by Tim Tingle
* * *
Thursday Travis had been scheduled for two book signings in London. The first was at 10 in the morning at Waterstone’s Booksellers, in Trafalgar Square, and the other was at Blackwell Books, on Huntington Street. He was envious of the others in his tour group, who were having a free day in London. They were dividing up into four or five groups, and going separate ways. His mom, and Mrs. Parker were going back to see more of the British Museum. Others were going with Nikki to a shopping plaza in North London. Drew, Audry, and two other girls were going to use their passes, to ride the subway all day, and see the entire city. Any of these things were preferable to sitting in a bookstore signing books. But Travis realized that with success, came sacrifice. He rode the subway with Drew and the girls to the Trafalgar Station, then parted ways.
“Stay out of trouble, and have fun,” he told Drew as he got off the train, to the admonition of the recording to ‘mind the gap’.
“Isn’t that an oxymoron, Dad?” Travis didn’t understand the question, until the doors had closed and the train was moving. But Drew was smiling as they wisked out of sight. “Oh, yes. I guess it is an oxymoron!” he said out loud.
He was half expecting to see the chaos of another pot legalization rally, as he emerged from the subway at Trafalgar Square, but today things were back to normal. There was no evidence that this had been the site of such a rally just the day before. Even the streets were clean swept and spotless. The only tell-tale sign of the previous days activities was a huge fake joint in the mouth of one of the huge bronze lions.
He had seen the Waterstone Booksellers store the day before, so he knew exactly where to go. He had learned from the previous book signings to be there 30 minutes early, because that was what was expected, so he walked in the door at 9:30. There were few people in the store, so he had hopes that this would bean easy gig. He found the store manager, and was shown where he was set up. There were a few people already in line, so he sat down and began. He enjoyed the lighter crowd, because he could spend more time actually conversing with his fans. After 20 minutes the last customer in line had just left, and someone sat down at the table next to him. It was Angel.
“I see you have learned to arrive on time.”
“Yes, an old dog can learn new tricks, eventually.”
“You are hardly an ‘old dog’. I came by your hotel to give you a ride here, but you were already gone.”
“Yes, I like taking the subway.”
“But you never know what crazies you will run into there.”
“Not as many of my fans here, which is good. I don’t like being treated like a rock star.”
“Just wait. This is early morning. The noon hour will bring the crowds you are used to. But that is good, it will give us time to talk. Did you and my father have an interesting discussion last night?”
“Yes we did. Have you not talked to him?”
“Only briefly. He just told me that the two of you had agreed in principle to most of your concerns. He says he will have a contract ready for you tomorrow, but there is no rush to sign it. He wants you to take it home with you, and let your lawyer look it over before you sign. Lord knows, you don’t want to get stuck with a bad contract, like you did with that Canadian con-man. Any questions or concerns you have about the contract can be worked out by e-mail. He is excited that you seem so inclined to work with us.”
“Well, Jester seems to have done a good job so far with ‘The Relic’, we might as well keep the ball rolling with my second book.”
“Speaking of which, I finished your manuscript last night, and I must say that I was blown away by the ending!”
“It wasn’t what you expected, was it?”
“No, and that is one thing I like about your writing! I simply cannot guess what the ending will be! Where do you get the ideas for such as that?”
“It comes from a twisted mind.”
“I have talked to you enough to know that you are not that twisted! I think you are a literary genius!”
“And I think you are trying to butter me up! You never give up, do you?”
“Why no. It’s a part of my game. Well lubricated parts work well together.”
“I suppose my whole day is planned out?”
“Yes, you will be here until about 2 PM, then I will take you out for an afternoon lunch, then you will be expected at Blackwell’s Books a five o’clock through eight or so.”
“My vacation has been hijacked by book signings!”
“Yes, but remember, you agreed to do them.”
“I know, and the book signings do a lot to promote my own books, so I have no complaints. But I was hoping to see more of the sights here in England while I was here.”
“Don’t worry about that! If you sign on as our premier author, I suspect that you will be back to jolly ol’ England every time a new book comes out, because we will want you to come back and promote your new books. And I am sure my father will agree to pay your travel costs to come back, because it will be so profitable for us as well. On your subsequent visits to the Isles, I will make sure that you see any sight you wish to see. You may wish to visit some sites many times. I have personal sites you may visit any time you wish!”
“Well, I hate to cool your jets, Angel, but if I come back for future book signings, I will probably bring my wife with me. I doubt that she will be interested in seeing the sites you want to show me.”
“Oh poo! Wives are such kill-joys! Perhaps on some of your visits, you can come alone?”
“Nothing in the future is guaranteed.”
More customers showed up with books to be signed, so Angel went to talk to the manager, while Travis talked and laughed with his fans.
