The Paradoxical Parent (A Nick Williams Mystery Book 13)

by Frank W. Butterfield

  "As a favor for me."

  Kenneth thought for a moment and then carefully asked, "Who are the Democrats going to run for President in 1956?"

  "My guess is either Kefauver or that egghead Stevenson. You think either of them stand a chance against Ike?" He grinned. "No, Mr. Dixon, I feel very secure in my job. Hell, I could be U.S. Attorney until 1969, if I wanted to."

  "'69?" I asked.

  "Sure. Ike is out in 1960. Nixon runs and he's in for another eight years. Trust me, Mr. Williams, this country is going to be solid Republican for many years to come. The New Deal is over. Out with the old and in with the new." He seemed as cocky as he'd been when he thought it was a good idea to meet his mistress at the Senator Hotel in Sacramento. I wasn't sure he was right about what he'd said, but I didn't really follow politics much.

  I shrugged. "That's fine. But let me think about hiring Joseph Abati."

  Higginbotham nodded. "You do that, Mr. Williams. And, while you're doing that, remember that American citizens are free to act as mercenaries as long as they don't do so as an agent against the United States. But, I do have an order of extradition to the United Kingdom sitting on my desk right now. It's got your name on it."

  Kenneth started but didn't say anything.

  Higginbotham continued, "I've convinced Judge Kellerson to ignore it for the time being, but I could change my mind. And, if I did, then you, Mr. Jones, and a Captain Daniel O'Reilly will be sent to London to face trial for mercenary activity and other charges related to your dealings in Hong Kong. I'll also be seeking the deportation of one John Murphy back to Ireland as well as a couple of kids who are wanted in Australia for questioning regarding some unusual murders and the odd matter of breaking and entering, but leaving gold ingots behind." He laughed and looked at me with a grin. "I want to know the story but, then again, I don't," He took a long last drink of his coffee and then wiped his mouth. "Of course, I'd rather not do any of that. And, I know for a fact that Judge Kellerson would really rather not. Too much paperwork."

  Before I could say anything, Kenneth said, "I'm sure Nick will consider everything you've said here today."

  "Fine." He put a dollar on the table and said, "Now, will you gentlemen excuse me? I have another meeting to get to." As Kenneth and I stood to let him out, he said, "The buck is for my lunch." He grinned at me as he stepped away from the booth. Slapping my back on his way to the front of the diner, he added, "Can't have you bribing a federal official, now can we, Mr. Williams?"

  Epilogue

  1198 Sacramento Street

  Thursday, March 31, 1955

  Just before dawn

  Something woke me up and I wasn't sure what it was. The morning light was gray under a cloudy sky.

  I turned and looked at Carter. He was snoring slightly, like he always did. At some point in the night, he'd pushed the covers off and most of his body was visible in the pale morning light. I watched as his chest rose and fell. I thought about how we'd fooled around the night before. I smiled to myself and scooted over to nestle close to him.

  Right then, the phone rang. I wasn't sure whether he was awake or not, but he reached over, picked up the receiver, and handed it to me. I put it against my ear and said, "Yeah?"

  "Nick?" It was our friend Mary. I could tell that she was upset.

  I sat up. "What's wrong?"

  "I'm at the hospital. Evelyn has been throwing up all night and the doctor just looked at her..." She started crying.

  "You're at St. Mary's?"

  "Yes." She sniffed.

  "We'll be there in twenty minutes."

  . . .

  We walked up to the information desk. An older woman with steel-gray hair looked up. "May I help you?"

  I said, "We're here to see Evelyn Key."

  The woman looked through a directory. When she found Evelyn's card, she said, "No visitors. But I believe a friend is in the waiting room just over there."

  I nodded and followed Carter as he led the way to where she'd pointed. As we came around the corner, we found Mary sitting on a sofa in between our other friends Pam and Diane.

  Mary looked up as we walked in. "Thanks for coming, you guys."

  Carter pulled up two chairs and we both sat. "How is she?" he asked.

  "The doctor says she has to have surgery. The tumor is blocking her intestines. That's why she's been throwing up."

