Tail of the Dragon

by Connie Di Marco

  Gale walked into the living room. “What a mess!” She turned away and followed me into the kitchen. “How did they get out?”

  “The real question is, how did they get in?” I flicked on the light in the laundry room where the back door led to the outside stairway at the side of the building. Broken glass littered the floor. I pushed the curtain back. One small pane close to the door handle had been knocked out. I hadn’t noticed it in my search of the apartment.

  “Isn’t that a double lock deadbolt on this outside door?”

  “No,” I said in consternation. “I never got around to it.”

  “Well, at least we know how he got in.”

  “Or she.” My heart was slowly returning to its normal rhythm. “Gale, there’s no way into the rear of the house or the back yard except through that small door at street level next to the garage, and that’s always locked and bolted.” My house, like a lot of houses in the Avenues, stands shoulder to shoulder with its neighbors. A narrow side pathway to the rear is protected by a locked door in the outside wall of the house.

  “Well, let’s go down and make sure. Give me that screwdriver and you hold the flashlight.” We crept down the back stairs and walked along the side of the house toward the door to the street, skirting the garbage bins. The door was locked and bolted as it usually was. Another doorway under the house led into the garage. That was shut as well as the outer garage door.

  “Does the big garage door lock automatically when it goes down?” Gale asked.

  “Yes. Oh,” I groaned.

  “What?”

  “My garage door opener. I couldn’t find it when I came home. It’s been in my purse ’cause I’ve been parking on the street. That’s how they got in. They came in through the garage and up the side stairs to my laundry room.”

  “Let’s check your purse.” Gale and I trudged upstairs and I dumped the contents of my purse out on the kitchen table. I rummaged through everything. The opener wasn’t there. “It’s gone.”

  “Someone stole it?” Gale sat and leaned her elbows on the table, surveying the contents.

  “Must have. I’m very careful. I always zip the top so nothing falls out.”

  “Somebody at the firm? Somebody as in possibly the murderer?” We stared at each other silently. “So it’s safe to assume whoever did this still has the opener. You’ll have to get a new one and change the code.”

  “I’ll need to tell my downstairs neighbors about this. They’re not going to like it. I’m hardly their favorite person after all the commotion last winter when those crazy people were picketing our building.”

  “Too bad, they’ll have to suck it up. I’m sure they’d rather be safe.”

  “I can bolt the door at the back of the garage for now. Then it won’t be possible for anyone to get into the back of the house. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

  I went down the stairs again and made sure the door into the garage was locked from the inside. Upstairs, I pushed the small bolt across the laundry room door, for all the good that would do.

  Gale shrugged out of her coat and hung it over a kitchen chair. “I need a drink.”

  I pointed her to the cabinet where I keep liquor. She surveyed the few things I had and finally poured two generous shots of tequila. She handed one to me and belted hers down while I sipped.

  “I think you should call the police. I don’t think you should spend the night here.”

  “I really don’t want to leave. I’m just thankful Wizard wasn’t hurt and the office is intact.”

  “You know, this almost feels more like a personal attack, doesn’t it? Your clothes torn up and dishes smashed? Aren’t you going to call the police?”

  “I don’t want to. I’m exhausted and all they can do is take fingerprints, if they’ll even do that. They’ll keep me up half the night. Some stuff’s been destroyed but I don’t think anything was stolen. I don’t really have anything worth stealing anyway … maybe my laptop and the Buddha, but that’s it.” I took a large sip of tequila. “But Gale, if this happened, I must be getting close to something. Besides, if David or Adam hear about this, they’ll shut me out and I don’t want that. I don’t want them to know.”

  “Who’s Adam?”

  “Oh … that’s right, I haven’t had a chance to tell you.” I tried to keep a straight face but I could feel myself starting to blush.

  “Yes … ” Gail had a great big smile on her face.

  By now, I really was blushing. “Later. I’ll fill you in later.”

  “Not too much later, I hope.” Gale sniffed. “You know, honey, just because I don’t say anything doesn’t mean I don’t think about how you’re doing.”

