After a quick look to see that Zoe was still asleep, she closed the door to the bedroom and walked purposefully to the front door. Taking a deep breath, she swung the door open, raising the bat at the same time, ready to strike. She was shocked to see a crumpled figure lying on the floor against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, his long legs stuck out and taking up a good portion of the corridor.
“Matey! Evvaaaaaa! Come and hava...uh...drink!” Earl said, giving her a sloppy grin.
Eva laid the cricket bat aside. Earl was sprawled on the carpet, and he seemed very drunk. Three empty bottles rolled on the floor and she realized where the banging had come from. He had been throwing the bottles against the door and then thumping on the door with his feet. She went to Earl and knelt beside him. She could smell the reek of alcohol and grimaced. “You’re as drunk as a skunk.”
“I stink, huh?”
“Yeah, you do. Come on, let’s get you inside.” Eva tried to get him up, but Earl was unmovable.
“Nah, leave me here. I like it here,” Earl slurred, curling up on the carpet as if he planned to sleep there all night.
Eva tried to move him, but she felt a twinge of pain in her back and had to stop her efforts before she hurt herself. “That was smart, Eva,” she said beneath her breath. She straightened and put her hands on her aching back. “You are a big boy, Earl. I need some help.” She walked into the apartment intending to elicit Zoe’s help in getting the big man inside. She did not want to wake Father Haralambos because of the old injury that still troubled his knee. She did not want to wake her Zoe either, but she could not shift Earl alone, and she knew that if she tried again, she was sure to aggravate her troublesome back even more.
Kneeling beside the bed, Eva caressed Zoe’s cheek. “Zoe,” she whispered.
“Huh?” Zoe grunted. Instead of waking, she snuggled closer to the pillow.
“I need you, love.”
“What for?” Zoe mumbled.
“Earl is outside. He’s drunk, and we need to move him out of the hallway,” Eva said as she shook Zoe a little.
Sleepy green eyes opened and Zoe frowned. “Did you say Earl is drunk?”
Eva nodded. “Come on, help me get him in.”
“You didn’t try to move him, did you?” Zoe asked, obviously struggling to shake off sleepiness. When Eva did not reply, Zoe focused on her, now seeming much more aware. “Eva! He weighs a ton. Did you hurt yourself?”
“I wasn’t thinking. I tried to move him and felt a twinge. I think I’m going to need your loving touch later.”
Zoe shook her head. “What am I going to do with you? Does it hurt?”
“I felt just a tiny twinge. I promise that you can do anything you want later.” Eva gave Zoe a conciliatory kiss. “Come on, let’s get the drunk inside.”
“Remind me about the ‘anything you want’ bit after,” Zoe said. She rolled out of bed, put on her robe and slippers, and gave Eva a slap on the behind as she followed her into the corridor. Her eyes widened when she saw Earl asleep on the carpet.
“Hey, Wiggy, wake up.” Zoe shook Earl, who stirred and opened his eyes.
He smiled blearily up at Zoe. “Matey, Zo...Zo...Zoeee.”
Zoe wrinkled her nose and waved a hand in front of her face. “Phew, you stink, old boy.”
“That’s what Eeevvvaaa said.”
“Come on, let’s get inside.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so!” Zoe growled in his ear. “Move it!”
“Okay,” Earl replied. He managed to get to his feet, although it was clear that his legs were rubbery and refused to cooperate without an effort.
Zoe took one of Earl’s arms and Eva took the other. Between them, they had a hard time trying to keep the teetering man upright. “Let me take most of his weight,” Zoe said, tugging on Earl to get him to lean against her. “You okay, love?” she asked as they struggled inside.
“Yes, but I’m going to suggest he lose some weight,” Eva grumbled.
Earl belched. His breath smelled like a brewery. “Hey, Evaaaa...you look...um...nice.”
Eva rolled her eyes. With Zoe’s help, she managed to maneuver Earl to the sofa, where he collapsed and promptly fell asleep. She and Zoe stood watching him for a few moments. Eva felt a certain tenderness towards him. With his face relaxed in sleep, the years fell away and he looked like a boy, reminding Eva once again of Willy.
