He shrugged. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I don’t suppose there’s much you could say, after what you’ve done.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Johnny. I didn’t sneak behind your back, though. Mary wasn’t happy with the way you were doing the job so she hired me.”
“I got to disagree with you.” I stared at him, my eyes starting to water from the unfairness of it. From the underhandedness and disloyalty and treachery. I turned away from him, choking back the pain. “I don’t think we can do business anymore. I think you better leave while you still can.”
“If that’s the way you feel, okay. I still need to talk with you.”
“About what?”
“I’d like to know what you found out about Mary’s case. I’m still working for her, and maybe you have some information that can help me.”
I shook my head. “Max,” I said, sadly. “You shouldn’t have treated me like that, because you didn’t get anything from it. Or maybe you got exactly what you deserved. You don’t have a case anymore. Your client’s dead.”
“Is that so?”
“She committed suicide. She put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Eddie Braggs, the editor at the Examiner, just told me.”
“I didn’t know she was dead, though,” he said. “I just came back from Denver Memorial and she was doing fine. I think you must have misunderstood.”
I sat back in my chair. A coolness made me lightheaded. “She’s in a coma,” he said, pursing his lips. “But the doctors think she’ll be coming out of it any day now. It’s remarkable, it really is, Johnny. She was shot in the head, right by the temple, and the doctors think she’ll make a full recovery. She’ll be able to tell us what happened.”
I could hardly believe it. It did something to me-took kind of a weight off my heart. Because, after all, she was my own flesh and blood, and she was going to have a second chance. I was so choked up hearing it, I almost started bawling. “That’s wonderful,” I gushed, fighting to keep the tears held back. “She’s such a sweet kid. I hated to think of her dead.”
He stopped grinning, completely. There was something in the way he was looking at me, like he was disappointed. Disappointed that I’d feel glad for Mary. That I’d want her to be okay. But, how could she be? I saw the hole in her head. I saw her brains leaking from it. At least, I was pretty sure I did.
Anyway, having Max look at me that way made me sore. I realized why he’d been grinning before. I understood what he was trying to do. I felt the blood pushing into my head. I could feel the hotness of it. I shoved my hands in my pockets, hoping they’d stay there. Hoping I could keep from tearing that heartless son of a bitch apart.
“She’ll be okay.” He nodded, still staring at me. “The doctors think she’ll be coming out of the coma any time now. Well, I-”
“What did you come here for?”
He tried bringing back his grin, but couldn’t. “I-I th-thought you could help me. According to her adoption records, she came from an Oklahoma City hospital. Mary told me you went out there and didn’t find anything?”
“Yes sir,” I said. “Why don’t you give it a try and see if you have any better luck.”
I almost laughed out loud thinking about it, because there was nothing for him to find. Even if he met up with Rose, she wasn’t going to say anything to him. How could she? She’d have a tough time saying much of anything the way her tongue had swollen up. When I left her, it was thicker than one of those store-bought salamis. Anyway, he’d have to dig her up to find her, and six feet is a lot of digging.
“I guess I’ll have to,” he muttered. “I should probably wait until I can talk to her before going. I don’t know if it would be right charging up expenses otherwise.”
“I guess that’s reasonable.” I could see how he’d feel that way. If she didn’t pull through, he’d have to eat the expenses himself.
He tried smiling. “There’s really no reason for you to be mad at me, Johnny. Anyone else would’ve done the same.”
“I don’t know if I see it that way,” I said. “You let me down, Max. I really don’t see how I could forgive you. But it’s nice to hear you’re able to get cases on your own. You know you’re not going to get any more from me.”
“Johnny, I’m sorry, I’d be will-”
“Don’t even bother saying it,” I cut him off. “Have yourself a nice life. Say hello to the wife and boys for me.”
He stood up, holding his stomach and looking like he was going to let out with a belch. “Well, er . . . .” He started to reach out his hand to me, had enough sense to realize how ridiculous it looked, and pulled his hand back.
I turned away from him and started studying an old case report. I heard a loud belching noise, and then the door closed shut. I put the report down and tried to think things through.
It didn’t make any sense for Mary to be alive. I saw what the bullet did to her. I saw the hole in her skull. I saw her brains. She shouldn’t have been able to survive that. But, well, the world’s an awful funny place. Things just don’t always make sense. Anyway, Mary was alive. When I first heard the news, I hadn’t realized what it meant. I hadn’t realized what I was going to have to do.
Of course it’s possible she wouldn’t remember a thing when she came out of her coma, but how could I risk it? What if she remembered everything? Even if I fled to South America, I would have to live knowing she knew and I just didn’t see how I could do that. I couldn’t live with my only daughter thinking ill of me. Thinking I’d try to hurt her.
Oh Lord, I knew what I had to do-and it was so hard killing her the first time. Why are you making me do it again?
Chapter 32
When I called Denver Memorial to find out which room Mary was in, the receptionist seemed taken aback, as if I was asking something unusual. She left me hanging for five minutes before she returned and gave me the room number. Well, there was nothing unusual about my call (but why did she sound so nervous?). If you want to send someone flowers, you want to know what room to send them to, right? (If your only daughter’s lying critically wounded in a hospital, wouldn’t you at least send flowers?) Anyway, I had to find out her room number and I couldn’t go there and ask.
I didn’t want to head over to the hospital right away. I wasn’t ready yet, so to kill time I walked over to the Corner Diner. Before going in, I peered through the window and saw that Carol was working the counter. I walked in and gave her a wink.
She tried smiling, but couldn’t hold onto it. She came over and gave me a timid look. “Hi there, Johnny. I want to apologize for some of the things I said the other day.”
“I guess I should too,” I said. “Why don’t we just forget it?”
She dawdled with her dishrag, spending more time than she needed mopping up in front of me. “You know”-she hesitated-”you take me for granted.”
“I guess sometimes I do. I apologize for that too.”
“You always come in here expecting me to cheer you up.”
“You almost always do a good job of it.”
“I don’t mind doing it, Johnny. I like making a fuss over you. Sometimes though, I wish you’d feel a little more about me like I feel about you.”
I gave her a slow look, up and down. Carol was nothing to sneeze at. A cute little thing, all fit snug and tight into her size four uniform. She was blushing a bright red, which offset her blue eyes and blond bobbed hair nicely. Looking at her made me smile, my first genuine smile in days.
“You want to make a guess how I feel about you?”
She pouted. “You always treat me like I’m your sister!”
“It could be that I’m just shy.” Or that I really did like her and was afraid it would end up the way it always ends up. The way it always has to end up.
“I never took you as the shy type.”
She was still blushing and it still looked nice on her. I wondered how bright she’d blush if we were alone together. Or whether she would be blushing all over her body. We chatted some more, and I asked what time she got off. Well, not until eleven. Did she have any plans? Not really, just going on home to bed. Would she like to go out for a drink? Well . . . sure!