3 Can You Picture This? (7 page)

“What?” I smiled.

“That you guys always say, ‘I love you’ when you leave each other or before you hang up the phone.”

“Mom and Dad always did that. And it gave me a little comfort knowing that the last thing they heard from me was ‘I love you.’ And it was the last thing I heard from them too.”

I rode the rest of the way in silence to George’s house, feeling content. He parked in the garage again and we walked into his kitchen a few moments later. Clancy sat and looked up expectantly.

“Hungry, girl?” I couldn’t help but smile when I looked at her.

George got her food and a bowl while I filled another bowl with water. It was still early so I made the bed while George worked on the computer. I heard his voice at times when I sat to read on my iPad. I must have dozed off on the couch because the next thing I knew I felt Clancy giving me doggy kisses.

“Clancy, stop,” I said, my eyes still closed. “I’m awake.” I moved to push her away and discovered it wasn’t Clancy after all, but George.

I pulled him to me, and we got a little amorous until he stood up and said, “Forgot. I’m on duty. Damn.”

I smiled, and stretched, then sat up again. I got up and followed George into the second bedroom that he’d converted to an office. “Any news yet?”

He knew what I meant.

“Not really. The first and last dudes didn’t have an ID on them, so we’re running the last one’s prints. We already ran the first one’s and he’s not on the database. We’re also checking their bites, and we’ll run those too, against dental records. I don’t know anything right now.”

“Do I get to…‌er…‌have to stay here tonight?” Oops. I didn’t want to sound like I was ready to move in. I just really enjoyed being here with George.

He answered right away without looking up. “I think tonight, yeah. We don’t know if the last guy was the murderer or not. We don’t know who it was in my backyard last night. We don’t know much of anything except we have two bodies, someone in the hospital, and not much information.”

The day passed in a leisurely way for me, but not so much for George. He stayed on the phone and/or the computer all day, stopping only for a light lunch I’d put together with leftovers from yesterday. Around 5:30 I heard him sigh and say to someone on the other end of his phone call, “I’m done for today. Call me if you have any, and I mean any, news.”

I stood behind him by then, and I leaned down and hugged him from behind. The chair got in the way, but I needed him to feel how much I cared about him.

“I love you. I hope you know how much.” As I stood up he swiveled his office chair around to face me and pulled me to his lap.

“No one will hurt you, Sam. I’ll take care of you.”

“And sometimes, George, I’ll take care of you.”

ELEVEN

T
he evening was more pleasant than the one before, and not only because there was no extra person in the back yard. It was quiet. I read while George sat on the couch by me, watching something on the tube. A while after that, George read while I watched TV. Later, we found a show we both liked—a re-run of
Bones
—and sat together, whispering so Clancy didn’t hear everything we said. After that show we sat in the silence and I enjoyed it.

I hadn’t experienced this kind of peace before. No thoughts of will he drink too much, is he cheating on me, does he love me…‌no thoughts like the ones that had cluttered my mind in previous relationships.

Maybe he’s “the
one
,” I thought, and then laughed aloud at myself. I had thought my ex-husband Joe was
the one
too. And I’d quickly found out how wrong I was. Joe was a man who was a good father, sometimes a great father, but he was a lousy husband. Going hot and cold, loving then not, being attentive and then ignoring me; it was a roller coaster of a marriage that didn’t suit me. I never knew whether Joe would come home right after work or at two in the morning. He wasn’t abusive to me, at least not physically. Verbal and emotional abuse was another story.

My children knew nothing of this. And never would, at least not from me. I’d told Pete when I was in the midst of the divorce; he was the one who advised me to get an annulment “just in case.” So I did; it was on the grounds of fraud, since Joe wasn’t staying true to the promise of fidelity. It took a while, but finally was approved.

I didn’t tell anyone else the reason for my divorce, not even my sisters or Gus. I don’t know if I was embarrassed or just didn’t want to bore them with my problems. There were some suspicions, of that I was sure. But no certainty on their part.

