Coaster (11 page)

"Diana."

Regina sat up. "Did she call you?"

"No, I called her." He didn't notice her wince.

She resumed her seduction and put her hands on his chest looking at him suggestively. She began to kiss him and move down his torso while pushing the blanket away.

James continued looking off into the distance.

Regina moved to his groin.

He grabbed her hair.

That's better,
she thought. She continued what she was doing, erasing the name of Diana from the room.

                                                                      ****

The man wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He bought every paper he could get his hands on and combed every page looking for information about the park and the explosion. He'd even bought a binder and was filling it with the articles related to the explosion. A big tabloid magazine had done five pages on the event, the victims, and the repercussions to the park. He had been laughing reading the entire story.

However, now that it
was done, he was a bit lost. Not knowing what came next and the mentions in the paper becoming fewer and fewer dissolved his focus.

The high he'd been on was fading and he wasn't sure how to fill his time. He
went on the internet finding forums with other people who were disgusted with the state of the nation and it helped a bit to rant. But the thrill he had gotten from planning his attack and the time it took enacting it was something he had gotten used to. Now there was too much time on his hands with nothing to fill it. The let down was palatable.

                                                                      ****

The old man woke up and felt groggy and his head hurt. He drank too much last night. He put his hands to his head and opened his eyes. She was standing over him.

Even with his hangover she scared him.
"Holy shit. What are you doing?"

Clara ignored his pain and stated.
"I want to go to their house."

"What? Whose house?"

"Rachel's. I want to go to their house."

He sat up slowly and shook his head even slower.
"But the funeral is in a couple of days. Here. You can't go anywhere right now."

Clara turned to leave the room, stopped and said.
"I don't care about the funeral. I want to go to her house and I want to go today. If you won't take me then I'll go alone. I am calling the airlines now."

Sitting up t
he bile rose in his throat. His head was now throbbing. He looked at her back as she left the room and saw that streak of determination that he hated.

"I'm not going to miss our daughter and grandchildren's service. If you want to go, then go. But you are going to regret not being here for that."

Clara paused at the doorway and said over her shoulder. "I have to be near them."

He could feel her pain. He understood but he also knew that even though she was crazy now, if she missed the service she would never forgive herself. "Clara, you can't go yet."

She nodded and walked out of the room. He sat there with his head in his hands wondering what he was going to do now.

Chapter Fourteen

Roger shifted in his chair. He looked at the menu again, even though he already knew what he was going to order. The guy was late. Roger looked at his watch. The restaurant was swanky and not his usual place to eat. The waiters were wearing coats and bow ties and they were terribly efficient about filling his water glass.

"Thank you." Roger nodded at the third waiter to top off his glass in the last few minutes.

He saw a guy in a sleek suit and red tie move through the front door. Something told Roger this was who he was waiting for. The man looked like a lawyer with his slicked back hair and broad smile. He paused to talk with the hostess touching her arm. Roger watched as the man he assumed was Fernando Diaz conversed with the hostess making her blush and smile up at him. She pointed at Roger and the man made his way towards him. He moved effortlessly through the restaurant smiling at all the staff.

"Mr. Merit. I apologize for being late. I was caught in court."

Roger was sure that was probably his excuse for anytime he was late. "No, it's fine. I was just enjoying the ambiance."

Fernando
motioned the waiter over. "I'll have an ice tea. Mr. Merit, refill?" He pointed to Roger's beer glass.

"No, thanks. I'm good."

"Well, give me a minute Ernesto and we'll be ready to order." Fernando picked up the menu and looked through it and then set it aside. "So, Mr. Merit. It seems you are in a tough spot, eh?"

Roger nodded. "You can call me Roger. Mr. Merit seems so formal."

"Right, Roger it is." Fernando smiled. "Why don't you tell me why you think you need me?"

Bef
ore Roger could begin Ernesto made his reappearance and they both ordered their lunch. After the waiter left, Roger said, "I work at the amusement park where they had the explosion. I am the head mechanic there and I've been with the company for almost twenty-five years. Now it seems this situation calls for someone to blame, and I'm that someone."

Fernando nodded again and took out a small pad. "Do you mind if I write some notes?"

Roger shook his head. "Not at all."

"Continue."

Roger cleared his throat. "After the last meeting at the offices I got the distinct feeling that the CEO of the company wanted to take me down. Then someone told me I should probably get myself an attorney. So, here we are."

"Well, in circumstances such as these, it's never a bad idea to be safe."

"Circumstances such as these?" Roger took a sip of his beer.

Fernando looked away and around as if making sure it was safe to talk. "Roger, this is big money. Not
only for the corporation but for the city. The park brings in not only a lot of revenue through taxes, but it's a tourist attraction, which I don't have to tell you is big money for everyone involved. But now that there's this tragedy it will greatly hamper the cash flow for the business and the politicos. People aren't going to be running to a park where people died, especially as horrifically as this. Right?"

Roger took a
nother, longer sip of beer and nodded. "Yes. That seems true."

Fernando continued. "T
o make the public happy the corporation is going to pin this on you so they can say they found the bad guy and it's safe come back to our park."

"But I didn't do it!
" Roger said forcefully.

"That, my friend,
is irrelevant. You are simply a face to pin this evil on. No one really cares if you did it or not. They want to read in the papers that someone was convicted. That makes them feel like it's again safe to go on the rides. And the fact that you are the head mechanic, they can make up whatever story that will fit. It doesn't have to be the truth."

