Hour Game

Chapter 27

King finished his dinner with friends around nine-thirty and decided to call Michelle to see if she was interested in a nightcap at the Sage Gentleman to discuss the case some more. She was there in about ten minutes. When his partner arrived, King watched in amusement as many male heads in the bar turned at the sight of the tall striking brunette striding confidently through the bar wearing jeans, a turtleneck sweater, boots and a Secret Service windbreaker. The fantasies they must have been playing with, he thought. If they only knew she was armed and dangerous and independent as hell.

“How was the dinner?” she asked.

“Predictably boring. How about the kickboxing?”

“I need a new instructor.”

“What happened to the one you have?”

“He’s just not challenging enough.”

As they looked around for a table in the bar area, Michelle spotted a familiar face in the far corner. “Isn’t that Eddie Battle?”

At that instant, Eddie looked up, saw them and waved them over.

They sat down at his table, the remnants of a meal still there.

“Dorothea not cooking tonight?” asked King with a smile.

“That would be correct. In fact, that would be right for most of our marriage. I actually do most of the cooking,” he added with a boyish grin.

“A man of many talents,” said Michelle.

He was dressed in corduroy pants and a black sweater with brown elbow patches. Michelle looked down at his feet and saw loafers.

“I see you finally got the cavalry boots off.”

“Not without effort. Your feet really swell up in those things.”

“When’s your next reenactment?” asked King.

“This weekend. At least the weather’s been cooperative. Those wool uniforms are really scratchy, and if it’s really hot, it’s a killer. Although I’m thinking about retiring from it. My back’s about gone from all the horseback riding.”

“Sold any paintings lately?” asked Michelle.

“Two, both to a collector in Pennsylvania who happens to be a reenactor. Only he fights for the Union, but I won’t hold that against him. Cash is cash, after all.”

“I’d like to see your work sometime,” said King. Michelle said the same thing.

“Well, I have it all in the studio behind the house. Give me a call whenever. I’ll be glad to give you a tour.” He waved to the waiter. “You two look thirsty, and as my mother would say, it’s bad manners and a damn shame to drink alone.”

As they waited for their cocktails, Eddie said, “So have you solved the case and gotten Junior Deaver off the hook?” He paused and added, “Although I guess you can’t tell me. We’re sort of on opposite sides.”

“It’s not an easy nut to crack,” said King. “We’ll see.”

Their drinks came. King tasted his whiskey sour and then said, “So how’s your mother doing?”

Eddie looked at his watch. “She’s at the hospital, although it’s around ten, so they’ll be kicking her out of Dad’s room soon. She’ll probably sleep there though. She usually does.”

“What’s your dad’s prognosis?”

“Actually, that’s taken a turn for the better. They think he’s past the worst of it.”

“That’s great news,” said Michelle.

Eddie swallowed some of his drink. “He’s got to make it. He’s just got to.” He looked at each of them. “I don’t know if Mom could survive his dying. And while death awaits us all, I just don’t see him riding off into the sunset right now.” He looked down, embarrassed. “Sorry, too many gins and I start sounding pretty cliché-ish. Probably a reason why drinking alone with your problems is never a good idea.”

“Speaking of drinking alone, where’s Dorothea?” asked Michelle.

“At some function,” said Eddie wearily. He hastily added, “A Realtor has to do all that crap. But you can’t argue with her success.”

“True, Dorothea has been very successful,” said King quietly.

Eddie raised his glass. “To Dorothea, the world’s greatest real estate agent.”

Michelle and King looked at each other uncomfortably.

Eddie lowered his drink. “Look, she has her thing and I have mine. There’s a certain balance to that.”

“Do you have any children?” asked Michelle.

“Dorothea never wanted kids, so that pretty much settled that.” Eddie shrugged. “Who knows, maybe I didn’t want them either. I probably would’ve been a lousy dad.”

Michelle said, “You could have taught your kids to paint, ride horses, maybe they would’ve gotten into reenactments too.”

“And you still could have kids,” added King.

“To do that, I’d have to get another wife,” said Eddie with a resigned smile, “and I’m not sure I have the energy. Besides, Battles aren’t supposed to divorce. It’s unseemly. Hell, if Dorothea didn’t kill me, my mother probably would.”

“Well, it’s your life,” commented Michelle.

He looked at her strangely. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” He finished his drink and said, “So I heard on the news that they’ve called in the big guns to help.”

“Including your old friend Chip Bailey.”

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.”

“I’m sure your parents were really grateful to him.”

“Oh, yeah. My father offered him a position as head of security in one of his companies. Big bucks.”

“I didn’t know that,” said King. “But he obviously didn’t take it.”

“No. I guess he liked being a cop.” Eddie tapped his spoon against his fork. “I remember when I was a kid and this area was nothing but hills and woods. It was great. We never worried about anything happening.”

“And now?” asked Michelle.

“And now people are getting killed in their homes, left in the woods, shotgunned in their cars. If I ever did have a family, I don’t think I’d do it here.”

“Well, I guess you could live anywhere,” said King.

“I’m not sure my mother would be very happy about that.”

“Again, it’s your life, Eddie, right?” said Michelle.

This time Eddie Battle didn’t bother to answer her.