* * *
Drew and Audrey were having the time of their lives, riding the subway. They got off at every stop, and went to the surface to see what there was to see, and take a few photos. The two girls who started out with them had branched off on their own, to ‘shop’, but Audrey confided to Drew that they were actually out looking for cute British guys to hang out with. She said that was what college girls do on trips like this.
“Is that what you want to do, find a cute British guy?”
“No, I’m pretty happy with my American guy!”
“You mean me?”
“Duh! Of course I mean you! Who else?”
“I’m still in high school.”
“So what? If I had not taken accelerated classes, so would I. This would be my senior year. I am still seventeen.”
“So am I.”
“Your dad designated you as my ‘protector’ while we are here, and I think you are doing an excellent job!” She snuggled up closer to him on the train seat. Drew smiled.
“It’s okay, you can put your arm around me if you want. There is no one on the train that know us.”
“Okay.” He laid his arm across the back of the seat, and she grabbed his hand, and pulled it down on her shoulder.
“See? That wasn’t so hard. Now if some cute British guy comes along, he won’t try any moves on me, because he will see that we are together.”
“We are?”
“Of course we are. You have never had a girlfriend before, have you?”
“What makes you think that?”
“I can tell. You are so timid with girls. But that’s okay, I won’t bite you! I don’t mind you touching me. In fact, I kind of like you touching me.”
“You do?”
“Yes, and I like you too, Drew! I am having a wonderful time here, seeing the sights and all, but mainly because I’m here with a guy I happen to like.”
“Well, I like you too, Audrey.”
“Good, that’s a start. And I think we could be friends when we get back home too. I mean, you said you live only about 11 miles from Arlington,
so we could see each other all the time when we get back home.”
“You mean you want to be my girlfriend?”
“Of course, silly! I will be at all your football games, cheering for you!”
“That would be nice.”
She snuggled a little closer to him, and Drew had to admit that he liked being close to her.
“Drew Lee! Are you sniffing my hair?”
“Yes, it smells nice.”
“It must be the shampoo I use.” She giggled and pulled his arm tightly around her.
“What is the next exit?”
“I don’t know. I can’t pronounce it.”
“Let’s get off here and walk around, look at all the shops, and hope that we don’t see anyone that we know! We are half a world away from home, and we can pretend that it’s just the two of us traveling together!”
“Sure, we can do that.”
“I like seeing new things, and new places, and strange people and customs! I’d like to travel all around the world, and see all that there is to see! I want to see places that are romantic and mysterious! But I don’t want to see the world alone! I want someone to travel with me.”
“It would probably be safer to travel with someone you know.”
“Yes, someone who is big, strong and handsome! Someone like you!”
Drew laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I was just thinking the exact same thing. I was thinking about how nice it would be to travel all over the world with someone as pretty as you!”
“Why, thank you, Drew! Are you blushing?”
“I don’t know. Am I?”
“I think you are! I like the way you smile! Here’s the station. Let’s go!”
* * *
Miranda had not slept much all night. She had tossed and turned, and finally got up and brewed herself a pot of coffee, and went out back to watch her new pool fill up.
She was free and clear. All she had to do was keep her head, and not say or do anything stupid. So why was it that she couldn’t sleep?
She felt bad for Lennie. She couldn’t get the image of his mangled body out of her mind, but curiously, that was not what was bothering her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that he probably had committed suicide. What was the last thing that Lennie had said to her? When he was on his bike, looking back at her, about to leave the judge’s house? I want you to know that I love you, Miranda!’ And then he had gone right out on the highway, and steered straight into the headlights of that oncoming 4x4 truck! No, it was not a stretch to imagine that he had intentionally killed himself.
Lennie was always so careful. He had been riding in that road for 25 years. But tonight, knowing that he was dying of cancer, and knowing that he could help her out most by not being around to talk to the police, he had deliberately steered into that truck. She was sure of it.
What made her feel so bad, was the way she had treated him while they were cleaning the judge’s house. She had hinted that she wanted to send him away, so that he couldn’t ‘mess things up’ by talking to the police. It appeared to up-set Lennie, when she wanted him out of the country, and he didn’t want to leave. But from his perspective, that was understandable. He had never been away from home before, and knew he wouldn’t be happy in a strange place. Especially the last few months or weeks of his life. He wanted to die right here at home, and so he took matters into his own hands. He died here at home, on his own terms, doing what he enjoyed doing all his life, riding his bike. And he did it, knowing that by dying, he was helping her.
‘I want you to know that I love you, Miranda’ Yes, those were his last words. He knew when he spoke them, that they would be his last words. And if there really is a Heaven, then Lennie is up there right now, with his parents who loved him, and his forgotten childhood friends, and he was probably looking down at her, and seeing what a pitiful creature she really was!
Miranda slid her coffee cup back and put her head down on the patio table and began to sob. She sobbed over what she had done to Lennie, and what an incredible mess she had made of her own life. Would God ever forgive her?