But George was different. I would bet my very life on that. He was a smart ass, which I did love. However, he wasn’t cruel with his comments. He almost seemed to be a member of the family with his ready sarcastic wit. And he wasn’t afraid to be loving, even in front of others. His kindness and compassion left me feeling so much in love that I could hardly stand it. Surely he had his faults, but they were more than bearable.

We’d made a big chef salad for dinner, with some ham on George’s portion, and George broke out some wine, since technically he wasn’t on duty. He limited both of us to one glass, just in case we had to react quickly at any time. I didn’t object since I wasn’t much of a runner even sober. Drunken staggering would make me even slower if a bad guy were chasing me.

The rest of the evening was as pleasant as before dinner. And the night was…‌well, the night was pretty darn fantastic.

I awoke with both a smile and a dog butt on my face. George had already gotten up, and I heard him whistling in the shower. Clancy had to go out, but I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. I called to George, saying, “Can you hurry and take Clancy outside?”

“Yep,” he yelled back. And it was just a moment before he came back into the bedroom and landed on the bed to give me a hug.

He jumped up and said, “C’mon, Clancy, let’s go outside.”

She reacted predictably, leaping off the bed and running around George until they finally walked out of the bedroom. I stretched luxuriously, content with my life. Well, except for the part where I couldn’t work and couldn’t go home. Couldn’t see my kids either. I guessed I wasn’t as content as I’d thought.

“I betcha I’ll get to go home today,” I said aloud. Then, not troubled by anything for the moment, I got up and showered, and even sang while I did so. Today was going to be a glorious day.

Or so I thought.

TWELVE

I
t wasn’t long before breakfast was finished and cleaned up. “Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever cleaned off a table so much. Lots of times things sit there until I get around to it.”

“I noticed,” George said.

With the mood I was in, I couldn’t even get sarcastic with him, much less mad.

“I need to know how Richie is. It’s stupid, but I feel partially responsible.”

“I’m glad you realize that it’s stupid. You did nothing to hurt him. And I’ll check on Richie in a little while.”

“Do you think I can go home today?” I asked him, changing the subject.

“We’ll see. I’m going to check with the station.”

He called and spoke to his captain, who told him they had no reason to think the suicide was the murderer, but no reason to think he wasn’t. In other words they didn’t know much of anything yet. George asked when the autopsy would be conducted and was told it would probably be today.

When he hung up, George added, “At least that might tell us whether he was a suicide or a homicide.”

I had no idea that they thought it might not be suicide. I felt a shiver that was part fear and part excitement. “Wow. That would make a big difference in everything, wouldn’t it? What makes you think it might not be suicide? And can I still go home today?” I stopped when George held up his hand.

“You and your daughter with the questions…. Anyway, the answers are yes, it looked too perfect, and I don’t know.” Then he said, “Do you really want to leave here?”

It was my turn to say, “I don’t know.” I added, “I don’t want to leave you, that’s for sure, but I’d love to be in my cozy little carriage house with my kids there…‌and you, of course.” I hugged him to let him know that I wasn’t trying to escape him, or his lovely home.

I could see he was having an internal dialogue, trying to decide if it was safe for me to go to work and to stay at my own place. Finally he said, “I don’t want you to leave, but that’s just selfish. I’ve enjoyed having you and Clancy here the last few nights. But somehow it just feels like you’d be safe going home. And to work too.”

I kissed him. Kissed him seriously and thoroughly.

“Before I go, maybe we can get Clancy to watch the Animal Planet one more time,” he said, his eyes flashing. I looked at George and grinned back.

After all, who knew when we’d be able to have some private time again? We’d both be busy with work, plus I’d have the kids, and I’d neglected the rest of my family since I had fallen in love with George.

Clancy hadn’t watched so much TV since I’d gotten her. Now here she was, eight years old, and I was getting her addicted to the boob tube. But it was worth it.

Later we had another cup of coffee while watching a show with Clancy on the migratory patterns of the Canada goose. She seemed enthralled. I leaned over Clancy so I could talk to George.

“I keep wondering how Richie is doing. Can you check, please?”

