“Do you hate me for that?”
“No, of course not. But it’s getting easier for you to hurt people, and I didn’t want you to hurt Frank’s wife. That’s why I didn’t tell you she was here, Samuel.”
Another long silence stretched between them as Samuel thought about what Bret had said.
“You’re so sure he’s innocent?” he asked.
“Yes,” Bret said without hesitation. “Aren’t you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you willing to trust my judgment?”
After a long pause Samuel said, “Yes. But there’s something you should know.”
Bret waited.
“I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet. When I went out, I went to a pay phone and called the paper to ask if my ‘granddaughter,’ Irene Kelly, had placed an ad like I asked her to. The one about John Oakhurst.”
“And?”
“His wife knows who the policeman is.”
42
HE HAD STOPPED COMING AFTER ME. After hiding in a wardrobe room for God knew how long, I decided he had given up on me, at least for the moment. Maybe he had bigger problems. Or maybe he decided I was going to die if I tried to leave the building and figured I wasn’t worth the effort of pursuit.
I decided to do some cautious exploring.
I went through a large dressing room, scaring the bejesus out of myself when I caught my reflection in one of the many mirrors — at first, in the darkness, seeing the reflection only as another person moving in the room.
I almost went to the wall and turned on a light switch, but I decided not to become too cocky. Whatever had caused Samuel to give up his pursuit might be only a temporary delay.
I moved slowly through the back of the theater, conserving the flashlight batteries as much as possible. Eventually I wandered into an office. A light was flashing on the desk. A ringing telephone.
I answered it, crawling under the desk to hide before I spoke.
“Hello?”
“Irene?” a surprised voice asked.
“Yes,” I said, recognizing the drawling version of my name. “Glad Hank got in touch with you, Cassidy.”
“I would have preferred to find you waiting for me on the
“Alone in some kind of office. Do you know where Frank is?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure I should tell you. You’ve already been busier than a one-legged man in an asskickin’ contest.”
“I didn’t exactly plan to be locked in here with them. Anything I can do for you while I’m here?”
“Hide. Stay clear of them. They get a hold of you, we’ve got twice the problem we had before. You understand that, don’t you?”
The lights came on in the office.
Oh, shit, I thought.
“Irene?”
“She understands, Detective Cassidy,” a voice said from another extension. “Say good-bye to him, Ms. Kelly.”
“Bret?” Cassidy said.
Samuel walked around the desk. He was pointing a gun at me. He motioned me to come out.
“See you later, Cassidy,” I said. I hung up the phone and let Samuel lead me away. I noticed the light on the phone didn’t go out. I tried to be heartened by that, by the fact that Cassidy was still talking to Bret. You’ll see Frank, I told myself.
I was scared anyway.
He took me to a basement. As I came down the stairs, Frank looked up and saw me. He was still in chains, and his hand had a bigger bandage on it. He stood up. I ran to him.
He lifted his manacled hands over my head, held on to me as tightly as I held on to him. He was warm and alive and we were together. Maybe something will feel better to me someday, I thought, but I couldn’t imagine what it would be.
Bret came closer, and Frank stood very still for a moment. Frank extended his arms. Bret unlocked the chains on Frank’s wrists, pulled off the leather cuffs.
“Thank you,” Frank said. He pulled me closer, in an embrace so fierce, I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t need to breathe.
“We’ll give you some time alone,” Bret said, and to our surprise, they left.
“Are you okay?” we asked each other in unison, and spent the next few moments crying in each other’s arms. I leaned back and wiped the tears from his face.
