Slumbered to Death

by Vanessa Gray Bartal

  “I’m going to do it. I’m going to find someone, ask them who Edmond Hankins was having an affair with, and come back with that information,” Luke said.

  “Go ahead. Take your time.” She leaned forward and switched the radio on. He knew her well enough to understand the gesture meant she was waiting patiently for him to fail.

  He marched into the building and stopped short in front of the reception desk.

  The receptionist looked up with a smile. “May I help you?”

  Now that he was here, following through on his plan seemed ridiculous. Still, he had to or face Sadie’s ridicule. “I was wondering if you could tell me who Edmond Hankins is having an affair with.”

  The woman picked up the phone. “I’m calling security.”

  “No, wait, please.” Her hand hovered in midair. Luke wracked his brain. What would Sadie do? The woman was plump and middle-aged. She reminded him of his mom; could he appeal to her maternal nature? “There’s this woman.” The hand holding the phone inched closer to the receiver. “She’s beautiful, and smart, and amazing, and she is always right. I mean always. For twenty eight years, I’ve been wrong, and I just want to get one thing right, just this one thing. Please, I promised her I would find out who Edmond Hankins is having an affair with, and if I go back to that car empty handed, it will be one more failure in a life list of failures, and I’m tired of always letting her down. Please.”

  “Is she a reporter?”

  “Not anymore. She got fired for flashing the audience. It was an accident. She’s a private investigator now, and she’s trying to find Edmond Hankins.”

  She replaced the phone in the receiver. “It was the boss’s wife, Shelly Knowles. Edmond wasn’t fired, but it was strongly suggested that he quit. He did, and no one has seen him or Shelly since.”

  Luke clasped his hands together. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  “Must be a special girl if she keeps you on your toes this way,” the receptionist observed.

  “There’s no one like her,” Luke said. He bestowed another smile of gratitude and let himself out.

  Sadie saw him coming and turned off the radio. He didn’t think he wore a smug expression, but she knew him too well. “No way,” she said as soon as he opened the door.

  “Edmond Hankins and Shelly Knowles, the boss’s wife,” he said.

  “That’s amazing. Are you sure you walked in and told the truth?”

  “The truth and nothing but,” he said.

  “So you walked in and said, ‘I need to know about Edmond Hankins’ and someone told you everything, just like that.”

  “I had to do a little convincing,” he said. “But I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

  “That’s amazing.” She reached over and hugged his neck, pressing her cheek to his. “Luke, I’m so impressed by you.”

  He returned her hug on autopilot, but his brain clicked on at first touch. He had dated a few women, but no one felt like Sadie in his arms. Why was that?

  Sadie was having similar thoughts. Of all the men she had known, Luke was turning out to be the biggest challenge. How was that possible? She had briefly dated a racecar driver who broke up with three other women to be with her. There was a business mogul who had relocated his entire staff from London to be closer to her. And now her old neighbor, the boy she had taught to bait a hook, was the holdout. Maybe it was because she hadn’t really cared about the others. She had been intent on winning them, willing to do whatever it took to conquer. As soon as the challenge was over, the novelty wore off and the relationships had withered. But with Luke, she already had a relationship, and she cared about him, too much to want to win him at all costs.

  How was she to proceed when she had no idea what to do? She closed her eyes and hugged tighter. As scary as it was for her to admit, she thought she was ready for forever with him. Luke was the one person she could wholeheartedly trust, the one person with whom she felt certain not to repeat her parents’ marriage. But he didn’t even want right now with her, to say nothing of forever. He had placed barriers between them, barriers she had no idea how to overcome. Sadie felt like all her mistakes had come home to roost. All her bad choices were balled up and sitting in front of her in the form of Luke. She had made mistakes; she had behaved badly; she had hurt people, and now she was getting her comeuppance because the one person whose trust and forgiveness she wanted the most wouldn’t or couldn’t give it. And there was nothing she could do about it, nothing. If she pushed him, she could lose him forever, and waiting patiently had never been her strong suit. She was much more comfortable taking matters into her own hands and forcing a solution. Wait, just wait, she coaxed herself.

  “Sadie, you’re so soft,” Luke whispered as his hand passed over her hair. Sadie smiled. Luke was not suave. He was barely a few steps from being awkward, but endearingly so. “And the smell.”

  “What smell?”

  “You. You smell.”

  She shoved away and looked up. “I smell?”

  “Good, you smell good. No, not good, you smell like…like…I don’t even know.” He shoved his fingers through his hair and itched his scalp in frustration. “All the time. You smell good and look good and feel good. I have a girlfriend. A girlfriend! Do you know how long it took for me to be able to say that? And then you come back with your curls and your smell, and I…”

  A man on the ropes was something Sadie knew how to handle. She pulled back and patted his arm. “You’re freaking out over nothing. We’re friends, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re allowed to have friends, even when you have a girlfriend, right?”

