gwen realized the danger and got to his arm before I did. She had some amazing strength as she grabbed with both hands and pushed his arm to his chest and held it, “Don’t do it, Micah,” she pled as she held on for dear life. “Think about Mom and Dad—and Leese. You can’t help her if you’re in jail. He’s just drunk. Ignore him.”

  He relaxed his arm slightly as David laughed.

  Gwen cut her eyes to her foolish middle brother. “Go get us some cokes, Jackass,” she ordered.

  David gave her a salute, “Yes, Sir—chief Gavarreen!” He headed back to the bar.

  “Never let him get to you, Micah. He’s your best ally when he’s sober and when the chips are down. You never know, he might find a way to help you straighten out this mess for Leese.”

  “Gwen, your mom has this figured out, but you’ve got to tell us what kind of evidence we need to prove what’s going on and get my step-father put in prison.”

  We spent the next few minutes discussing what we knew was happening. By the time we were ready for her to explain what we needed to make the evidence stick, David had returned to the table with the drinks.

  “Okay, hard liquor all around,” he laughed. “Nah, I forgot this is the goody-two-shoes group—just cokes.” He placed the glasses in front of us and sat down with another cocktail for himself.

  “You’ve got to record him admitting to setting this up. We could have D’Angelo send someone to tell him there is a problem with the plan to kill Leese. Tell him she got away, anything to get him talking. If we can have Mom figure out what account he got the hit money from, then that would be a big nail in the coffin. As far as this woman goes, we’ve got some good evidence with her withdrawal, but we need to know who she hired. Maybe Daddy could call in a few favors.”

  “I don’t think D’Angelo is going to cooperate. He gave me a lot of warning when I took this job, and he’s been pretty edgy since I told him I’ve got her.”

  “I coouldd go, bro,” David laughed at his slip of the tongue. “I’d beat the confession out of him!”

  “That’s not the right way to get a confession, bozo,” Gwen stated, then went back to ignoring him.

  We talked for another few minutes, but it was getting late and David was getting drunker so, for safety’s sake, we said good-night to his family and headed for the car.

  “Wow, is it warm out tonight or what?” I said unzipping my hoodie.

  “Leese!” He scolded, “Don’t take that off.” Then he made a little gun with his fingers and reminded me why I couldn’t.

  We climbed into the Corvette and started the journey home, but I was so warm and uncomfortable, I couldn’t stand it. I had turned his air conditioner on full blast, but I still felt like I was cooking from the inside out. “I’ve got to take this off,” I whined.

  “Yeah, put it on the floor by your feet. Unclasp the holster from your skirt and lay it down there with the jacket.”

  I obeyed but my hands felt clumsy as I fumbled with the clips and buckles.

  His cell phone went off and scared us both. He answered and all he said was, “WHAT!” A string of obscenities followed as he pulled the car off the road into the grass. He snapped the phone shut and got out and ran around to my side of the car, jerking me out.

  “What are you…”

  “Leese, listen to me, you’ve got to throw-up! Do it now! David put something in your coke. Stick your finger down your throat and puke. DO IT NOW!”

  He was forcing me to my knees, and all I could smell was exhaust, grass and dirt. My h
ands still weren’t operating correctly, but I finally managed to get my finger down my throat and gag, over and over until the contents of my stomach rolled forward and spilt on the ground.

  “Do it again,” he ordered.

  I got to a point where I had the dry heaves and he lifted me up and placed me in the car.

  “Why did he do this to me?” I began to cry. I dug in my purse for a tissue and a mint. My mouth tasted awful and my throat added to the still smoldering feeling that was working its way through me. “I still don’t feel very well—maybe I need to go to the hospital.” The strangest sensations and emotions were pelting my brain.

  He wasn’t talking, but I did happen to glance at our speed and we were holding around a hundred miles per hour on the interstate. “Slow down, please, please, please—I don’t want you to get pulled over.”

  I watched it decrease, ninety, eighty-five, eighty and then it stopped going down. “Please say something,” I begged, my hand clutching his arm. I began to smell the cologne he was wearing, the feel of his muscles under his clothes. My free hand splayed across that broad chest feeling the rapid beat of his heart as he drove. I was becoming incensed at the idea that I couldn’t get past his shirt to feel his skin. My fingers struggled against his buttons, managing one and then his hand came up and stopped me.

  “I’ll get you home, you’ll be fine.” His voice was soft and warm, like someone was wrapping me in a downy soft blanket.

  “I don’t feel right; I feel strange and warm. What did he do to me?” I knew that I wouldn’t be able to understand him in a little while as my mind seemed to be drifting away. I struggled to keep focused.

  “He put a drug in your drink, a strong drug that will make you do things—things someone like you would never do. He must have given you a hell of a lot of it, too. I can’t believe it’s still working on you.”

  He turned down the drive and made his way back to the house. I was still so warm, like I had been in the Jacuzzi for a very long time. He opened the car door and began walking me toward the patio, but the stilettos were making it impossible to keep going.

  “Let me sit down and take these off. You unlock the door.”