She erupted into tears.
Decker waited a beat. “I know this is a terrible time for you. And I’m sorry—”
“I know you are.” Her voice became soothing and seductive. “I can feel your pain through the phone wire.”
Mike Hollander’s words shot through Decker’s throbbing head. With an emphasis on the very, very part. Point of fact was, the woman was beautiful and in pain—a dangerous combination.
“Lilah, I don’t want this to sound harsh, but if we’re going to work together, we need to set a few ground rules. One, you don’t call me at home for any reason—”
“Afraid I’ll upset the little woman?”
Above all, Deck, you’re a professional.
“If you have to get in touch with me, you call the station house and they’ll call me. Do we have an understanding here?”
“Are you coming out to the ranch or not?”
“I’ll come this one time.”
“Oh, Peter, thank—”
“I know it’s been hard for you and I’ll do it this one time. But after this one time, if you need to talk to me, if you just want to talk to me, you call me at the station. Call me ten times if you want, but call the sta—”
“You flatter yourself, Peter.”
“Because I, like you, don’t want my business intruding upon my personal life.”
“Considering my circumstances, I hardly consider my call an intrusion.”
“If you don’t feel you can adhere to the ground rules, Lilah, I’ll be happy to assign the case to another detective—”
Decker heard the receiver slam and then a dial tone. Slowly, he hung up the phone.
“You okay, Dad?”
Decker turned around. “Morning, Sammy.” He went over and kissed the top of the boy’s head. “You’re looking better.”
“I feel a lot better.”
“Great.” Decker gave him a hug. “Your mother made a huge breakfast. What would you like? Eggs? Toast? Pancakes and syrup?”
“Eema’s ticked off.”
“Yeah, I think she is.”
“She’s mad at you?”
“I think so.”
“Anything I can do?”
“No. It will work itself out.”
Jacob walked into the kitchen, his eyes still glazed with sleep. His black hair was full of cowlicks, a yarmulke resting on the left side of his head. He was wearing his school uniform, but the blue shirt was only partially tucked inside the navy slacks. Fringes from his tzitzit—a religious garment worn under his shirt—peeked out, fanning over his hips.
“Hi,” he croaked.
“Morning, Jake.” Decker put his arm around his younger stepson. “Sleep okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I get you something to eat?”
“Just a bowl of cereal.”
“I’ll make it,” Sammy said to Decker. “You can go talk to Eema.”
“I can make my own cereal,” Jacob said. “Why are you talking to Eema, Pete—uh, Dad. I can call you Dad, too, right?”
“Of course. I’m thrilled that you want to.”
Jacob sloughed off the sentimentality. “Is Eema mad at you or something?”
“Something,” Decker said.
“Yeah, she seemed a little uptight this morning. She sure gets mad a lot. That’s ’cause of all the hormones, right?”
“Sometimes. And sometimes she has regular reasons to get mad.”
“I wish she’d just have the baby already,” Jacob said. “First it was the barfing. Now it’s her getting mad and crying for no real reason. Is that normal?”
“Very normal,” Decker assured him.
Jacob just shook his head and poured some Fruit Crunches into a bowl. “Is she gonna get upset that I’m eating sugar cereal and not the healthy stuff?”
“Why don’t you take a pancake?” Decker suggested.
“Eema made pancakes on a school morning?” Jacob pushed the bowl aside. “That’s not normal, either. But at least, that’s good.”
“If you boys don’t need me, maybe I will have a word with your mother.”
“Do we have any syrup?”
“It’s on the table, Yonkel.”
Jacob turned to Sam. “You ever remember Eema making pancakes on a school day?”
“I think once or twice.”
“When?”
“I don’t know. But I think she did.”
“I don’t remember it.”
“Maybe it was on my birthday,” Sammy said.
“I don’t remember.”
“Maybe it was on your birthday.”
“My birthday’s in the summer. There’s no school in the summer.”
Decker excused himself, knowing the boys were too involved in pancake conversation to hear him leave. He found Rina in the master bedroom, ripping the sheets and pillow cases off their California King.
“Need help?”
“No.”
“Can you stop a moment?”
“Dirty laundry waits for no man.”
“Please?”
Rina stopped moving and hugged a caseless pillow. “How did Lilah get our phone number?”
Decker ignored her tone. “I don’t know.”
“Did you tell her not to call here?”
“Of course I told her not to call here!”
“Did you also tell her not to call you Peter?”
“I can’t help what she calls me.”
“But you can admonish her when she does it.”
“Rina, she’s strictly business. She’s one of my cases, for God’s sake. I wouldn’t give my home number to one of my cases.”
“You gave it to me!”
“Wait a minute—”
“And I certainly didn’t call you Peter right away, either.” She walked out of their bedroom and started attacking the beds in the boys’ room. Decker followed.
“That’s not fair.”
“It may not be fair, but it’s accurate!”
“There’s a big difference, Rina. I wasn’t married when I gave you my number.”
“Married or not, I’m sure asking out your cases is considered unprofessional!”
“I didn’t ask anyone out!”