* * *
With the morning, came news through the local grapevine that Mr. Latham had to go bail out his son, Cory, because he was in the County jail for reckless driving, and speeding the night before. Janice was bewildered when she heard the details, and presented them to the boys, as they ate breakfast. The boys pretended to be shocked. Joey, (who had covered his briar scratches with skin cream) replied by saying, “Wow. He must have been rushing to get home himself, after dropping us off. See? That’s the danger of having a curfew, Mom. It causes kids to do dangerous things, just to be home by a specific time.”
“That’s no excuse for going 80 miles per hour! I didn’t think it was possible to get up to 80 between here and Laurel Grove!”
“Maybe the policeman’s speed gun was off.” Joey said. “I have heard that they are not admissible in court, because they are so far off.”
“I’m glad he wasn’t driving that fast with my kids riding with him!”
“Me too!” Calvin said.
“So what is his dad going to do to him?” Joey asked.
“I’m pretty sure he won’t be driving for awhile! If any of you boys get caught doing something like that, you don’t even want to know what is going to happen to you!”
Silence, except for the crunching of four teenagers eating cereal.
“Erma also told me that there was some kind of disruption at the Presbyterian Retreat last night. All she knew was what she heard on her police scanner. Said the were police called to the Retreat. Do you boys know what that was about?”
More crunching. Joey finally said, “Must have been after we left last night. Remember? We had a curfew! We couldn’t stay as late as everyone else, so I guess we missed it.”
“But remember, we did pass a police car heading that way.” Chris added.
“Yeah, we did. I’m glad Cory was driving safe when we passed him!”
“That’s right. Cory was driving safe when we were with him, Mom.”
“Thank goodness for that!”
* * *
Thursday morning, Penelope’s lawyer met her at the jail to discuss her case. He had been appointed by the court to represent her, since she had no money for a lawyer. He was a young lawyer, just out of law school, and was eager for any case, even if it was pro-bono. He was eager to prove that he was capable of defending a client, so Penelope’s case provided him with a challenge. After hearing all the details, he was sure that he could convince a jury that she was not guilty of murder, but only self defense. He was meeting with her to go over the details one more time, and to present her with her options.
“Penelope, tell me one more time what happened at your father’s house that day.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes, you do. Start with when he entered the kitchen, and cut off your escape.”
“Like I told you before, he had me trapped in the kitchen. The window over the sink was too small for me to get through, so I was going to have to get past him somehow. I was desperate. I grabbed the biggest kitchen knife I could find off the counter, and told him to leave me alone, or I would kill him!”
“But that didn’t deter him?”
“No! He kept coming, telling me that he loved me, and that things could be just like old times! I was terrified! It was like reliving my worst nightmare all over again! He reached out to grab the knife, but I snatched it away. I was NOT going to let him rape me again! I slashed at his hand and cut him pretty badly, and he stepped back. That was when my terror turned to rage! I saw my chance, and lunged forward with the knife, and buried it deep in his chest! He tried to say something, but he couldn’t. He tried to grab the handle of the knife, but he didn’
t have the strength to pull it out. He toppled over on me, getting blood all over me, then dropped to his knees and fell forward on his face. When he hit the floor, it drove the knife even deeper into him, and I saw the tip of the blade come out his back! I said it before, and I will say it again: I am GLAD he’s dead! I am GLAD that I killed him! I just wished I could have killed him a thousand times, once for every time he raped me!”
She broke down crying, and her lawyer let her cry for awhile, then said, “Okay, after he fell on the knife, what did you do?”
“I wanted to get rid of him, of everything! Him, the house, all those bad memories! I wanted to wipe it all off the face of the earth, so I turned on the eyes of the stove, and moved a pan of bacon grease onto one of the eyes. Then I grabbed a dish towel, and some paper bags, and threw them on the stove, so there would be a big enough fire to burn the house down! I hoped the whole place burned to the ground!” She burst out crying again, and again the lawyer let her cry until she got it out of her system.
“Okay, I know you told me all this before, and you told some wild things to the police. In fact you told so many different versions to the police, that frankly, they do not believe anything you have said, which could be good. But sit up and listen to me for a minute.”
“Okay.’
“At your trial, I intend to bring out all the sordid details about how your father abused you when you were a child. I want to build up Bob Deason to be the most loathsome, vile creature that ever walked the earth! I want the jury to see what kind of man he really was, so that they will hate him as much as you did. When I get through telling about your father, I want them to believe that he deserved to die the way he did, and that you had the right to kill him! I want the jury to be sympathetic to you, to the point that they would forgive you for anything you might have done in the heat of passion, to hasten his demise! But then, once you have their sympathy, I will prove that, even though you had the moral right to kill him, that you actually didn’t do it! I will prove that his death was the result of a series of freakish accidents, and that, even though you were glad that he was dead, you actually did nothing to kill him!”