  “Right.”

  “See? There’s no problem. We’re friends. You have a girlfriend. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. Cheer up.”

  Now he was the one who looked confused as he turned her words over in his head, searching for holes. Sadie let him stew a minute.

  “I mean, unless you think we’re more than friends. Is that what you’re trying to tell me, Luke?” She bit her lip and waited.

  The hand went back in his hair. “I…I mean, you and I, we…” He forced a deep breath and gathered his composure, dropping his hand to his lap. “No, we’re friends and nothing more.”

  Sadie turned and put her hand on the ignition. “That’s what I thought.” She started the car and drove out of the parking lot. The ride home was oppressively silent. “I need to do some work in my room,” Sadie announced when they arrived home.

  “So do I. My room, I mean,” Luke said. He looked and sounded drained and exhausted as he rolled out of the car and gathered his gigantic bag of books. Inside the house, they went their separate ways, she to her room, and he to his.

  Once inside her room, Sadie turned on the computer and stared. She had no idea how to find Shelly Knowles. BMV records? Possibly, but she had no idea how to tap them. She stared at the computer a while, trying to figure out if she had any reliable connections at the BMV, and then she decided to try Google. She typed in “Shelly Knowles, Atwood, Virginia,” and found over a hundred thousand hits. The first was Shelly’s old address because it also listed a Forrest Knowles. The second hit was the winner. The address was only a few months old, and Shelly was listed by herself. Sadie called the number and a man answered. She didn’t ask for Edmond, preferring to use the aspect of surprise tomorrow instead.

  She set down her phone and picked it up when it rang again. “Sadie, this is Ben, Ben White. I’m checking in to see how you’re progressing, not because I doubt you, but because I’m so anxious to find closure.”

  “Actually, this is perfect timing because I was just going to call you. I think I found Edmond Hankins. I’m going to go over first thing tomorrow and make sure it’s him, and then we can cross him off our list.”

  “Can I go with you?” Ben asked.

  Sadie paused. She hadn’t considered taking Ben and she had to realign her mental processes.

  “I don’t want to interfere
; it’s just that I have a few questions for him myself. I want to make sure he has no part in any of the weird stuff that’s been happening to me, and I don’t want you to go alone. From what I remember of Ed, he wasn’t exactly kind. I would feel more secure if I were there to protect you.”

  “I can’t stop you from going, Ben. You’re my client, and you have every right. But I know how much finding answers means to you. If you go, I need your assurance that you’ll remain calm and let me do the talking.” What made her most nervous was that Ben would go off the deep end and start pummeling Edmond Hankins for answers he probably didn’t have. So far Sadie had found nothing that might tie the two men together, despite being in the same army unit. If Ben believed something else, he might be hard to control.

  “I would never hurt anyone,” Ben said, sounding more than a little wounded. “I got out of the army because I was tired of hurting people. I certainly don’t want to hurt anyone now. I want to ask a few questions, and I want to make sure this job isn’t putting you in any danger. You’re beautiful and petite, and there are some men who prey on that combination.”

  “I’m sorry if I offended you. Of course you can go with me, and I trust you to handle yourself perfectly. I just like to dot my I’s and cross my T’s on every job.” She bit her lip, waiting for him to respond. How much damage had she done to his ego by doubting his ability to control his temper?

  He chuckled and she breathed a sigh of relief. “What you’re really saying is that you’re a control freak, but that’s okay because I am, too. I admire perfectionism, especially when it comes to a job. What time should I pick you up tomorrow?”

  She named a time and they disconnected. Now what? Sadie thought. She was tempted to go to the Hankins residence now and have done with it, but she didn’t feel like calling Ben back to reschedule. Getting a fresh start in the morning was probably for the best because she was wiped out, but still the evening stretched before her, a vast array of awkwardness with Luke. If only Abby didn’t have her tai chi class tonight. With Hal working, Sadie and Luke were stuck together.

  Sadie poked her head out the door. The hallway was silent and empty. “Luke, I’m going to Gideon’s,” she called. “There’s some leftover lasagna in the fridge.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Luke called. Was it her imagination, or did he sound relieved?

  Sadie left the house with dragging steps. She had already checked on Gideon once that day, and he told her not to come back. She could only imagine the reception a second appearance would get. But when she knocked and unlocked the door, she heard laughter. The sound was so unusual in her father’s house that she stuck her head back outside and checked the driveway. Mary’s car was there. How had she missed that before? You’re off your game, Cooper, she chided.

  “Sadie!” Mary called, smiling at Sadie as she entered the room. Sadie hadn’t received such a warm welcome at her father’s house since her mother died. The contrast caused her heart to ping painfully.

  “Hi, Mary. Dad, how are you?”

  “I’m okay,” he said, exasperation and impatience mingling in his tone.

  “He’s in pain, and the stitches are starting to itch,” Mary said.

  “Mary,” Gideon admonished.

