Moon Music

by Faye Kellerman

  Remus bellowed, "You will not put her in a home."

  "Rem—"

  "Farm her out like some broken animal."

  "Can you just hear me out?"

  "I don't want to hear you out!" Remus pointed an irate finger in his brother's chest. "This is the situation. She is your mother. She is my mother. You left fifteen years ago without a thought to me or her. Without complaint, I've shouldered the responsibility. Well, now I've got plans, Rom. Big plans. So guess what?"

  Poe bounced on his feet, suddenly curious. "What kind of plans?"

  "Stop changing the subject."

  "Excuse me, bud. You barge in and expect me to make major life decisions in five minutes—"

  "That's exactly what you did to me when you packed your bags and left fifteen years ago."

  "I've filled in whenever you needed. I've taken her for weekends, I've taken her on vacations—"

  "You want a medal, Rom?"

  "No, but a little consideration might be nice. Give me a moment to digest what you're asking me."

  "Bro, you can have a whole three weeks. Because that's when I'm moving her down."

  Poe was shouting. "Remus, you can't spring this on me!"

  Remus picked up his carpet bag and headed for the door. "I'll see you later."

  Poe blocked the doorway—a showy gesture, but a futile one. If he wanted, Remus could swat him away like a gnat. Instead, the giant waited.

  Poe said, "Don't leave. This isn't…can we talk about this rationally?"

  Remus didn't move.

  Remember the police training, Detective. Domestic disturbances? Diffuse! Placate!

  Poe spoke quickly. "I can hear the desperation in your voice. Bring her down."

  Remus's massive jaw fell open. He snapped it shut. "You're serious?"

  "Yes. But if she is under my care, I'm going to do it my way."

  "Meaning?"

  Poe started snapping. "I can't live with her, Remus. I know you have, and I admire your filial devotion, but I'm not that noble. I cannot live with Mom—"

  "That's unacceptable."

  "I'll set her up in a nearby apartment."

  "She needs care."

  "I'll hire a nurse."

  "Putting her out to pasture," Remus spat out.

  "I promise I'll visit her every day."

  "You're full of shit, Rom."

  Poe rubbed his face. "You've got to compromise, bro."

  The minutes passed.

  Finally, Remus said, "Okay, here's the deal. You say you can't live with her. Believe it or not, I understand."

  A pause. "She's getting worse, Rom. Sneaking out at all hours of the night. It's bad. She needs constant watching. So you'll need to hire someone who can deal with that."

  "I'll start looking right away."

  Silence.

  Poe asked, "Where is she now?"

  "I've got someone guarding both her and Aunt Shirley."

  Poe started panicking. "I don't have to deal with Shirley, do I?"

  "No, I'll keep an eye on Shirley. She's not as bad as Mom…yet."

  Poe felt suddenly ashamed. "Remus, I appreciate what you've done all these years. I know it's been hell."

  Remus looked away. He said, "Okay. Set her up in an apartment. But here are my conditions. Are you listening?"

  "Go on."

  Remus got up, started pacing. "Every morning, go have coffee with her. Make her eggs and cereal. And don't leave until she finishes eating. Also, you're going to have to routinely check the apartment for booze and cigarettes. She sneaks in contraband. And it's not enough to tell the help about it. She bribes them not to tell."

  "She has free cash to bribe help?"

  "Yeah, she gets a small stipend from some government agency."

  "Welfare?"

  "No, I don't think so." Remus stopped walking. "Probably has something to do with her Native American background, living here in the sixties. It's not much, but it's enough cash to buy cheap booze. Just take the bottles away. I don't care what you do with it as long as she doesn't have it."

  "All right. What else?"

  "You've got to eat dinner with her. I'm not saying you have to eat with her, but you make sure she eats. She forgets to eat, Rom. If she doesn't eat, she gets sick the next day."

  "What about lunch?" Poe asked.

  "Make her a tuna sandwich and put it in the refrigerator. Tell the nurse to watch Mom eat it. After she eats lunch, she usually watches her soaps. Then she takes a nap. When she wakes up, the nurse usually bathes her. After her bath, she likes to take a walk. When she's finished with her walk, it's close to dinnertime. I usually try to be home by then…watch her eat. I go back to the office around seven…eight. By then, she's pretty tired. She's been very tired lately."

  Poe felt a crashing headache. "Why's that?"

  "Who knows? She's not a well woman."

  "She's never had a surfeit of energy." Poe blinked several times. "Anything more?"

  "That's it." Remus paused. "If you can do that…for let's say…a year. Take her for a year. Then I'll come back and take her off your hands."

  A year?

  Shut up, Poe. At least it's time-limited.

  Instead, he blurted out, "From 'taking her forever' to 'taking her for a year'?"

  "Are you complaining?"

  "Of course not." Poe realized they were both still standing. "C'mon, bro. Sit down."

