“He’s involved in this. He’s involved in what happened at ERF. It may be he’s the one who sent Carrie Grethen, who got her to do what she did. His spy.”
Wesley was silent as this sank in. It was a thought so terrible that he did not want to think it. His voice began to break up. I knew he was getting frantic, too, because conversations like this one should not be conducted over a car phone.
“To get what?” he crackled.
“What would he want to get into there?”
I knew. I knew exactly what.
“CAIN,” I said as the line went dead.
16
I got back to Richmond and did not sense Gault’s malignant shadow at my heels. He had other agendas and demons to fight, and had not chosen to come after me, I believed. Even so, I reset the alarm the moment I entered my house. I went nowhere, not even to the bathroom, without my gun. At shortly after two p. m. ” I drove to MCV, and Lucy traveled by wheelchair to my car. She insisted on wheeling herself despite my insistence that I propel her prudently, as a loving aunt would. She would have none of my help. But as soon as we got home she succumbed to my attentions and I tucked her in bed, where she sat up dozing.
I put on a pot of Zuppa di Aglio Fresco, a fresh garlic soup popular in the hills of Brisighella, where it has been fed to babies and the elderly for many years. That and ravioli filled with sweet squash and chestnuts would do the trick, and it lifted my mood when a fire was blazing in the living room and wonderful aromas filled the air. It was true that when I went long periods without cooking, it felt as if no one lived in my lovely home or cared. It almost seemed my house got sad. Later, beneath a sky threatening rain, I drove to the airport to meet my sister’s plane. I had not seen her for a while, and she was not the same. She never was from visit to visit, for Dorothy was acutely insecure, which was why she could be so mean, and she had a habit of changing her hair and dress regularly. This late afternoon as I stood at the US Air gate, I scanned faces of passengers coming off the jetway, leaving myself open for anything familiar.
I recognized her by her nose and the dimple in her chin, since neither was easily altered. She wore her hair black and close to her head like a leather helmet, her eyes behind large glasses, a bright red scarf thrown around her neck. Fashionably thin in jodhpurs and lace-up boots, she strode straight to me and kissed my cheek.
“Kay, it’s so wonderful to see you. You look tired.”
“How’s Mother?”
“Her hip, you know. What are you driving?”
“A rental car.”
“Well, the first thing that went through my mind was your being without your Mercedes. I couldn’t possibly imagine being without mine.”
Dorothy had a 190E that she had gotten while dating a Miami cop. The car had been confiscated from a drug dealer and was sold at auction for a pittance. It was dark blue with spoilers and custom pinstripes.
“Do you have luggage?” I asked.
“Just this. How fast was she driving?”
“Lucy doesn’t remember anything.”
“You can’t imagine how I felt when the phone rang. My God. My heart literally stopped.” It was raining and I had not brought an umbrella.
“No one can relate unless they’ve experienced the same thing. That moment. That simply awful moment when you don’t know exactly what’s happened, but you can tell the news is bad about someone you love. I hope you’re not parked too far from here. Maybe it’s best if I just wait.”
“I’ll have to leave the lot, pay, then come back around.” I could see my car from where we stood on the sidewalk.
“It will take ten or fifteen minutes.”
“That’s perfectly all right. Don’t you worry about me. I’ll just stand inside and watch for you. I need to use the ladies’ room. It must be so nice not to have to worry about some things anymore.” She did not elaborate until she was in the car and we were on our way.