The doorbell woke me up. Looking out the window I saw Marge holding a shopping bag, tapping her foot impatiently and looking worried. I felt like ignoring her and sliding back into bed but I knew the ringing wouldn’t stop.
I opened the door and her eyes moved to the bandages. As she realized what they were covering, her expression shifted from worry to something mean.
“So, lover,” she sneered, “you all alone in there?”
I nodded, squinting at the light.
“Who did that to you, the slut you were screwing around with the other night?”
“I just got back from a case and found your note. Made me feel awful funny.”
“You weren’t home two nights ago?” she asked, biting her lip.
I shook my head. “I didn’t get back until three last night.”
“But your car was here!”
The wound Rose gave me was beating faster than a rabbit’s heart. I steadied myself against the door. “When I go away, I always take a cab to the airport.”
“But-”
“It hurt me,” I interrupted, “to see how little you trusted me.”
She flinched as if she’d been slapped. “I-I’m sorry, Johnny. When I saw your car here and you wouldn’t answer your door-” The sentence died in her throat. She held up her shopping bag. “I’ve got breakfast,” she said weakly.
I didn’t feel like fighting. I moved aside, letting her slip by. She put the bag down and moved over to a chair. “First, I want to see how bad that is. Sit down over here.”
I let her take the bandages off. “Ouch,” she said, her face wrinkling. “How did it happen?”
“I was trying to get information about a missing persons case. This damn dope addict”-I laughed, sourly-”thought my head was a scratching post.”
She kissed me on the other side of my forehead. “Close your eyes, darling. I’ll be right back.”
I did as I was told and heard her high heels tapping down the hallway. Then a faucet was turned on and in a minute she was back at my side, patting at my forehead with a damp washcloth as carefully as if she was cleaning the dirt off a butterfly’s wing.
“I don’t know, Johnny,” she said. “These scratches are pretty deep. Maybe I should take you to a doctor?”
“No, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Concern wrinkled her brow and pulled her smile apart. “I’m going to put something on them,” she said. “Hold tight.”
The ointment she used stung worse than hell, and if I thought she was enjoying it I would have slapped her silly. I could tell from her eyes, though, that she wasn’t. I think it even hurt her, maybe not as much as me, but a little. When she was through she put on fresh bandages.
“I’m going to make you breakfast.” She rubbed my shoulder gently. “Now lie down and I’ll yell for you when it’s ready.”
She left me, and then cried out from the kitchen that she was going to make eggs, bacon, and pancakes. After a few minutes, she yelled out again, asking if I wanted my eggs over easy.
I said something about liking everything easy. I started drifting off and a loud bang knocked me out of it. Quite a racket was coming from the kitchen. Marge was dropping pots and swearing up a storm and bumping into things. After a while it got quieter, and then there was the tap-tap-tap sound of Marge’s high heels again.
She squatted in front of me, lowering herself to my level. “Breakfast is served,” she informed me, a hesitant smile breaking over her face.
Everything was already spooned out onto plates. The eggs were overcooked and were staring up at me like hard, jaundiced eyes. I tried the pancakes and they were okay as long as I used my soupspoon on them. The bacon, though, needed to be cleaned off. It looked like it had been dropped on the floor and kicked around some. I ended up eating all of it. I had more on my mind than food.
I knew what would happen if Mary found Rose. When the shock wore off she’d head straight to the police. Sooner or later Eddie Braggs would get wind of it, and when he did, I’d be on the front page, built up as every kind of scourge to mankind. Eddie wouldn’t slow down until the Walt Murphy murder case was reopened, and it would be reopened, eventually. Our current district attorney is more gutless than Walt Murphy was when I had finished with him. He’d cave in under the pressure and . . . .
I had played it out a thousand times in my mind since I first found Rose and I couldn’t see it happening any other way. Unless Mary never met up with Rose, and there was only one way that could happen.
Marge had said something and was now repeating herself. “I hope you liked breakfast. I don’t cook much.”
“I cleaned my plate, didn’t I?” While I was eating I’d been trying to make up my mind about something. I smiled at her. “What would you think about going on a trip with me?”
I planned on traveling south. First Mexico, and then South America. By the time Mary found out about Rose, I’d be long gone. There’d be enough fake passports thrown about that not even Braggs would be able to sniff out my trail. At least that’s what I was counting on.
Marge seemed genuinely surprised. “Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know,” I pretended to muse. “Maybe someplace South. How’s Mexico sound?”
“It sounds great, Johnny. When do we leave?”
“In a few hours. Maybe this afternoon.”
She frowned. “I can’t just take off like that. If I don’t show up for work Monday, I’ll be fired.”
I shrugged. “I don’t want to twist your arm. If you don’t want to go, don’t.”
“But-” She bit her lip. As she weighed the pros and cons, she pushed her bottom lip out, making herself look like an orangutan. It was a cute habit, but one I’d have to break her of if she was going to spend any time with me.
“Look, darling,” I said, “forget it, okay? I’ll see you around.”
Her lips formed a small circle, and her lungs emptied out. “I want to go with you, Johnny. I guess I can call work Monday and if they don’t like it I can always find another job.”
She moved over to me and placed her palms on my chest. “I love you, Johnny,” she said, her eyes expanding to the size of silver dollars.
“Sure you do,” I said, slapping her on the rear.
“I do, Johnny.” She nodded solemnly. “I feel that I know everything about you. I know you’re filled with pain. I just know it. I can feel it and I want to help you.”
I let my hand linger in the general area of the slap, feeling something myself. I gave her a little squeeze and she squealed.
“I know how you can help me,” I said.
“I bet you do!” She giggled, pushing herself away. “But if we’re leaving today, I’ve got a lot to do. Honey, would you mind cleaning up in the kitchen?”
“Not at all.” I gave her another pinch and she gave me another giggle.
“How long are we going to be away?” she asked.
I winked. “If you’re a good girl, maybe forever. Give me a call in a couple of hours and I’ll let you know what the plans are.”
Her eyes lit up and she pushed herself into me, kissing me hard enough to almost break a tooth. “Just a coming attraction.”
I walked into the kitchen, checking my teeth to make sure she hadn’t loosened any. Looking around, I was amazed at what she’d done to the place. Bowls, pots, utensils were scattered about. Where she could’ve used one thing, she’d used three. I could’ve left everything where it was but instead I rolled up my sleeves and went at it. Even though there was no reason to care about the mess, I didn’t want to leave any more unfinished business than I had to.
After straightening things up, I called a travel agent and booked a six o’clock flight to Mexico City. I then went to my bank and got enough cash for a month. When the time was right I would transfer my funds to a Swiss account, but I didn’t have to hurry on that. While I hated the idea of abandoning my house, I doubted that I could
