her leave,” he said.
I nodded.
“I got some of my old man’s people and had them watch her,” he said.
“Your father was opposed,” Grace said. She dropped her hands. “He wanted to let you work this out yourself. But I said, Jerry, he’s our son. If you love me you’ll do it.”‘
The gun moved still in its small arc.
“They didn’t really prevent her,” he said. “But she was so fucked up…”
“Rusty.”
“… that she couldn’t oppose me alone. So she called the black guy. And we had a tap on the phone.” Russell shrugged. “And it got out of hand.”
“Hawk’s sort of quick,” I said. Russell nodded.
“I wanted to get her away from you, and I wanted to get her away from the shrink.”
“She needs the shrink,” I said.
Russell nodded again. “I know,” he said. “She needs you too.”
The gun stopped moving and held motionless on me. “I love her,” he said. “As much as you do.”
“Yes,” I said.
“And she’s destroyed you,” Grace said. “She took you for all she could get and then wants to go back to this man who killed my Jerry.”
“If I kill you she’ll never forgive me,” he said.
“This man killed my Jerry,” Grace said. “You don’t have to be forgiven.”
“But I’ve lost her anyway,” Russell said, looking at me over the gun.
“There are plenty of girls, Rusty,” Grace said. “A boy with your looks and money. Come on.” He turned his head toward his mother slowly, and the gun followed, arm still outstretched, until it pointed at her. Grace opened her mouth and no sound came out. No one moved for maybe ten seconds. Then Russell dropped his arm to his side and walked away into the dark with the gun hanging at his side. Grace and I watched him silently for a moment and then Grace rushed after him.
“Rusty,” she shrieked. “Wait for your mother.”
I walked back to town and got to the hotel at sunrise.
CHAPTER 54
IT WAS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND SNOWING gently in Boston. there was an applewood fire going in the fireplace, and bread baking in the oven, and my apartment smelled like Plimoth Plantation. On television the Redskins were pasting the Giants. I stood at the front window and looked down at Marlborough Street as the snow began to accumulate. A brown and white taxicab pulled in off Arlington Street and parked and Susan got out and paid the driver and walked toward the front door carrying a lavender garment bag and a dark blue suitcase. I buzzed her in and in a minute she was at my door. I opened it and took her suitcase and put it on the floor behind the couch. She put the garment bag carefully over the back of the couch and turned and smiled at me.
“This is the way my grandmother’s house was supposed to smell,” she said.
“But it didn’t,” I said.
“No,” she said. “It smelled mostly of mothballs.”
“So I don’t remind you of your grandmother,” I said.
Susan came and put her arms around me and put her head against my chest.
“You don’t remind me of anyone,” she said. “I’ve never met anyone even a little like you.”
I held her lightly against me. “How’s your mental health?” I said.
“I’m all right,” she said. “Nobody’s a hundred percent. But I’m in the high nineties.”
“You through seeing Dr. Hilliard?”
“Yes, at least for now. Maybe forever.”
“And we don’t have to get the children off the streets?” I said.
She shook her head against my chest. “I may get occasionally restless,” she said, “during the time of full moon, but I don’t think I’m a danger to anyone.”
“Russell?” I said.
“I saw him once, right after Boise. He came to my condo in Mill River and we said good-bye. And he left, and I haven’t seen him or heard from him.”
“He going to run the family business?” I said.
“I hope not,” Susan said.
“Maybe he’ll go back to his wife,” I said. “He has before.”
“I hope he does. I hope he doesn’t destroy himself. His life has been…” She shook her head again. “I don’t want to talk about that relationship anymore.”
