3 Can You Picture This? (3 page)

I looked back down the hall and saw that the row of metal chairs was empty, so I felt relief that Richie wasn’t done yet. But when I got to the chairs, I also noticed that the door to the interrogation room was open and the light was off.

Hurrying out to the lobby, I didn’t see Richie or Rob there either. I asked the receptionist to page Rob. In a few minutes he appeared looking a little confused.

“Where’s Richie?” we both said together.

Rob started talking right away. “When we were finished we thought you must have gone to the car, since you weren’t in the hallway. So Richie went out to your car.”

“I was in the bathroom,” I said. “He’s probably waiting out there for me.”

But he wasn’t.

I retraced our route, reversing it and driving from the police station to my home, impatient with every traffic light, but no Richie. I didn’t know if he had a cell phone or not, but at any rate I didn’t know how to contact him. And when I got home his bike was still parked next to the carriage house. I left again, thinking he might have walked a different way. Again, no luck.

By then I was worried, but not yet frantic. I called Rob on his cell and told his voice mail of my concerns. I called George, and left a little more detail since he hadn’t been in on the interviews. I even called Michael to see if he had Richie’s cell phone number, but there was no answer. I called the Quincy Whig, but the newspaper employee told me they were not allowed to give out private numbers.

I returned home and decided to stop thinking about Richie, knowing he would turn up sooner or later. As I entered the house, I heard the TV and the sounds of laughter. The picture I saw in the living room was one that made my heart smile. My grown-up kids, Adam and Sarah, were sitting on the couch watching TV and laughing. For a brief moment it brought me back to their childhood days when they’d watch cartoons together on a Saturday morning. Sure it was Saturday morning now, but near lunchtime instead of early morning. But when I got inside far enough to see what they were watching, I saw the TV was turned to the Cartoon Channel.

“Some things never change,” I said as I wiggled between the two of them on the couch.

Adam lowered the sound with the remote and put his arm around me. Sarah did the same on the other side of me.

“We made a Mommy Sandwich,” Sarah said. Same thing she used to say when she was small when both kids hugged me at the same time.

This was a slice of heaven. “You guys hungry? It’s lunchtime.”

“Nope,” Sarah answered. “We just finished breakfast a little bit ago.”

“Okay. Remember we’re going out to dinner with George tonight.”

Adam said, “Yep, we remember and were just talking about it. We want to meet the guy you’ve hated all our lives and then suddenly love.”

“Wha…‌wha…‌what?” I sputtered. “How did you know about that?”

Sarah and Adam both smiled as Sarah answered for them. “You have a lot of brothers and sisters. Most of them are very happy to share the latest news with their sweet niece and nephew.”

Adam joined in, “By the way, when is Clancy coming home? We saw your note that she was at the dog park, but shouldn’t she be home by now?”

“Yeah. I see Gus’s car outside. I’ll run over there and see.”

I wiggled out the opposite of how I wiggled in, and realized that when the kids were here I missed them more than when they were gone. It didn’t make sense, but when they were away at school I knew they were fine and they were happy. But when they were home I looked ahead to when they had to leave and it made me sad. Dumb.

I went over to Gus and Georgianne’s place, knocked on the back door and let myself in. Gus walked into the kitchen, put his finger to his lips, and beckoned me to follow him quietly. So I did. We walked through the kitchen, breakfast room, and dining room, and reached the room that Georgianne called a parlor, I saw her sound asleep and snoring on the old-fashioned velvet couch. And my big beautiful dog was lying on top of her asleep as well. Clancy did manage to open one eye as we approached, but was too tired to keep it open.

A few months ago I would have thought this was an abomination. At that time Georgianne was not a friend of mine, to put it nicely. I had always loved Gus, and tolerated Georgianne because of that. Now I grudgingly admitted I loved them both—Gus more than Georgianne, however.

“She really had a workout at the dog park,” Gus said.

“Which one? Clancy or Georgianne,” I teased. Then I added, “I really miss Clancy,” I whispered. “Bring her home as soon as they wake up. Okay?”

