Death in Paradise (49 page)

"What's the matter, Lenny? Don't you guys have homes?"

He shrugged wearily. Even his suit looked tired. "I don't remember," he said. "I think I have a home."

I held out a hand. "I wanted to say good-bye. I'm off to the airport."

He took the hand and bowed over it. "Leonard Bernstein," he said, "Maui Police and Taxi Service. I'm here to take you to the airport."

"You don't have to do that."

His exhausted face lifted in a smile. "How else can I be sure you'll leave?" He dropped my hand, picked up my suitcase, and headed for the door.

So it was that, like the president or a prisoner in transport, I had a police escort at both ends of the trip. Andre met me at Logan when I emerged, stiff as a board and overdosed on bad sleep, from one of those flying cattle cars they try to palm off on us as human transportation. One thing I know for sure, people my size should always fly first class. In fact, from L.A. back to Boston, I had upgraded to first class. It was a tragic waste, really. There they were, trying desperately to ply me with liquor, which I couldn't drink, food, for which I had no desire, and free movies when I couldn't keep my eyes open. Though I'm usually a fanatic about details, about the whys and wherefores, this time there were lots of things I still didn't understand and I didn't feel like trying. Maybe someday I'd ask the Midnight Twins to explain. All I wanted to do was rest. Rest and let my mind float. And finish my book. The wonderful, moving book that made me marvel at how well some people can write. That made me smile and cry.

I could tell he'd been in touch with his Hawaiian brethren by the careful way he hugged me without squishing my tender arm and shoulder. I could tell he'd missed me by the kiss he gave me. Some women go a lifetime never having a kiss like that. I'm sure. I'd gone several days and that was enough. But he gathered me in and I felt safe and loved and terribly happy to be home. He carried my suitcase and opened the car door and handed me in very carefully. Then he went around, got in on his side, and fished around under the seat.

"I got you something," he said, handing me a white plastic bag with big red CVS letters on it. CVS was our local chain of drugstores.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"You bet," he said. "Nothing is too good for my girl."

I left the bag lying in my lap and leaned back in the seat, closing my eyes. "You've been in touch with the boys from the beach?"

"Certainly. They had to call and apologize for sending you home in damaged condition. I said I usually got you back in much worse shape and it was okay as long as you were still good for basic things like—"

"Andre, you didn't. Tell me you didn't say that."

He reached over and put a hand on my thigh, running it up my leg underneath my skirt until it was snug against my body. "I wouldn't do something like that. I respect your privacy," he said.

"Seriously," I said, grabbing the hand before he could distract me completely. "Did they have any more news for me?"

"You think the Maui Police Department needs to report its every move to some nosy amateur detective from Massachusetts?"

"I meant, are they going to be able to make a case? If those two walked, after all they've done—"

"Nihilani seems pretty confident. You know how it is. They've still got a lot of work to do. He says you might have to go back and testify. But if you do, I'm going along."

"Fine with me." I moved the hand to his thigh. "I hear it can be a fun place."

"Maybe on our honey—" he began, but I wasn't listening.

"I sure never expected the conference to turn out like it did...."

"I should hope not."

"I mean, I didn't expect to have so little time to concentrate on the important things. You know, that whole conference was supposed to be about educating girls, and yet I didn't think about anything except seating arrangements, room assignments, and looking over my shoulder for most of the conference. Flying home I was thinking that maybe I... we... we should resign from the board, let things get a fresh start, but we've all put so much work into learning about how to educate girls."

His hand reached over and settled on my abdomen. "Speaking of girls," he said, "how's little Claudine doing?"

"I think she and Ollie are fighting about what program they want to watch when they get home."

"Oh, domestic bliss," he said. "What are we going to do if you really are—" He broke off, jammed a hand on the horn, and slammed on the brakes as a car full of teenagers in a rust-blistered wreck suddenly pulled out in front of us. As if they'd rehearsed it, they all gave us the collective finger and disappeared in a cloud of dirty black exhaust.

"Hey, tough guy," I teased, "you gonna let those punks get away with that?"

"You bet," he said. "I'm in a hurry to get home. Besides, I'm carrying precious cargo."

We rode on in silence. It was nearly midnight. The roads were clear and we made good time. Despite all my sleep on the plane, I longed to take off the clothes I'd worn for so many hours, put on a clean, fresh nightgown, and climb into my own bed, at home, where there were no ghosts to haunt the dark corners and where I knew, with Andre by my side, that I could sleep without bad dreams.

