On Tenterhooks (22 page)

“
Well
,
tell me, exactly what
did
you expect
?
” Veronica asked. “
You call me
at work, show up uninvited at my office wi
th some crazy story about my
m
om
.
Did you think I’d just invite you up for cocktails
,
and we
’d
sit around and shoot the shit? Get real.”

Steve and Martin were silent.

“H
ow did you find me
, anyway
?  There must be a lot of
Veronica
Ryders in the
City
.”

“Yeah,
dozens
,” Steve
replied
.
“
I called your sister
.”

“Louise
?”

“Yeah,
lots of
Veronica
Ryders in NYC, but only one
Louise Weldon in Elysburg
. I got her
name from your
m
om’s obituary.”

“
Christ.
Don’t tell me you gave her this story
,
and she handed over my
contact
info?”

“No, I figured she wouldn’t go for that,” said Steve. “So I
. . .
fudged a little bit. I told her I was a rep from a life insurance company
where
your mother had
established a
small policy
and
I needed contact info for all
of
her children so that
I could mail out the checks
.
W
hen I told her there was money involved, she
was quick to pony up the info. I am very s
orry
,
Veronica
.
If it helps, I did feel bad about it
.
But we couldn’t come up with a better way to find you here.”

“I
told
him to
think
of
something better
,” Martin chimed in.

“Y
ou didn’t mention anything about the SCUBA diving to her
,
did you?”

“No,
I didn’t.”

“If you don’t mind
,
Veronica
,” said Ma
r
tin
,
“
can
you tell us about how your
m
om died?”

“She was SCUBA diving in Cozumel
.
Well, she was taking lessons, lea
r
ning how to dive.
And somehow, during the dive, she had a heart attack.”

The executive
stood and paced her of
fice
.
She walked to the window, gun still in her hand.

“I don’t understand it
.
That is one of the most basic rules of diving
—
never dive if you feel the least bit ill
.
Surely she must’ve know
n
that
,
and don’t heart attacks build up?
  T
here were dozens of p
eople in the water with her
.
The police in Cozumel were very thorough to rule out any crimes, but I still feel like there’s more to it
.
I haven’t been able to bring myself to go back
there
though.
”

Martin noticed the colorful underwater photos adorning her bookshelf and desk.

“I loved Cozumel,” said Martin.
“
My ex-wife and I went there for our honeymoon,
nearly
25
years ago now
.
It was a great little beach town
.
A very affordable honeymoon spot for a junior pharmacist and his law-student bride.”

“Are you a diver
,
too?” he asked.

“Yes, have been for years.
My sister already blames me for my
m
om’s death. She says I made her
‘
old before her time
,
’
because it stressed her that I was out here making a name for myself instead of sticking around Elysburg. Have
either of you
even
heard of Elysburg?”

Both men shook their heads.

“
Of course you haven’t,” she
continued
.
“
Because there is nothing there
.
If my sister
knew that my mom died learning how to SCUBA dive, I think she’d put a hit out on me.”

She walke
d to the shelf and picked up a pounded sterling silver frame with primitive waves engraved in
it,
brought it to Martin
,
and handed
it over, as if it
were
an offering.
 
“That was taken about a year ago,
in
Chankanaab Lagoon.”

Martin studied the vibrant color show
,
full of
green and gold
neon fish swimming over a hill of brilliant orange and purple coral formations.
“It’s beautiful,” he said.

“
I
t was,” she replied.

He
placed
the picture
on
the table.
“
Look,
Veronica
,” he said softly, “c
learly your mother’s passing has impacted you.”

“Impacted?” she a
sked. “Impacted
. 
Never thought of it that way.
But yes,
it
impacted
me.
I still have a lot of questions that I guess
will never
be
answered
now
.
”

“But
you
se
e,” said Steve. “That’s it!
That’s what seems to be connecting us.”

“All of us were ‘impacted’ by
the
death of a loved one,”
he stressed
.
“
We are all reaching out for something, someone who was taken f
rom us
.
T
hen
,
like a godsend
,
these messages show up. Martin and I both took the bait
,
and
the responses we got
knocked
us
for a loop
.
I am willing to bet you a New York
deli sandwich
that if you had sent a message you would’ve gotten something just a
s
big back.”

“But I didn’t
,
Steve,” she said. “Look, I get what you’re saying
.
I really do.
You guys seem legit, b
ut I stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago
.  It’s
a pre-requisite for working in advertising
,
I suppose. I didn’t send a message
,
and even if I
were to send one now
, it
wouldn’t change me that much
.”

“But don’t you want closure?” asked Martin.

“Closure? With my mom
?
Sure I do
.
But s
he’s dead
.
That’s pretty final
.”
Then, in a softer tone, she continued:
“Look
,
I am not wired like that. If I can’t see it, shoot it, sell it or
otherwise
enjoy it, I’m not interested.
I wish you the best of luck, but I’m afraid I am the proverbial dead-end for you.”

The room was silent.

“Well, I guess that’s our
cue
then,” said Martin, standing.

“So that’s it?” asked Steve, also standing.

“Yes, I am afraid so,” said
Veronica
.

Steve opened his rucksack.

“Look,
Veronica
,
h
ere’s my card
.
It has my cell number on it. Please call me if you
want to talk more
or anything, okay?”

Veronica
accepted the card
and read it before placing it on her desk.
“
Sure
.
But don’t wait by the phone
.”

“Okay,” said Steve, extending
a hand. “Well
,
thanks
Veronica
, we appreciate your time.”

She took and shook his hand
, and then
did the same
with Martin
.

“Thanks
,
Veronica
,” said Martin
.
“It’s been a pleasure.”

T
ogether, t
hey
all three
walked to the door
. 
Veronica
unlocked it and said,
“
I’ll walk you to the elevator
.”

“That’s okay,” said Steve. “We know the way, really.”

S
he
stopped in the doorway and watched them leave.

“Oh wait, there is one more thing,” Steve said
.
“Have you seen a preacher, either in real life or in your dreams?”

“
A
p
reacher?”

“Yes.
There is this guy
who
looks like a preacher
and
seems to be haunting our dreams
.
N
ow we’ve both seen him in real life
.
too.”

“I didn’t see him for real, but he was in my pharmacy, before I even heard from my daughter,” interrupted Martin. He handed
Veronica
the blurry photo
he still carried in his pocket
.

“We’re not sure what he has to do with it,” said Steve. “We haven’t worked that out yet.
But there’s something not right about him.
”

“
You guys have really lost me now
,” said
Veronica
, handing the grainy pri
nt-out back to Martin.
“We’re definitely done here.”

“Okay, w
ell
,
thanks for talking with us. Please call me if you change your mind or thin
k of anything else.”

“I will.”

She watched them walk back down the aisle of workstations
toward
the elevator.

“Be careful,” she yelled after them.

They turned
.
Steve waved and nodded
.
Martin smiled at her
.
She waved back
,
and then they were gone.