“Does this school not understand the word ‘emergency’?” I say, seething.
Now there are the three of us and six security guards: two each for Olivia and Jane, plus Ed and Mel.
“Are you going to tell us what is going on or are you going to just let us all be freaked out for no reason?” demands Ben. “I had to get Coach Jackson to cover for me and that means I’m going to owe him. Teaching his remedial history class is like being in a prison riot.”
I look at Ed and Mel for support. They smirk at me. What the hell does Ben know about being in a prison riot? He’s soft and naive; he hasn’t seen the kind of real-life shit Ed and Mel and I have.
“Look,” I say. “The three of you are going to get out of town for a while, and these nice men are going to go with you. It’s going to be an all-expenses-paid sudden vacation to Nantucket for a week or so, just until I figure out what’s going on around here.”
“But I’ve got Quiz Bowl this weekend,” complains Ben.
I take a deep breath to swallow my annoyance. “This is life or death,” I enunciate slowly. “My dad died Saturday, possibly under suspicious circumstances. Henley was murdered on Wednesday, the same day some lunatic ran down our daughter. So yeah, Quiz Bowl is out.” He goes ashen and for once in his life doesn’t argue with me.
I bend down in front of Olivia and look her in the eyes, not wanting to freak her out but needing to know more about the person who attacked her before I let her leave. Surely the three of them will be safe on a damn island with four bodyguards watching their every move. Ben is a smug asshole loser who I hate, but he is actually fairly shrewd and careful when appropriately motivated, like any good New Yorker.
“Olivia, can you tell me anything else at all about the person in the werewolf mask who broke your arm?” I ask.
“Mom, it’s not broken,” she admonishes. “Just sprained.” But then my words click and she exclaims, “So you believe me! Finally.”
“I definitely believe you,” I say. “Do you think you can remember how tall they were or if their nails were painted or not, for instance? Did you get the sense that they were a woman or a man?”
“Mom,” says Jane. “Sex isn’t real. Only gender is real, and only sorta kinda real.”
“Well, did you get the sense that they were trying to present as a woman or a man?” I ask, exasperated.
Olivia thinks about it and then shakes her head.
“They were kinda short,” she says. “It seemed like an accident, actually. I think they were trying to just scare me but then they opened the door too late and I ran into them. They got away as fast as they could. I think it was a man, but like, not a big one. Not like one of these security guys. Oh, and they were definitely white. Like, I could see their neck a little bit. Their clothes were baggy, so I guess maybe it was somebody more, like, female-identified or something, but probably not, right? Like, only a dude would be that incompetent and then wouldn’t care if I was, like, dying in the street about to get hit by a car, right?”
“Right,” I say, unconvinced. I wish she could give us more information, but this is at least something.
Ben pulls me aside.
“I don’t really have time to get into all of this,” I say, anticipating his questions. “I have to take the train to Hell’s Kitchen, and I have to beat Bernard there or I will lose my last life. He has a helicopter and I only have a train pass, so he has a clear advantage.”
Ben stares at me and then shakes his head, bewildered.
“I haven’t been getting much sleep lately,” I say. “Listen, you will all be fine in Nantucket. The girls love it there and it will only be for a week. Their grandfather and uncle just died, for god’s sake. I am going to tell the school that this is a family retreat, which is mostly true, okay? You are going to take care of them and help them not freak out, and you are going to make sure that Olivia doesn’t break her other arm. I will try to join you in a few days, and hopefully I can tell you more then, but for right now, every single person in this family is in danger, including you. If you absolutely need to do this dumb Quiz Bowl, I guess I can’t stop you. It’s up to you how important the lives of your daughters are to you.”
“Do we really need four bodyguards?” asks Ben. “Won’t one be enough? Or three?”
“A square house has four sides,” I say. “One bodyguard for each side. When you get up there, find a place to rent in town and pay in cash, okay? Don’t use your own phone to find an available Airbnb. Go through the security agency, which knows how to do that kind of thing securely. And keep a low profile, dammit. Don’t let the girls go out alone.”
Ben nods, taking me seriously, which makes me relax a little.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” he says, “but freaking out for no reason isn’t like you. It really must be serious.”
“I don’t know for sure, but I think it is,” I say. “And all the responsibility is falling on me. The cops are useless and my siblings are useless and even Angelo Marino is useless. I feel like I’m all coked-up and having a panic attack, but I’m mostly sober, if you can believe that.”
“You look like you need some rest,” he says. “But actually, you look good. I haven’t seen you so excited about anything in years. You’ve got some color in your face,