  I asked, "What does she say?"

  Mary brought her handkerchief to her face. "I don't know. They won't let me see her."

  "What room is she in?" I asked.

  "Room 305, but Nick..."

  By that time, I was halfway to the stairs.

  . . .

  "I'm sorry, but the patient is not to be disturbed. Doctor's orders." That was the nurse who was sitting at a desk near the elevator on the third floor. She was about 30, trim, and had red hair. She looked tired. I figured she was at the end of her shift.

  "Who's the doctor?" I asked.

  She pursed her lips. "I'm only allowed to talk to family members."

  I nodded. "I understand. But all of Evelyn's blood relatives are either deceased or on the east coast."

  She frowned. "Is that so?"

  I nodded. "Yeah. I don't think any of them even know she's sick. And, if they did, I don't think they would care."

  Her frown began to melt. "I'm sorry to hear that."

  "So, for my part, I consider Evelyn to be family."

  "Oh?" Her tone was more encouraging than not.

  "Yeah. It's like we're cousins?" I threw that out there to see what she would say.

  "Cousins? Or, maybe you're her half-brother?"

  I nodded. "I could be."

  "Well, if you were, then I would tell you that I believe Dr. Gerard is consulting with some cancer specialists in New York. And, he's sitting in that phone booth over there. The hospital operator paged him about fifteen minutes ago. Something about a long distance call." She looked at a row of phone booths by the elevator. Only one was occupied.

  I smiled and said, "Thank you."

  She nodded, smiled briefly, and looked down at a chart.

  I walked over to the phone booth and stood so that the doctor could see me out of the corner of his eye.

  After about five minutes, he put the white phone receiver on the hook, stood, and opened the door.

  "Dr. Gerard?" I asked.

  "Yes?" He seemed as tired, if not more so, than the nurse.

  I offered my hand. "I'm Evelyn Key's half-brother, Nick Williams."

  "Williams?" He thought for a moment. "No you're not, you're that hom—" He stopped and sighed, running his hand through his brown hair. "You have the foundation that does all that work with polio patients."

  I nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

  "Why would you say you're related to Miss Key?"

  "Because she's all alone, otherwise."

  He sighed. "Yes, you're right. I'm not even allowed to consult with her friend. But, as a benefactor of the hospital..." He stopped and rubbed his eyes. That was news to me. He sighed and said, "I suppose it's OK for me to talk with you about her case."

  I nodded. "Thank you, doctor. How about a cup of coffee?"

  He smiled wanly. "That would be great. Follow me."

  He led me down a hallway, away from where the nurse was sitting, and through a door marked "No Admittance". It opened into a small lounge that was empty. Against one wall sat a long table with two coffee urns and a row of mugs, along with sugar and cream and a couple of boxes of donuts.

  Helping himself to coffee, he asked, "Would you like some?"

  I nodded. "Mind if I help myself?"

  "Go ahead."

  Once we both had coffee, he led me over to a sofa where we sat. He took a sip of his and said, "There are two options, at this point. Emergency surgery to remove the tumor which may not be successful."

  "Not successful? How?"

  "She may not survive."

  I nodded. "What's the other option?"

  "M
ake her as comfortable as possible."

  I took a sip of my coffee and said, "Evelyn knew this day was coming. So, I offered to take her to Hawaii for the end. We can take off in a few hours. Would that be possible?"

  He nodded. "Sure. We can have an ambulance take her down to the airport. I'd really like for someone with medical training to accompany her, however."

  "We have a stewardess who trained as a nurse. Would that be OK?"

  "Yes. I'd like to meet with her and give her some instructions."

  "That'd be fine. Could you come to the airport or should I get her to come up here?"

  He sighed. "My shift is almost up. I had planned to go down to Carmel this weekend with my wife. It's our—" He ran his hand over his face. "Never mind. Yes, I can meet her down there. I'll go with the ambulance."

  "How about if your wife meets us at the airport and then we drop you off at Monterey before we head out to Honolulu?"

  His eyes widened. "I wouldn't want—"

  "Either that, or you could take our yacht down the coast to Carmel, if you'd rather. Although it's a little cold for that."

