Shauna tried to keep her breath even. She stood.
'What's wrong?' Aretha said.
'I have to pee,' she said, the calmness in her voice surprising even her. 'Where's the head?'
'Down the hall on the left.'
'I'll be right back.'
Two minutes later, Shauna pushed the bathroom door. It didn't budge. She knocked. 'It's me,' she said. And waited.
A few seconds later, she heard the bolt slide back. More silence. Shauna took a deep breath and pushed again. The door swung open. She stepped onto the tile and stopped cold. There, across the room, standing in front of the near stall, was a ghost.
Shauna choked back a cry.
The brunette wig, the weight loss, the wire-framed spectacles – none of it altered the obvious.
'Elizabeth…'
'Lock the door, Shauna.'
Shauna obeyed without thought. When she turned around, she took a step toward her old friend. Elizabeth shrunk back.
'Please, we don't have much time.'
For perhaps the first time in her life, Shauna was at a loss for words.
'You have to convince Beck I'm dead,' Elizabeth said.
'A little late for that.'
Her gaze swept the room as though looking for an escape route. 'I made a mistake coming back. A stupid, stupid mistake. I can't stay. You have to tell him-'
'We saw the autopsy, Elizabeth,' Shauna said. 'There's no putting this genie back in the bottle.'
Elizabeth's eyes closed.
Shauna said, 'What the hell happened?'
'It was a mistake to come here.'
'Yeah, you said that already.'
Elizabeth started chewing on her lower lip. Then: 'I have to go.'
'You can't,' Shauna said.
'What?'
'You can't run away again.'
'If I stay, he'll die.'
'He's already dead,' Shauna said.
'You don't understand.'
'Don't have to. If you leave him again, he won't survive. I've been waiting eight years for him to get over you. That's what's supposed to happen, you know. Wounds heal. Life goes on. But not for Beck.' She took a step toward Elizabeth. 'I can't let you run away again.'
There were tears in all four eyes.
'I don't care why you left,' Shauna said, inching closer. 'I just care that you're back.'
'I can't stay,' she said weakly.
'You have to.'
'Even if it means his death?'
'Yeah,' Shauna said without hesitation. 'Even if. And you know what I'm saying is true. That's why you're here. You know you can't leave again. And you know I won't let you.'
Shauna took another step.
'I'm so tired of running,' Elizabeth said softly.
'I know.'
'I don't know what to do anymore.'
'Me neither. But running isn't an option this time. Explain it to him, Elizabeth. Make him understand.'
Elizabeth lifted her head. 'You know how much I love him?'
'Yeah,' Shauna said, 'I do.'
'I can't let him get hurt.'
Shauna said, 'Too late.'
They stood now, a foot apart. Shauna wanted to reach out and hold her, but she stayed still.
'Do you have a number to reach him?' Elizabeth said.
'Yeah, he gave me a cell-'
'Tell him Dolphin. I'll meet him there tonight.'
'I don't know what the hell that means.'
Elizabeth quickly slid past her, peeked out the bathroom door, slithered through it. 'He'll understand,' she said. And then she was gone.
Chapter 41
As usual, Tyrese and I sat in the backseat. The morning sky was a charcoal ash, the color of tombstone. I directed Brutus where to turn off after we crossed the George Washington Bridge. Behind his sunglasses, Tyrese studied my face. Finally he asked, 'Where we going?'
'My in-laws'.'
Tyrese waited for me to say more.
'He's a city cop,' I added.
'What's his name?'
'Hoyt Parker.'
Brutus smiled. Tyrese did likewise.
'You know him?'
'Never worked with the man myself, but, yeah, I heard the name.'
'What do you mean, worked with the man?'
Tyrese waved me off. We hit the town border. I had gone through several surreal experiences over the past three days-chalk 'driving through my old neighborhood with two drug dealers in a car with tinted windows' as another. I gave Brutus a few more directions before we pulled up to the memory-laden split-level on Goodhart.
I stepped out. Brutus and Tyrese sped off. I made it to the door and listened to the long chime. The clouds grew darker. A lightning bolt ripped the sky at the seam. I pressed the chime again. Pain traveled down my arm. I still ached all over hell from yesterday's combination of torture and over exertion For a moment, I let myself wonder what would have happened if Tyrese and Brutus hadn't shown up. Then I shoved that thought away hard.
Finally I heard Hoyt say, 'Who is it?'
'Beck,' I said.
'It's open.'
I reached for the knob. My hand stopped an inch before touching the brass. Weird. I had visited here countless times in my life, but I never remembered Hoyt asking who it was at the door. He was one of the guys who preferred direct confrontation. No hiding in the bushes for Hoyt Parker. He feared nothing, and dammit, he would prove it every step of the way. You ring his bell, he opens the door and faces you full.
I looked behind me. Tyrese and Brutus were gone – no smarts in loitering in front of a cop's house in a white suburb.
'Beck?'
No choice. I thought about the Glock. As I put my left hand on the knob, I put my right closer to my hip. Just in case. I turned the knob and pushed the door. My head leaned through the crack.
'I'm in the kitchen,' Hoyt called out.
I stepped all the way inside and closed the door behind me. The room smelled of a lemon disinfectant, one of those plug-in-a socket cover-up brands. I found the odor cloying.
'You want something to eat?' Hoyt asked.
I still couldn't see him. 'No, thanks.'
I waded across the semi-shag toward the kitchen. I spotted the old photographs on the mantel, but this time I didn't wince. When my feet reached linoleum, I let my eyes take in the room. Empty. I was about to turn back when I felt the cold metal against my temple. A hand suddenly snaked around my neck and jerked back hard.
'You armed, Beck?'
I didn't move or speak.
With the gun still in place, Hoyt dropped the arm from my neck and patted me down. He found the Glock, pulled it out, skidded it across the linoleum.
'Who dropped you off?'
'A couple of friends,' I managed to say.
'What sort of friends?'
'What the hell is this, Hoyt?'
