Goodnight, Irene (33 page)

Andrew’s eyes glazed over, as if he had mentally withdrawn from us.

Elinor smirked. “She tells him she’s written a letter to her cousin, naming the father-to-be. What does he do? He tells her he’ll make an honest woman of her!”

Elinor hooted over this. “He came to tell me we would have to break off our engagement. I told him not to worry, to leave it all to me. And convinced the little whore that she should meet me under the pier and the rest has been history in this town for thirty-five years.”

“Not exactly,” I said, finding my voice.

She shot a hard look at me.

“What did you do with her hands and feet?”

Andrew blanched, but Elinor cackled.

“Oh, that was inspired. What better place for a pair of feet than at the end of a pair of legs?”

“She buried them under the Las Piernas cliffs,” Andrew said quietly.

Frank and I looked at one another.

“As for the hands, well, I made a very special wedding present of them to my dear husband.”

“Elinor! For God’s sakes!”

“They want to hear the story, Andrew. You know, Andrew thought I had just paid her off to leave town until the story came out in the paper the next day. I called him to remind him that I knew where he had eaten dinner with her, that he was the last one to have been seen in public with her, and that I could easily provide the link between the two of them. Who in Las Piernas wouldn’t take my word over his? Why, at that time, no one would have thought of a woman doing such a thing anyway.”

Even now it was hard to believe. Elinor had great physical strength and an iron will. A lady who always got her own way. “Why not just pay her off?” I asked.

“Oh, I tried. And I would have been good for it. It’s worked with our beloved mayor for years. But the cheap tart said she didn’t want my money, she wanted Andrew. Well, she simply couldn’t have him. I had come prepared in case she refused.”

She eyed us warily.

“Andrew, get some rope from the basement. We don’t want to take chances with these two.”

“No,” he said. “You know I won’t go down there.”

Elinor sighed. “His wedding present is in the freezer down there. He won’t go near it.” She laughed at him. “She’s not going to reach up and grab you, Andrew.” He turned red, but said nothing. She walked over to her husband. “Andrew has been very good to me over the years, so I put up with his little phobia about the basement.”

“Why O’Connor?” I asked. “What did he ever do to you?”

“He was about to figure out who she was, that’s what. I learned that from his son.”

She smiled at the look of surprise on my face. “I had an affair with Kenny. Strictly for espionage purposes. The little blabbermouth told me every move his father made. Of course he was clueless as to my reasons for wanting to know. Kenny’s not much of a lover. Nothing like Andrew. Andrew is a fantastic lover. I’m disappointed Kenny survived, but I understand he’s not saying anything.”

I looked at Andrew. He stood with a stony expression, not directly acknowledging our presence with anything other than the gun. If Elinor was embarrassing him, he didn’t show it.

“I’m surprised Andrew can get it up for you after the way you treated his girlfriend,” Frank said.

A look of cold fury passed over her face.

She walked up to Frank, put the gun to his temple, and cocked the trigger. “Raise your hands higher.”

He did. She drew her other arm back and punched him hard in the ribs. He paled and exhaled loudly, but he didn’t give her the satisfaction of hearing him crying out. She stepped away with a smile on her face.

Frank’s forehead was covered with sweat, but he lowered his arms again and said nothing.

“Irene, I really like you. And he does seem to be quite a man. I’m rather sorry we didn’t get to know one another better. Wouldn’t cry out for me. Well, we’ll see.”

“Elinor, let’s get this over with and get out of here,” Andrew said.

She looked at him.

“Very well, put them in the freezer. I’ll get the rope.”

She waited a moment to make sure he obeyed.

He motioned us over to a walk-in freezer not far from where we stood. He pointed the gun at me. “Open it.”

I did as I was told. I yanked at the handle and pulled the heavy door open. It was a small meat freezer. Various cuts of meat hung in it, large containers of ice cream were stored on racks on one wall. I shivered as I stood behind the door. I’m not sure it was from the cold.

He turned the gun on Frank. “Go on, you first.”

“Hollingsworth, this is your chance to get free of her,” Frank said. “Why let her push you around? She’s the murderer, not you.”

For a moment Andrew Hollingsworth looked bewildered. He glanced back at Elinor, then back to us. He leveled the gun at Frank, his hands shaking. “Get in there,” he said.