  Remus went back to the couch, rubbed his eyes. "I'll have another beer if you've got it."

  "You bet. Are you going to spend the night here?"

  "I've been comped at Buckingham Palace."

  Poe's eyebrows rose as he went to his cooler. "What's the occasion? Doing some work for the Sultan?"

  "As a matter of fact, I am."

  Poe stopped in his tracks. "What?"

  "Sit down first."

  Poe brought over the beers and sat. "Go on."

  Remus said, "You know he's just completed a new casino—Palace North—in Tahoe."

  "Yes."

  "His highness has a home on the Nevada side. Now he wants a home on the California side. Something very private and hidden. He talked to some of us local guys up in Reno. He talked to me. Next thing I knew, he handed me a check—a quarter million advance for the plans."

  Poe spit out his beer.

  Remus said, "For my architectural fee, he agreed to ten percent of the building cost."

  Poe stuttered, "Wh…wh…" He coughed, then swallowed. "What's the proposed cost?"

  Remus stifled a smile. "Around fifteen, twenty mil—"

  "Holy fucking cow!"

  "The Sultan is a perfectionist," Remus said gravely. "I'm on call twenty-four hours a day."

  "Hence the reason you're here," Poe said. "When did all this happen?"

  "About four, five months ago."

  "And you didn't say a thing to me." Poe broke into a grin. "You son of a bitch!"

  Slowly, Remus smiled back. "The Sultan's a very short man, Romulus. I think he hired me because this way he can push around a very tall man."

  Poe slapped his brother's steel-plated back. "Man, that is just terrific, Remus. I am so proud of you!"

  "It's not a done deal yet."

  "Hey, if he fired you tomorrow, you'd still walk away with a quarter million dollars." Poe beamed like a new father. "You want to go out for dinner, or—Shit, I promised Rukmani I'd take her out. You can come with us if you want. Maybe we can take in Richard Jenni. I know you like him, and he's in town."

  "Thanks, but I've got a business meeting tonight." Remus took out a handkerchief, wiped his sweaty brow. "Tomorrow I have meetings all morning. I'm out on a one-fifteen plane. We could meet for lunch around eleven if you want."

  "Name it and claim it."

  "Anywhere as long as it's not on the Strip."

  The only place Poe could come up with was Myra's.

  Remus stood. "I'll call you in a couple of weeks…so we can arrange the move." A beat. "You're not going to change your mind on
me?"

  "No."

  "No sudden vacations?"

  Poe said, "I said I'll do it, I'll do it."

  Remus shook his brother's hand, held it longer than necessary. "I'll see you tomorrow at eleven."

  "I'll be there."

  The two men paused, then hugged good-bye.

  The winds had kicked up, howling and ululating like caged demons, smashing sand and grit against the windows. They woke Poe from a dead sleep, sending an icy chill through his veins. He tried not to fidget, not to toss. His eyes skittered about the dark room like crap dice across the felt, landing on Rukmani. She was out to the world, curled up under her blanket in silent sleep.

  Taking carefully measured steps, Poe nudged out of bed, slipped on his pants and shirt. Tiptoeing into the kitchen, he opened her fridge, poured himself a glass of orange juice, envying her appliances. He shivered as he drank, his mind still buzzing from his earlier encounter with his brother.

  As if he didn't have enough on his mind without Mom. Ah well, he'd hire good help. Money wasn't a big problem. And if he ran short, Remus would kick in whatever was required.

  It wouldn't hurt him to extend himself a bit. She was his mother, she hadn't had an easy life. Secretly, Poe was hoping that the indentured servitude might help assuage deep-harbored guilt for dumping her on Remus all these years.

  Then again, what kind of life did his brother have? He never dated, never had any outside hobbies, never even seemed to want to acquire any. For him, it had always been work and Mother. Poe had always felt that Remus had used Mom to rationalize his isolation. Maybe being away from her, Remus would develop himself, even make a couple of friends. Poe hoped so. He liked his brother. Residing alone was fine, even desirable. But living alone was a curse.

  The wind slapped against the window, making him jump. He wondered how Rukmani slept through it, though she had to be used to the noise by now. The luck of the draw, just the way her apartment was situated. Never a good thing to live downwind from the desert.

  FIFTEEN

  THE GIANT said he'd take a cup of coffee while he waited. He kept checking his watch every thirty seconds. Myra brought back a fresh pot, asked him how he was enjoying his stay. He said he'd been brought up in this town, that he had never liked it much. He was here on business. At the moment, he was waiting for his brother.

  When an out-of-breath Poe sat down at the table, Myra almost overfilled the giant's cup.

  "Sorry I'm late." Poe was panting. "My car wouldn't start. I called the hotel, but you had left."

  Giant's facial reactions were slow. But Myra thought that he looked appeased. She asked, "Where is it now, Rom?"