  “What, Gideon? Why is that classified information? She’s your daughter and she wants to take care of you. Most people should be so lucky.” His scowl deepened, but he didn’t comment. Mary turned her attention to Sadie. “Have you eaten? Supper’s on the stove. Help yourself.”

  Sadie went into the kitchen, trying hard to quash her bubble of resentment. She liked Mary, liked her very much. She approved of her interest in Gideon. Why did it hurt to see them together? Was it because Gideon and Victoria had never seemed so happy or was it because Gideon was warmer to Mary than he was to Sadie? Whatever the reason, the feeling was ridiculous and one that Sadie vowed to overcome. She wanted Gideon to find someone who had a chance of making him happy. She wanted Mary to be happy. She wanted to have a peaceful, mature relationship with her father. As far as Sadie could tell, Mary might be the key to making that happen.

  By the time she returned to the living room, she had banished her immature jealousy and she was smiling. “What were you guys talking about when I came in? It sounded like a party.”

  “We were reliving old times,” Mary said. “Did your dad ever tell you about the time one of the rookies almost shot him?”

  “No,” Sadie said, settling into the recliner as she prepared for a good yarn.

  “You make it sound worse than it was,” Gideon groused.

  “I haven’t made it sound like anything at all because I haven’t told the story yet. Hush. Anyway, Sadie, your dad was in his office when one of the new recruits decided to put on a show. He thought he was some sort of sharp shooter and had brought in one of his personal revolvers. So he loaded the gun, spun the barrel, clicked it into place and BLAM! It went off, shot through a wall, and lodged in your dad’s filing cabinet, a mere three inches from his head.”

  “What did you do, Dad?” Sadie said. She couldn’t believe her dad had never told her such a harrowing near-death story before. How many others had he been keeping from her over the years?

  When Gideon didn’t reply, Mary answered. “He marched out of the office to dead silence. Everyone was staring at him. The little pipsqueak in question stood quaking in his boots, the gun dangling limply from his hand. Gideon took the gun, dumped the bullets into his hand, shoved one in the guy’s front shirt pocket and said, ‘I’ll tell you when you can put it back in, Barney Fife.’ And that was the end of that.”

  “Oh, Dad,” Sadie said, laughing. The same sort of cool detachment and perfectionism that made her dad a not-so-warm father had probably made him an excellent police chief.

  “That was one of hundreds of stories I could tell you. It seemed like there was always some mini-crisis there, some fire for Gideon to put out, and he did it better than anyone. The place hasn’t been the same since he left. Everyone misses him.” Realizing she may have revealed too much, Mary buried her head in her food, tucking in to her chicken pot pie with relish.

  “This pie is amazing, Mary. I had no idea you could cook like this,” Sadie said.

  “It is good,” Gideon agreed, which was so surprising that Mary and Sadie looked up at him. “What? I can say nice things. You’re also the best secretary I ever had, and the only one I didn’t want to hit upside the head with a board.”

  Mary’s cheeks were definitely glowing now, and Gideon looked a little flushed, too. Sadie decided it was time for a rescue. “Anything in your compliment bag for me, Dad?”

  “You’ve been less trouble than I expected since you came back, daughter,” Gideon said. “Keep the status quo.”

  “Inspiring words, Dad. Thanks.”

  “Well, I have words for Sadie,” Mary said. “You’ve grown into a beautiful young woman, not just outside but in, as well. You’re smart and capable and spirited. Victoria would have been proud. Any parent should be.” She raised her water glass to Sadie and took a sip.

  “Oh, yeah, Victoria was proud of her creation, all right,” Gideon muttered.

  “Gideon, she’s gone. Let her rest in peace,” Mary said.

  Sadie held her breath. Even this many years after her death, her mom was still a touchy subject for her dad. Usually any mention from Sadie was enough to earn an explosion from him. Now he took a breath, changed his mind, and let it out with a whoosh. “Probably right,” he said. “Let’s watch the news.” He reached for the remote and Sadie bit back a retort. How much news did one person need? Her dad usually had it blaring all day. The visit with Mary was probably the longest he had gone without watching in years.

  Mary gave Sadie a look. Sadie wasn’t sure what it was supposed to mean. Was she saying that Gideon needed the emotional reprieve the television provided? Was his life so hard that he had to drown it in news coverage to survive? She would never understand her father, never. Even with Mary as a guide, Gideon was a b
affling mystery. Two women who cared about him sat a few feet away, and yet he preferred the company of reporters he didn’t know. Nonetheless, she sat and watched the news cycle repeat itself for ninety minutes before she gave up and went home.

  “I’ll walk out with you,” Mary said. “See you, Gideon.”

  “See you,” Gideon murmured without tearing his attention from the TV.

  “How do you stand it?” Sadie whispered once they were free and clear of the house. “He would rather watch that stupid box than interact with either of us.”

  “It’s hard to see him like that,” Mary said.