by Elka Ray
“How are you?” we both say, in stereo. An orderly pushes him further into the room.
“You first,” says Josh, when he’s parked next to my bed. After giving me a searching look, he bends forward and kisses my cheek. He smells of antiseptic.
“I’m tired but okay,” I say. “Thanks for the flowers.” It was really sweet of him to send flowers, especially since he’s also hospitalized.
Josh fiddles with the belt of his robe. He seems ill-at-ease. Quinn looks like she plans to get up, and I shoot her a warning look. I don’t want her to leave. I’m glad to see Josh, and relieved that he’s fine, but don’t feel up to an intense heart-to-heart. Not yet. Not today.
The orderly has just left when there’s a fresh knock on the door. Again, I expect to see the nurse. Instead, Colin Destin peers around the door and smiles. Then he sees Quinn and Josh. “Hey, is this a bad time?” He’s holding a bulk jar of jelly beans.
“Not if you’re bringing candy,” says Quinn.
“Come in,” I say. I realize I’m glad to see him.
Colin opens the jar and passes the jelly beans around. Quinn grabs a handful, then feeds me a few. Josh declines but changes his mind. I see him wince when he tries to chew. After that he sucks on his jelly beans.
Colin pulls up a chair beside Quinn’s. “I came yesterday but you were asleep.”
I nod.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Much.”
“Good.” He leans forward, green eyes glowing with excitement. “We arrested Louise Dobson. You were right about the dog’s collar. Her thumbprint was on it, in Tonya’s blood. She confessed. She and Tonya got into a fight about a scarf and Louise bashed her. The next day, she planted the bloody flashlight in the boat’s engine room.”
I shudder.
Josh looks stricken. “A scarf?” He rakes his hands through his hair. “She killed Tonya for a scarf? I . . . but why?” he asks.
Looking at Josh’s distraught face, I have a vision: Tonya and Louise on the dock, late at night, screaming at each other. I see their hands on the scarf, Tonya’s long coral nails and Louise’s short bitten ones, tugging backward and forward. The yellow diamond on Tonya’s hand flashes. The scarf rips. Her face clenched in rage, Louise raises her large flashlight.
I squeeze my eyes shut and push my head back against my pillow.
“Toby?” Quinn sounds alarmed. “Are you okay? You’re so pale!”
“Should we call the doctor?” asks Colin.
I recall my meeting with Louise in her office at Island Deco. The rings on her fingers. It was right before my eyes but I didn’t see it. I’d bet my weight in healing crystals that her yellow pinkie ring wasn’t a citrine. I force my eyes open.
“I’m fine.” My voice is a thin rasp. “Colin,” I say. “Did you find Tonya’s missing engagement ring? With the yellow diamond?”
He shakes his head. “Not yet. Why?”
“Louise stole it.”
Colin frowns. “We’re searching her place now.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and excuses himself. “I’ll tell the guys to keep an eye out for it.” He turns to Josh. “Remind me what it looked like?”
As Josh describes the ring, my head pounds. What just happened to me? That scene on the dock—it was so clear. My throat feels parched. I ask Quinn for some water. She holds the glass to my lips.
“You need to sleep,” she says.
I’m exhausted but don’t want my friends to leave. And I still have more questions. “How about Chantelle?” I whisper, when Colin returns from making his phone call. Just thinking about her causes my heart to speed up.
“She’ll be charged with two counts of attempted murder,” says Colin. “It’s pretty clear cut. Years of resentment built up. Mike’s the main beneficiary in Josh’s will. She saw a good opportunity to get rich quick and took it.” He offers me some more jelly beans. “She didn’t know about your brunch.” I know he meant “date.” He frowns. “Wrong place, wrong time, Toby.”
I glance sideways at Josh. “And Mike?” I ask quietly. “Did he know what Chantelle was up to?”
Both men shake their heads. “Nothing indicates that,” says Colin. I’m relieved for Josh. Colin crosses his arms.