“Leave him here. I doubt we can get him in to the spare bed,” Eva said. She went into the spare bedroom, picked up a blanket, put it over Earl, and tucked it in around him.
“What do you think happened?” Zoe asked, a slight frown marring her smooth forehead.
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out in the morning,” Eva said wryly.
“Poor Wiggy,” Zoe responded, kneeling by the sofa. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll go to his place tomorrow and get him a change of clothing.” She stood and turned to Eva, scowling. “Now, missy, what were you thinking, trying to move him by yourself?”
“I wasn’t thinking.”
“You can say that again. How are you feeling?”
Eva rubbed her back. The pain had subsided somewhat. “I think it was just a twinge. I’m okay.”
“You sure?”
“Yep. Come on, let’s go to bed,” Eva suggested, taking Zoe’s hand.
Zoe put her arm around Eva’s waist. “When are you going to learn to take care of yourself?”
“Don’t yell at me. It’s okay. At the time all I could think about was the fact that I didn’t want to wake you.”
Zoe frowned. “I think we need to have a chat later.”
“Yes, Mutti,” Eva said meekly.
***
The clatter of the early morning milk truck and the sound of a distant train’s whistle woke Eva. She stirred, trying to remember what day it was. A moment’s thought and she realized that it was Friday. She really wanted to stay in bed and just snuggle up to Zoe, but she knew she had to get up and see to Earl, who would be nursing a hangover, before heading into work. She reluctantly let go of Zoe, put her robe on, and quietly closed the bedroom door behind her. Earl was sitting up on the sofa, clutching his head in both hands. Eva watched him for a moment before going over to sit down on the sofa next to him. She put an arm over his broad shoulders and asked, “Do you want something for the headache?”
“Yeah, a gun,” he grunted.
“Don’t have one of those, but I have some aspirin.”
“Did I cause a fuss last night?”
“You don’t remember?”
Earl’s bloodshot eyes rolled in her direction and he winced. “Uh...no.”
“Well, you went dancing down the corridor stark naked.” Eva grinned, but stopped teasing him when she saw the look of total horror on his face. “Nah, I’m kidding.”
“Oh, God, Eva, you have one twisted sense of humor.”
Eva went into the kitchen and poured him a glass of water, then got a couple of the painkillers and handed them to him.
“You make quite a drunk, Earl. You threw some empty bottles against the door to get our attention, and then you fell asleep in the corridor.”
“Argh. So how did I end up here on the sofa?”
“Well...”
“Oh damn, Eva, don’t tell me you tried to move me? Please, don’t tell me that, because if you did I’m going to get an earful from Zoe...”
“Yes, I did.”
“I’m a dead man,” he moaned.
“Nah, I got a tongue lashing instead.”
“Are you okay?”
“From Zoe? My behind is a little scorched, but my back is fine. Now, why did you get drunk?”
“Oh, I went out drinking with my mates and I went back to my place with Joey and we drank some more.”
“That’s not so bad, except for the drinking.”
“It gets worse.”
“What did you do?”
“I had a visitor.” Earl grimaced. “My s
ister came over and was very surprised to see me and Joey. You know, together. It was pretty obvious what we were doing.”
Eva blinked. “Oh.”
“She disowned me.” Earl sighed. “Told me never to speak to her again until I’ve come to my senses. Joey got upset and left, so I decided to drown my sorrows again and went back to the pub.”
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes.” Earl nodded. “I can’t remember what happened after that.”
“Why didn’t you come here straight away?”
“You had your visitor. How would it have looked if I’d turned up?”
“It would have saved us from Greta’s racist taunts and kept Zoe from getting upset.”
“That sounds like it was a fun night.”
“Oh, yeah, the event of the year,” Eva deadpanned.
The bedroom door opened and a very sleepy Zoe shuffled out, dressed only in a short nightshirt and underpants. Her eyes were still half-closed as she stumbled towards the bathroom, clearly oblivious to the presence of their guest.
