Let's Play Dead (31 page)

“I think not,” Hadley said. “I’d like to come out of this with some shred of dignity. We’ll just call it a tragic accident, due to an electrician’s error, and he’s already paid the price. Is that acceptable to you, Arabella?”

“I agree that would be best, Hadley.”

“I don’t suppose we can do this in time for tomorrow’s paper?” Hadley said.

The woman was a piece of work. “Unlikely,” I said. “Besides, we—or Arabella and you—need to talk to the police before you call the news folks.”

“All right,” a subdued Hadley replied.

I needed to clear my head. Had we really figured out what had happened—and come up with a noncrime? I took a candle and walked into the hall and pulled open the door a crack to check the weather. I had expected to see ice. What I hadn’t expected to see was the massive tree trunk that spanned the road we had arrived by, and a few sparking wires that it had brought down with it.

“Uh, guys?” I called over my shoulder. “I don’t think we’re going anywhere tonight.”

Why was I not surprised that Hadley gave a small shriek
from what sounded like pure frustration? But it was pitch black; the entire neighborhood was dark. I turned and made my way back to the living room. Luckily Nolan had held on to the flashlight he had been using.

“Tree down?” he asked.

“Big one, across the road. I guess we’re stuck.”

“I don’t want to stay here,” Hadley whined. “Can’t we go to a hotel or something?”

Was I the only person who wanted to strangle the woman? “No, Hadley. Unless you have a helicopter handy, we can’t get out.”

“Does that fireplace work, Hadley?” Nolan asked.

“What?” Hadley looked around the room as if she was surprised she had a fireplace. “Oh, I guess so. I know I’ve used it, but not lately. Why?”

When she didn’t say more, Nolan prompted, “You might like some heat tonight. Would you have any wood for it?”

“Oh. Maybe in the garage? It’s at the other end of the house—there’s a door leading from the kitchen.”

“I’m on it. Do you have any more candles or such? Those are almost out”—he pointed to the still-flickering but quickly fading candles on the coffee table—“and I don’t want to leave you all in the dark.”

Finally Hadley roused herself to action. “Yes, I think there are some in the desk. I’ll get them.”

In short order she had retrieved more of the same short, squat candles and a lighter. I suppressed the image of Hadley and her man-of-the-moment enjoying an intimate candlelit interlude in front of the dying fire. At least we had light.

“Grand. I’ll go check out the wood.”

“I’ll help,” Jason volunteered, disentangling himself from Caitlin. Maybe he’d had enough drama for the moment. The two men disappeared down the hallway, Nolan’s flashlight bobbing in front of them.

I waited a few moments for Hadley to take charge—it was, as she had pointed out, her house—but she seemed lethargic. Finally I said, “Hadley, we may be in for a long night. We’d better plan to sleep here, preferably in this room, if Nolan finds any wood. You have blankets, pillows?”

Hadley sniffed. “I guess. I don’t have a lot of guests.”

Why did that not surprise me? “Well,” I said patiently, “why don’t you go collect what you have? And what about food?”

“I don’t know.”

Maybe it would be faster to strangle her now. “Do you have a gas stove?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Because if it’s gas, we can light it manually, so at least we could have something hot to eat and drink.”

“Oh. All right. I’ll go get the blankets and stuff.” Hadley picked up a candle and went down the hall, toward the other end of the house.

When she was out of earshot, I sighed. “Arabella, Caitlin, I do not know how you put up with this woman. She seems to switch between demanding and helpless at the drop of a hat.”

“I will say it was always difficult to pry a decision out of her. Are we really stuck here, Nell?” Arabella asked.

“I’m afraid so. I don’t know how long it will be before they send someone out to fix the wires, and even then they’ll still have to get the tree out of the way. So, yes—it looks like we’re having a slumber party.”

“With s’mores?” Caitlin asked, and I thought I could detect a bit of a giggle in her voice. I think it was the first time I’d heard her say anything remotely funny in the time I’d known her.