Josh selects a green jelly bean. “Mike came to see me yesterday. I’m still mad at him about Tonya, of course, but . . .” He studies some machines parked next to my bed. “He’s my brother. He’s going to start working for me again, running the charters.”
Quinn shifts in her chair. I see she’s sweating. It’s hot in here. “Thank God it’s over,” she says.
Colin nods. “Yes. It’s been a strange case,” he admits. “All of you going to that crazy summer camp. Camp Wiki?” He squints. “What was it called?”
“Camp Dickwhacker,” I say.
Josh laughs. “I’d forgotten about that.” His eyes crinkling with mirth, he starts to sing the camp song: “At Camp Wikwakee there’s no trouble or strife. Just one summer that will change your life.”
Colin laughs. “It sounds like a cult!” he says.
Quinn, who’s also been laughing, looks suddenly serious. “But it did change our lives,” she says. “We all still know each other. And everything that happened now, with Tonya and Chantelle and Louise, it all started back then . . .” She rubs her belly, as if for luck. “Anyways, it’s over. And you’re both okay.” When she looks at me, I see tears in her blue eyes. All those hormones, again. She swallows hard, then attempts a smile. “For a while there, when I didn’t know if you were d . . . alive or not, I figured my kid might end up being called Toby.”
I smile back at her. I’m tempted to tell her it’s a girl. Don’t ask me how I know, but I’m sure the vision I had before passing out on the Great Escape is correct. I stare at Quinn’s belly. She’s having a daughter.
Quinn squeezes my hand, hard. “Ow,” she says. “I don’t think those are Braxton Hicks, after all.”
While Josh and Colin look confused, one glance at Quinn’s face tells me she’s serious. “It’s time!” I say. “The baby’s coming!”
“Seriously?” asks Colin. “Should we call Bruce? Should we call your doctor?”
“I don’t know,” says Quinn. She grabs Colin’s arm and looks at his watch. “I’d better time the contractions.”
For a few minutes nobody speaks. We’re all watching the clock and watching Quinn. “They’re getting stronger,” she says. “I guess I should call my OB.” She starts digging through her purse in search of her mobile phone.
“Well, at least there are plenty of doctors nearby,” says Josh. He points toward Colin. “And a policeman.”
Colin grins. “Policemen only deliver babies in movies,” he says. “Should I tell Bruce to get over here? Are you delivering here or in another hospital?”
“Here,” says Quinn. She lets out a loud gasp. “Whoa,” she says. “Tell Bruce to hurry!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:
SEEING THE FUTURE
Abby Rose looks just like I pictured her. She is red and wrinkled and has Bruce’s square chin and Quinn’s high forehead. She also has the prettiest hands and feet I’ve ever seen, and a cry so loud I could almost hear her from my room, one floor up from Maternity. Once she gets home, I pity Bruce and Quinn’s neighbors.
I’ve got my wheelchair pushed close to Quinn’s bed. Since we’re both exhausted, we haven’t spoken much. Plus we’re too busy staring at the baby.
Abby is fast asleep on Quinn’s chest. Bruce is out in the hall, phoning everyone he knows. He’s even sweatier than Quinn.
“She’s gorgeous,” I say, finally, and Quinn nods.
“I can’t believe she’s mine. I was sure it was a boy.”
I tell her about the premonition I had after being cracked on the head aboard the Great Escape. “Not that that means much,” I say, quickly. “It’s a fifty-fifty chance, after all.”
“Right,” says Quinn. “Or maybe you’ve inherited some of Ivy’s gift.”
I
think of Louise and Tonya’s fight on the dock, how clearly I saw it all. But that was intuition, and logic. Putting two and two together. Plus some imagination. I’m not psychic and neither is my mother.
My skepticism must show because Quinn smiles. “Oh come on,” she says. “After that thing about Claude’s collar you’re still doubting Ivy’s ability?” There’s a juice box on the bedside table and she reaches for it. She drains the box. “Maybe you should consult your mom about what to do about Josh and Colin,” she says.
“What about them?” I ask, genuinely mystified. Quinn is using one finger to stroke Abby’s head. Her hair is almost translucent.
