Goodnight, Irene

43

IWORKED ON pretty dull stuff the rest of the day. I’d look over at Lydia every once in a while; she looked like a regular bluebird of happiness. I kept thinking of Frank, pushing him out of my mind and thinking about him again. Lydia went off to a city editors’ meeting at about five o’clock.

I decided I would take a run along the beach. I had some shorts, a tank top, and my running shoes in the cubbyhole of the car, so I went downstairs to get them. I changed up in the women’s room and bundled up my work clothes. I was just stopping by the desk to put away a couple of pens I’d found in my pocket when the phone on my desk rang.

“Irene? Elinor Hollingsworth.”

If she hadn’t told me, I never would have recognized the frightened woman’s voice on the phone as that of the cool, calm Ice Queen I had met a few days before.

“Elinor? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, Irene, I’m so upset. It’s Andrew. He’s done something terrible.”

“What?”

“I think he killed your friend, Mr. O’Connor.”

I swallowed hard. “What makes you think that?”

“I found something he wrote to one of those men who died in the car crash. About a bomb.”

“Elinor, get away from him. Call the police.”

“No! I can’t trust the police department. He owns Bredloe in Homicide and a dozen others. I have to get this to someone who can be trusted. And he can’t see me doing it. I don’t want him to suspect anything until someone honest can arrest him. No one is here now-he’ll be gone for at least an hour. Can you come out here? I’m at the estate. I’ll give the note to you and you can give it to your friend in Homicide. Maybe he’ll know what to do.”

My mind was whirling. Captain Bredloe-who knew I was staying with Lydia-on the take from Hollingsworth?

“Please, Irene! I don’t know when I’ll get another chance like this. He has Markham watching me all the time. This is the first time Markham has taken him somewhere without me.”

“Okay, Elinor. Stay calm. I’ll see what I can do.”

I hung up and called the police department. I asked for Frank.

“He’s not in,” a voice said on the other end. “You want to leave a message?”

“Just tell him Irene called.”

I scribbled a hasty note to Lydia telling her I was going out to the Sheffield Estate, to tell Frank if he called back.

I raced out of the building, jumped into the car and headed down to Shoreline Drive. Five-o’clock traffic was at its worst, and I felt myself break into a cold sweat as I inched my way out of downtown. Finally I reached a more open stretch of road, and drove like a madwoman to make up for lost time. As I approached the road that ran along the woods, I slowed a little.

What the hell was I doing? I had to be crazy to be coming out here alone. On the other hand, I thought of Elinor’s pleading. I couldn’t let her down. I would try to get her to leave with me. Anything would be better than staying there with someone as ruthless as Hollingsworth.

I was down to a cautious creep as I approached the gate. Its arm was raised and the guardhouse empty. The whole place seemed deserted. It was a spooky contrast to Friday night. I got out of my car and was locking the door when a voice not three feet away from me said, “What are you doing here?”

I turned to see Andrew Hollingsworth staring at me.