Hiding Tom Hawk (12 page)

She had been impoverished in East Germany, but Robert told Tom the rest of her family had become wealthy as God while West Germany boomed, and she’d had a few months to get used to it. So why was she here in the backwoods of Michigan? Somebody must have painted a glowing picture of Robert.

Officer Makinen was there to greet them in the hospital lobby. “Three of you, Mr. Hawk?”

“Miss Schneider is a personal guest of Miss Kessler. She may have seen a man near the house yesterday and she can take a look too, if you want. It’s up to you.”

“Oh. I’ll get you the state man. He can decide who sees his show.”

The state cop greeted them courteously. Tom was surprised when he and the medical examiner, or whoever the guy in the white coat was, agreed to show the stiff to the women. Soon they were gathered around the draped body on the morgue table. He thought Renada showed an unseemly anticipation as the white coat guy pulled a sheet off of the face. It was an ugly man but, to his relief, no one Tom recognized. His skin was dark enough to be from California and he looked vaguely Italian. Then again, Upper Michigan was full of Italian-Americans.

“Well, Mr. Hawk?”

“I have no idea who this is. I’ve never seen him before.”

“How about you, Miss Kessler, do you know who this is?”

“No, I don’t know him, Officer.”

Tom saw concern in her face. She didn’t know him, but he bet she recognized him as her man.

“Very well. What about you, miss?” The cop focused on Renada.

Renada shook her head too. “I have never seen this person.” She had a look close to disappointment on her face, but Tom believed she, unlike Beth, was being truthful.

Renada wanted to know, “What happened to his head? What are the shaved spots on each side?”

The white coat guy, who had been silent, became animated. “Oh, that’s what’s so fascinating. Each contusion is from a different event. He may not have drowned at all. The autopsy will…”

The cop all but clapped a hand over the guy’s mouth. “Sam, these people don’t need to know all that. Thanks, folks. We’re done in here.”

He herded them away, away from the corpse and its excited keeper. Out of the morgue, he had a couple questions they couldn’t answer. They signed something and headed to the station wagon. Beth beat Renada to the front seat this time, but the German seemed not to care. She was off in some unhappy private world since seeing the corpse. The cop and the white coat guy were out of the hospital too before Tom had the car in gear. The Green Bay Packers/Chicago Bears football game was starting, Tom recalled.

When they got back to the B&B, Tom noticed for the first time a new gold Pontiac Firebird parked in the lot. Wyatt Stone had some pretty nice wheels for a grad student. He, Robert, and Dani were sitting in the parlor watching the football game. The three rushed to the hall when they heard Tom open the front door.

Robert spoke first. “Was it Ben Whitefish, Beth?”

“No, it was no one. I mean, no one from around here. None of us recognized him.”

“It was a brutish, pale-faced fellow,” Renada said. “He was grossly fat. I had thought from Beth’s description… But it is of no importance.”

Robert gave them a high sign and thumped Beth on the shoulders. “All right then.” He grinned and went back to the television. Renada headed up the stairs.

Dani spoke. “Well, the great thing is whoever drowned, it has nothing to do with us. I told you not to worry, Beth, honey. Last night you had a sleepwalking nightmare, nothing more.”

“I guess maybe so.”

Dani must have lost interest in the Packers, because she too headed up to her room.

“How long do you think it will be before Vince Lombardi retires?” Wyatt questioned Robert.

“The man will
die
screaming his lungs out on those sidelines.”

Tom saw Beth glance at him. She had been avoiding eye contact ever since the sheet had come off the face of the corpse. She couldn’t possibly think
he
might have murdered the fat man, could she?

****

Tom took Beth to the hall while Robert and Wyatt shouted encouragement to a pass receiver. He said, “It was the same guy, wasn’t it? The one in the morgue was the one at the river. I appreciate your trying to shield me, but for your own protection you should have told the cops about him.”

“I didn’t exactly lie. I’m not
sure
it was the same guy. Hell, I don’t know if I did see a man. There are people here who will tell the cops that I’m a drunk or a mental case if I say I did. We’ve got enough trouble, you and I.” She headed to her breakfast dishes. Her body language warned,
Don’t follow me
.

