Web of Smoke (12 page)

She knew exactly what DC’s threat was about. She knew exactly what he would do. If her husband ever found out…If her son ever learned the truth….

“How much money do you want?” she asked desperately.

DC blinked his blue eyes. “Why, a lot.” He laughed. “A whole hell of a lot.”

She sank down into the chair by the door, her gaze darting around the room, as if looking for escape. “How much, DC?”

DC smiled. “You tell me.”

“Ten thousand dollars. I’ll have it in the morning.”

DC stared at her while the distance between her returning husband and home lessened with each passing moment. Her anxiety rose to fever pitch. Her nerves stretched to the breaking point.

Finally, DC answered.

Chapter Eleven

Sam and Christie went to dinner, as a couple, for the first time in half a year. Without asking, Sam drove to the same place they’d dined on their first date.

He liked the place because it sat on a low hill, right next to the foamy wash of the ocean and because it reminded him of happier times with Christie. The boardwalk passed its front door and beachgoers mingled with diners. The aroma of cinnamon rolls, cooked fresh and served hot by a beach vendor, teased their appetites as they climbed the outdoor staircase to the glass front doors.

Inside, the lounge coupled the breathtaking view with subdued intimacy. Deep, barrel-shaped chairs nuzzled plump love seats and tiny smoked-glass cocktail tables. The muted lights illuminated only the important, letting the dazzling vista of waves crashing against the coast dominate the room.

A waitress wearing a Spandex bodysuit and black wraparound skirt took their drink orders, informing them that a table would be ready in thirty minutes.

“I didn’t expect it to be so crowded,” Sam said.

“That’s okay. I could use a drink before dinner.”

Finding a table pushed in a corner, they settled back to sip their drinks, cloaking themselves in the muted roar of the surf.

“Do you remember the first time I brought you here?” Sam asked after a few minutes.

“Was that you?”

“Smart ass.”

She peered at him through lowered lashes. “Yeah, I remember.”

“I was going to bring you back for our first anniversary, but…. What happened to us, Chris?”

“I don’t know. I guess we changed.”

He nodded, as if to let the conversation drop. But for the first time since they’d split, Christie wanted to know the truth.

“Sam…if we’re going to be honest, then tell me, what did you mean last night when you said you didn’t understand me?”

“I was just mad, Christie. I didn’t mean anything.”

“Yes, you did. Tell me. Tell me the truth.”

He flagged the waitress and made a circling motion with his finger. Another round arrived before he answered Christie’s question.

“I always felt like you were hiding things from me, Christie. Not that you were doing anything wrong. It’s hard to explain. I just wanted to know everything about you and you had so many secrets. I guess I wanted to know them all. Pretty selfish, huh? You’re entitled to have your own thoughts.”

“I never knew you cared so much about what I was thinking.” She looked out the window, battling the walls within as the tide beat the shore. “When we were married, Sam, I was very worried about…about losing my identity. You’re a dynamic person. People like you. They want to be around you. I was jealous of that. Jealous, and a little intimidated. You’re always so decisive. You want something, you go for it. I didn’t know what hit me with you.”

“I know, I know. I rushed you into things—”

“But I wanted to be rushed. It’s just that after, I got scared.” She shrugged, giving him a sad smile. “I’d seen my mother do the same thing so many times. Hook up with Mr. Wonderful only to have him ruin her life. Not just
her
life, either. Usually mine too. Every time
she
got dumped,
my
life was disrupted. Usually we moved. It didn’t matter if it was in the middle of the school year, or if I was in a play or on the speech team. She’d tell me to pack my room, and we’d move. I went to fifteen different schools before I graduated from high school.”

“Wow.”

“After each time, she’d swear off men for a month or so. And then it would happen all over again. I always swore that I’d be in control if I got involved with someone. But you didn’t give me a chance. Or maybe I didn’t give me a chance. I’m so confused, I don’t know what’s right anymore.”

“But we could try again, Chris. Now that I know how you feel—”

“Wait. There’s more, Sam. I’m ready to tell you about DC.”