“I bet I wasn’t even the first case where you gave out your home phone number.”
“Rina—”
“Well, was I the first?”
The mallet inside his head was going full force. “You may not have been the first.” He smiled boyishly. “But you were the last.”
There was a moment of silence. Rina sank down on the bed. Decker sat beside her.
“What are we fighting about?” he said.
“We’re fighting about how your cases shouldn’t be calling you up at home and invading our privacy!”
“Agreed.”
“And your cases shouldn’t be calling you by your first name.”
“She’s not the only case who calls me by my first name.”
“But she’s no doubt the prettiest.”
Bingo! Well, ain’t that a kick in the head.
“Darlin’, can I be honest with you?”
“Sure, Peter, break a trend.”
“Rina…”
“Sorry.”
Decker smiled. “I think you’re jealous.”
“What?”
“And I’m overjoyed about it.”
“I’m not jealous. I’m angry! And you should be, too. You certainly have nothing to feel overjoyed about.”
“I don’t know about that.” Decker paused. “Rina, I think you’re the most beautiful woman on this planet—”
“I’m as fat as a cow.”
“You’re not fat, you’re pregnant—”
“Oh spare me.”
“I can tell the difference and so can everyone else. Darlin’, I see teenagers eye you hungrily. Like you’re my…my unwedded daughter who got herself into trouble. Man, those horny little bugs would just love to catch a piece of that trouble. As far as the guys my age, th
at’s not even worth talking about. The whole squad room gets sweaty palms whenever you walk in.”
“That’s simply ridiculous.”
“Except for Marge and Kate. You don’t have any effect on them. Ellen I’m not so sure.”
“Peter, you’re talking nonsense.”
“Rina, all I’m saying is that after being with you for two and a half years, always feeling like we’re Beauty and the Beast, it’s nice to see how much you like me.”
Rina took his hand. “Somehow, I suspect I’m being manipulated.”
Decker laughed.
“You told Lilah not to call here?”
“Yep. Matter of fact, I told her if she wasn’t comfortable with that, I’d be happy to assign her to another detective.”
“You told her that?”
“Yep.”
“What’d she say?”
“She hung up on me.”
Rina smiled. “She did?”
“Yep.”
“Well…” She patted his hand. “I know how you feel about your unsolved cases, Peter. You can call her back and make nice.”
“Nah, it’s fine. She wanted to tell me something in person. I’m supposed to meet her at her ranch at eleven. I’ll show up and see what kind of reception I get. If she acts inappropriate, I’ll pass her to Marge.”
“You’re going out to her ranch? To her home?”
“Yes, Rina, I am.”
“Fine.” She withdrew her hand. “I won’t tell you how to do your job.”
“Thank you.”
Rina checked her watch. “You’d better get going if you’re going to take the boys to school.”
“We’re friends again?”
“I’ll think about it.” Rina leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Course we’re friends. Go.”
“Should I come home for lunch?”
“If it’s late—around one, one-thirty.”
“Not a problem, my dear.” Decker stood. “Are you going to be home this morning?”
“No. The school called and asked if I’d sub-teach the seventh-grade girls. Why?”
“It’s not urgent. But whenever you get a chance, call up the phone company and get our number changed.”
“Just in case?”
“Just in case.”
14
Still wearing his full-length white coat from morning rounds, Kingston Merritt checked in with his girls at the front office.
No messages from the bitch. God, how he hated that woman. Hated her and loved her at the same time. Why? Merritt wondered. Why did she have that kind of power over him? She neglected him as a young child, criticized him mercilessly the few times she was around. She was cruel and heartless. Except…except on those rare occasions when she showed her other side—the fun-loving woman with a laugh as light as a summer’s breeze. Taking him to the circus, squeezing his hand, introducing him to the lion tamer after the show was over. He had felt so special….
But this was the final straw. She could just go to hell. No doubt, it was her fault Lilah was hurt. It was her fault that Lilah was estranged from him in the first place.
He smiled at his ladies, made chitchat as one of them brought him coffee, another brought the day’s appointments. A heavy load—forty names, roughly two-thirds routine pelvics. There was a star after Mrs. Lewis’s name—the cervical carcinoma in situ picked up on a routine Pap. She’d require extra consultation time. He’d check her into the hospital tonight, do the surgery at seven tomorrow after his six A.M. D and C. Mrs. Arlin was in for her three-month fibroid check, as was Mrs. Bennington. Three six-week postpartum checks. The rest were OB cases, five of those evals for termination. One of the candidates was already five months gravid. A termination in the second trimester, much more difficult because of the advanced development of the fetus. It was good she’d come to him.
He stuffed the schedule into his coat pocket and took the coffee into the privacy of his office. A large picture window afforded him a view of the Palos Verdes peninsula, the steely ocean a reflection of the overcast sky. He sat at his desk, extracted a bottle of bourbon from a locked drawer, and laced his drink with a single shot. Then he sat back in his chair and sipped his morning brew. The cup was half empty when his private line rang. He waited a beat, then picked it up.