He went to his room, wanting to avoid company more than he wanted to see the Bears and Packers on the big TV. He was afraid to call Claire or Greg at his golf store for fear of a tap on their lines now, a tap by the Feds or worse. He was afraid that the dead man had been sent to find him and had come close to succeeding. Beth was not handling it well. He fantasized running away from here with her until this thing was over. No, she was right about him having an excessive opinion of his own charm. She wasn’t nearly ready for that. And he still had no car or money.

If he
was
going to eat three meals a day he had to get some hours of paid work from Gary Grant. He went out to the hall phone and dialed, not knowing if Gary would answer or if he’d fled the state until the elders cooled off. He did answer.

“Hello, Gary here.”

Gary’s TV was on in the background, which was reassuring. Men fearful of being eviscerated by their Native American business partners didn’t sit around watching football.

“It’s Tom Hawk, Gary. Uh, you were about to give me a work assignment yesterday when we were interrupted by the gentlemen from the tribe.”

Gary laughed derisively. “Moe, Curley, and Larry you mean. The natives remain restless, but I can handle it.”

“I heard you’re sporting a shiner, though.”

“I tripped and fell against a totem pole. You worry too much. Hey, where are you calling from, anyway, Tomahawk?”

“I’m staying at Beth Kessler’s place.”

“Seriously? Well, lucky you. Life is cruel to me, making her my first cousin.”

“Do you need me to come in to the store tomorrow?”

“Yup. In fact, I need you to go and visit someone with Robert after the game ends today. It’ll be straight time pay. I don’t do weekend overtime.”

“This afternoon? Who are we visiting?”

“You need to see Beth’s and my great-aunt Mildred, a lovely woman. How are your acting skills, Tomahawk?”

“They’re kind of limited.”

“That’ll be enough. I assume Robert’s watching the Packers. After the game ends, bring him to the store with you and I’ll give you the scoop.”

****

Tom was reaching for the knob on the little black and white television in his bedroom when a knock came on the door. Reluctantly, he crossed the room and opened up to face Renada Schneider.

“May I come in?”

He was startled because the request was polite, tentative, almost whispered, and for all those reasons out of character.

“Sure.” He indicated she should take the armchair, and he perched on the end of the bed facing her. “What’s up?”

“I feared the dead man was someone I know, someone who would harm me. That is why I had to see the body. I made up the part about seeing a fat man at the road so you would take me with you to the morgue.”

“I was wondering about that. Was it the man you know?”

“No. But still I worry. I ask you to tell me at once when you learn his identity. My life could be at stake, Thomas.”

“Huh? You think some East German hit man is after you?”

She gave a massive, theatrical shrug. “You try to make a joke, but it is not a joke.” She twisted a cheap lace handkerchief. Her hands looked very strong. “I was with a man named Horst before I left the East, a fat man, but not grossly so like the dead one.”

“So you were afraid your chubby ex-boyfriend followed you here to kill you?”

“Yes. I know too much about him. He talked in his sleep a lot, about his work.”

“And that was what?”

She got up from the chair. “I hear your skeptical tone of voice. I apologize for disturbing you. I am a fool. I will go now.”

“No, wait a minute. You waltzed in here and told me someone may be trying to kill you. What did your boyfriend back home do, and what did he tell you about his work?”

“He was in ‘investigations’ for the Stasi. You know the Stasi?”

“The East German secret police?”

“Yes. He threatened if I left him, he would have to kill me. The Stasi have many agents in West Germany and he could find me easily there. It is the reason I agreed to come here and meet Robert.”

“Oh. All right, I think you should go to the police.”

“No. I do not trust the police.”

“This isn’t East Germany.”

“You are naive. No police.”

Tom didn’t want cops around either and let the matter drop. “Maybe you should go back to West Germany.”

“I came here because I felt unsafe there. Now that I know Robert, perhaps I should have stayed and taken my chances. So, I have told you my story. It is your turn. What is it you are afraid of, Thomas?”

“Pardon me?”

“Men like you, men who have always been in confident control of themselves and their lives, think they control their fear too. It is actually easier to see the fear in people so unaccustomed to being afraid. So what is your fear?”

