The Night Visitor (29 page)

Her voice again dropped to a whisper. “Rory, it was an accident. You believe me, don’t you? I want to know that you believe me. I loved Anya so much. Both you girls are my life.”

Rory was weeping but her voice was calm. “I believe you, Mom.”

“Anya was bleeding on the floor. She looked dead. I was out of my mind. I didn’t know what to do. Richard still hadn’t responded to any of my messages. One of Anya’s cell phones on the table started buzzing, the one with the rhinestone tiger stripes. It was a text from DOB. Richard. Wondering what she was doing. I knew Richard would read a text from Anya right away, so I managed to type one and send it. I knew her password. ‘Anya.’ The same one she used on all her stuff.”

As Evelyn recounted what happened, her tears dried, her voice grew flat, and her demeanor became affectless. She stared into the distance.

“Richard came right away. Picked up Anya’s gun, the box cutter, and their secret cell phone. He wiped everything down to make it look like I hadn’t been there. He was getting the Boo painting and we were about to leave when the elevator started going down. When it headed back up, we hid in the bedroom, behind the screens. We heard Junior, yelling for Anya. The doves were all over the place by then. Junior turned off the lights. Richard peeked out from behind the screens. Saw Junior closing the windows. Chasing out the doves. Of course Junior found Anya’s body. Nearly fell on top of it. That’s when Richard sneaked up and shot him.

“I heard the shot. I didn’t see it because I was crouched behind the bed. Richard told me to come out. I sat on the other side of the room while he…finished. I was numb. Richard was calm. Amazingly calm, with his pregnant lover lying there dead. Your fiancé I was certain was also dead.

“Richard wiped his fingerprints off the gun, put it in Junior’s hand, and fired a shot to put gunshot residue on Junior. Richard yelped when the bullet hit Anya in the thigh. He didn’t mean to shoot her. It showed that he was more rattled than he let on. Richard told me he’d held his gun at Junior’s temple, to make it look like a suicide, but Junior had turned his head at the last second. Still, Richard was confident the police would buy the suicide setup.”

Rory was no longer crying. It felt surreal, listening to her mother’s confession. It was too much for her to process, but she had to stay focused. Once this moment passed, she was certain it would never come again. “Who pulled off Junior’s respirator at the hospital?”

“Richard paid some guy to do it. Make sure you tell the police that Richard tried to kill Junior twice.” She again took Rory’s hands in hers, pulled them to her lips, and kissed them many times. Passion again entered her voice as she stared into Rory’s eyes and called her daughter by her full given name. “Aurora Lisa, I’ve told you the truth. Please tell me you believe me.”

“I believe you, Mom.”

“I love you, Rory. I loved you and Anya more than anything in the world, even though I know sometimes I didn’t act that way. I hope that one day you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me.” Evelyn let go of Rory’s hands and pushed herself backward off the roof.

“Mom!” Rory grabbed her mother’s coat in both hands. Evelyn’s momentum nearly dragged her over the edge.

The doors of a van parked down the street flew open. Detective Henry Auburn jumped out first. Tom was on his heels, followed by other detectives. They’d all been listening through the wire that Rory wore.

“Somebody help!” Rory leaned halfway over the wall, still holding fast to Evelyn’s coat. The toes of her shoes scraped against the tar roof.

Evelyn was slipping out of her coat.

“Rory, let me go.” Evelyn’s voice was sad but calm.

“Hang on, Mom. Hold your coat in your fists.” The fabric of Evelyn’s coat slipped through Rory’s hands. “No!”

Rory flew backward onto the rooftop before she could see her mother hit the ground.

62

Auburn came up the stairs and burst onto the roof with Tom close behind him. Rory was sitting on the ground. She’d pulled up her T-shirt and was yanking off the microphone and transmitter that were taped to her chest. She threw them away as Tom dropped down beside her and took her into his arms.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded, dazed. She looked at Auburn, who had crouched near her. “Did you hear it?”

“Yes,” Auburn said. “We got it. Rory, what you did was heroic.”

Rory huffed out a breath. “I hardly feel like a hero. My mom is dead.”

Auburn leaned over and put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Rory. If I had any idea that either of you were at risk, I’d have put someone on the roof with you.”