Eva grinned when Earl covered his eyes with a hastily upraised hand. “Zoe,” she called.
Zoe glanced up, focused on Earl, and yelped. She yanked the hem of her nightshirt down over her panties, ran back into the bedroom, and slammed the door shut.
“Not so loud, Stretch!” Earl yelled after her, and then seemed to regret his outburst. “Ow.” He held his head. “Somebody, stop that earthquake,” he muttered. After a long moment, he scrubbed a hand through his hair and said, “Hey, she’s cute when she’s just woken up.”
Eva smiled. “Yes, she is, and she’s going to be mortified you saw her like that.”
A few moments later, the bedroom door opened again and Zoe came out wearing trousers and a red spotted white shirt that she had tied at the waist. “I forgot you were here,” she said. A slight blush pinked her cheeks. She sat by Earl’s side. “So, big guy, you got a little sloshed last night.”
“Sloshed is a good word.”
“Yeah, so is stinky,” Zoe said as she sniffed ostentatiously around him. Earl stuck out his tongue and she ignored the rude gesture. “Where’re your keys?” she asked.
“You’re not driving The Beast!” he exclaimed, flinching at the volume of his own voice.
“I have wheels!” Zoe shot back.
“Oh, I forgot about Mabel.” Contrite, Earl searched his pockets until he found his keys. “Where are you going?”
“To your place to pick you up a change of clothes.”
“Oh. All right, then.” He handed the keys to Zoe, who got up and patted him on the shoulder. Eva held the door open for her.
“Drive safely,” she admonished Zoe, who rewarded her concern with a quick kiss.
Chapter Fifty-One
The hot weather brought Eva and Debbie out of the office and into Hyde Park, which was only a few minutes’ walk away from the Interpreter Division. With its beautiful walkways and a fountain in the center, the park was truly an oasis in the middle of the central business district of Sydney. Eva stopped and gazed at the stone fountain for a moment while the sparkling water showered down. She enjoyed the haze of cooling mist that she could feel on her skin. The beautiful day brought out many office workers, and they were sprawled all over the grass, eating their lunches and talking in small groups or more intimate couples.
Eva had not been aware of the park until today when Debbie stuck her head in the door and dragged her out of the office into the bright sunlight. The park was introduced to Eva as one of Debbie’s favorite spots, mainly when the usually busy lunchtime people traffic had subsided. Eva had been very surprised to see the metaphorically chained-to-the-desk receptionist go out for lunch until Debbie revealed that between twelve p.m. and one p.m., the entire office usually closed for lunch.
Eva sat with her back against a tree and perched her lunchbox on her lap. The smell of cut grass reminded her of her childhood home; it was a smell she associated with carefree summers.
“So, what do you think?” Debbie asked as she took a bite of her lunch. Tearing off a crust, she tossed it away, and the bit of bread was devoured by pigeons that came flapping from the trees, squabbling amongst themselves for the treat.
“It’s really nice,” Eva said. “I didn’t know it was here.”
“Yeah, it’s a well-kept secret.” Debbie laughed at her own joke. The park was of considerable size, and a feature of the downtown area.
Eva grinned. “Zoe and I went to the Botanical Gardens a few weeks ago. Beautiful place.”
“Yeah, I enjoy it there myself. Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you about those photos in your office. Did you take them?”
“Yes, they’re mine,” Eva replied. She opened her lunch box to reveal a huge piece of mousaka, which was one of her favorite dishes.
“What’s that?” Debbie pointed at the lunch box.
“Mousaka. It’s Greek. It has eggplant, potato, minced meat, and pasta.”
“Looks very rich.”
“Yes, Greek food is very rich,” Eva said, remembering the smells and sights of the dinner table in Larissa.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how do you stay so slim?”
“I swim a lot when I have the time, and on weekends Zoe and I rent bicycles and ride around Centennial Park,” Eva replied as she took a bite of her lunch. She and Zoe had come across that park quite by accident one Sunday. Zoe had watched people passing by on bicycles and wondered where they could rent a couple themselves. They were given directions, rented bicycles, and spent a relaxing time cycling around the park, which was one of the most serene places in the city.