  "Your yacht?"

  I nodded. "Sure. I'd have to check with my captain, but I'm sure we can work something out. Either way, we'll get you and your wife down there. Where are you planning on staying?"

  "Oh, it's this little motel where we stayed on our honeymoon."

  "That wouldn't be The Hide-A-Way, would it?"

  He nodded. "How'd you know about that place?"

  "Stayed there once. My father has a house on the cliffs over the coast, just down the road. There's a live-in housekeeper. You could stay there. The view is pretty spectacular. I know it's not as romantic..."

  He smiled. "Mr. Williams? Why are you doing this?"

  "Because it's fun. And because you're taking care of Evelyn." I shrugged.

  He nodded and sipped his coffee thoughtfully. "Fun. That's a good idea." He smiled. "Fun."

  . . .

  In the end, Dr. Gerard and his wife, Marylou, flew with us to Monterey on The Laconic Lumberjack. Once we'd dropped the two of them off, Christine, our stewardess and the wife of Captain Morris, our pilot, set up a schedule for the rest of us to sit with Evelyn for an hour at a time. She was set up in the back bedroom.

  She was dozing while I sat with her. I sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window down at the beautiful Pacific ocean. After about twenty minutes, I heard her say, "Nick."

  I stood, walked over to her side of the bed, and knelt next to her. "Hi there," I said as she smiled weakly. "How ya feelin'?"

  "Like hell. But, it's weird. I don't feel bad about feeling bad. Does that make sense?"

  I smiled. "Sure. The doctor gave Christine some injections to help you relax. He said that'd help as much as anything."

  She nodded slightly. "Where are we?"

  "On my plane."

  She sighed. "Good." As far as I knew, it was the first time she'd been conscious since she was admitted to the hospital.

  "Do you want me to get Mary?"

  "In a minute," she said, as she tried to sit up. I reached around and helped get her arranged on the mound of pillows that we'd brought in. I was alarmed that she seemed to weigh almost nothing. I could see it in her face, but to feel just the skin and bones made the truth of what was happening more real, somehow.

  "How's that?" I asked.

  She smiled and laughed a little. "Fine. Gee, everything's just fine." She looked a little loopy. Normally, Evelyn was a very focused person who knew what she was doing and what she wanted to say and why at all times.

  I grinned. "Yeah."

  She closed her eyes for a moment. I watched as she seemed to relax even more. Then, all of a sudden, she opened her eyes and looked at me, all business. "Did Mary bring the black bag?"

  I nodded. Before we'd boarded, Mary had shown Pam, Diane, Carter, and me the black bag that had the combination of pills that, when she was ready, Evelyn would take. They also had a back-up plan where Mary had a drug that she could inject Evelyn with, but that wasn't something anyone wanted to consider. "Yeah," I said, "She brought it."

  Evelyn closed her eyes and said, "Good."

  I stood and said, "I'm going to get her now, OK?"

  She nodded slightly but didn't say anything.

  . . .

  We landed at the small airport in Lihue, on the island of Kauai, at half past 7 in the evening. The house that Carter had bought the summer before was on the north side of the island, over a bumpy road. Somehow, and I never found out how, there was a Navy helicopter waiting for us at the airport. A commander, of all people, met us when Christine opened the door and said he had orders to carry Evelyn and one other passenger, but no luggage, up to the house. I wondered where they would land until I remembered the big, green lawn that stretched out in front of the house above the beach below.

  Two corpsman carried Evelyn from the plane to a waiting Jeep that then drove over to the helicopter with Mary sitting in the back, holding Evelyn's hand. Diane and I stood on the portable stairs and watched as they loaded Evelyn into the little bay attached to the side of the helicopter and helped Mary up into the belly of the beast. After a couple of minutes, they lifted off and headed up the coast. I figured they would fly along the coast instead of going in a straight line. Made it easier to find the house that way.

  . . .

  Carter had arranged for a Japanese couple to open up the house, organize things, and arrange for transportation for the rest of us. Their son, Tony, got us all loaded into a big truck and we made our way over the bumpy main road that led up to the north shore.