  "At the Bureau." Poe took a sip from Giant's coffee cup. "Myra, this is my twin brother, Remus."

  His twin brother? Rom was on the smallish side; Giant probably cleared a seven-foot marker. Why was Poe pulling her leg? She said, "Nice to meet you."

  "Likewise."

  Poe said, "This woman makes the best food in town."

  Myra smiled, desperately trying to note a family resemblance. "What can I get you, Romu—Romulus, Remus." She laughed. "That's kind of cute."

  No one spoke.

  Myra blushed. "I guess you got a lot of that as kids. I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

  "It's nothing," Poe said quickly. "It was during my mother's Roman mythology stage. I think at that time she had changed her name to Vesta. How was the party last night?"

  Myra brightened. "It went off without a hitch."

  "That's great."

  "What can I get you, boys?"

  Remus brayed laughter. "A long time since I've been called a boy."

  Poe smiled. "How about a corned beef sandwich?"

  "And for you, Mr. Remus Poe?" Myra said.

  "Turkey on rye. Mustard, no mayo." Again, Remus smiled. "Nice place you have here."

  Myra blushed again, touched the giant's shoulder. "Thank you. I'll be right back."

  When she was gone, Remus said, "That's your boss's wife?"

  Poe nodded.

  "She seems nice."

  "She's lovely. The loo is a lucky man. You've met Weinberg, haven't you?"

  "Maybe around ten years ago."

  Poe said, "Sorry about being late. How much time do you have left?"

  "Actually, I'm okay. I'm taking a later flight out, because I've left some unfinished business. So we're fine." Remus watched his brother drink up his coffee. His hands were shaking. "This whole thing with Mother, Rom. Is it coming at a bad time for you?"

  Poe looked up, surprised by his brother's acuity. "No, it's fine."

  "What are you working on these days?"

  Poe pointed a finger at his chest. "Me?"

  "Who else would I be talking to?"

  "Murder. What else?" Poe put down the cup, called out to Myra, "Another coffee when you get a chance." He rubbed his arms. "Man, some storm last night."

  "The wind howled bloody murder up on the top floors." Remus frowned. "I hate this town. Why you moved back still mystifies me. Especially after what it did to us."

  "Reno wasn't for me."

  "You didn't give it a fair shake."

  "That's true."

  Remus thought: You did it for Alison, and she dumped you anyway.

  Poe continued, "No, Las Vegas wasn't great to either of us. But I've come to terms with it."

  Myra brought the coffee and sandwiches. "Anything else?"

  "No, thanks," Poe said.

  Myra smiled, poured the coffee, and left. Remus finished off half his sandwich in three bites. "What's bothering you, Rom? Is it Mom?"

  "It has nothing to do with Mom."

  Well, maybe a little.

  Remus said, "Then what is it?"

  Useless to lie to him. Remus could X-ray his soul. Poe said, "Do you remember the Bogeyman? It was a murder case that happened when we were around ten."

  "Of course I remember it," Remus said. "Why?"

  Poe noticed his brother had paled. X-raying souls ran both ways. He said, "It's very similar to a case I'm working on. Why are you reacting so strongly?"

  "I'm not."

  "Yes, you are."

  Remus finished his sandwich, drank coffee, then put down the cup. "What do you remember about the case?"

  "Just that it scared the shit out of me."

  "Anything else?"

  "I recall something about the murderer taking out the eyes of his victim. Yesterday I went over old records, found what I thought was the actual Bogeyman case. Or rather, one of his cases. You know, I spoke to Y about it.

  He told me there were two cases. But I couldn't find a matched set in the same time frame. All I could find were two desert dumps a year apart. Either I missed something in the files or Y was lying to me. And if he was, why would he do that?"

  "Y was right. There were two women, Romulus. Both were murdered around the same time. Whether by the same man or not…who knows?"

  Poe stared at his brother. "You actually remember that?"

  "Distinctly."

  "I'm impressed."

  "You shouldn't be. The Bogeyman case made a big impact on me. It happened right around the time I was finishing with my shots. Maybe they had even taken me off treatment. But I was still in a lot of pain and I was still missing a lot of school. To take my mind off the boredom and agony, I read everything I could get my hands on, including the local throwaway papers, which carried the police blotters. Crime interested me. I think it gave me perspective. That there were actually people worse off than I was."

  Poe said, "I can't believe you remember that far back. And so clearly."

  "It's not remarkable." Remus picked up his half of his brother's corned beef sandwich. He took a big bite. "Not remarkable at all, considering at one point the police thought I was the Bogeyman."

  "Wh…?" Poe's hands started to shake…remembering words from ghosts past. Kids taunting in singsong voices: Your brother is the Bogeyman! Your brother is the Bogeyman! Poe's mind…one gigantic mass of repressed brain
cells. He choked out, "Wh…what are you talking about?"