Weekend (19 page)

Michael relinquished his command readily, giving the switchblade to Sol and the recorder to Robin. Park picked up the rifle but he didn't know whether he was supposed to point it at anyone or not. Michael was his old charming self. It had all been an act, and it seemed as if a great burden had been lifted from him.

Vaguely, Shani could guess what it had been.

Robin played her song:

"Blackbird, singing in the dead of night,

Take these broken wings and learn to fly.

All your life, you were only waiting for

this moment to arise…"

When the song was over, everyone agreed that Robin had never sounded better. When the chatter died down, Shani said to Michael, "I know who you are." Eyebrows were raised around the room, but he was not surprised. "You're Luke Skywalker." She pointed at Robin. "And she's Princess Leia."

"You're right," Park gasped, turning from one to the other.

"Do I have to be Paul Bunyon again?" Bert asked.

"What's she talking about?" Robin asked, not having a clue.

Like a royal subject, Michael waited at her feet. "We were born together," he said. "I am your twin brother."

"It's true," Lena whispered, seeing the resemblance, which should have been clear from the beginning.

Robin did not shout or cry out. Her joy was beyond flagrant emotions. "Before I got sick and had it cut, my hair was like yours," she said, running her bony fingers once through his dark curls. "I should show you a picture of myself from last year. We looked alike, then."

"I would like to see it," Michael said.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

"Our mother always knew where you were."

Robin sucked in a breath. "She's alive! And our father?"

Michael shook his head. "He died in a car accident before we were born. That's why all this has been…

the way it has been. Above all else, Robin, you have to understand that your mother loves you. She's a wonderful woman."

"Oh, I believe you! I do."

"But you want to know why she let you go?"

"I didn't want to ask. But, yeah, I'd like to know."

Michael took a deep breath, preparing himself for a speech. "She was young. When our father died, her world collapsed. This was only days before we were born. She had no money, no family, no insurance.

When we came along, a local paper wrote about her tragedy, focusing upon us in particular. A wealthy and powerful man was in England at this time. His name was Samuel Carlton. Recently, his wife had come to the decision - biologically too late in life - that she wanted children. Neither of them was used to waiting for what they wanted. A year for a typical adoption was too long. Besides, they were both too old and probably wouldn't have qualified. When we were five days old, Mr. Carlton sent a man to the hospital offering our mother a huge sum in exchange for her baby girl and her signature on some papers.

Our mother had not expected twins. She wasn't yet twenty. She wasn't sure how to take care of even one baby. The money was a fortune to her. Without having read them, she signed the papers."

"That would have been the end of it but for a picture of Mrs. Carlton and her recently adopted daughter printed, without her permission or knowledge, on the back pages ofThe Times ten days later. Our mother recognised the baby girl. As a result, she knew who had bought you."

"Years went by. When we were six, our mother married a nice, boring accountant. I call him Dad, but we don't have much in common. Mum never had any other children. But she did subscribe to a newspaper from Santa Barbara, paying a faithful monthly sum to have it delivered to Plymouth, collecting clippings of a growing girl named Robin Carlton. Later, she told me how happy she had been when she had read that you had a sister. However, during this time I never knew I had a sister. Oh, this will surprise you: 'Robin' was the name you were given at birth."

"When we were twelve, our mother's guilt must have caught up with her. She wrote to Mr. and Mrs.

Carlton requesting permission to visit you. They were aghast that their identity had become known to her.

Their reply was a venomousno . They threatened that if she so much as called or wrote again, they would destroy — that was the word used - her and her family. It was not an idle threat. Whether you know it or not, Mr. Carlton's reputation in the business world is one of extreme ruthlessness. Our mother backed off, though it hurt her grievously. For some not-so-mysterious reason, the Santa Barbara paper stopped coming. News of Robin Carlton's life came to a halt."

"Last November, while I was at school and my stepdad was at work, Mr. Carlton paid a personal visit to our mother. He told her of your accident and your need for a compatible kidney. He offered a million dollars for one of her - or my - kidneys, given that the tissue types were consistent. He told her the specifics of the typing, which, by the way, I reaffirmed this afternoon by going through your medical records. Our mother threw him out of the house."