The food came and Roger was suddenly not hungry. Fernando dug into his cheeseburger. Roger sat there and looked at the food.

Fernando chewed slowly and Roger waited. "Roger, that's why you have me. I'm going to make sure everyone knows you had nothing to do with this. On top of that, I am going to get you damages for libel."

"
So, what should I do?"

Fernando paused and smiled at him. "Nothing, my friend. You simply stay low-key. Do
n't go out on the town. Stay home. Let me get the ball rolling. I'll be talking to the lawyers for the corporation to find out the situation. I already did some background work and I know a couple of them professionally. Let's find out what we're dealing with and then I will know more about our process of moving forward. But Roger..."

"Yes?"

"Don't worry. I'll take care of this. And don't talk to anyone about anything without talking to me first. Clear?" Fernando pushed his plate away. "I am serious. If anyone contacts you about anything to do with this situation, you refer them to me." He took out a card and handed it to Roger. "That's my cell number on there so you can call me anytime. I'm here for you, buddy."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Roger felt a bit of relief knowing that someone was behind him. While Fernando did rub you a bit, he was smart, that much was sure. Roger had to trust someone, might as well be this guy.
"So do I write you a check?"

Fernando shook his head and waved Roger's statement away.
"My friend, money can be handled another day. Do you know my pricing? I think I sent you an email with the information including how it breaks down, right?"

Roger nodded.

"So, okay, I'm going to do some work and I'll give you a call in a couple of days."

Roger stood up. "I'm going to head home and I'll be there. You have the number."

"I do."

Roger started walking away when the waiter came up with the box of his lunch. He held up the bag towards Fernando. "Thanks for lunch."

"No problem." Fernando watched Roger walk out of the restaurant and slightly shook his head. He figured that La Rosa and Roger might be an item and that made him just the slightest bit jealous. But then he remembered the fee he quoted in his email and the jealousy dissipated as he then sat down and rubbed his hands together.

                                                                      ****

Diana looked out the window of her Kensington apartment. She watched people scurrying past with umbrellas. She hugged herself and felt a chill run through her. Someone knocked at her door and she said, "Come in."

Her social secretary opened the door with a pen and paper in her hand. "Ma'am. We need to get a headcount to the caterers today."

"Yes, Matilda. I will have that for you. Did my barrister send anything over?"

"No ma'am. I can check again with Collin."

"Thanks." Matilda left and Diana returned to looking out the window. She couldn't believe how much had been accomplished in just a couple of days. She had planned the service for Anne and Christopher, gotten her divorce rolling, and now was figuring out how to get back into public relations. She needed to work. The past years of sitting around had been unhealthy for both her mind and spirit.

Diana wanted to
rejoin the workforce so she'd put in calls to all her old university chums to see what was available. James would be arriving tomorrow for the service and she was dreading seeing him. It had been nice not talking to him for the last few days and she wished that could continue. Diana sighed and looked at her mobile buzzing on the desk as James's name came up on the screen and she frowned.

                                                                      ****

James was in the back of the limo with Regina next to him. They had not sat together on the flight home, but he could give her a ride back into town without it looking unseemly. She was rubbing his upper thigh and he could feel his body warming. "Regina, I need to stay focused, please."

A small pout appeared on Regina's
face while she looked out the window. She needed to keep James stimulated and in a constant state of sexual frenzy to keep this working. He had a short attention span and the time away from Diana had affected him. Regina was worried what would happen once he saw Diana again.

James held the phone up to his ear and waited. After a moment he hung up, clearly irritated.
Damn her, why won't she talk to me
? James looked over at Regina. She was beautiful in profile. He took her hand saying, "Now dear, should we stop at my flat?"

                                                                      ****

The old man came in from the garage. He'd just fortified himself for the service of his daughter, Rachel. A couple of belts and a flask in his pocket would help him get through the day. He stopped in the kitchen and looked at all the food set out for after the service. The caterer had dropped off everything early this morning. He wandered towards their bedroom to see if she was ready to go. He braced himself on the wall as he stumbled. Once he got to the bedroom, he called to her. "Clara? Where are you?"

He went into the bathroom. She wasn't there. He
left the bedroom and began searching the house. She wasn't here. It sounded quiet and that was odd. She should be getting dressed. He made his way to the living room and saw the envelope on the mantle. 'Joseph' was written on it and he opened it quickly. All it said was, 'I'm going.'

                                                                      ****

Clara sat in the back of the cab as it headed down the freeway. She was pretty sure that Joseph was drunk most of the time now. She'd found the flask in the closet and also one in his pants. Clara had packed quickly and left quietly from the front door. He'd never seen her go. The cab driver had on some ethnic music with drums and flutes and he was chattering away in a foreign language. She only had one bag next to her on the seat. Her ticket was in her purse. She'd gotten it from the travel agent in town earlier in the week. She did feel bad that she was going to miss the service. But she just couldn't do it. She couldn't sit and listen to others talk about Rachel and the kids. She couldn't face Mitch's parents and couldn't have them coming to the house and digging through the kids things. She needed to be at Rachel's home. To smell them. See their rooms. Touch Rachel's life. It was a matter of survival. The cab exited the freeway and she could see the planes landing on the tarmacs.