I gave her a smile. “I doubt that Hadley’s larder runs to marshmallows, but maybe we can scrounge up something to eat. Let’s go see.” I picked up another candle and led the way down the hall toward the kitchen.

There we met Nolan and Jason, emerging from the dark garage, each with an armload of wood. “This is most of it, but it’ll do for now,” Nolan said. “Where’s herself?”

“She’s looking for blankets. Can you get a fire started?”

“Not to worry. The first ten years of my life, we had nothing but turf to keep us warm. I’ll see to it.”

“All right, then—food.”

Fifteen minutes later we were huddled in a tight half circle in front of the small fire that Nolan had built. Well, most of us were: Hadley maintained a distance, perched on a chair behind us. She had come up with a motley assortment of blankets, and we were noshing on the rather eclectic mix of items we had found in her refrigerator and cupboards—mostly crackers, olives, and cheese, plus a couple of shriveled apples. It would do for now, and since we had all missed dinner, we weren’t complaining.

“This certainly is an unlikely turn of events, don’t you think? All of us camped out here?” Arabella said.

“No,” Hadley replied bitterly. “If anything can go wrong, it will, at least if I’m around. This whole mess was my fault. I knew it was a bad idea to keep flogging poor Harriet, but that’s what my publisher wanted, and I couldn’t argue. I am sick unto death of that little rodent.”

“Hedgehogs aren’t rodents,” Caitlin commented. “Didn’t you do any research?”

“Ha! Market research, more like it. My editor wanted something small and cute but that hadn’t been done to death, and, presto, a hedgehog was what I got.”

“But you’ve done so well with Harriet,” Arabella said. “This house, renown, book tours.”

“This house is mortgaged to the hilt, and my royalties are down to four figures a year. Unless Harriet becomes the first animated hedgehog vampire rock star, preferably with psychic powers, I’m broke.” She stood up abruptly. “I’m tired, and I want to sleep in my own bed. Everybody’s got enough blankets and pillows and all?”

“We’ll be all right,” Arabella said. “I guess we’ll have to wait until morning to see what our options are for getting back to Philadelphia.”

“Fine. Good night.” Hadley picked up a candle and disappeared toward the other end of the house. The rest of us tried to make nests with the quilts and pillows we had. Since the floor was carpeted, it wasn’t too uncomfortable, although I certainly wasn’t used to sleeping on the ground—or with a crowd. Jason stayed close to Caitlin, while Arabella and Nolan staked out opposite sides of the room.

I was dozing off when Caitlin said quietly, “I’m sorry, Mother.”

“For what?” her mother responded.

“For getting in touch with Dad, behind your back. I just wanted a chance to get to know him.”

Arabella sighed. “I shouldn’t have kept you apart for so long. Whatever our problems were, he’s still your father.” She paused for several beats. “Was your reunion what you expected?”

Caitlin laughed quietly. “No. Sorry, Dad—that’s not your fault. I guess I’d built you up into some kind of hero. You know—revolutionary, misunderstood by my petty bourgeois mother. And, Mother, I thought you had driven him away.”

“It wasn’t like that, love,” Nolan said. “I’ll take my share of the blame. And I could have tried harder to see you.”

“I know. It’s just that I was angry for so long, and Mother was the most convenient target. Mother, I really felt like you were too busy to bother with me, so you shipped me off to boarding school.”

“I know it sounds awful when you put it that way, Caitlin, but I had to make a living, to support us, since your father wouldn’t. And I did think it was the right thing for you.”

“I think it was. They’re good at what they do there at Bishop’s Gate, and they really helped me with the Asperger’s.”

I lay still, trying not to intrude on this belated family truth-telling. Caitlin was still speaking, in a near whisper. “In the beginning I hated you for it. I mean, there you were, playing Mommy to half the snot-nosed kids of Philadelphia, but you sent me away and then couldn’t take the time to visit me. It took me a long time to get over that.”