“Sure. I forgot to call, but I’ll do it now. Since he was a crime victim I can get some information from the hospital.” He called and spoke to the nurse manager of the floor Richie’d been moved to. He spoke for a few minutes, and his eyebrows shot up in disbelief, before thanking her and putting his phone down.

“He’s doing really well,” he said before I could even question him about it. “And the thing that flabbergasted me was the reason he didn’t die.”

“What. Tell me.” I couldn’t contain myself.

“He was stabbed the same way as the first guy, but he has a rare condition called,” he looked down to consult his notes, “dextrocardia. It means his heart is on the right instead of the left side of his chest. So even though the knife went in the same place, it didn’t hit his heart. He’ll be fine. He’s going to be discharged in the next few days.”

“Wow. I’ve heard of that, but don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who had it. And I sure didn’t know what it was called.” I had to think about it for a while. What amazing luck Richie had. “We need to visit him.”

George agreed. “We can go this evening or tomorrow. I have lots of work to catch up on.”

Later that morning, after checking with the station again, George said I could probably stay at my house safely. As he drove me home, my mind was cluttered with useless facts, and my vibes had deserted me…‌at least for the moment. Even Clancy wasn’t able to help me. Our connection was lessened when there was an abundance of people around.

I realized it was too late for me to go to work because the agency would have already called my clients to cancel for today. But I did phone in a message for the receptionist, Clara Schmidt, to let her know I’d be there tomorrow.

George said he’d pick me up later so we could go to visit Richie at the hospital, then dropped me and Clancy off at my house. I sighed as I walked through the door to my domain. This was my very first home ever where I’d had a bedroom to myself, not to mention the luxury of a bathroom attached. When I was young, I had shared with my sisters, and of course I shared with Joe while I was married.

There was something so right about having a place of my own. I wondered if I ever could share a place with someone again. My kids didn’t count. They were part of me, plus they were seldom home anyway. Adam would graduate after one more year and he’d most likely move out as soon as he could. Sarah had a few more years at school and I hoped she would consider this place her home until she finished.

I dropped my bag on the floor and plopped my body onto the couch. And there I sat with my feet on the coffee table until my kids walked in. Without any prompting one sat on either side of me. I took both their hands and held them close for a short time. We didn’t even talk. Just sat in silence until Clancy let me know she needed to go out.

“I’ll take her,” Adam said.

“No need, hon,” I said, getting up, “I want to take her for a little walk.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Adam and Sarah at the same time.

I smiled at how sweet they were both being.

“Nope. I need to be by myself a little and enjoy my freedom.”

Clancy got excited at the sight of her leash, because it meant she was going for a real walk and not just a pee in the courtyard. As we exited my house, the mansion’s back door opened and out walked Georgianne in her loud, flowered housecoat.

“Yoo-hoo, Sam!” Even though I was standing a few feet away from her back porch she still yelled as if I couldn’t see or hear her.

“Good morning,” I said, happy with the world for the moment, and that world included even Georgianne’s housecoat.

“Are you home for good?” she asked. “Gus has been worried about you.”

“Welcome home, Sam. I missed you and Clancy.” Gus stuck his head out of the door and yelled his greeting.

Seeing the two of them, Clancy pulled on her leash until I let go, and she ran up the stairs to greet her friends. After she gave them each doggie kisses, she rolled onto her back so they could apply some well-placed belly rubs.

Georgianne looked up, “I wanted to ask you, Sam, if you would like to play cards tonight. My regular group is playing, but it’s a special night because my sister is here and she adores card games. Please say you’re free.”

Normally I’m quick enough with the excuses, but not this time.

“Sure, what time?” All was right in my world. I could afford to spend time with Georgianne. Plus, I’d get to see Gus.

“Come over at seven. Would your children like to play?”

Thankfully, for them, I was able to say that I thought they were both busy. They loved Gus and Georgianne, but I thought the card game with old folks might be asking too much of them.

I was finally able to extract Clancy from their ministrations and took off. Today we went on our normal walk through the lovely neighborhood we lived in. It seemed it had been a long time since I was able to talk to Clancy like I’d always done.