"When I came home, Mum was bent over the kitchen table, crying over faded newspaper clippings of a pretty, brown-haired American girl. And so I first learned of you."

"Understand, our mother did not throw Mr. Carlton out of the house because she no longer cared about you. It was his attitude. Hedemanded a kidney. He wanted it right then and there. He acted like his money gave him the right. This offended our mother deeply, for, as must be clear to you by now, she had been tormented with regret since the day she had let you go. Never again would she sell her flesh.

However, she was more than willing to give it away, if her own kidneys would do."

"Yet when we went to the hospital and had the necessary tests, it became clear from the information Mr.

Carlton had left that I was the one, the only one, who could give a kidney."

Michael paused, apparently trying to remember back to how he felt at the time. Lena grew impatient and started to speak. Robin silenced her with an elbow in the ribs. Finally, Michael continued. "I didn't know you. To me, you were a complete stranger. And maybe it sounds selfish, but I wasn't too keen on the idea of a surgeon cutting into my lower back and removing a part that I imagined I might one day need.

So what did I do? I did nothing. I postponed my decision. Mum understood. Together, we waited."

"Mr. Carlton did not give up on us completely. When your first transplant failed, he sent us a photocopy of a letter from a team of doctors at the Stanford Medical Centre that stated that a blood relative willing to donate a kidney would be necessary before they would attempt a second transplant. He raised his offer to two million dollars."

"I had been wondering what you were like. I had a picture of you as a twelve-year-old from the newspaper, but it was of poor quality and I was really more curious about your personality. It got to where I was carrying on imaginary conversations with you in my head. When I saw the doctor's letter, I decided I had to meet you. He had after all, been in our mother's house, and my picture had been on the wall. Then I would take if from there."

"I cashed in some bonds — which, by the way, had been bought by our mother with the money that had bought you - and came to California. Getting enrolled in your school under false I.D. was no problem.

What did worry me was that Mr. Carlton would see me, and recognise me. You may have noticed, I never came over when either of your parents was at home. I was taking no chances. What did surprise me was that your nurse seemed to recognise me, or at least, was affected enough by my appearance to get funny ideas. Maybe because she met me with no preconceptions, she noticed my resemblance to you. It's possible that Mr. Carlton told her that you had a brother. She was awfully wary of me. Perhaps she was worried that I had come to steal you away. Later, we must ask her."

"Why did I feel I had to keep my identity a secret? For my very reason in coming, to get to know you, know you as you really were. Imagine if I had introduced myself as the one who could save you. Had you been a monster, you would still have been nice to me. Unfortunately, I was here several months and only got to meet you a handful of times. Certainly, I liked you, and I was leaning towards giving you one of my kidneys. Nevertheless, I was not one hundred per cent decided. And a second objective had caught my fancy: I wanted to know who had poisoned you."

"Because they had been at the party, I made friends with Sol and Park, and through them, with the others in this room, with the exception of Shani. Casually, in conversation, I would enquire about that night. I learned a lot, probably more than the police ever did. Indeed, I became convinced that Kerry had been the culprit. Yet, again, I was not positive. I heard talk of this weekend party. It appeared a perfect opportunity to get to know you better, and at the same time to flush out your attempted murderer. I made sure I was invited. I began to make plans."

Michael paused, studying them closely. "Here, I must apologise for making plans thatused you all.

Maybe with this insight into my motives, you will be able to forgive me." He chuckled. "But wasn't I surprised to wake up in the basement next to snakes and find that I also was being used? Lena never told me of her scheme - why should she have? - yet she simplified my task by allowing only the essential personnel to come here. I must congratulate you, Lena. Your plan was clever. But it was too complex.

Mine was simple: corner you and literally force the truth out. Poor Shani, I had her thinking I was the reincarnation of The Ripper. By the way, my best subject back home was drama."