Tom willed himself not to squirm around on the bed. “I think you imagine it, Renada.”

“Indeed? I see your face. You claim you are in no danger and no one pursues you, only me. I do not believe your claim. So, Horst still may come and Robert will be no help. Apparently his employer has angered your red Indians and now he sees them behind every tree. But you, you are a real
mensch
. Take this in case he comes, Thomas. This is a picture of Horst.”

Horst was a little overweight and homely under striking platinum hair. There was scant similarity to the river corpse. Tom reassured her. “I’ll keep an eye out for your Horst. I promise.”

“Wonderful. In that case I have something else to give you. I must go to my room for it. Please wait here for me.”

She was gone before he could answer. She returned and said, “You say you are in no danger yourself, and probably don’t believe I am. But take this.” She handed him a small pistol.

“What is this for?”

“If something happens that makes it clear to you that you were wrong, I need you to have it.”

Why wasn’t he surprised she had a handgun? But why would she give it to him? “Renada, given what you think the situation is, shouldn’t you keep the gun yourself?”

“I have one too. It is an extra gun that I offer you. Will you accept it?”

She had
two
guns. Now that was surprising. A gun would be nice. “If it makes you feel better, sure, I’ll keep this gun.”

“Excellent. I suggest we not tell Robert about any of this.”

She’d finally said something he readily agreed with. “Right. It’s our secret.”

“Wonderful.”

After she had left, and only because he had the gun, he felt better about his situation. A little better.

Chapter Eight

Tom slumped in the armchair, which was still warm from Renada’s body. She seemed as paranoid as Robert, just tougher. Was that why their families saw the chance of a match? Regardless, she was either genuinely afraid or a skilled actress. He toyed with the little gun. It had a nice feel. Maybe when the fat man failed to report in, Tony would give up on assassinating Tom. Maybe the fat man had nothing to do with Tony and was just trying to sell Beth some life insurance. Maybe he’d been a Jehovah’s Witness or a traveling vacuum cleaner salesman. Did they still have those?

There was a tapping on the door. Had Renada changed her mind? Well, he wasn’t giving up the gun. He slipped it in a drawer, dragged himself back to the door and opened it. Dani kissed him on the lips and pushed him into the room.

“What the hell?”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tom. I thought we had a strong connection and I was doing the right thing, but I wasn’t sure. I thought you were interested in Beth, silly me. But when I heard you’d pretended at the morgue that you’d never seen Angelo, I wanted to kiss you right then. It was the right thing to do. The cops can’t protect us. Oh baby, we’re going to be so good together.”

“Who is Angelo?”

Her jaw fell open. “What do you mean, ‘who is Angelo’? Angelo, the beach,
you know
.”

“No, I do not know. Are you talking about the guy down at the river? What’s up, Dani?”

She collapsed into the chair he had just vacated. “Oh shit. You don’t know him, then? You didn’t lay him out where Beth found him?”

“No! Were you not listening to me this afternoon? What is going on?”

“I’ve made a mistake. Forget it. I’ve got to be going now.”

“No, you are not. Sit back down and explain this to me.”

She sat. He waited while she decided what to tell him and reviewed the timelines. She had gotten here shortly after he did. She had come on to him in an alley. His dorm room had burned hours after he’d made a crack to her about how a fire was the only way he’d get out of there. A second fire disabled his means of transportation.

“Dani, you were sent here to look for me.” She nodded her head. She was crying now. He nostalgically remembered Renada’s visit as an interlude of calm and sanity. “What are you to Tony? Who was Angelo?”

“Ah, shit, Tom. Tony was my, uh, boyfriend. Angelo was his driver. They’re both part of the, you know, the business. I thought you’d have met Angelo when you worked at the pizza parlor.”

“I worked there for
two
days, Dani. I met Tony, a nymphomaniac waitress, the cook, and a half-stoned dishwasher, but no Angelo. So let me get this straight. You came here looking for me. You told them you’d found me, and they sent Angelo to clean up their witness problem?”

“No! I mean, they sent me, but I saw it as a chance to get out myself. I didn’t tell them I’d found you or where we were. I didn’t tell them anything. I don’t know how Angelo found us.”