Gus nodded, and I walked out the way I walked in—quietly. I held the screen door as I exited. Life without Clancy was not a good life for me. She helped me every day by being my confidante and a loving friend. She also worked with me at the Clinic as a therapy dog. This just started a few months ago, after we solved the poisoning murders. Our psychic connection gave me a dog who not only listened well, but communicated her thoughts to me some of the time.

As I walked down the porch steps toward my little corner of this heaven, I saw that Richie’s bike was gone. He must’ve grabbed it and left before I could see him.

A voice boomed, “Hello.”

I turned to see a tall elderly woman that I didn’t recognize. From first glance I could tell she was a character. She had flaming red hair with earrings to the ground and boobs to the sky. I wondered how she did that at her age.

“Hello, I’m Sam Darling. I live here,” indicating the carriage house.

“I’m Julieanne Harmon, Georgianne’s younger—much younger—sister.”

We shook hands as we introduced ourselves. Then I said, “Georgianne is asleep. I just went in and talked to Gus.”

“Thanks. I’ll go in quietly. Hope to see you again.” With that, she hugged me so hard my stomach touched my spine. Then she and her booming, dramatic voice began walking up the stairs to see her sister and Gus.

When I went inside my home I asked if anyone had knocked while I was gone. At their simultaneous “no” answer, I had a quick thought that they should have been twins instead of two years apart.

As I made myself a quick peanut butter sandwich, I reflected on how lucky I was to have such great kids. At 21, Adam had just finished his junior year at the U of I and was searching for his place in the world. Sarah, now 19, was going to be a sophomore there in the fall. She worked at the hospital at night, helping a registered dietitian plan appropriate menus for patients with differing needs. I stood in the kitchen, eating, and looked into the living room at my loves. Adam with his dark hair and dark eyes. Sarah with her golden hair and blue eyes. My ex-husband and I had always said we each had a reproduction of ourselves. I silently hoped that Adam didn’t turn out like his father, however.

I told them I was going to take a nap, but that I wanted them to wake me if anyone came by.

“God, Mom, are you that desperate for company?” Adam came by the sarcastic gene honestly.

There was no way I wanted to get into the Richie thing with them, so I just let his jibe flow off of me. When I got to my room, I did what I usually do there. I took off my jeans, and pulled the covers over my head. My bed was lonely without Clancy. She’d been my sleeping buddy for several years.

Now George had changed things a bit.

FIVE

I
woke to Sarah crawling into bed with me and giving me a hug. Felt like old times. Whenever I’d overslept when she was a kid, she would wake me this way. “Hi, sweetie,” I said. “I love having you home.”

“Love being here,” she said. “It’s time for you to get up. I’ll wait and take a nap after our dinner and before I go to work.”

“Okay, sweetie. I’ll get a quick shower.” I jumped out of bed as quickly as I could. Seeing George always gave me energy. It was then I noticed Clancy was back. She’d been sleeping with me and I hadn’t even known it. I guessed that Gus must have brought her home while I was sleeping.

Sarah stayed in my bed and turned on the TV, watching the news. Clancy curled up next to her and Sarah petted her absentmindedly. My shower took just a few minutes. I’d already showered earlier that morning and washed my hair then. I wrapped myself in my terry-cloth robe and walked back into my bedroom. I laughed as I realized Sarah and I had traded places. She and Clancy were both sound asleep. I crawled into bed with them and woke Sarah up. She smiled as she realized the tables had turned.

“We’ve got to get going, honey,” I reminded her. “What are you going to wear?”

“A skirt, I thought,” she answered. “Okay with you?” She smiled as she said it.

“Perfect, and make sure your brother at least puts on clean jeans.”

About a half hour later George walked in the front door, kissed me, and stayed quiet as I introduced him to my kids.

Sarah shook his hand with a smile. Adam said, “Good to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

George looked at me as he said, “Your mom talked about me?”

“A little. Mostly it was from our aunts and uncles. Seems like everyone likes you.”

“But we’ll make up our own minds,” Sarah piped in teasingly.

“She’s not kidding. We’ll make up our own minds,” Adam said.

“Well, I’ve sure heard a lot about you two. Your mom is proud of both of you, and was really looking forward to you coming home for part of the summer.” He turned to me again. “I’m sorry, Sam, but we have to make it an early night. I have to work tomorrow on this case we picked up.”