  “I know that. You don’t have to say it.”

  “Maybe it’s time, you know. It’ll be almost three years this November. And other than a few dates that didn’t go anywhere, there’s really been no one. It’s not right.” She reached over and took my hand. “You can’t protect yourself forever, you know.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Who says I can’t?”

  Gale laughed and threw up her hands. “Listen, let’s get busy. I’ll wash up in here.” She pulled a bucket out from under the sink and filled it with warm water and soap and began to wash the spilled food from the kitchen walls. I swept up the broken dishes and dumped them in the garbage with the ruined clothing. Then I filled a plastic bag with the pillows and comforter. I didn’t have the strength to tackle the rest of the debris and decided to finish the mop-up in the morning.

  “I’m not going to let you stay here alone. I’m spending the night. Can you loan me a bathrobe or something?” Gale was rooting around in the refrigerator. I wasn’t sure she’d find very much. “God, Julia. Don’t you have any food in this house? I’m starving. No wonder you’re so thin. I swear!”

  “Oh, I totally forgot. You had a date with Luca tonight?”

  “I did. He’s been getting on my nerves. I sent him home. Food?”

  “Oh. Well, I did have some soup, but I think it’s mostly gone now. Wait.” I opened the freezer and pulled out a plastic container. “I’ll heat this in the microwave. It’s Gloria’s lasagna.”

  “Perfect. Thank you. And I’m going to the supermarket tomorrow to stock up your fridge.”

  “Please don’t bother. Most of the time I forget to eat anyway.” I pulled a hunk of hard Romano cheese from the refrigerator. When the lasagna was heated, I grated some to add to Gale’s dish. “Thanks for staying. I really appreciate it. I’ll take care of all the rest of this mess in the morning. Let’s turn on all the lights and I’ll jam a chair against the back door. And I can lock the door between the laundry room and the kitchen. Do you mind sharing the bed with me? Or you take the bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

  “Nah, I don’t want you to do that. Plenty of room for both of us on the bed.”

  I found a nightie and robe for Gale and dug extra blankets and pillows out of the storage closet. I put a log in the fireplace and lit it with the gas jets. We finally settled down and finished our evening with another shot of tequila. Well, maybe three. Wizard decided to come out from his hiding place and join us. Once he realized he was safe, he curled up in a ball in front of the hearth. I decided this might be the best time to broach the subject of Luca and come clean with Gale.

  All in all, she took it pretty well. “To be honest, I knew something wasn’t right,” she said when I finished. “I mean, this guy’s supposed to be from Italy. He speaks Italian, but he didn’t know the name of the Prime Minister. A big red flag went up for me.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Gale grimaced and waved a hand in the air. “Don’t be. You know, I was totally attracted to him, but after the show, he kept turning up on my doorstep like a lost puppy, and I found that very unappealing. I mean, I like what I do and you know I like men, but playing mommy and nursemaid, no. Yo
u can have it. I don’t have the patience for it.” I wasn’t sure if Gale was just putting a good face on it. But it was true that she didn’t like needy men, so maybe it was for the best. Gale snuggled into her robe. “Are you going back to David’s office tomorrow?”

  “I guess. I should turn up. I haven’t actually done much of anything there, but I’ve certainly done a lot of running around.” I reached over and gave her a big hug. “Gale, bless your heart. I can’t thank you enough.”

  She waved a hand in the air. “It’s nothing, sweetie. You’d do the same for me. Kisses. Now let’s get some sleep.” The log had burned to embers. I shoveled a little ash on top to damp it down and followed Gale down the hall.

  twenty-nine

  I woke at seven o’clock, even before my alarm went off. The dragon had reappeared. This time I’d dreamed of crows, hundreds of them—a murder of crows—circling the sky over my apartment. The crows had cawed and scattered as a dragon appeared on the horizon. My chest had constricted in fear. I’d tried to run but my feet wouldn’t move. I took a deep breath and shook my head to clear the cobwebs. What was going on in my head? I was haunted by a creature that doesn’t even exist.