Quinn’s finger stops moving. “Which one to choose,” she says. Her expression makes it clear she thinks I’m being obtuse. “If Ivy knows their birth times she can tell if you’re compatible.”
Normally, I’d tell Quinn she’s nuts. The last thing I need is to get my mom involved in my love life. Not that I have one. It might get her hopes up. But since Quinn’s just given birth, I bite my tongue. “I don’t believe in that stuff,” I say.
Quinn perks up. “So you’ve made a decision?” Abby stirs and I hold my breath. I don’t want her to start screaming again.
“There’s nothing to decide,” I say. “You’re acting as though they’re both crazily in love with me and all I have to do is choose.”
“Well they are,” says Quinn. She shakes her head. “Come on, Toby. It’s obvious.”
I’m tired, and my head hurts. Nothing is obvious. “What makes you think that?”
“The way they look at you, for a start. When they see you, their eyes light up. Even when you look like you do now.” She laughs. “And you’re not looking your best.”
“Gee, thanks, Quinn,” I say.
“Ha!” she smiles. “Do you have feelings for either of them?” She stops stroking Abby’s head. I can feel her blue eyes boring into me.
“I . . . I think they’re both great guys,” I say.
“Who are you, The Bachelorette?” asks Quinn. “I don’t want some diplomatic bullshit. I’m your best friend. I know you’ve had this weird obsession with Josh for most of your life. Now that he’s reciprocating do you still feel it? Or is there something between you and Colin?”
I rub my forehead. “I don’t know,” I say. “Aren’t I allowed to not know? I haven’t even gone on a real date with either of them! I’m just . . .” I study my ragged nails. “I almost died a few days ago! I’m tired, you know? And happy. I just don’t want to think too much.”
Abby’s little legs kick. It’s hard to believe we all start out that small. I watch her tiny toes curl and uncurl. Quinn strokes her back, soothing her. Watching Abby, I’m surprised to realize it’s true: I am happy. Happy to be alive, first of all, and happy to be here with Quinn and Abby, who’s so beautiful I want to cry. And two great guys seem interested in me. How can I not be happy about all of this?
“So what’s your plan?” asks Quinn.
I shrug. For the first time since I can remember, I don’t have one. “To get to know Josh and Colin better,” I say. “And to spend time with my mom. And to help you with Abby.”
Her smile crowds all the tiredness out of her face. She has a brilliant smile. I find myself grinning back at her. “That sounds like a great plan,” she says. “Do you want a juice box? Grab one off the nightstand.”
Quinn inserts my straw. I tap my juice box against hers. “To Abby Rose,” I say.
“To old friends and new beginnings.”
Sitting with my best friend sipping warm apple juice through a straw, I feel like a kid on the first day of summer holidays. Good times lie ahead.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book wouldn’t exist without the brilliant guidance of my friend and mentor Deborah Nolan and the wisdom and patience of my agent Amy Tipton. It’d be a rougher read without the talent of Dan Mayer, my editor at Seventh Street Books. Thanks are also due to Patrick “Eagle Eyes” Smith and Marianna Vertullo.
I’m grateful to my high school English Literature teacher Mrs. Lana Simpson, who taught me, via poetry, that anything you feel has been felt before and you’re never alone in a story. Toby’s world owes a lot to Christina and Judith Kay, my real-life (only better) Quinn and Jackie.
I’m a reader and writer thanks to my intrepid parents, Gisela and Gerry Ray, who found money for books and traveling even when our house had no furniture. Finally, thanks to my kids, who inspired me to create Toby Wong, and to my husband, Thien Nguyen, for his relentless support and optimism.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elka Ray writes fun romantic mysteries and dark thrillers— a dichotomy that reveals her belief in Yin and Yang, or life’s balance of opposites. A great lover of scientific facts, she may be found clutching crystals for good luck; reads highbrow journals and tabloid trash; and shuns rom-coms yet moved in with her now-husband on their first date.
Elka has two previous novels: Hanoi Jane, a light mystery, and a noir thriller, Saigon Dark.