“I’ m sorry. I can see how it must have looked to you.” A pause. “Are you past it now?”

“I’m here, aren’t I? I’m working with you, and for you, which I never would have imagined. And you were right—the school helped me deal with my problems. There were some good kids there, and I could make friends. I couldn’t do what you do, but I’m doing an okay job at Let’s Play, aren’t I?”

“You’re doing a fine job, darling. And I’d say that even if I weren’t your mother. If we ever get past this nonsense, the exhibit should be a big hit. In spite of Hadley.”

“You still awake, Dad?’

Nolan spoke from the opposite corner. “I am. I’m sorry I missed all those years, but I hope we can do better in the future. Maybe you’d like to plan a trip to Ireland, meet your half brother and sister?”

“I’d like that,” Caitlin said. “Maybe in the spring—Let’s Play is pretty busy in the summer. And not during spring breaks. But I’m sure I could work out something.”

The voices faded. The low fire crackled and spit. Outside it was quiet, except for the occasional crack as a branch fell from the weight of the ice. I fell asleep.

I awoke to full daylight. Checking my watch, I saw that
it was nearly nine o’ clock. The fire was long dead, and three out of my four companions were still lumps under mounds of blankets—Nolan was snoring in an armchair, and Jason and Caitlin were snuggled together like puppies. The fourth, Arabella, I could hear down the hall, talking with Hadley. I disentangled myself from my own wrappings and, after a quick stop at the bathroom, I stumbled down the hall. Halfway there I encountered the smell of coffee and picked up my pace.

Hadley and Arabella were seated across from each other at a small table. There was a window behind them, and through it I could see a glittering array of ice-coated trees and shrubs—and an alarming number of broken branches dangling. “Morning,” I said. “Is there more of that?” I nodded toward their mugs.

“On the stove. Nolan showed me how to light the burner last night. I
can
manage to boil water,” Hadley replied.

I helped myself and sat down. “Any word from the outside world?”

“The power’s still out, but I think I saw a utility truck.”

“I hope so!” Arabella said. “There’s a lot to be done, and we have to talk to the police before we move forward.”

The idea of meeting with the law didn’t appear to bother Hadley now. She stirred her coffee idly and stared into space. I definitely preferred this resigned Hadley to the bitchy and demanding one, although I wondered if this mood would last.

“Hadley, do you have flour and eggs and sugar?” Arabella asked. “Maybe I can put together a meal.”

“I don’t know. Try that cupboard over there.” Hadley gestured vaguely.

I fled the scene of unlikely domesticity and retreated down the hall, away from the living room, where there were sounds of stirring. I retrieved my cell phone from my bag and punched in the number to my office. Eric answered promptly. “President’s office.”

“Eric, it’s me.”

“Nell! I was worried about you—it sounds like a real mess out there in the burbs.”

“You’ve got that right. I’m not even home—I’m still at Hadley’s house. Long story, but we’re all good. How’s it look there?”

“Roads are clear, so it’s business as usual. Do you think you’ll make it in?”

“I hope so, but we’ve got to get a tree out of the way first.” As we spoke, I could hear the welcome sound of chain saws in the lane in front of Hadley’s house. I peered out the window in the front and could see that the morning sun was well on its way to dissolving the layer of ice on the windshield of my car. “I think it’s happening as we speak, so I can probably make it by noon.” Then I was struck by a sudden thought. “Eric, can you ask Shelby to get in touch with Barney Hogan and have him call me this afternoon?”

“Yes, ma’am, I can do that. Everything okay?”

“I think so, or at least it will be. Thanks, Eric—see you later.” I hung up and thought a moment. There were five of us to transport back to the city, and three cars: mine, Hadley’s, and Caitlin’s. I wasn’t sure if the police wanted me to have any part of the coming discussion, but it might be best to be available, just in case—which meant we should all head for the city.