  Gale was curled in a fetal position, snoring ever so slightly on the other side of the bed. Wizard was cuddled into a ball behind her knees. Faithless creature. My neck was stiff and my head was pounding, probably from the shots of tequila we’d downed the night before. If my intruder had returned, I wouldn’t have heard a thing. I tiptoed out to the kitchen, swallowed two aspirin, downed a glass of water, and filled the kettle. Wiz came running when he heard me crack open a can. I dumped the contents into his bowl and scooped coffee into the filter. Once it was ready, I filled two mugs and put them on a tray with the sugar bowl and a small pitcher of cream and carried the tray into the bedroom. Gale stirred and sat up.

  “Is that coffee I smell? You’re a goddess. Throw it in my face.”

  I sat in the little chair next to the bed and sipped my coffee, waiting for the caffeine to kick in.

  “You’re going to need some help today,” Gale observed. “I’ll call Edwin, my handyman, and see if he can come over first thing. You can’t leave here until he takes care of the windowpane and the locks. If your garage door opener doesn’t reappear, I think you’ll have to go to Sears or someplace to get a new one and a new code. I’ve got an appointment this morning, and then I’ve got to go over to the Eye. My accountant wants me to dig out some old records, so I’ll be tied up for a while. But I can come back later and help if you want me to?”

  “Thanks, I should be fine. No need to come back. Once the locks and the windowpane are taken care of, I’ll call David and let him know … actually, no, I won’t let him know what happened. I’ll make some excuse about being late.”

  “Julia, that law office should just be closed.”

  “It pretty much is, but I think David can’t totally desert it. He’s so lost right now and just can’t stay away, and I feel like I made a promise to help him out this week. I don’t want to leave him hanging.”

  I found Gale a toothbrush. She washed her face and put on the clothes she’d worn the night before. I heard her on the phone in the kitchen explaining to her handyman what was needed. In the meantime, I jumped in the shower, dried off, and put on a pair of slacks and a sweater I retrieved from the hallway closet. I brushed my teeth, pinned up my hair, put on some makeup, and was ready to face the day. Gale finished another cup of coffee and gave me a hug on her way out the door.

  “Edwin will be here in half an hour and take care of everything. Call me later, okay? Let me know how you’re doing?”

  “I will.”

  As it turned out, Edwin lived only five blocks from my house, and he arrived fifteen minutes after Gale had gone. When the doorbell rang I trotted down the stairs and, pushing the curtain to the side, peeked out. A tall, dour-looking, white-haired man wearing jeans with a tool belt around his waist stood outside my door.

  “Good morning to you, my dear. Are you Julia?” He spoke with a thick Scottish accent.

  “Yes, I am. It’s nice to finally meet you, Edwin. Thanks so much for coming on such short notice.”

  “Not a problem. Just show me what’s needed.” Edwin followed me up the stairs and I pointed out the window in the laundry room door. “Well, we’ll need to put in a small wee pane for this window and clean out the old glass. I have the deadbolts to install. You’ll need two, dear?”

  “That should do it. One on the laundry room door to the outside and one at the front door.”

  “Won’t take me but an hour or so. I’ll see what I can do about getting you a new garage opener and let you know. In the meantime, I’d suggest you keep that back door to the garage locked.”

  “Thank you, Edwin. Would you like some coffee?”

  “Many thanks, but no. I’ll just get right to work.”

  While Edwin was salvaging my apartment, I returned calls from clients and chatted for a short while. Finally, I left a message for the new client Celine had referred. I tried Maggie’s cell, just to check in with her, but she wasn’t answering. I left a message instead. An hour had slipped by and true to his word, Edwin was completely finished.

  It was now nine o’clock and a good time to reach David to let him know I was on my way. There was no answer on his private line. I called the main switchboard, hoping someone would pick up, but it clicked over to the answering service. I asked for David and was told that he had not arrived at the office or checked in for his messages. I wondered if he’d changed his mind about going in.