"You mean, no matter what Robin decided, you weren't going to kill me?" Kerry asked. Basking in the relief that her throat wasn't going to be slit, she hadn't yet reflected upon her new social status. When she did, Shani had to worry that Kerry would cut her own throat.

"Of course not."

"But you already had Kerry's confession," Shani said. "Why did you continue, putting Robin in that terrible spot?"

"Before coming here this weekend, I had never heard the old man's story. But it got me thinking how I could once and for all decide whether Robin deserved my kidney. That, after all, had been my primary reason in coming to the States. It was still more important to me than separating the innocent from the guilty." He smiled, pleased at his sister, as pleased as Eagle had been with Dove.

"You wanted to hear Robin sing," Shani said.

"I always like to hear her," Bert said. "She has a great voice."

"And only you knew that, Shani," Michael said, climbing to his feet, pulling Robin with him and hugging her tightly. "You're going to be well, sister."

Not all the tears this night were sadness. "You'll give me your kidney? You would do that for me?"

Who would have thought that Michael could laugh louder than Bert? "You get the first one free. But if you want a second one, then we'll have to negotiate."

Robin clapped her hands together. "But I have to give you something for the first one. Name it. I have a ton of charge cards."

"How about if you give me Shani's phone number?"

"Hey," Lena said, insulted, "I can make you a much better offer than Shani."

"Want to bet?" Shani said.

Sol shook Michael's hand. "You should have been born in the barrio. You're a real man. Just don't go borrowing my knife again without asking."

Lena punched Sol. "And don't go buying fireworks again."

Bert slapped Michael on the back, almost knocking him over. "I like you, Flynn Michaels! Any time you need a kidney, you just call Big Bert!"

Park kissed Robin. "I didn't know Michael was your brother," he said, "but I thought you might have one somewhere. That's what I was about to suggest when the garage blew."

"Then it was your idea," Robin laughed, "and you get all the credit." She whispered something in his ear.

"Of course I meant it!" Park said, indignant. Shani could easily guess what Robin had asked.

Angie and Kerry wished Robin all good luck with the operation and Robin accepted their sentiments graciously. Both were crushed: Angie for having lost Park, Kerry for having lost everything.

Nevertheless, they were genuinely happy for Robin. Watching the celebration, Shani knew no word of what had really happened this weekend would be revealed to the outside world. Michael and Robin would not allow it. Both of them had too much class. The rest of them had too much to hide.

In the middle of pumping Michael's hand, Park suddenly grabbed his stomach. "Man, I've got to go to the bathroom again." He was on his way when he suddenly jumped as if shot. "Wait a second, Michael!

You're not such a nice guy. You poisoned us! Where are those pills?"

Michael started to laugh so hard that Robin looked worried that he would burst one of his precious kidneys. He fell on the carpet, losing all control. Park was red with humiliation. He actually kicked Michael. "Damn you! This can't have been a joke! You must have poisoned us! We're all sick!"

"Yes, oh yes, all poisoned!" Michael gasped, quickly launching into a second binge. There was nothing they could do but wait. Finally, recovering, he managed to pull his orange pills out of his pocket and throw them to Park. With Sol peering over his shoulder, Park studied the prescription label.

"This is Aureomycin!" he complained. "What kind of antidote is that?"

Worn out, Michael sat up. "It's the best remedy there is for bacterial dysentery."

"Montezuma's Revenge!" Bert exclaimed, showing the knowledgeable fellow he was when it came to the important things in life.

"Impossible," Park said. "Bacterial dysentery takes several days to incubate."

"This is what I meant about you all having to forgive me. Lena's partly to blame. She pointed out the wonderful possibility to me when I first arrived."

"What did you do?" Lena asked sharply.

"I removed the filter from the water purifier. When was the last time you changed it? The thing was a mess: all slimy and green." He started to laugh again. "It had the worst smell."

Shani shook her head. "I don't want to hear this."

But Michael insisted. "I put the filter into the storage tank that feeds the kitchen tap. The bacteria didn't have to incubate. You swallowed billions of the tiny creatures!"