He sighed, looking as reluctant to hear as she was to tell. “Okay,” he said, “shoot.”

With a shaky hand, Christie lifted her glass and drank the rest of her wine. Reaching for her second glass, she took a deep breath and plunged into her story.

“DC…I mean, the attacks this week…. They weren’t the first. He attacked me two other times. Both happened a few weeks before…before my mother died.”

It was obvious by the way he blanched, his eyes becoming round and luminous in the ashen pallor of his skin, that her declaration was completely unanticipated. His jaw worked convulsively before he managed to force out a sound.

“He
what?
When we were still married? Why the hell didn’t you tell me? I would have killed him for you.”

“It wouldn’t have been for me. It would have been for you. And that’s exactly why I couldn’t tell you. You’ve never been very good at controlling your temper. You would have put him in the hospital at the very least.”

“Are you saying that’s wrong?”

“He was my mother’s boyfriend, Sam. She loved him.”

“So you protected him?” He gulped at his drink, glaring at her over the rim of his glass. “That’s crazy.”

“I thought I could handle things myself. And besides, you were as much a stranger to me as I was to you. All you ever did was work and watch sports. By then, we didn’t even talk.”

“But—”

“I wanted to speak with my mother first, anyway. But then things happened so fast….”

“What things? What did your mother say?”

“DC had come to my work. It was a really slow time of year, and I was there alone. He had me cornered before I knew what was happening. Fortunately, a customer came in and I guess DC panicked…he ran out the back door before he could be seen.”

“And you didn’t call the cops?”

“He didn’t get the chance to actually
do
anything, Sam. Even I know he wouldn’t go to jail for that, not these days. I didn’t know
what
to do. I felt filthy. When I got home you were still at work and I…I decided I’d tell my mother and take it from there. I went to the clinic the next day….”

She stared at the candle on the table as it faded into her memory of that day. Christie had stepped onto the slate gray carpet of the Beth McClain Clinic and walked through the lobby. Dramatic, beautiful charcoal sketches of mother and child decorated the walls with warmth and emotion that seemed to mock her. Peach chairs fringing a whitewashed circular table made the waiting area seem calm and peaceful, but nothing short of a tranquilizer could have settled the knotted tension inside Christie.

The office on the left belonged to Beth, the owner. Christie popped her head into the office on the right.

Her mother jumped and squeaked when Christie said “hi.”

“Mom, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Her mother made a shaky sound and masqueraded it as mirth. “It’s okay, I just didn’t hear you.”

“I came to take you to lunch.”

Distress lines waved across her forehead. “Lunch? Today? I’m sorry, honey, but I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s having lunch with me,” DC said from behind Christie.

Christie’s stomach clenched with fear and disgust as she faced him. How could he act so cool? She glared daggers as he crossed the room to stand by her mom.

“I’m having a private conversation with my mother, DC. So get the hell out—”

“Christie!” Her mother jumped to her feet. “Christie, I will not—”

“You don’t know him, Mom!”

“What are you talking about? Of course I know him. Why are you acting this way?” The clock on the wall ticked off the tense seconds of silence that gripped them. Then, her mom broke free and looked at the large-numbered face. Frowning, she double-checked her watch.

“Christie, honey. I don’t have time to get into this now. DC and I have a business lunch to go to.”

“You and DC?” Christie stabbed a finger at DC. “He’s the janitor, Mom. You don’t have to lie to me.”

“I’m not lying. DC is helping me place an infant with a couple. A couple who are very anxious. I don’t want to keep them waiting, honey.”

“How is
he
helping?”

“He knows the young lady who wishes to give her child up.”

“I’ll bet he does.”

“Christie….”

Christie sighed. “Mom, I really need to talk to you.”

Her mother rubbed her temples, glancing back at her watch. “Okay. Let me make a quick call first. Then we’ll have a cup of coffee. I’ll be right back.”

“No
—
Mom
—”

But she’d rushed out of the room, the door closing behind her before Christie could stop her.

Nervously, Christie glanced at DC. Leaning against the desk with assumed nonchalance, he watched her like a hawk.