Rory looked at her palms, which were scratched from her fall. She blinked, feeling numb. “Do you believe her story?” she asked Auburn.

“Yes. It had details that weren’t public. The way she told it sounded authentic. I guess she decided that she had nothing to lose. I’ll give you some privacy.” Auburn went across the roof and down the stairs.

When they were alone, Rory said, “I couldn’t hold on, Tom.” Her voice cracked. “She just slipped out of my hands.”

“I know, baby. I know.”

“She told me ‘Rory, let me go.’ ” She looked into his face. “Those were her last words.” Rory broke down and buried her face in his shoulder. “What did I do?”

“You did the right thing. You found out the truth.”

She sat up and wiped her face with a handkerchief he held out to her. “There’s more to do, Tom.”

63

Tom pulled his car into the parking lot of the Lincoln Heights Community Hospital. He opened Rory’s door and she tried to stand, but she was too weak. After the rush of adrenaline at the Killingsworth Building, she was drained. Tom scooped her into his arms and carried her across the lot, gazing into her face.

“I love you, Tom.”

“I love you. More than I can say.”

“I understand if you’re having doubts about us.”

“I’m not. I love you and I’m there for you, no matter what. You’re my girl.”

A dozen platitudes entered her mind as responses but none powerful enough to approach what she was feeling. She repeated her first simple and true statement: “I love you, Tom.”

* * *

Johnnie, the guard at the hospital’s front desk, took his time coming to the locked front doors. He spoke through the bulletproof glass.

“Folks, I can’t let you in here. The family doesn’t want you near Junior.”

Tom set Rory on her feet and helped her to stay standing.

Johnnie looked Rory over, frowning.

“Please tell Fermina I’m here,” Rory said. “Please.”

Just then, Fermina pushed open one of the swinging doors into the lobby. “Johnnie, it’s okay. Let them in.”

“You sure?”

“Please. I want them here.”

The big guard looked dubious, but he unlocked the glass door and pushed it open. Tom helped Rory inside.

Fermina picked up the crucifix on the chain around her neck and kissed it. She stroked Rory’s hair. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Fermina, this is my fiancé, Tom Fuller.”

Fermina extended her hand to him. “I’m pleased to meet you. Let’s go.” She led the way.

A nurse spotted Rory struggling to walk, being half-carried by Tom, and brought a wheelchair for her.

They turned at the T intersection that marked the entrance to the subacute unit. The wall there was still decorated for the beach party. Tom pushed Rory into Junior’s room and helped her stand.

Sylvia was dozing in a chair, still wearing a paper gown, mask, and latex gloves. She sleepily opened her eyes. “What the hell? Are those Junior’s clothes? Mom, she’s wearing Junior’s clothes. Where did you get those?”

“Mija,
don’t,” Fermina warned.

“Mom, get her out of here.”

The tiny woman looked up at her daughter. “I want her here.”

“I don’t. My brother is dying. Can’t we have our privacy?”

“Rory is family,” Fermina said.

“My ass.”

“Sylvia.”

The way her mother said her name got Sylvia’s attention. She snapped her mouth shut.

Tom walked into the hallway and began putting on protective garments, taking a set for Rory. Fermina was re-dressing herself in these garments, having discarded the ones she was wearing when she left the room.

Sylvia’s cell phone rang. She looked at the display. “It’s Detective Auburn.” She left the room.

Rory saw that the first bed, where Mr. Patyk had been, was empty, stripped to the mattress. The photographs and name banner on his bulletin board were gone. The void chilled Rory. She looked at the cluttered walls and ceiling around Junior’s bed. Soon everything of his would also be gone.

Junior had turned his head on the pillow to look at Rory as soon as she’d entered, now able to focus his eyes on her as their bond was now complete. His body was quiet and his complexion was ashen. He knew all that Rory had gone through. Rory felt her heart surge with love and sadness, knowing they were the same emotions that Junior was feeling.

Fermina stood silently beside Rory.

Tom came into the room. He noticed how much Junior’s condition had deteriorated. He worried about what that meant for Rory.

Rory shook her head when Tom handed her a set of protective garments. The paper and latex could do nothing to shield her. She lowered the bed rail and hoisted herself onto Junior’s bed.

Tom made a movement to go to her, but Fermina pressed her fingertips against his hand. He hesitated a moment before leaving the room.