“You’re a DA, you know how it works. We’ll tell the attorney general you helped us out. He’ll go easy on you.”

He said nothing, just stood there quivering like a frightened animal.

“Let Irene go. She hasn’t done you any harm.”

“Andrew!” Elinor commanded.

It was only one word, but it cracked through the air like a whip. Hollingsworth grew wild-eyed. He turned the gun toward me and screamed at Frank. “Get in there! Do it now or she’s dead! I’ll do it! I’ll blow her head off!”

Frank walked stiffly and slowly, the barrel of Andrew’s gun now following his every move. He went into the freezer. I hated myself, knowing he was here because of me.

Elinor had walked over to the basement door.

“That’s odd,” she said.

All I heard after that was a loud explosion.

I
FELT MYSELF
ripped away from behind the door and hurtled hard into a wall. I lay there, flat on my back, stunned and unsure of what had happened. The air was hot. I felt my face covered with something sticky, something salty that was in my mouth. My ears felt as if they were filled with water. Next I became aware that there was smoke filling the room. I closed my eyes. It dawned on me that there was no sound.

Someone was lifting me. I opened my eyes and saw Frank looking down at me. He was trying to say something to me, but he wasn’t making any noise. I smiled at him and closed my eyes.

W
HEN
I
OPENED THEM
again, I was looking up at a smoky sky. I was coughing. Frank’s face came into my field of vision again. I realized he was bending over me. We were on some grass. He held me. I felt sleepy.

I looked up into his face. What was wrong with his eyes? They were watery. He was trying to say something. I think it was my name. He wasn’t making any sound. I moved my hand to his lips. I closed my eyes again.

T
HE FIRST SOUND
I heard was snoring. I woke up in a strange room, hearing snoring. That and a hammering inside my skull. I slowly turned my head to see Frank sleeping in a chair behind bars. I gradually realized I was in a hospital bed, and the bars were the bed railing. My head hurt so bad, it was easier to shut my eyes. I fell back to sleep.

When I woke up again, there was a woman’s face looking down at me. “I think she’s coming around now,” the voice said, and I realized it was Sister Theresa. Soon I saw Frank standing next to her.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hi.” He took my hand. That felt good.

“Your sister has been asking about you,” Sister Theresa said. “I think I’ll let her know you’re awake.”

Frank sat down, but kept hold of my hand. I let go and slipped my arm through the rails to make it easier on him.

I fell asleep.

Later that night, I finally managed to stay awake for more than five seconds at a time. Frank was still holding my hand.

“Frank?”

He sat up with a start. He looked exhausted.

“Irene? How do you feel?”

“Like hell. What happened?”

“Did you open those propane tanks in the basement?”

I was still a little foggy. Gradually I remembered where I had been just before the explosion.

“Yes. But I didn’t light them.”

“It filled the room up with propane. Elinor flipped the light switch and it sparked. It exploded. And burned.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I guess they did me a real favor sticking me in that freezer.”

I remembered seeing him put in there at gunpoint, remembered Elinor holding the gun to his head and striking his ribs hard. I felt the color drain from my cheeks.

“Irene? Are you okay? Do you want me to get the nurse?”

“No,” I said. “I’m okay. I just remembered how they treated you. I was so afraid for you.”

“Believe me, it was mutual. God, you gave me a scare. When I brought you outside—”

His voice broke and he was quiet, looking away.

“I’m okay,” I said.

“Hello there!” Barbara called from the door.

She came over to the other side of the bed. “This guy is worse than I am. Even Sister Theresa couldn’t get him to take a break.”

The memory of hearing him snore came back to me and I smiled.

“Hi, Barbara. How’s Kenny doing?”

“He’ll be in here to apologize to you any day now,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“He told me what he said to you about O’Connor. I told him either he apologized or I wasn’t ever going to have a thing to do with him. He started crying and going on about how he killed his father. I tell you, he’s delirious. I told him you and Frank knew who killed his father, and that as far as I knew, his name hadn’t come up. Do you know what he was talking about?”

Frank and I exchanged a brief look.

“No,” I said. “He probably just feels bad about what he said to me. Tell him I said all is forgiven.” I turned to Frank. “What happened to the Hollingsworths?”

He shook his head.

“Oh.”

