“You and Farley decided to pull a fast one?” he asked. He was trying to sound calm, but I could tell he was seriously alarmed. He knew Gilbert well enough to guess the depth of trouble she was in. She nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Oh, Jesus, baby. I wish I’d known what you were up to. That’s really not a good plan.”
“I can’t help it. Farley loves me. He said he’d help. He knows Gilbert beats me. I have to get away before he kills me dead.”
“I understand, hon, but Gilbert is a lunatic. He’s not going to like that. If he finds out, I hate to think what he’ll do to get even. Come on now and let’s talk. Maybe we can figure out a way to get you out of this.”
I loved his use of the word “we.”
She sighed and sat up. Without the anchor of makeup, her eyes looked like they’d shifted upward half an inch on her face. Her nose was stopped up and her voice had dropped into a lower range. Her complexion was a mottled pink, and her hazel eyes seemed vivid against the dark red of her hair. The dark green corduroy juniper was hopelessly wrinkled, and the collar of her white turtleneck was streaked with foundation. “I don’t know what I was thinking of. I just had to get away.” She pulled her sleeve up. “Look at that. I’m black and blue. I look worse than you do, only this has been going on for months.”
“You have to get away from him. No question about that. Why’d you put up with it?”
“Because I didn’t have any choice. I’ve been to shelters for battered women. Twice, I’ve hidden out with friends. Somehow he always finds me and brings me back. Now he makes sure I don’t get close to anyone. I have to account for my every minute. He won’t let me work. He won’t let me have a nickel of my own. When I saw this coming up, I knew it was the only chance I’d ever have. I thought if I just had money. If I just had a way to get away from him …”
“Then take the money,” he said. “It’s yours. I couldn’t believe it when Kinsey mentioned your name. You can ask her. I was stunned….”
“I wouldn’t say ‘stunned,’ but he did get real quiet.”
“I had no idea you were involved in this,” he went on.
“What difference would that have made?” she said, blowing her nose. She seemed comforted by the fact that she’d surprised him somehow.
“I never would have come. I’d have let you have the eight grand. That’s what I’m saying. It’s yours. You take it. It’s a gift.”
“Forget that. I don’t want it.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have any choice.”
“Well, I do.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. I’ll talk to Farley. We’ll figure something out.”
“Laura, don’t be crazy. You were willing enough to take it before. Why not now?”
She turned on him harshly. “I was willing to take it because I thought you betrayed your friends to get it. I thought it served you right. I didn’t think you deserved to have it after what you did.”
I was getting irritated by the melodrama, wishing they’d get on with it. “Why don’t you split the money and put an end to the argument?”
Ray shook his head. “We don’t have to split it. She can have the whole eight grand. I can always go back to Louisville and look for the rest.”
“What are your chances of finding it after forty years?” I asked.
“Probably not that good, but I’d feel better knowing she had enough to get away.”
“Ray, I said I’d handle it and I will,” she said.
“Why don’t you let me do something?”
“It’s too late.”
He turned to me, his look bewildered. “You talk to her. You tell her. I don’t understand where she’s coming from.”
I said, “Here’s the deal, Ray, and you can trust me on this. She wants your love. She wants approval. She wants you to beg forgiveness for what you’ve put her through all her life. She doesn’t want to have anything else to do with you. She certainly doesn’t want your help. She’d rather die first.”
“Why?”
“Because she doesn’t want to owe you anything,” I snapped.
He looked back at her. “Is that right, what she said?”
“I don’t know. I guess.” She paused to wipe her eyes and blow her nose again. “I thought there’d be more. I thought you’d have millions. I was counting on it.”
“There never was millions. Is that what Gilbert said?”
“How do I know? That’s what he talked about for years,” she said. “Maybe, in his mind, the money grew as time passed. The point is, eight thousand dollars isn’t going to get me any place. I pictured going to a foreign country, holing up someplace, but how long is eight thousand dollars going to last?”
“It’ll last long enough. Go to another state.
Change your name. Find work. At least the eight grand will help you get set up.”
Laura’s face was filled with despair. “He’ll find me. I know he will. I thought I had a chance with Farley, but now I’m worried sick.”
“Where’s Farley all this time?” I asked.
“He’s in Santa Teresa with Gilbert. We didn’t want him to get suspicious.”
I raised my hand. “Wait a minute. I’m confused. What was the original plan?”
“When I left Santa Teresa? I was supposed to fly to Palm Beach, Florida, where Gilbert had a buddy waiting. This is some pal he hired to keep an eye on me. Gilbert wanted to get the money out of California as soon as possible, but he thought we’d be too conspicuous if the three of us traveled together. Besides, he and Farley had to wait until their passports came through. I already had mine, so I was supposed to wait in Palm Beach and they’d join me. Later, we’d fly to Rio.”
“So Farley was left to deal with Gilbert? That’s a bad idea. I don’t even know Farley and already I’ll bet he’s not smart enough to outfox Gilbert.”
“That’s right, doll. Gilbert’s certifiable, especially when he thinks he’s been betrayed,” Ray said to her. “Look at what he did to me. You think that’s the end of it?”
“What am I supposed to do? It’s done now. It’s over. I took the money and ran. The minute I got here, I counted it. I thought I’d die when I found out how little there was.”
I said, “Back up a step. When was Farley supposed to join you?”
“As soon as he could. They called the passport office and the guy swore he’d put them in the mail. Farley knows where I am, and we made arrangements for him to call me from this pay phone down the street.”
“He never called you at all?”
“He called me once. This morning. He had to wait ’til Gilbert went out. When I told him about the eight grand, I could tell he was scared. He said he’d think of something and call me back in an hour.”
Ray said, “You haven’t heard from him?”
Laura shook her head.
I said, “But Gilbert must have known you never got off the plane in Palm Beach. Didn’t his buddy call him right up to say you never showed?”
“Of course he did, but Gilbert doesn’t have any idea where I am.”
“Well, this is a very sophisticated plan,” I said. “What about Farley? I’m sure Gilbert won’t suspect him.”
“You think he’s figured it out?”
“Of course he has!” Ray said. “He’s waited forty years to get his hands on this dough. Gilbert’s a psychopath. He’s so paranoid he’s almost psychic. You’re an amateur. You think he can’t see right through you?”
“But Dallas is huge. He’ll never find me,” she said. “I paid the hotel in cash and I’m using an alias.”
“Farley knows where you are.”
“Well, sure, but I can trust him,” she said.
Ray closed his eyes. “You better hit the road.”
“But where would I go?”
“Who cares? Just get out of here.”
“What about Farley? He won’t know where I’ve gone.”
“That’s the point,” I said. “I agree with Ray. You can’t worry about him. You have to put as much distance as possible between you and Gilbert.”
“Well, I’m not going to do it. I told Farley I’d be here and I’m staying,” she said.
I said, “Oh, boy.”
“Gilbert isn’t Superman. He doesn’t have X-ray vision or anything like that.”
“Yeah, right,” I said. I searched through my handbag until I found my airline ticket. I started opening drawers in the bed table, looking for a telephone book. “Well, gang. I don’t know how you’re going to resolve this little conflict, but I’m getting out of here.”