by John Rector
“Is that right?” She looked at me, and I could see her jaw muscles straining under her skin. “Nick, is it?”
I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Patricia stared at my hand until I lowered it. Then she straightened and turned to Abby. “This probably isn’t the best time for strangers, considering.”
“Nick isn’t a stranger,” Abby said. “At least not to me. I mean, we just met, but sometimes you just know right away about a person. Besides, I want him to meet Daddy before . . .”
Abby put a hand to her mouth, her voice choked.
If I hadn’t known better, I might’ve been fooled. Instead, I was only impressed.
“Daniel,” Patricia said, emphasizing the word, “isn’t ready for visitors outside the family. I’m sure we can schedule another time for Nick to meet—”
“Abby!”
The three of us turned toward the back door as three little girls ran into the room carrying neon pink and green Hula-Hoops. They headed straight for Abby.
Abby’s face shone. “Hello, triplets.”
Patricia looked from the girls to me, and I could see the fear swell in her eyes.
“Girls,” she said, waving her hand at them. “Get back outside. Go on, right now.”
Abby turned, her voice sweet and comforting. “It’s okay. They’re just excited to see me.”
The girls surrounded Abby, loud and bouncing, waving the Hula-Hoops.
“You have to see what we can do!”
“We didn’t know you were coming!”
“Come on, come outside. You have to see!”
Abby laughed, touched my arm. “Nick, this is Haley, Stella, and Ava.” She looked at Patricia and smiled. “These little flowers are Patricia’s granddaughters.”
I felt Patricia tense next to me.
“Girls, this is my new friend, Nick.”
One of the girls said, “Hi, Nick.” Then she grabbed Abby’s arm and pulled her toward the back door. “Come on.”
Abby laughed, turned to me. “Will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Good.” She looked from me to Patricia. “You two can get to know each other a little. I won’t be long.”
Abby leaned in and pressed her lips against mine and held it long enough for it to matter.
One of the girls giggled.
When Abby broke the kiss, she bit her lower lip, then reached up and ran her thumb over mine, shook her head, and whispered, “God, what you do to me.”
Then she let go and followed the girls across the room toward the doors leading out to the backyard.
I watched her go, my heart beating heavy.
Once Abby and the girls were gone, Patricia turned on me. When she spoke, it was through clenched teeth.
“Why the fuck is she still alive?”
21
The question took me by surprise, and I wasn’t sure what to say. I could feel my hands shaking, so I lifted my glass and took a drink, hoping it would help.
It was like drinking sunlight, and for a moment everything else was forgotten.
“Are you going to explain?” Patricia stepped closer, her voice a whisper. “I paid you to do a job. Why hasn’t it been done?”
“You didn’t deliver.”
“I gave you everything you asked for.”
“Not all of it,” I said. “The data on the drive was—”
“I gave you everything I had.”
“It was incomplete.”
Patricia stared at me, then shook her head and looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do,” I said. “Don’t insult me.”
“I can’t believe this.” She pointed toward the front windows and the view of the city stretching out beyond the glass. “There are others who would do this job for the money alone. They wouldn’t ask for anything else.”
“You’re talking about the daughter of one of the richest men in the state,” I said. “Not many people out there want that kind of heat.”
“We’ll see,” she said. “Travis found you easily enough. He can find someone else.”
“That’s not an option.”
Patricia opened her mouth to say something, then stopped and shook her head. “I don’t understand any of this. That program was shut down years ago. Most of the names we have aren’t even up to date. God only knows where half of those people are now.”
I stood there, silent.
Patricia shook her head. “This was obviously a mistake. I shouldn’t have come to you. Consider yourself fired. I’m calling it off.”
“Like I said, it’s too late for that.”
Patricia waved a hand in the air, dismissing the comment. “Keep the money I paid you, I don’t care. Your services are no longer needed.”
I watched her as she spoke, and I could tell she was trying to show confidence, but there was a small tremble in her voice that gave her away. Part of me felt sorry for her, but then I thought about Abby and what Victor did to her the night before, all because of Patricia.
After that the feeling faded.
“The people I work for want that information,” I said. “Like we agreed.”
“And who are these people?” she asked. “Exactly whom do you work for?”
“That’s not your concern.”
Patricia hugged her arms to her chest, then turned toward the French doors and the windows looking out over the backyard. She didn’t say anything, and I wondered if she’d heard me at all.
I started to tell her again, but then she spoke.
“She’s evil, you know.”
“What?”
“That girl.” Patricia nodded toward the back windows. “You obviously have no idea.”
I followed her gaze and looked out at Abby standing with the three girls on the patio. The girls were laughing, their neon Hula-Hoops spinning in the sunlight. Abby watched them, her face bright and alive and beautiful.
“She seems like any other girl to me.”
Patricia grunted, didn’t speak.