“Tell my mother I’m waiting in the lobby,” she sneered at him, turning to leave.

Nostrils flaring, he shoved himself away from the desk and lunged across the room. She darted for the door but he hooked her waist with his arm and slammed her into the corner. He covered her mouth with his hand and shoved his hand up, under her dress.

“You thinking of telling on me, baby sister?”

He ground her lips against her teeth with his palm. “You want her to know about us? I thought we’d keep it a secret, but if you want her to know, let’s just show her.”

Christie struggled, trying to squirm out of his arms or get a breath of air so she could scream. When would her mother be back? How far was the coffee machine?

DC whispered into her ear, his foul breath fanning her cheek. “She should be back soon, eh? Won’t she be surprised.”

As if in response, Christie heard her mother gasp from the doorway.

“DC!” she shouted. Two cups of steaming hot coffee dropped from her hands and splashed over the floor.

DC immediately stepped back and Christie shoved his arms away from her. “Get the hell away from me,” Christie yelled, slapping his face. She crossed the room, wiping viciously at her mouth.

“Get out,” Christie’s mother whispered, her face pale, her eyes wide and shocked.

For a fleeting moment, Christie thought her mother spoke to her. Tension shivered in a triangle among the three of them. Then, DC shrugged.

“I’ll see you later, baby sister. Bet on that,” he said as he sauntered out, without apology or explanation.

Left alone with her mother, Christie searched for something to say.

“Is that the first time?” her mother asked in a low voice.

Christie stared at the floor, shaking her head. “No.”

“That’s what you wanted to talk about, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It happened yesterday. He came to my work.”

Her mother looked at the ceiling, blinking her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said, emotion cracking her words in two. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. He’s sick, Mom. He conned you.”

When Christie looked into her mother’s eyes, she could see that something inside had died. Christie felt overwhelmed with sadness. Why did this always have to happen to her mom? Why couldn’t her mother, just once, find a decent man who wouldn’t use or abuse her? She wanted to shake her mom and scream,
Don’t be this way. Not over a loser like DC.

Instead, she said. “I’m sorry, too, Mom. I know you thought he was a nice guy.”

Her mother looked away, out the window. “He’ll be leaving soon, anyway. Leaving forever.”

“Forever? Where’s he going?”

“Away. Another state. I don’t know and I don’t care.”

Christie stared at her mother’s profile. “You mean he was already planning to go away before…?”

“Yes.”

Her mother wiped her face with a tissue and then blew her nose. “I really do have to get going, Christie.”

“You’re not still going to a meeting with him, are you?”

“Honey, I have to go. Other people depend on me.”

“Mom, he’s dangerous—”

“Don’t worry. He won’t hurt me. Not any more than he already has.”

Christie said, “But, Mom—”

“If he was going to hurt me, he’d have done it already.”

“Listen to me—”

“Christie, I have to go. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. I’ll call you when I’m through….”

On the table, the candle flickered and Christie’s eyes refocused on the flame. The sound of her mother’s voice faded into the roar of the lounge. Outside, the ocean gleamed like a rolling black monster. She met Sam’s gaze and gave him a sad smile.

“After that, DC did leave. I hoped for forever, but I should have known better. When my mother died . . . I felt responsible. I’ve always wondered if she killed herself on purpose.”

Sam stared at her with an unreadable expression in his eyes, before dropping his face to his hands and rubbing. When he looked up, a sad smile gleamed from his face.

“When you keep something to yourself, you really do a number.”

So different from any of the responses she’d expected, Sam’s statement struck her as funny. A small laugh burst from her lips.

“Is there more?”

She shook her head but more laughter bubbled up and out.

“Thank God,” Sam said, beginning to laugh, too, though he looked bewildered.

Their laughter felt clean. Cathartic. The sick feeling of DC’s control slipped away. Until that moment, she hadn’t truly realized how much he’d dominated her life.

When Sam and Christie finally stopped laughing, Sam reached across the table and took her hand in his.

“We’re going to get this guy, Christie. And he’s going to pay for everything he’s done. I promise you that.”