I squeezed his thigh. "I've missed you so much."

"So you aren't thinking of replacing me with one of those attentive Maui cops?"

"Since that fateful night when we sat in Carrie's apartment and called each other names, Lemieux, it's been you and only you."

"Isn't there a song that goes like that? Old rock and roll? Something like 'There'll never be anyone else but you, for me. Never ever be, just couldn't be, anyone else but you....' " He trailed off.

"Sorry," I said. "I'm much too young for old rock and roll. I'm too young for a lot of things. Too young to be a mother... I can't even take care of myself."

"You're getting better at it," he said. "Bernstein said you were incredible. He said when you went stalking down that parking lot, carrying the injured little girl and you wouldn't let anyone else touch her because she was too scared.... He said you looked about ten feet tall and ready to slay dragons. And he says you beat the crap out of one of the perps. He says you took on two of them at once, when one of them had a knife...."

"I thought I was remarkably restrained."

He pulled the car into the breakdown lane and braked to a stop. Then he unfastened his seat belt, got out, came around to my side, and opened the door. "Aren't you even going to look in the bag?" he asked, pointing to my lap.

I reached into the white plastic bag and pulled out a pregnancy-test kit. He seemed so pleased with himself I had to laugh. "It's the best that money can buy," he said. "Go ahead... take a look at it."

"I don't need to look at it. I'm sure the directions are right on the outside of the box."

"Go on," he said.

I looked up at him curiously. At those shining brown eyes. The sexy arched eyebrows. At his firm jaw and perpetual five o'clock shadow. I reached up and touched his face. "Can't we hurry home? I can't wait much longer."

"Just as soon as you open the box."

"All right. But if something jumps out and hits me in the face, I'm going to be very angry at you."

I opened the box and peered inside. There were no medicine droppers or test tubes or any of the paraphernalia I was expecting. Just a small black velvet box. I reached in and took it out. A little out of breath. Nervous. My hands were shaking.

"Okay," he said. "Now stop...." He dropped to his knees, right there on the tar and the gravel, oblivious to the occasional cars whizzing past. He took my hand. "Thea," he said. I wasn't the only one who was shaking and nervous and a little bit out of breath. "Will you marry me?"

"You don't even want to wait and see if this thing turns pink or blue?"

He took the box from my hand and opened it. Took out a ring that twinkled like Venus, pulled my left hand toward him, very gently, and slipped the ring on my finger. "I don't care whether it's red or purple or sky blue pink. If you aren't pregnant now, think of the fun I'll have trying again. And again. And again. Will you?"

I reached up and locked my hands behind his head, pulling his lips down to meet mine. "Yes. Sure. Of course. Why not?" There was another old rock and roll song, I thought. Sealed with a kiss. The long, slow, breathtaking kiss I'd dreamed of ever since he'd promised it to me on the phone. Sometime later, he got back in the car and we drove home. Tomorrow we would get up and see whether we'd won first prize—marriage and happily ever after, or the grand prize, marriage, happily ever after, and a bonus baby.

The world outside was still full of evil, selfish people, and good generous ones. The bad ones would return to intrude on our lives. The good ones would touch us and nurture our spirits. But that was for another day. Tonight, we were inside our own charmed circle. Tonight, everything seemed perfect just the way it was.

The End

 

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Excerpt from

 

Steal Away

 

by

 

Katharine Clark

 

 

 

 

 

The Taking

 

It wasn't a long ride from the school to his house, but David had played baseball at recess and after lunch and he was tired. He was ready to kick off his sneakers, take off his socks, and curl up on the window seat in the kitchen while his mom fixed him a snack. She'd promised peanut butter cookies today and she'd better not forget. Not that she forgot a lot of things, but sometimes, if she got wrapped up in her work, she'd forget what time it was and, just be starting his snack when he got home.

He lifted his head and sniffed the wind, wondering if he was close enough yet to smell something if she was baking. He hadn't liked what they served at lunch and he was hungry. His front tire hit a pothole. He skidded, nearly fell, and regained his balance, getting off far to the side to let the car behind him pass safely. His mom was always nagging at him to get way off to the side when cars came. It was hard to hear with his helmet on, but he didn't take it off. A lot of the kids did, when they thought they wouldn't get caught, but David had just started taking long rides and he didn't feel safe without it.