  It took about an hour to get there. It was dark by the time we arrived. The house was lit up and the aroma of grilled steak wafted through the air, vainly competing with the smell of a thousand flowers, as we unloaded.

  Evelyn and Mary were in the master bedroom, where Carter and I had slept the last time we'd been there. While I got us unpacked in the back guestroom, Carter went to check on Mary and Evelyn. Once I was done, I changed into some light-weight trousers and a loose shirt. I padded, barefoot, into Pam and Diane's room.

  Diane was unpacking and looked up when I walked in.

  "How goes it?" I asked.

  "Fine," she said. Diane was petite, with a mass of blonde curls that looked like they were drinking up the humid night air.

  I said, "How was your first flight to Hawaii?"

  She smiled as she closed a bureau drawer. Carter had arranged to have all the old mish-mash of furniture replaced with newer, more modern pieces. It looked good. "I can't believe what it smells like here."

  "All the flowers?"

  She nodded. "There are some that I recognize and others I've never smelled before. And that's just in one breath."

  I smiled. "It's amazing. Just wait til morning when you see the ocean. It's beautiful."

  She nodded. Suddenly, her eyes filled with tears. I walked over and hugged her. She was a little thing. Her head was right at Carter's elbow. I patted her back and said, "Evelyn's doing what she wants to do. That's the important thing."

  Diane nodded. "I know. I keep worrying about Mary. Evelyn's gonna be fine, I guess. It's Mary..."

  "I know." We stood there for a long while.

  . . .

  After dinner, I asked Mary if I could sit with Evelyn for a while. She nodded, looking exhausted, and said, "Let me know when you want to be relieved."

  Diane, who was helping Mrs. Nokomura with the dishes, asked, "Pam? Don't we need a schedule?"

  As the rest of them talked that over, I slipped into the bedroom. There was a Japanese lamp in the corner giving off a dim light. Otherwise the room was dark. The glass door was open and the screen door was closed. I could hear the ocean off in the distance.

  I walked over and sat in the chair next to where Evelyn was lying in the bed. She was breathing steadily, which was good. I picked up a book that was sitting on the table by the bed. I had no idea if it was Mary's or Evelyn's or whethe
r it had been left by the person who decorated the house for Carter.

  It was one that I recognized as being a favorite of my mother's. I could see her copy of the book clearly in my mind's eye. It even had the same dust jacket that had been old fashioned, even in the 20s. It was entitled The Wallet of Kai Lung.

  I remembered being intrigued by the cover. It was of a person, whether male or female, Japanese or Chinese, I couldn't tell. Their hair had sticks in it which, as a child, I'd imagined as being like the chop sticks I'd seen my mother try to eat with.

  I opened the book and began to read.

  The sun had dipped behind the western mountains before Kai Lung, with twenty li or more still between him and the city of Knei Yang, entered the camphor-laurel forest which stretched almost to his destination. No person of consequence ever made the journey unattended; but Kai Lung professed to have no fear, remarking with extempore wisdom, when warned at the previous village, that a worthless garment covered one with better protection than that afforded by an army of bowmen.

  Author's Note

  Thank you for buying and reading this book!

  This story, like all the others involving Nick & Carter, came to me out of thin air.

  Many thanks, as always, to everyone who has read, reviewed, and emailed me about the Nick & Carter books. It is deeply gratifying in ways that words will never be able to fully express. Thank you.

  Acknowledgments

  Many thanks, once again, to the wonderful Beta readers who helped me flush out this story. I deeply appreciate your support and your help.

  In particular, I want to specifically thank T.L., who has provided me with voluminous and astonishingly helpful insight into the history of buildings in San Francisco, but also helped me figure out the cost of a ride on the M.T.A. (now known as the T) in Boston on the Cambridge-Dorchester line (now known as the Red Line) between Washington Street Station (now known as Downtown Crossing) and Harvard Station (still known as Harvard Station) in Cambridge. That was the hardest dime I have ever worked for and I couldn't have found it without his tremendous support and assistance. Thank you, kind sir.