“Found it,” she announced, waving the glove as she walked out into the lobby.
She was surprised to see that Jimmy and Aggie had their coats on.
“Jimmy wants to show us the terrace,” Aggie explained.
“Isn’t it raining?” Angela asked. She wanted to get out of the apartment fast.
“It cleared up while we were talking,” Jimmy smiled. “Come on out. It’s a lovely view.”
Aggie linked her arm in Angela’s and walked with her through the lobby and dining room and out onto the terrace. The statue bumped awkwardly against Angela’s leg. She struggled not to wince or stumble as it hit again and again in the same soon-sensitive spot. Jimmy walked behind them and Angela prayed there was no visible lump. Eventually they made it to the railing.
Jimmy was right. The view was breathtaking. A shimmer of lights dusted the far shore, with a broad ribbon of flat black water between. The boats in the harbor made their own display of lights like a Christmas show, each doubled by its reflection in the calm bay. Angela relaxed against Aggie’s side. The statue bumped painfully into her other leg and she jerked.
“Are you all right?” Aggie asked. “Jimmy, I think Angela’s hurt.”
“No,” Angela assured her. “I’m fine.”
“Come inside,” Aggie urged and took Angela’s arm.
Angela couldn’t walk straight now; the pain was too intense. It felt more like a cut than a bruise.
“There’s blood on your pants,” Aggie exclaimed when they reentered the light.
Angela thought fast. It was over. She was caught. A limb of the statue must have cut through the thin fabric of the pocket and then into her skin. Somehow now that the moment was here, she couldn’t bear to admit the depth of her depravity to her sister. She would do anything, go to jail, go back to hooking, anything so Aggie wouldn’t know. Her eyes met Jimmy’s and she realized that he understood.
“I’ll get Angela into the bathroom,” he took command. “Aggie, you boil some water for tea.”
He picked Angela up in his arms, carefully avoiding the statue and the injured leg. He carried her into the bathroom and started to put her down on the edge of the huge circular bathtub.
“No,” Angela warned him “You might hurt the statue.”
She stood holding onto his arm with one hand and pulled out the bloodied gauze-wrapped bronze with the other. She held it out to Jimmy.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized.
At least he didn’t say it was all right. He didn’t say it was nothing. Angela knew it wasn’t all right and it wasn’t nothing. What he did say was, “Let’s look at that leg.”
He put the statue on the counter and lifted the full leg of Angela’s pants. She looked down to see a jagged bloody gash. No wonder her leg had hurt. She heard footsteps. Jimmy put the statue behind the toilet and put his finger to his lips. Angela could have kissed him.
“Are you okay?” Aggie asked.
“She must have brushed against something on the terrace,” Jimmy explained.
“Let’s see.” Aggie looked at the ugly wound and her eyes became moist. “Oh, Boo.”
“It’s okay,” Angela said hastily, her own eyes damp. The cut was the least punishment she deserved for what she’d tried to do. She couldn’t stand that her twin felt sorry for her, a criminal.
Jimmy wiped the cut with a warm washcloth. He was gentle, Angela noticed, and the cleansing barely hurt. The cut was more like a scratch, though jagged and ugly. By the time he finished cleaning it, the bleeding had stopped. He pulled a sterile bandage from a drawer and taped it to her thigh.
“Good as new,” he commented, looking up into her face.
“Thank you,” she said aloud.
“For everything,” she mouthed behind Aggie’s back.
Though all her problems still remained, Angela felt as though she had won a lottery. She felt free and happy as she hadn’t since the night she’d written the letter to answer the ad. She wasn’t a criminal. She wasn’t a swindler. She wasn’t a prostitute any more. Somehow, she would be okay.
Chapter 23
Like clockwork, the buzzer rang. Jimmy pushed the button to release the elevator to the lobby. Damn, he was good. He had hoped the terrace diversion would keep Angela in the apartment till the rest of his guests arrived. Her attempt at larceny had added the few extra moments he needed. Jimmy realized now that Angela was more desperate than he had thought. They would have a long conversation soon.
The elevator doors opened just as Aggie and Angela emerged from the bathroom. Gordon and Mary Trout stepped into Jimmy’s lobby and Gordon greeted his daughters casually.
“Hi Blossom, Peach Fuzz.” Jimmy stored away the nicknames. Peach Fuzz?
The twins looked stunned. Aggie turned to Jimmy and glared.
“You knew. You knew everything. How soon? What did you do, spy on us?”
Jimmy watched in glee as Aggie’s anger rose with each question. Her hands were on her hips now. She looked about ready to take a swing. As Jimmy braced himself to ward off the blow, Aggie startled him by bursting into loud laughter.
“You should see your face,” she choked. She turned abruptly to her father, “Dad?”
The single word held interrogation and menace.
“What did you tell him?” she continued, her voice deep.
“I didn’t tell Jimmy anything,” he protested. “I didn’t need to. You girls have been up to some naughty tricks.”
Jimmy noticed Angela wince. He walked to her side and put his arm around her shoulder.
“Nothing a good spanking won’t solve,” he chuckled, unable to resist the tease. Angela’s cheeks blushed to a rosy pink.
“Come on in,” he urged the older Trouts. “Let me show you around.”
While Jimmy took Gordon and Mary on a tour of the apartment, he kept half an eye on the furiously consulting Aggie and Angela. They must be wondering how much their father really knew. He’d let them stew a little longer. Midway through the tour, the buzzer rang again. That must be Richard. He left his guests in the library and pressed the release button in the lobby. He waited by the elevator to greet his friend.
An unknown young man emerged instead, carrying a flat box and waving a long pistol in the air. Jimmy gave the youngster a long look, pointedly ignoring the pistol.
“Aggie,” he called into the library. “I think you have company.”
Aggie poked her head into the lobby and her reaction was everything Jimmy could have imagined.
“Andrew!” she yelled and charged forward. She shoved him back with both hands on his chest. “Go home!”
As she readied another charge, Jimmy reached out an arm and snagged her around the waist.
“I’m here to take you back,” Andrew stammered. He lifted the gun. “This man has you bewitched.”
“The other way around,” Jimmy murmured.
“I challenge you to a duel,” Andrew said bravely and held out the box. Jimmy pinned the struggling Aggie to his side and covered her mouth with his other hand.
“How would you like a job working on the new x99B chip?” Jimmy offered.
“What?” The gun wobbled.
“I understand you’re a computer expert.” Aggie stilled at his side and he released her. “One of my companies is working on the x99B.”
“The x99B?” Andrew echoed. The gun dropped to his side. “Wow! That’s the prototype for the next generation.”
“So you’d like the job?”
“Sure!”
“You’re hired.” Jimmy pulled the gun and the flat box from Andrew’s unresisting hands. “Now that you’re my employee, you aren’t allowed to shoot me.”