Elaine Orr - Jolie Gentil 04 - Any Port in a Storm (15 page)

“YOU CAN’T HONESTLY think there is this incredible coincidence that she is related to that creep, Joe Pedone, and that Hayden just happened to run into you in Ocean Alley and decide to torment you by dating Alicia.”

George and I were sitting on a bench outside the library, each with a copy of the wedding article.
“Nope,” I said.

“Glad to hear you’re turning sane…” he began.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I think Mary Jo or Joe or somebody in that family has been looking for a way to get back at me and found one. They sent Hayden.”

George let out a breath, kind of like a horse with floppy lips.
“Bologna.”

“Mary Jo Pedone Patterson is Hayden’s godmother.
She can’t come after me personally, and she knows Hayden’s a loose canon. Maybe she sends him here to flatten my tires or break into my house.” I warmed to my theory. “He sees me with Alicia and Megan, and he mentions them and the food pantry to Mary Jo. What better way to get back at me than getting back at someone I’m close to? For Megan and Alicia, that would mean getting Alicia pregnant or arrested or something.”

George stared at me.
“Do you have any idea how self-centered that is?”

I wasn’t going to back down.
“Scoobie said Josh said Hayden was here, gone for a bit, and came back with more money to spend. Maybe Mary Jo gave it to him to spend on Alicia.”

George just stared at me.

“Whatever. It’s a start.” I turned my body to face him directly, since my neck was really killing me after half an hour in front of the computer. “A few minutes ago we had nothing, now we…”

“Have nothing,” George said.
“Pedone may not be a common name if you live in Alaska, but in Jersey you probably have a few in every town.”

“It’s a start.
Pedone said I cost him his job. His sister might be mad about that.” I paused. “Among other things. You can find out if they’re related.”

“Yeah, and I will.
It’ll be kind of fun to prove you wrong.” George stood. “Damn, I forgot. I ran into Harry at Java Jolt. He’s looking for you. Madge told him to try there.”

“Nuts.
That means I’ll have to account for my time.”

“What are you, a five-year-old?” he asked.

“No, but Aunt Madge is convinced I’ll mind somebody else’s business. Specifically, Hayden’s,” I said.

“Smart lady.
I gotta go cover an economic development meeting. They’re supposed to announce a new company that’s going into that old beach umbrella factory on the north end of town.”

“That’ll be good,” I said, still thinking about Mary Jo Pedone.
George already had his back to me and was heading for his car, which was parked on the street. “Catch you later,” I called to him.

He gave me a back-handed wave without turning around.

I shuffled through the articles on my lap one more time and was about to stand up when I heard my name.

“Jolie.
Jolie! You look okay, Jolie!” Max’s voice carried from the edge of the large library lawn. Josh followed him, but did not look especially glad to see me. Or look especially glad about anything.

I gave a small wave and spoke as they got closer.
“Haven’t seen you guys for a few days.”

B
oth men wore heavily laden backpacks, and Josh had what looked like two bedrolls on the top of his. Max sat next to me and began talking in his usual excited tone. “We saw you in the library. In the newspaper in the library,” he amended. “You had a car accident.”

Josh slid off his back pack and sat on the grass in front of us.

“I did, but I’m getting better.” Before Max could continue, I added, “I really appreciate everything you guys did at Talk Like a Pirate Day.

“Glad to help, glad to help,” Max said in his rapid-fire pattern.

“Hey, Max. You want me to watch your pack while you go to the restroom?” Josh asked.

“Good idea, good idea.
See you in a minute, Jolie,” he said, and slid off his pack and made for the short flight of steps that leads into the library.

I looked at Josh.
“You have your hands full.”

“Humph.
Mostly I don’t mind.” Josh reached into a zippered pocket of his pack and pulled out two small apples. “Want one? They come from your place.” He smiled.

I started to say no, and then reached for one, wanting to be companionable.
“Max said you guys met at one of the amusement areas along Lake Erie,” I said. I studied Josh as he took a few seconds to think about his response. He’s at least six feet tall and usually is clean-shaven, though today he had a beard that was a couple shades lighter than his light brown hair.

“We did.
The water’s a lot colder there, so I brought him back here,” he said.

“Back here…?”

Josh glanced at me and away.

As soon as I asked I regretted it. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to invade your space.”

He threw back his head and laughed, something I’d never seen him do.
“What are you, New Age? No wonder Scoobie says you’re funny.”

I smiled.
“I think he has other reasons.”

“Probably.”
He took a large bite from the small apple.

“The thing is, I mean it’s none of my business, but do you ever get a break?”

Josh was quiet for a moment. “He actually has some medicine to help him sleep. Gets it at the VA. Once he’s out for the night, I walk the beach a lot by myself.”

“I’m glad to hear he goes to the VA,” I said, quietly.

“He was in a light armored vehicle that ran into a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.”

I drew a sharp breath.

“It was before there was decent armor on most our vehicles.
Now there are more of what they call mine-resistant armored vehicles.” He gave me a fleeting smile. “In my unit we made some hillbilly armor so we had more protection.”

“You mean,” I gestured behind me, “he wasn’t like this before?”

“That’s what his VA records say. He signed something so I can talk to the docs about him. That’s how I got them to give him the sleeping pills. He used to not sleep until he dropped in his tracks.”

“Wow,” I said, finding it hard to picture Max behaving differently than the does now.

“There’s all kinds of brain injuries, and he’s luckier than a lot of guys.”

“So, before his injury…?” I asked.

“As normal as you and me.” He smiled. “At least, me. He was a physics major in college. Too bad he dropped out and joined the Army.”

