“Harvey isn’t Nathan’s child, although Nathan was the only father figure he ever knew. Nathan worried that any child of his would be persecuted by the police, the foot soldiers of the ruling class. We made a decision not to have any children. I’m not proud of what I’m going to tell you next, but things happen in life.” And how, Faith thought.
“I left Nathan briefly at one point. I needed to get my head together. He’d become very well known. The first book had been published and he was traveling in pretty high circles. I felt excluded and wrongly assumed it meant he didn’t love me. He tried to reason with me, and deep inside I knew I was the only woman for him. My jealousy was an indication of my own weakness and lack of commitment to our goals. But I went out to California for a while and lived in a collective in San Francisco. Somehow, I got pregnant.” Somehow? Surely Lorraine wasn’t that naive, although Faith had quickly realized that Naivete could be Lorraine’s middle name.
“It was very difficult to get a safe abortion in those days—women had not won the right to choose, a right imperiled now. But thank goodness I didn’t. Then I wouldn’t have my Harvey. I’d have nobody now.”
“What does your son do?”
“At the moment, he’s seeking employment.” Lorraine managed to sound proud. “He’s an expert mechanic, so good that many of the employees and even the bosses where he’s worked get envious of his skills.”
Mouths off and gets fired was Faith’s hasty analysis.
She was beginning to feel very, very sorry for Lorraine Fuchs.
“We live in Brooklyn. My mother passed away recently and my father has been gone for some years now. I inherited the house. I know I’ll eventually have to sell it and give the money away, but it’s been wonderful having our own place. We’ve moved so often. I grew up there,” she added wistfully. “And it’s good for Harvey to have a real home. I mean to come to. He’s got an apartment with some friends. They grow up so fast.”
Before Lorraine could go off on a Harvey and mother-hood tangent, Faith slipped in a question.
“Had you been living with Nathan Fox in the city?” It would have been cramped in the studio apartment with the three of them.
“No, he was working on a very important book and wanted to be completely alone. Of course, I knew where he was. He got sick once and called me to take care of him, which I was only too happy to do, but that was just one of two times I was ever there. The second was the day before he died. When he said good-bye, how could I have known it would be forever? You’ll have to excuse me.” Tears were streaming down her face. She took off her glasses and wiped her eyes with another tissue.
“I’m so sorry,” Faith said.
“Well, that’s life, isn’t it? Anyway, he didn’t have a phone, but he’d call once in a while. We were going to move back together when the book was finished. In any case, it would have been hard to live together when he decided to move to the city, because I was taking care of my mother. I guess I secretly hoped he’d move
to the house after she died, but people would have known who he was. The neighbors are . . . well, they like to keep track of what’s going on. So he stayed where he was and I stayed where I was.” Lorraine, clinging to Fox as they got older, would have had to play by his rules—always his rules.
“And Harvey? Were they close?”
“Well, not to say close, but Nathan was a very accepting man. That was what was so special about him.
He didn’t judge. When Harvey was a little boy, Nathan explained to me that it wasn’t a good idea for the child to get attached to someone who might have to disappear, and there were long stretches when Nathan was in a safe house that only had room for him. I’ve always been able to find secretarial work and supported us that way.”
Us being Harvey and Lorraine, or all three of them?
Faith wondered. Probably both at different times.
Time! She didn’t have time for this—unfortunately.
There was much more to be learned from Lorraine.
And she now had two more people who knew where Fox lived. Faith had no doubt that whatever Lorraine knew, her son knew—if he wanted to, and she’d have to meet him to judge that. Had Lorraine seen the Stansteads’ wedding picture when she went to care for Fox, seen the postcards on the fridge? Somehow, Faith thought not. Fox would have tucked them out of sight.
But still the question remained. Did Lorraine Fuchs know about Emma?
And what about the bank job?
“Were you involved when they tried to rob Chase Manhattan?”
“No, I’d been away for a few weeks helping my mother sell my grandmother’s house. She’d died a
month earlier and there was a lot to do to get it ready to put on the market. It was in New Jersey, out in the country near the Delaware Water Gap. It would have been a nice place for Harvey. He loved it there.” Lorraine sounded wistful. It had probably been one of the happiest times in her life, and Faith imagined the two women going through drawers, closets, boxes in an attic, reliving old memories while the little boy played outside in the sunshine. But it was time to get back to business.
“When did you find out about the robbery?”
“Right away. I had called Nathan the night before and told him I’d be back the next day, but I still had to help my mother unpack the things she’d decided to keep. I couldn’t just leave her, no matter how much I missed Nate. She gave me a beautiful set of dishes—
Nippon—that had been my grandmother’s. Nate, Harvey, and I were living in a tiny apartment in the Village then, and I thought I’d just bring a few plates. They’re still in a box. I really should get them out and use them at last. But anyway, about that night. Nathan knew where I was, of course, and showed up there. He tapped on the kitchen window when he saw I was alone.” Obviously another blissful memory. “He was really annoyed with himself for making such a mess of it. Two were arrested right away, but Nate and the driver of the car got away. He would never tell me who the driver was, but I have my guesses. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t gone away. I would have been there, too, and things would have been a lot harder. About keeping Nathan safe, I mean. The authorities weren’t looking for me. I mean they were, but not like with Nathan. I changed my name to Linda Fuchs and called my parents only once
a year for a long time. That part was hard. But things got better after a while. I think the FBI had better, or worse, things to do.”
Fox had found the perfect helpmate. She didn’t even seem to be much of a worrier, yet she was obviously intelligent. Faith wished she had more time to talk. She wanted to find out about the other men involved in the robbery attempt. Close comrades. Did they know about Nathan’s personal life? Where were they now, and were they in need of cash?
She grabbed the bill, over Lorraine’s protests that going Dutch was only fair. “You’ve been such a help, so please let me get this. I’m sorry I can’t stay longer, but I have to go. I have to be at work. Maybe we could arrange a time to meet again?”
Lorraine was clearly delighted at the prospect.
“Why don’t you come to the house and look at my scrapbooks? I’ve kept every news article, every review over the years.”
“That would be fantastic. I’m so glad I met you today,” Faith said.
“Me, too.” Lorraine had eaten everything on her plate, not wasting a crumb. The older woman seemed so lonely that Faith felt a stab of guilt at the way she was using her. But when this was all over, she assured herself, Emma could meet Lorraine and they could engage in mutual Fox worship.
“I’m not sure what my schedule is, so could I call you?” she asked.
“Sure,” said Lorraine, digging out a ballpoint pen and writing her number on a napkin.
Faith tucked the napkin in her purse and put on her coat. She hesitated before asking one last question, but knew if she didn’t, she’d be kicking herself later. “I