I remembered Abby telling me how Patricia hated her from the moment she showed up looking for her father. Now, seeing the way Patricia watched her and hearing the sharpness in her voice, I could see that hatred for myself.
“She’s exactly like her mother.” Patricia turned to me. “I can see Lillian in her. She was a horrid woman, and her daughter is just as bad.”
“I don’t care about that,” I said. “All I want is the data you agreed to provide. I’ll wait while you get it.”
Patricia looked at me, her eyebrows arched.
“You want it now?” A hint of a smile formed at the corners of her lips. “Do you honestly think Daniel keeps old records from the lab lying around the house?”
“That’s not my problem.”
“You do have a one-track mind, don’t you?” She turned back to the windows. “I can see why Abby let you into her life. She doesn’t like complicated, and I have a feeling that there’s not a lot under the surface with you.”
I kept quiet.
Patricia sighed and reached for the pearls around her neck. “You don’t know anything about her, do you?”
“I know enough.”
“Has she told you about her mother?”
“Only that she’s dead,” I said. “And that she worked as a waitress when she met your husband.”
“A waitress?” Patricia laughed. “Lillian must be rolling over in her grave.”
“It’s not true?”
“Of course it’s not true,” she said. “Nothing that comes out of that girl’s mouth is true.” Patricia pointed at me, wagging her finger in the air. “You’d do well to keep that in mind.”
“She wasn’t a waitress?”
“I ca
n’t imagine she was,” Patricia said. “When I knew her, she worked with Daniel in the lab. Abby never told you that, did she?”
“She never mentioned it.”
“I’m not surprised. Abigail has blinders on when it comes to her mother. Even so, Lillian Pierce wasn’t exactly a parent you’d want to brag about.” Patricia tapped the side of her head with her fingertip. “She had strange ideas, which was why Daniel let her go and what led to everything that followed.”
“Everything that followed?”
“Oh yes,” Patricia said. “It was quite the local scandal at the time.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Ask her about it,” Patricia said. “I doubt she’ll tell you the truth, but it will be interesting to hear her answer.”
I had questions, a lot of them, but the conversation was slipping away from me, and time was running out. I needed to stay focused. Everything else could wait.
“I’m not here to talk about Abby or her mother.”
“No, you’re not, are you?”
“I want that data.”
“Yes, you’ve made that clear.” Patricia shrugged. “Unfortunately, I can’t help you.”
I finished my drink and set the glass on the table.
“Mrs. Holloway, I don’t think I’m explaining the situation clearly. So, I’m going to try again, because I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding between us.” I stared at her and tried to look intimidating. “You will bring me the information we agreed upon, or—”
“Or what?” Patricia’s eyes turned sharp. “What exactly will you do to me?”
I didn’t say anything.
“It’s you who doesn’t fully understand the situation,” she said. “If something happens to me, it’ll be the first story on the news and on the front page of all the papers. They’ll shine a spotlight into every dank little hole in the state to find you—and they will find you, believe me.”
“Maybe.”
“There’s no maybe about it.” She stepped closer, her eyes never leaving mine. “I know how much people like you hate to come out into the light of day, and I don’t believe you’re careless enough to bring that kind of attention down on your head, not to mention the people you work for, so I’ll ask again: What exactly do you think you’re going to do to me if I refuse your request?”
She stopped talking, and I turned toward the French doors and the back windows. I didn’t see Abby anywhere, but the three little girls were still on the patio, laughing, the Hula-Hoops spinning joy around them.
I had the most terrible idea.
“You’re right,” I said. “I won’t do anything to you.”
Patricia smiled.
“Of course you won’t.” She straightened herself. “And now that we’ve made that clear, I think it’s time the two of you said your good-byes and—”
“Your granddaughters seem sweet,” I said. “Are they really triplets, or did Abby make that up, too?”
Patricia inhaled sharply.
“Which one is the runt?” I asked. “It’s Ava, isn’t it? She seems so . . .” I let the word hang in the air, hating myself more with each passing second. “Trusting.”
I didn’t see Patricia coming, and by the time I did it was too late. She slapped me hard across the face, and the sound echoed beneath the tall vaulted ceilings.
When Patricia spoke next, her voice was a low growl.
“How dare you.”
“I want the information we agreed upon.”
“You come into my house and . . .” Patricia’s voice rose as she spoke, but I could hear the panic behind her words. “If you ever threaten my family, my girls—”
“I haven’t threatened anyone, Mrs. Holloway.”
“How dare you . . .” Her voice cracked, and she put a hand to her mouth, her eyes never leaving me. “What kind of man are you?”
It was a good question, and right then I didn’t have an answer. At least not an answer I liked.
“Give me what we asked for and you’ll never see me again.”
Patricia stepped closer, and it took all my strength to keep from backing up. “I gave you what you asked for.”
I frowned, making sure she saw.