“Oh,” Debbie said, and went back to her lunch. After a moment, she asked, “Have you been a photographer long?”
“A few years.”
“Does Zoe take photos?”
“No. Zoe is an artist. She paints. She occasionally takes a photo of something she wants to paint later, but her painting and drawing is her true talent. I have a nice photo of her painting me taking a photo of her,” Eva said. She smiled at the memory. It had been a rainy day, and the two of them had spent that Sunday indoors. Eva had wanted to take photographs of Zoe painting. It was not until later that Zoe had showed her what she was working on.
Debbie laughed, the sound scaring away some of the pigeons. “How old is Zoe?”
Eva gave her a smirk. “Is this another interrogation?”
“I’m sorry, Eva, that was out of line,” Debbie apologized. “I’m sorry if I’m asking so many questions. It’s just that I find you so interesting, and of course with what happened yesterday...I’ve never met any lesbians before.”
“We’re not Medusa’s children,” Eva quipped and took a bite.
“I didn’t mean that...um...Zoe was all over you...um…” Debbie stammered and then stopped.
“Zoe is twenty years old and she’s Greek.”
“Wow, she’s so young.” Eva raised an eyebrow at Debbie’s comment, which only made her blush. “I didn’t mean...”
“It’s alright. She is younger than me.”
“Does she drive?” Debbie steered the conversation away from yesterday’s events.
Eva laughed at the expression on Debbie’s face before answering. “No, she rides a motorcycle called Mabel.”
“Mabel?” Debbie looked down at her watch and tapped it for Eva to see. “I think we’d better be heading back.”
They picked up their rubbish, made a final check to see that they had not left anything behind, and walked away. Eva suddenly stopped.
“What’s the matter, did we forget something?” Debbie asked, and looked over at the space where they had been sitting.
Eva remained silent, feeling very unsettled. Someone was watching her. She glanced around at the other people in the park; they were not paying any attention to her. Nevertheless, she could feel that she was being stared at, just like the time when she and Zoe had been together on the hilltop above the harbor, except these watchful eyes were hostile.
The hairs on the back of her neck prickled.
“Are you all right?” Debbie pressed, sounding a trifle anxious.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Eva reassured her and began the slow walk back to the office. The feeling was still present when she exited the park, and lasted until she and Debbie entered the building.
***
Friedrich was hot and frustrated. He took off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt while he worked on trying to find the right numbers for the combination. The large grey safe was old—the paint was peeling off, and the exposed iron surfaces were turning rusty. It had been in the office for a very long time and was seldom used. He wanted to ask David why they had never used it before, and frowned at the lock that refused to open, no matter how many times he attempted a different combination of numbers from the sheet of paper that he held. He let out a frustrated sigh as David walked through the open door with two cold bottles of Coca-Cola.
“You won’t ever make a good burglar, Freddy,” David said.
Friedrich scowled at him and he went back to his contemplation of the safe. “And you can’t copy numbers correctly.”
“I’m a lover, not an accountant,” David replied, earning another scowl from Friedrich.
“I won’t even try and understand that joke,” he said.
“I know. I’m a true comic genius. George and Gracie get their material from me.”
Friedrich snorted when yet another combination was tried and failed to open the lock. “What’s in this safe?”
“Nothing at the moment.”
Friedrich sighed and scrunched the paper in his hand, throwing it in the bin. “Well, the numbers you gave me don’t work.”
“Really?” David teased and patted him on the back. “Here, have a cola, it will cool you down.”
“Did you have a chance to go over that list I gave you this morning?” Friedrich asked, taking a long swig of the soda. The cold liquid felt wonderful going down.
“Yeah, I did. I’ve requested passport photos from Immigration, and they should arrive some time on Monday. Then we can try and match them with the photographs we have.”
Where Shadows Linger (Intertwined Souls Series Book 2) Page 39