“Longren has confessed to the money laundering and providing a false alibi for Emmet Woolsey’s wife; he claims he never knew about the other stuff, but nobody believes him. He’s washed up anyway. Elaine’s mother never found the letter. It was probably thrown away years ago. We called her to let her know what happened. Small consolation.”

My head felt heavy and woozy. I shut my eyes and it cleared.

I looked up at Frank again; there was concern in his face.

“How did you know I was out there?” I asked.

“Lydia. She called me to say you had left her that note. But we can talk about all of that later. Just get better. They want to hold that wake for O’Connor and they’re waiting for you to get out of here to do it.”

“I owe you a lot,” I said drowsily.

“Not a thing. Go to sleep.”

I did.

I
T WAS A GRAND OCCASION
. There was food and drink and joyful and tearful remembrances of the man we loved.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” I asked Frank.

“Only Casper.”

“You should get to know O’Connor’s — it’s even friendlier.”

I must have talked and laughed and cried with a hundred people. Barbara and Aunt Mary had set the whole thing up at Barbara’s house. Sam and Roselynn had provided some of the food. Probably one of the first Irish wakes to serve Thai food.

I avoided the booze — I wanted to give my head a chance to stop aching from the blow I gave it when I hit that kitchen wall. Frank didn’t drink either, telling me I should have one sober person to talk to.

Kenny was there, home but not really up and around. He and Barbara were going to make another go of it. I was happy to notice that she was being more assertive around him.

Kevin had brought the gang from Calhoun’s, someone else had brought a group from Banyon’s. There were reporters, cops — even Captain Bredloe, who of course had never been on anyone’s payroll. Just another of Elinor’s lies. I saw MacPherson and Global Guru Fred Barnes, and dozens of other people who had come into contact with O’Connor over the years.

Pete had shown up, and Rachel had come with him. They sparred with each other verbally. Pete had more than met his match with her. She hadn’t moved from Phoenix, but something told me one of them was going to relocate before long.

Guy and Lydia were in the throes of new love, which can be boring to observe if you’re not one of the parties involved. I was happy for them all the same.

Aunt Mary had located an Irish band, complete with fiddle, guitar, bodhrán, pipes, harp, tin whistle, and voices that lovingly sang the songs of Eire. They did a moving version of an old favorite of O’Connor’s, “Bonnie Light Horseman.” I felt the tears well up for the umpteenth time as it was played. I looked over to see John Walters himself getting misty-eyed.

After a great many pints had been downed and songs had been sung, Frank took me out to his car, another used Volvo he had picked up while I was in the hospital.

As he drove along, I realized that he wasn’t taking me to Lydia’s.

He brought the car to a halt in his driveway. He got out and opened the door for me. We walked inside, and he closed the door behind us.

He took me in his arms and gave me a long, slow, burning kiss. I kissed back for all I was worth. “Stay with me,” he said softly.

I did. And later, as we lay holding one another in bed, warmed by love and ready at last to fall asleep, I heard him softly sing, “Goodnight, Irene.”

Naturally occurring high levels of fluoride can be found in the ground water of a number of areas of the United States, including some places in Arizona. However, the Arizona town used as one of the settings for this story was chosen because of its proximity to both the California border and Phoenix, not because of its water. I never came across the “five old crabs” when I visited there.

Deep appreciation is given to the many people who helped me with the research for this book, especially Debbie Arrington, of the
Long Beach Press Telegram;
Bob Flynn, retired
Evansville Press
political reporter; Don Smith, National City Police Department; Sergeant John Conely, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department; the Cypress, California, Police Department; Liz Martin-Snow of the California Dental Association; Skip Langley, for his expertise on fire and explosive gases; Garry Dougan of the Southern California Gas Department; Gary Wuchner of the Orange County Fire Department; Jacqueline Prebich, R.N.; Mark Prebich, R.R.T.; Ed Dohring, M.D.; Kelly Dohring, R.N.; Enda Brennan, Public Defender extraordinaire; Tonya Pearsley, Sandra Cvar, Paul Blevins, Peggy Lausin, Vera and Laurie Speake, and Sharon Weissman. A great deal of help in researching the book was given to me by the librarians at the Long Beach Public Library, the Angelo M. Iacoboni Library, and California State University, Long Beach Library. My thanks also to my friends and family, who were so supportive of this effort.