“Mrs. Holloway, I’m offering you a second chance to fulfill your end of our agreement.”
“Am I supposed to thank you?”
“You’re supposed to take advantage.” I turned toward the windows and nodded. “Because there won’t be another opportunity.”
Patricia’s lip trembled, and she swallowed hard. “I need to sit down.”
I looked around and saw a wooden chair against the wall. I picked it up and carried it over to her. She sat, her legs crossed at the ankle, her shoulders trembling.
She didn’t say anything for a long time. When she finally did, her voice was soft and nearly silent.
“I’ll need a couple days to search the old records,” she said. “I’ll have to go to Daniel’s lab and see what—”
“Tonight.”
She shook her head. “That’s impossible. I can’t get in there tonight. It would look suspicious.”
“Then tomorrow night,” I said. “Meet me at Mickey’s Pub, the same place as before. Eight o’clock.”
Patricia looked up at me, and this time the anger in her eyes was gone. All that was left was sadness and age.
“You’re not going to hurt my girls, are you?”
The ache in her voice sank into me.
I wanted to tell her that I wasn’t going to hurt anyone and that her family was safe, at least from me. Except that wasn’t part of the plan.
In the end, all I did was walk away.
22
Several heads turned as I stepped through the French doors and out onto the patio, but no one spoke to me. A woman in a white shirt carrying an empty tray walked by and asked if I’d like a drink.
I told her I wasn’t staying.
There were two tables set up on the grass, both shaded by large baby-blue umbrellas. A few people were sitting on cushioned lawn chairs around the table, but most were wandering around the yard or huddled in smaller groups, eating and talking and laughing.
I didn’t see Abby anywhere, and I started to wonder if she’d gone inside. Then I felt a hand on my arm. I looked down and saw one of the little girls staring back up at me, smiling through a scatter of missing teeth.
“Are you Abby’s boyfriend?”
“What did she tell you?”
“She said you were just friends, but I think you’re her boyfriend.”
I crouched down so we were face-to-face. The girl’s eyes were wide and blue.
“Have you seen her around?” I asked. “I can’t find her anywhere.”
The girl looked past me, pointed over my shoulder. “She’s talking to Grandpa.”
I glanced behind me and saw Abby kneeling next to an old man lying under a blanket on a reclining lawn chair. She had her back to me, so I couldn’t see her face.
As I stood up, I noticed Patricia’s assistant, Travis, standing a few feet away from Abby. He was staring at her, his hands folded behind his back.
I thanked the little girl, then started walking toward them, but I stopped before I reached the grass. I didn’t know what Abby was saying to her father, and I didn’t want to interrupt something personal, so I found a spot by the side of the house and waited.
A few minutes later Abby leaned forward, kissed her father on the cheek. I caught a brief glimpse of Daniel Holloway. His skin was thin and blue and hung loose on his face, as if he were melting under the weight of a heavy sun.
I could tell he wasn’t going to be around for long.
Abby stood and turned away from her father. Travis moved with her. He caught up, took her elbow, and said something to her as they walked. She didn’t resp
ond. From where I stood, her face looked distant and unfocused, almost lost.
Then she saw me, and the darkness around her eyes lifted. Her face became lighter, and when she smiled at me, she shone.
Travis looked up at me and then moved away, leaving her alone. I watched him while I waited for Abby to cross the lawn to where I was standing.
“How’d it go?” she asked. “Did you get it?”
“Tomorrow night,” I said. “She’s meeting me.”
“Tomorrow?” The edge in her voice was sudden and sharp. “They said twenty-four hours.”
“She said everything is at Daniel’s lab.”
“And you believed her?”
I thought about how Patricia had looked when she asked if I was going to hurt her girls, and I nodded.
“Yeah,” I said. “I believe her.”
I could tell Abby wasn’t convinced, but now wasn’t the time to talk about it. There were several people standing around the yard, all of them watching us. I felt like I was on display.
“We can talk after we leave,” I said. “I saw you with Daniel. Everything okay?”
Abby nodded, looked down.
There was something else there, but I left it alone.
“Then let’s get out of here,” I said. “I’ve had enough of this place.”
We got back in the car and drove down the long gravel driveway, then through the black iron gate and out onto Sky View Road. I told Abby about my conversation with Patricia. I expected her to be horrified when I told her how I’d threatened Patricia’s three granddaughters, but Abby didn’t seem to care. She wanted to know about Patricia, how she’d acted, what she’d said.
The excitement in her voice was electric.
“How did she look when you told her?”
“Terrified,” I said. “For all she knows I might be the kind of person who would go after her family to get to her. I can’t blame her for being scared.”
Abby clapped her hands, then held them together in front of her lips. She crossed her legs tight and rocked back and forth, the leather passenger seat moaning under her.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I couldn’t possibly be better,” she said. “You were wonderful, Nick. Simply wonderful.”
