“Then maybe I can help you.”
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His voice was warm and low and rich. Infinitely believable. A church voice.
“The Army send you?” she asked. “Is this official?”
He shook his head.
“I’m afraid not,” he said. “I’ve argued it with them many times.”
She nodded. “If they offer counseling, they’re admitting liability.”
“That’s their view,” the colonel said. “Regrettably. So this is a private mission. I’m acting against strict orders, in secret. But it’s a matter of conscience, isn’t it?”
Scimeca glanced away.
“Why me in particular?” she asked. “There were a lot of us.”
“You’re my fifth,” he said. “I started with the ones who are obviously living alone. I thought that’s where my help might be needed most. I’ve been all over the place. Some fruitful trips, some wasted trips. I try not to force myself on people. But I feel I have to try.”
She was silent for a moment. Very cold.
“Well, you’ve wasted another trip, I’m afraid,” she said. “I decline your offer. I don’t want your help.”
The colonel was not surprised, not unsurprised. “Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“Totally sure,” she said.
“Really? Please think about it. I came a long way.”
She didn’t answer. Just glanced at the cop, impatiently. He shuffled his feet, calling the colonel’s attention his way.
“Asked and answered,” he said, like a lawyer.
There was silence in the street. Just the beat of Scimeca’s motor idling, the drift of exhaust, a sharp chemical tang in the fall air.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave now, sir,” the cop said. “We’ve got a situation here.”
The colonel was still for a long moment. Then he nodded.
“The offer is always open,” he said. “I could come back, anytime.”
He turned abruptly and walked back down the hill, moving fast. The slope swallowed him up, legs, back, head. Scimeca watched him below the horizon and slid back into her car. The cop nodded to himself and tapped twice on the roof.
“Nice car,” he said, irrelevantly.
She said nothing.
“Right,” the cop said.
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He walked back to his cruiser. Reversed it up the hill with his door hanging open. She turned into her driveway. Pushed the button on the remote and the garage door rumbled upward. She drove inside and pushed the button again. Saw the cop moving back into position before the door came down and left her in darkness.
She opened her door and the dome light clicked on. She pulled the little lever at her side and popped the trunk. Got out of the car and took her bags from the back seat and carried them through to the basement. Carried them up the stairs to the hallway and through to the kitchen. Placed them side by side on the countertop and sat down on a stool to wait.
It’s a low-slung car, so although the trunk is long enough and wide enough, it’s not very tall. So you’re lying on your side, cramped. Your legs are drawn up, like a fetal position. Getting in was no problem. She left the car unlocked, just like you told her to. You watched her walk away to the store, and then you just stepped over and opened the driver’s door and found the lever and popped the trunk. Closed the door again and walked around and lifted the lid. Nothing to it. Nobody was watching. You sort of rolled inside and pulled the lid closed on top of you. It was easy. There were reinforcing members on the underside. Easy to grasp.
It’s a long wait in there. But then you feel her get back in and you bear the engine start. You feel a growing patch of heat under your thigh where the exhaust runs under the trunk floor. It’s not a comfortable ride. You bounce around a little. You follow the turns in your mind and you know when she arrives back at her place. You hear the cop talking. There’s a problem. Then you hear some idiot padre, pleading. You tense up in there. You start to panic. What the hell is going on? What if she asks him in? But she gets rid of him. You hear the ice in her voice. You smile in the dark and open and close your hands in triumph. You hear it when she drives into the garage. The acoustics change. The engine goes louder. You hear the exhaust beating against the walls and the floor. Then she shuts it down and it goes very quiet.