  I tried Adam’s cell phone next. I didn’t intend to mention the break in. If Gale hadn’t answered the phone last night, my second call would have been to Cheryl. Not that I wouldn’t have called Adam if I’d really needed him, but I was convinced that he and David would just stonewall my efforts. Adam answered on the first ring. “Hey. What’s up?”

  “I’ve been trying to reach David at the office, but no luck. He hasn’t come in. At least that’s what the answering service told me.”

  “That’s strange. He told me he was going to be there this morning. He wanted to take care of a few things. Let me try to get hold of someone there. I’ll call you back.”

  “Thanks.” I hung up. More than likely David had changed his mind. In the meantime, I needed to get busy and start taking care of my life for a change. I pulled a stack of bills from the top drawer of my desk. Rifling through, I lined them up in the order of their due dates. I wrote out checks for each, marked the bills paid, and sealed and stamped the envelopes. I stuffed them into my purse to drop in the mailbox. I studiously avoided looking at the charts on the bulletin board. I didn’t even want to think about any of those people. The phone rang. I grabbed in on the first ring. It was Adam.

  “Julia. Listen. David’s all right, but he’s been admitted to the hospital.”

  “What? Where is he? What’s wrong?”

  “He’s at St. Joseph’s. I just talked to their housekeeper. Apparently he had some arrhythmia early this morning and Caroline didn’t want him to go into the office. She was worried, so she called 911.”

  “Oh, how awful. I’ve been afraid this whole thing might affect his health.”

  “Just so you won’t worry too much, he’s doing fine. He wants to go home, but his doctor insisted he stay for a couple of days to run some tests. Caroline’s with him.”

  “I’ll go over there to see him. Can I call you later?”

  “Sure. I have a meeting at a client’s, but I’ll be back at my office around noon.”

  “Talk to you then.”

  St. Joe’s was on Castro near Market. I could be there in twenty minutes. I grabbed my jacket and purse, put my new keys on the key ring, and stuck the extra keys Edwin had left for me in a desk drawer. When I approached the hospital, I turned up the side street and, taking a ticket out of the meter at the entrance
to visitors’ parking, found a spot midway down the first aisle.

  At the entryway, a nurse stood guard over an elderly man in a wheelchair, waiting to load her patient into the family car. A young girl, perhaps ten years old, holding a bouquet of flowers, stood next to the elderly man. I pushed through the glass doors and approached the front desk. The reception counter was topped with an autumn arrangement of gourds, dried leaves, and red and gold chrysanthemums. Cutouts of jack-o’-lanterns done by young patients in the children’s ward decorated the wall behind the counter.

  A friendly woman with white hair, wearing a pink smock, told me David was in Room 324. I took the elevator up and wandered down the hallway. The room numbers ended at 318 and the corridor dead-ended at the Radiology Department. Irked, I retraced my steps, passed the nurses’ station once more, and turned to the left. Halfway down the corridor I found David’s private room. The television was muted and Caroline sat in a chair next to the bed reading a magazine. An IV set up on the back of David’s hand connected to a bag of clear fluid suspended on a metal stand.

  I tapped gently on the door. Caroline looked up and smiled. “Julia. I just tried to call you. David didn’t want you to go into the office at all.” Caroline is tall, slim, and blonde, with a long face and aquiline nose. She was wearing a gray skirt and sweater and certainly didn’t look as if she’d just rushed her husband to the hospital. If she’d greeted me at the doorway of her Russian Hill home she couldn’t have been better put together.

  “How is he?”

  “He’s fine,” she said with a smile.

  David’s voice boomed. “Please don’t talk about me in the third person. I’m not dead.”

  “Shhhh, dear. You’ll have the nurse in here lecturing you again.” Caroline sighed and, shaking her head, sat back in her chair.

  “I hope you didn’t come empty-handed.” David peered at me over his glasses. “Did you bring me some jelly donuts?”