On the bed, Rory curled beside Junior, taking his shrunken body into her arms. She kissed his forehead and around his gaping mouth. She held his atrophied hand, frozen around the rubber bar. He turned his head as far as he could to see her. She shoved a pillow under her head so she could look into his eyes.

Soon their breathing matched, Junior inhaling as Rory exhaled.

Sylvia burst into the room. “Mom—”

Fermina shot her a glance, silencing her. Sylvia took in the scene. She pulled her mask over her nose and returned to the easy chair, tucking her feet under her.

Keith carried more chairs into the room and left without a word.

After several minutes, Tom returned and sat. His face was grave. He was barely able to watch Rory. He didn’t think he could stand it, but he knew he couldn’t leave. There was no other place for him to be.

Fermina returned to a chair beside Junior’s bed, where she had spent most of the past few days. She draped her rosary around her hands. Her lips moved as she silently prayed.

Rory whispered to Junior, “Thank you for letting me see the world through your eyes. It was wonderful.”

They remained like that, the five of them, waiting.

64

The lights were on in Richard’s office in the villa.

“More bourbon, Leland?” Richard swung the decanter, sending the liquid up the sides. “The sort of night that bourbon was made for.”

“I unfortunately must agree.” The attorney was in his usual chair in Richard’s office, his fingers laced over one bony knee of his crossed legs.

Richard refilled Leland’s glass and then his own. The men raised their glasses silently, no one offering a toast.

Richard again sat at his desk and crossed his feet on top. He sipped the bourbon. “I’ll try Evelyn’s cell phone again.” He put his feet on the floor and made the call on his landline. After a minute, he hung up. “No answer. Pointless to leave another message. Hope she’s okay.”

“I’ll try Tom’s cell again.” Leland took out his phone and made a call. “Goes straight to voice mail, just like Rory’s.”

Richard stood and began pacing the room, taking his drink along. “Maybe we should drive down to the Killingsworth Building.”

“I’ll go down there.” Leland stood. “You should keep your distance from that place.”

The doorbell rang with Big Ben chimes.

Richard raised his eyebrows. “Don’t ask for whom the bell tolls…”

The men silently waited. Before long, Rosario knocked on the open office door. “Sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Richard, but Detectives Auburn and Rodriguez are here.”

The two detectives appeared behind her.

“So they are. Thank you, Rosario. You can leave.”

The detectives came in. Auburn said, “Richard Tate, you’re under arrest for the attempted murder of Junior Lara and as an accessory to the murder of Anya Langtry.”

Leland said, “I want to see your evidence against Mr. Tate.”

“You will,” Auburn said. “The attempt charge will be bumped up to murder when Junior dies. There will be other charges too, but that’ll do for now.”

Richard held up his drink and looked at the last swallow in the glass before he drank it down.

Rodriguez handcuffed him as Auburn read him his rights.

65

Night ceded to dawn. Sunshine filtered through the miniblinds, painting stripes across Junior and Rory. Fermina and Sylvia were crammed together in Mr. Patyk’s former bed, which they’d made up to sleep on. Tom was asleep in the easy chair. Rory was asleep beside Junior, her head in the crook of his shoulder.

She started, as if awakened by a bad dream. She rose onto her elbows. Junior was awake, his eyes wide and staring. “I’m here, Junior. I’m with you.”

The activity roused Fermina, Sylvia, and Tom. They got to their feet and circled Junior’s bed. Rory held his face between her hands.

His eyes dully stared, without focus.

A monitor started loudly beeping.

Tom’s heart raced.

Corliss, the day nurse, ran into the room, putting a stethoscope into her ears. “Make room,” she said to Rory. She started to cross to the bed, but Fermina put out her hand, stopping her.

Corliss pulled the stethoscope away from her ears and let it dangle from her neck. “You’re sure?” She looked from Fermina to Sylvia.

Fermina barely moved her head when she nodded.

Sylvia’s voice caught in her throat. “We’re sure.”

Corliss slid her arm around Sylvia’s waist. A tear slipped down the nurse’s cheek.

Sylvia held her hand toward Tom. He took it.

Fermina went to the bed, put one hand over Junior’s hand, and held her daughter’s hand with her other.