“But tomorrow’s Sunday.” I hate it when I sound like a petulant child, but it happens.

A few unattractive whines from me later, and after bidding good-bye to Clancy, we were in the car heading to the restaurant. “I thought we’d go somewhere different tonight,” George said as he drove. “I have reservations for us at the Boat Dock.”

“Good thinking,” said Adam. “I’ve only been there once. Great food.” The Boat Dock was a restaurant built out over Quincy Bay, an offshoot of the Mississippi. They had a reputation for wonderful fish dishes, with fresh fish bought each day from folks who’d caught them in the river. Of course, that didn’t impress me as a vegetarian, but what did impress me was the fact that they had the largest salad bar in town.

I smiled as George reached over and took my hand. I leaned back into the seat, thinking that I must be the luckiest girl alive. Then I went and ruined it by asking, “What’s the case you caught?”

And George ruined it even more by saying, “Not tonight, Sam. Please. Let’s just have a lovely evening with no talk of crime, murder, and me warning you to stay out of those things.”

I pulled my hand away. I could imagine my adult children making faces in the back seat. This must seem like an instant replay of the relationship I had with their father, right at the moment before a fight started. For their sakes I decided to surprise them by letting it drop. I’d deal with George later about it.

I was the one who was surprised when George said, “I’ll tell you one thing. One thing. It was the guy you and Richie described—the guy who was stabbed. Don’t ask any more questions. That is all I’m going to say.” When I opened my mouth to speak, he repeated, “That’s all I’m going to say.” It sounded final so I relented.

He was a great guy, but had a thing about me “meddling” in police work. I knew he was just trying to protect me, but it made me mad sometimes. And of course it didn’t stop me from meddling.

So I held my tongue. Almost impossible for me to do in situations like this. I counted it as a personal victory.

We rode in silence to the Boat Dock. Since it had started raining a little, George dropped us off at the entrance and went to park the car. The summertime humidity hit us full force. Although the temperature had mellowed a bit, we could always count on the humidity to drain our energy.

“You’re mad, Mom. Admit it,” Adam said as we waited just inside the door of the restaurant.

“Mad? Me? At what? Of course I’m not mad.” I thought I did some of my best acting.

“We know you’re mad. We’ve known you for a long time,” Sarah chimed in. “When you deny something to us, you always start with a question or two, like you need time to think before you answer.”

I just looked at them. They knew me pretty well. So I decided to shake off whatever petty anger I felt toward George, and enjoy this evening. Tonight was the first time my kids had met George, and I wanted them to like him as much as I did.

Right on cue, George entered the restaurant, took off his jacket and shook off the water. He smiled at me and I melted, forgetting for a while that I’d ever been upset with him. He went to the hostess and said he had a reservation for four.

We were led to a table overlooking the water. There were lights strung outside over some boat docks that made the place look magical. And even more lights were strung on wire over our table, but nowhere else inside. The outside ones looked like twinkling stars reflected in the bay. Those inside were like little faerie lights surrounding our table.

“What’s this?” I asked, after taking a moment to enjoy the view.

I swear George beamed as he said, “Happy birthday, Sam. I know it’s not until July 4th, but I wanted to surprise you and I wanted your family here with you.”

I turned and kissed him. This time not the quick peck you do in public. I really kissed him, at least until I heard Adam and Sarah making noises.

“Sorry, you guys,” I said to them, and to George I said, “Thank you so much. This is a wonderful surprise.”

He continued beaming as he actually pulled out my chair for me. The ambiance of the place lent itself to romance, even though my children were here. I had to work on holding the menu with my left hand because my right one was busy holding George’s hand.

Content. Happy. And soon to be eating a fabulous meal. What could go wrong?

SIX

W
hat could go wrong, indeed?

I’m a born optimist, but everything was just a little too perfect. I was with the man I loved, and the kids I adored were with me too. I’d been surprised with an early birthday present, and I was going to eat a scrumptious meal. The lights weren’t candles, but right or wrong I felt they were flattering. My smile was genuine and so big that even my teeth hurt.