miraculous rescue. Sam and Emily Newsome. Atlanta, Georgia. Saved
from murder at the hands of a sociopathic holdup man named Norman Rink.
Holly could sit still no longer. She got up and joined Viola at the
edge of the patio. They watched the squirrels.
“Jim blamed himself,” Viola said.
“For Lary Kakonis? But he wasn’t responsible.”
“He blamed himself anyway. That’s how he is. But his reaction seemed
excessive, even for Jim. After Larry’s death, he lost interest in
teaching. He stopped believing he could make a difference. He’d had so
many successes, more than any teacher I’ve ever known, but that one
failure was too much for him.”
Holly remembered the boldness with which Ironheart had scooped Billy
Jenkins out of the path of the hurtling pickup truck. That certainly
had not been a failure.
“He just sort of spiraled down into gloom,” Viola said, “couldn’t pull
himself out of it.”
The man Holly had met in Portland had not seemed depressive.
Mysterious, yes, and self contained. But he’d had a good sense of
humor, and he’d been quick to smile.
Viola took a sip of her lemonade. “Funny, it tastes too sour now.”
She set the glass down on the concrete near her feet and wiped her damp
hand on her slacks. She started to speak again, hesitated, but finally
said, “Then. . he got a little strange.”
“Strange? In what way?”
“Withdrawn. Quiet. He started taking martial-arts training. Tae Kwa
Do. Lots of people are interested in that sort of thing, I guess, but
it seemed so out of character for Jim.”
It didn’t seem out of character for the Jim Ironheart that Holly knew.
Viola said, “It wasn’t casual with him, either. Every day after school
he went for a lesson at a place in Newport Beach. He became obsessive.
I worried about him. So in January, when he won the lottery, I was
happy Six million dollars! That’s such a good thing, such big luck, it
seemed like it would have to turn his life around, bring him out of his
depression.”
“But it didn’t?”
“No. He didn’t seem all that surprised or pleased by it. He quit t ,
moved out of his apartment into a house. . . and pulled back even
further from his friends.” She turned to Holly and smiled. It was the
first smile she had managed for a while. “That’s why I was so excited
when ya told me you were his sister, a sister he doesn’t even know he
has. maybe you can do for him what winning six million dollars
couldn’t The guilt over her deception suffused Holly again, bringing a
hot blush to her face. She hoped Viola would mistake it for a blush of
pleasure and excitement. “It would be wonderful if I could.”
“You can, I’m sure. He’s alone, or feels that he is. That’s part of
his problem. With a sister, he won’t be alone any more. Go see him
today right now.”
Holly shook her head. “Soon. But not yet. I need to. . . build my
confidence. You won’t tell him about me, will you?”
“Of course not, dear. You should have all the fun of telling him, an
what a wonderful moment that’ll be.”
Holly’s smile felt like a pair of rigid plastic lips glued to her face,
as fake as part of a Halloween costume.
A few minutes later, at the front door, as Holly was leaving, Viola put
her hand on her arm and said, “I don’t want to give you the wrong
idea.it won’t be easy lifting his spirits, getting him back on track. As
long as I’ve known Jim, I’ve felt there’s a sadness deep down in him,
like a stain that won’t come out, which isn’t such a surprise, really,
when you consider what happened to his parents-his being orphaned when
he was only ten all of that.”
Holly nodded. “Thanks. You’ve been a real help.”
Viola impulsively hugged her, planted a kiss on her cheek, and said, I
want to have both you and Jim to dinner as soon as possible.
Homems green-corn tamales, black beans, and jalapeno rice so hot it’ll
melt ya dental fillings!”