“Hello, Mother. Nice of you to return my twenty calls.”
“Where the hell were you yesterday?”
“Where the hell was I? Where the hell were you?”
“Talking to the police—”
“What happened to Lilah, Mother? I tried to see her yesterday, but she had already checked out of the hospital.”
“How’d you find out about Lilah?”
“I met up with a detective at the spa—”
“You were at the spa?”
“Yes, I was…or didn’t Frederick tell you.”
There was a long pause over the line.
Merritt said, “I suppose Frederick didn’t tell you.”
Davida said, “I suppose Frederick and I are due for a little chat.”
“Mother, the detective told me Lilah had been attacked. Tell me what happened.”
“Funny, I was going to ask you that very question.”
Feeling his face go hot, Merritt slammed down the receiver. A couple of beats later the private line rang again. He picked up the handpiece.
“That was a repulsive, vile insinuation, Mother.”
“Kingston, I wasn’t trying to be nasty. We’re on the same side, for God’s sake! I only meant that maybe you know what happened because you talked to the police.”
“I don’t know a thing because I left to see Lilah. And she was gone. So why don’t you tell me what happened. Was Lilah attacked?”
There was a long pause. Merritt heard the drumming of fingers over the line.
“I’ve got a busy schedule, Mother. Is that true or not?”
“I think so.”
“You think?”
“Well, Lilah is prone to fits of fantasy—”
“The detective told me she’d been beaten, for God’s sake! How could she fantasize about that?”
“She had a few bruises. Nothing serious.”
“I want to see her.”
“Kingston, that’s not a good idea—”
“Mother, I demand to see her! Despite what she thinks, I still care for her very deeply. If she needs medical assistance, I have pull with the finest physicians in the city. God only knows how many of them owe me for discreetly getting their daughters out of sticky situations.”
“Freddy’s got everything under control.”
“Freddy? You’re letting Freddy handle this situation? All of a sudden, you’re trusting Freddy?”
“It’s not me, it’s Lilah. She trusts—”
“Freddy?” Merritt let go a deep laugh. “Fine, Mother. You just let Freddy handle Lilah as well as all your situations.”
“King, I know you two hate each other—”
“Of course you know. You were the one who orchestrated our hatred.”
“I did not!”
“Mother, you turned Frederick against me—always comparing him to me to his detriment.”
“You were smarter. I was just being honest.”
“You turned him into a petty, jealous person—a shell of a human being. And as a result, he turned Lilah against me.”
“I did the best I could as a mother. No one’s perfect. Stop acting like a spoiled child.”
“Mother, I can act however I feel like acting. At the moment, it’s you who need me. Now listen closely. I’m going to see Lilah, and furthermore, you’re going to arrange it. You’re going to explain to Lilah how much I care about her and how much I want to help. You, Mother, are going to convince her to see me.”
“Lilah has a mind of her own, King.”
“I’m sure you can be persuasive. You’re always quite persuasive when there’s something in it for you. Everything—everything will be put on hold until I see Lilah. Do we have an unde
rstanding?”
Again fingers drummed across the telephone wire.
“I’m hanging up, Mother.”
“King, let’s talk this—”
“Everything’s on hold until I can see her. Am I making myself clear?”
“Not to worry, King. You’re making yourself quite clear.”
The door opened a crack, a small Spanish voice asking who was there. Decker said who it was and the door opened all the way. To Decker, the maid was still shaken. But she told him she was doing better. She led him through a spotless kitchen to the back door and told him Lilah was outside in the stable, grooming her horses. That seemed like a healthy thing for her to be doing. Painstaking tasks occupied the brain, preventing morbid thoughts from taking over. He thanked Mercedes and walked over to the stalls, but was blocked at the entrance.
“Hello, Mr. Totes,” Decker said. “Lilah asked me to come down and talk to her.”
“It’s okay, Carl,” Lilah called out. “He can come in.”
The skinny man didn’t move right away but stayed fixed in a military position—arms crossed, legs apart, chest extended, and brow furrowed over distrusting eyes. Totes was obliged to move out of the way. But he took his good, sweet time about it.
Decker walked inside the stable, finding Lilah with Apollo—the palomino that Totes had been riding that first day. She was combing the horse’s golden mane, talking sweetly in his ear as she smoothed out the tangles. The animal had on reins and bit, but no saddle. Lilah’s garb was part good ole girl, part vamp. She wore skintight jeans tucked into two-tone elephant-hide boots, and her chest was wrapped in a black tube top. Somehow she pulled the whole thing off without looking cheap. She didn’t acknowledge his presence and Decker knew she was toying with him. But he wasn’t bothered by the silence. There was something serene about watching one golden-haired beauty groom another. Finally, Lilah patted the horse’s neck and turned to him. Her face was still bruised but healing nicely.
“I was about to go for a ride, Peter. See if I can still function. Please join me.”
“A ride?”
“A ride will relax me. And when I’m relaxed, my power is more focused. In the long run, it will benefit both of us. And don’t be frightened by the horses, Peter. They’re very well trained.”
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