Gardener: The Roots Of Ancient Evil (5 page)

              “Max, would you be so kind as to bring the car around, I have another engagement for this evening,” he said.

He’d received her call a few hours ago. She was just about to get on the plane. In his experience, unless they actually were at the airport and standing in the boarding line, they weren’t coming. He waited the forty-five minutes for Max to call him and let him know the car was downstairs. He walked down; this time no receptionist in the lobby greeted him. He’d checked into a mid-sized hotel.

This date with Laney, who should have landed and found her way to the hotel room he’d prepared for her, had come up unexpectedly. She seemed a bit timid at first, but after a couple of unexpected gifts, she’d agreed to come and meet him. In his experience, about half of the girls he met through the various websites and agencies never intended to meet him. They thought they were being clever. Pretended to have a long-distance relationship with him. He gave them a month, and if they didn’t make an effort, they were put on a very special list. A list that he would keep with him until every single name had been crossed off. They were all crossed off eventually, but he had a special procedure for those who’d purposely deceived him.

He walked out to the street just as Max pulled up. “Afternoon, Max, how’s everything?”

              “Just fine, sir. We’re picking her up at the Hilton?”             

              “Yes, that’s correct,” he said and sat back to enjoy the ride. They arrived in front of the Hilton in twenty minutes.

              “Edmond?” she asked, picking up on the second ring.

              “But of course,” he said. Every girl got a different name. A different background. A different reason for spending money on a girl young enough to be his daughter. The truth was they didn’t really care. So long as the money flowed, they would pretend to believe him if he said he was the King of France. He waited until he saw her come out of the lobby and look around. He opened the back door of the car and climbed out. She waved, eyes bright. Happy to see her benefactor. Eager to play the role of a loyal girlfriend, and all for the price of one semester of private tuition.

              “How was your flight? OK?” he asked.

She nodded, ran up to him, threw her arms around him. He enjoyed the physical sensations, the smell, the feeling of their bodies pressing together. But he knew it was fake. If he told her right now she’d never get another nickel out of him she would forget him in an instant. But he would enjoy her this night. He would enjoy the fantasy. As would she.

              “So, what are we doing?” she asked innocently. She sat closely to him, as they all did.

              “I know of a special place. It’s a perfect place to enjoy the sunset,” he said. She smiled and slipped her fingers in between his. Max drove slowly, patiently. When he was about ten minutes out, he rolled down the dividing glass.

              “We’ll be there in about five minutes, sir,” he said. His employer nodded, and Max rolled the window back up.

              “So, have you given any thought to your future? What you’ll do when you graduate?” he asked.

They’d eaten lightly, slowly. He’d brought a bottle of 2001 Araujo Eisele, a Cabernet from the Napa Valley. She took a few sips, not mentioning anything specific. The bottle wasn’t special, slightly less than a thousand dollars. He doubted she’d have known the difference between the Araujo and a bottle of ten-dollar swill from the local market.

              “Not yet, I really haven’t had time. I’m just trying to get through my classes,” she said, shaking her head.

              “And how are those classes? You said one of your design classes was particularly difficult,” he said, trying his best to sound concerned.

              “I think I’m starting to get the hang of it, but it takes a lot of work,” she said.

He smiled and glanced back at Max. A slightly longer gaze told Max what to do. Make sure no traffic was coming, and let his employer know when it was safe to proceed. They weren’t completely isolated, but Max would have at least a minute of warning if any vehicles came up the long winding road to the park. The road ended at the park, and it was the height of rush hour, so it wasn’t likely to get any other visitors here tonight.

He waited until Max gave him the all clear, and then turned to his date. How to dispatch this one? It had been a while since he’d used his hands. He sat up, motioned for her to sit with her back to him, so they could watch the aftereffects of a wonderful sunset. The sky was still resonating with a reddish-yellow, bringing to mind an orange marigold.

              “Pretty, isn’t it?” he asked softly into her ear. She nodded, pushing up against him. He reached around her neck, his right hand wrapped in a napkin to not leave any identifying marks, and gripped her tightly. He wrapped his legs around her waist and his left arm around her midsection, pinning her arms to her stomach. She struggled briefly, then after a flash of panic, turned motionless. He slowly released his grip and carefully laid her down. He glanced back at Max, who appeared by his side.

              “I’d like to leave her here; I don’t think there’ll be any traces back. I think she’ll look good under this sunset,” he said. “Help me get her undressed.”

Max nodded, and they quickly removed her clothes. He stood watching while Max bundled up everything else, leaving only her nude, lifeless body, eyes still open.

              “Before we leave, please let me make sure you’re not connected in any way,” Max cautioned his employer, who nodded from the back seat. Max quickly reviewed all of their transactions, the credit cards used to pay for the gifts, her tuition, and the plane fare. After two minutes, he turned to the back seat.

              “OK, Mr. Shea, you’re all clear.”

              “Thank you, Max.”

              “OK, hold it right there, Tommy. You’ve got some explaining to do,” Mallory demanded, cornering Tommy in the kitchen.

              “What?”

              “You know what!” she said, taking a step closer. “Selena, a little help?” she asked as Selena walked by, wondering what the serious-looking conversation was about.

              “Aw, jeez, you guys,” Tommy said, his face turning red.

              “Where? Who?” Selena demanded.

              “Seriously? Is it that obvious?” Tommy asked, unable to hide his grin. He tried to squeeze out but Mallory put up her arm, blocking him. “All right, that girl, Vivi, the one you saw me talking to earlier,” he explained.