I stared.
“He always says you were in the Army. I never heard him say he was in the military.”

“He doesn’t like to be reminded,” Josh said, in a very flat tone.

“That’s awful.” I just could not imagine Max as a fully functioning person.

“He’s not unhappy,” Josh said, quietly.

“Because he has you,” I said.

“He is lucky there.”
Josh pulled a library book out of his pack, and gestured with one. “Nothing like a good murder mystery.”

“Unless it’s about you,” I replied.

His expression showed concern. “I can’t believe anyone thinks you did that.”

“Except Elmira,” we said together, and then grinned at each other.

“Can I ask you one more thing?”

Josh regarded me warily.
“Okay.”

“Scoobie said you paid attention to Hayden, and noticed him
with Alicia.”

“Yeah.
Her mom helps all of us. Alicia’s friendly when she sees us. Most kids aren’t.”

I assumed he meant homeless people in Ocean Alley, but didn’t ask.

Josh continued. “Didn’t do a lot of good. The couple of times I tried to see where they were going they walked off the boardwalk and got into his car.” He frowned. “He was way too old for her.”

I nodded.
“Scoobie said he saw them with a couple other kids out at the community college cafeteria,” I said.

Josh nodded.
“He told me. I was thinking of talking to Megan next time I was in the food pantry.”

“Me, too.”

Josh looked away and just shook his head. “I better get in there. They’re really good to him, but Max wears them out.” Josh stood and picked up both packs. “You take care.”

“You, too.”

I stood and began to walk back toward my car. Max has no idea how lucky he is.

I KNOW I SHOULD leave well enough alone sometimes, it’s just that I think I can make some things better. In this case, I wanted to repair my reputation. I knew Sgt. Morehouse and the others didn’t really think I killed Hayden, and I couldn’t see that my former classmate — Annie Milner, the assistant prosecuting attorney — would think she had enough evidence to file charges against me. But there could be enough hassle for me to have to get a lawyer, and that would mean spending the small amount of money I’d saved since leaving Robby.

Really, how much trouble could I get into just by talking to Victoria Bruno and her husband?

This train of thought was what propelled me to drive from Ocean Alley to Middletown on Tuesday morning. I had a small potted plant on the floor — philodendron, much cheaper than lilies — and was going to tell Veronica Grosso Bruno that her brother had been a big help at Talk Like a Pirate Day, and that his death was a shame. Then I would, somehow, make sure we talked about how I didn’t kill him.

Then, I might ask her if she had a black sedan that happened to have rear-ended me…no.
That would be rude.

It was about a forty-five minute drive from Ocean Alley to
Middletown, and I had simply left saying I likely wouldn’t be back until about five o’clock, and grumbled about needing to be at Harvest for All and do an appraisal at the exact same time.
Aunt Madge is getting too gullible.

The Internet directions to the Bruno home were very precise, which gave me a chance to rehearse my first comments to Veronica Bruno.
“I wanted to be sure you knew that Hayden was a big help at Talk Like a Pirate Day. He even transported the skeleton game board…” No, best not to mention skeletons when she had just buried her brother.

I tried a couple other options and decided just to wing it.
How badly can I screw up?

The Bruno home was an older Cape Cod, and it had a large sunroom addition on the eastern side and the lawn was immaculate.
The brick front steps had a ceramic flower pot on each step, each with a mix of annuals and perennials. I dodged a bee as I rang the front bell.

I assumed that the bleary-eyed woman who opened the door was Veronica, and for a second I thought she might have already started drinking for the day.
As soon as she spoke I realized she was simply exhausted.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Uh. Good morning, Veronica. You don’t know me.” I nodded toward the small flower pot in my hands. “I wanted to tell you how sorry I was about Hayden.”

She gave the tiniest hint of a smile and stood back to let me in.
She was taller than me, and her tiny waist was highlighted by dark red pants and a wide, navy blue belt. “Come in.” She gestured toward the living room, and I preceded her.

“What did you say your name was?” she asked.

I sat on one of the two loveseats that was perpendicular to the fireplace, and swallowed. “I’m from Ocean Alley, my name is Jolie Gentil.”

I wasn’t sure if her look was surprise or anger.
I decided to figure surprise, and plowed on. “I was in charge of Talk Like a Pirate Day, a fundraiser for our food pantry. Hayden was a big help.” I sat the flower pot on the coffee table between us.

“I have heard your name,” she said, slowly.

“Hayden may have told you I was the one who suggested that the kids run one of the games.” I said this is a cheery sort of tone.

“No.”
She said up straighter, and her tone hardened. “I heard that the young lady he was dating thinks you killed my brother.”

I had thought about feigning surprise, but she had to know I knew about Alicia’s online video.
In a gentle tone, I said, “Alicia was upset. And she knew very well that I thought Hayden was too old for her. Her mom came to talk to me about Alicia having new friends, and was concerned because she didn’t know them well.”

At this, Veronica leaned back in the loveseat, expression almost apprehensive.
“Is she really only fourteen? We never met her.”

I nodded.
“Yes, though she does look a bit older.” Not really.

She stood.
“My husband is upstairs getting ready for work. He’s working this afternoon and evening at his car dealership. I’d like him to meet you.”

Uh-oh.
“Sure.”

She climbed the stairs, and I stood, rubbing my hand over the back of my neck.
My eyes were immediately drawn to the large picture window at the back of the living room. The back yard had several distinct flower gardens with an array of colors and greenery. At the back of the yard was a very tidy garden shed, the kind that looks like a large version of a children’s play house.