              “I thought you chickened out,” Mallory said.

              “I did, but—wait, what? I didn’t chicken out,” he said, defending himself.

              “Whatever. How’d it happen?” Selena demanded.             

              “I had a preliminary interview, I was down at the Promenade, wearing my suit, and we bumped into each other,” he explained.

              “And?” Mallory demanded.

              “And nothing, man!” Tommy said, ducking underneath her arm. Both Mallory and Selena laughed as he rapidly walked away. Keeping it to himself somehow made it easier to think it was just a fling, but actually having a conversation about it made him wonder. What if it really did work out? What if that job with Shea turned out to be OK? That would be enough money to hire somebody to look after his dad, which would make living in the same city a little less uncomfortable. He stopped himself before he let his fantasy run away with him.

              “Hey, Mallory, I have a question, if you don’t mind,” Tommy said as his shift was coming to a close.

              “Yeah?” she asked, turning to look at him. She noticed his apprehension, and instinctively motioned him back to the kitchen. “What’s up?”

              “How do you know, I mean what do you guys do, I mean you girls, when you want to have a relationship with somebody other than just a fling?” he asked, clearly embarrassed.

              “What happened the next morning? What was the first thing she did when she woke up?” Mallory asked. She seemed to know that they wouldn’t have gone back to Tommy’s place.

              “Um, I asked her what time she had to get ready for work,” Tommy said.

              “And how’d she respond? I mean exactly how?”

              “She kind of shrugged, and then her sister called,” Tommy said.

              “And what happened after the call?”

              “Um, I guess we talked a little bit, I guess,” Tommy replied shyly.

              “You guess,” Mallory said, teasing him. “But that’s good. If it’s just a hit-it-and-quit-it type of thing, the first thing she’d say is how she’s late for work or something. But know how to know for sure?” Mallory asked. “Call her now, ask her to dinner, and don’t sleep with her again. If she’s happy at the end of the date, you’re gold. But if she’s weird or blows you off for dinner, it’s more likely a short-term thing.”

Tommy nodded. Mallory continued to stare, apparently waiting for something.

              “What?” Tommy asked, clearly confused.

              “I just gave you top-secret inside information. That shit’s not free, son! I want to see you call her now and ask her out!” Mallory grinned as Tommy reluctantly took out his phone and called her. When it was clear that they were not only meeting for dinner, but she’d readily agreed, Mallory’s smile grew significantly.

              “See how easy that was? Damn, why are guys such chickens,” she said, shaking her head as she walked off.

              “So did you get any more investors today?” Tommy asked. They had just finished eating and were leisurely deciding which dessert to split.

              “Nobody came by, but I had a couple of phone interviews, or meetings, with a couple places,” she said. “You?”

              “Same old, made thirty-six dollars in tips,” he said, raising his eyes.

Viviana nodded vaguely, then checked her phone, which she’d done several times during their dinner. “Sorry, but my sister was supposed to call me, but I haven’t heard from her,” she said.

              “She came here yesterday?” Tommy asked, recalling their conversation from the previous morning.

              “Yeah, and she was going to meet that guy, and then we were supposed to hang out tomorrow night. I was hoping you could meet her. It’s not like her to blow me off like this,” she said.

              “Did you guys always get along?” Tommy asked, curious.

              “Yeah. She’s six years younger than me, and my parents kind of made her my responsibility,” Viviana explained.

              “What do you mean?”

              “I mean they didn’t leave her with me or anything like that, but when we were growing up, she always looked up to me, so I sort of, took the initiative. To be honest, I don’t think my parents were expecting her,” she said.

              “You mean like you were planned, and she wasn’t?”

              “Yeah, I know, that sounds horrible, but my parents are really meticulous. They plan everything, and I think they just wanted one kid, like their pride and joy, and then she came along,” she explained.

              “So you had to take care of her?”

              “Yeah, I felt bad. Like my parents were always focusing on me, she got the leftovers, it’s kind of hard to explain,” she said.

              “So you were the star science student, good grades, good job, and she’s like…”

              “Yeah, exactly. She’s just kind of straggling. So I feel kind of responsible. But we always get into fights whenever we talk about finances, or anything related to being a responsible adult,” she explained.

              “How do your parents treat her, now, I mean?” Tommy asked.

              “It’s like they just let her do whatever, like they’re happy with my life, and she’s just an afterthought or something.”

Tommy nodded, letting it sink in. “My dad and I have a weird relationship, not very friendly,” he admitted.

              “You live at home?” she asked.

              “Yeah, but it’s not easy. I really can’t wait to get out.”

              “Your mom?” she asked.

Tommy shook his head slowly. “My dad drinks a lot. Always has. He’s what they call a functional alcoholic. When I was in junior high, they went out to dinner. Dad got drunk, Mom had to drive home. They got into an accident. She didn’t make it,” he said slowly, his gaze drifting away from Viviana.

              “Wow, that’s terrible,” she said.

              “Yeah.” He shrugged. “It happened a while ago. But me and my dad hardly talk anymore. And since I don’t have any brothers or sisters, when he starts to get old, it’s on me to take care of him. The good news,” he said, forcing himself into a better mood, “is that I’ve already got a couple offers, so hopefully I’ll be able to get my own place very soon.” He immediately regretted it, because she might ask where, and he didn’t to go there with her. Not yet.

              “Well, when you meet my sister, you’ll see how different we are,” she said.

              “I’m looking forward to it,” Tommy replied, inwardly thanking Mallory for her expert advice.