No Safe House

Eleven

“Hello?”

“I almost gave up there. That was ten rings, Unk. I wake you?”

“I guess I’d nodded off. What time is... It’s almost eleven. I was watching TV and fell asleep. I think I was dreaming about your father. About when the two of us were growing up together. He liked to light firecrackers under turtles. Mom always said he wasn’t wired right in the head. Something happen?”

“Just thought I’d bring you up to speed.”

“Yes?”

“First of all, they took the bait. Again.”

“That’s good, right, Reggie?”

“Yes and no. What we’re finding is, there’s not just one hiding place. She could be anywhere. It’s a risk-reduction strategy. Multiple spots. I get the wisdom of it. And like I said before, there’s a chance for a real payoff here. Something I wasn’t expecting at the outset.”

“I want you to come out okay. You deserve it.”

“It just means I may have to come up with another strategy. I can’t hit a dozen locations at once. I’ve got help — I’ve had to bring in a couple of extra guys — but it’s not like I’ve got an army. Instead of us finding a way to get it, maybe we’re going to have to find a way to get them to bring it — and her — to us.”

“You think she’s okay?”

“I’ve got no reason to think otherwise. But we need to move quickly because we’re not the only one looking for her.”

“He can’t have her back. I won’t allow it.”

“I know.”

“You know, I nod off watching TV, but when I actually go to bed, I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about her. About how we met.”

“It was at a funeral, wasn’t it?”

“We both went to Milford High — this was before they closed it and turned it into offices — but she was a year ahead of me. Couple of years after I graduated, and there was this kid name of Brewster. Clive Brewster. Not that bright, drunk half the time. One night he’s goofing around and — You know that little bridge downtown, past the green, with those turrets at one end and those big stones with people’s names on them?”

“Yeah.”

“He decides to jump in. Water’s not that deep there, but it hardly matters because he does this little spin and whacks his head on one of those stones. That was the end of him. So lots of kids came to the church, and I end up sitting next to her, and she nudges me, whispers that the minister’s got this funny little strand of hair that’s sticking out the side of his head, and every time he moves this hair goes waving along with him, like it’s an antenna. And she starts to get the giggles.”

“Wow.”

“It was kind of like — you remember that Mary Tyler Moore episode where Chuckles the Clown died? He was in a peanut costume at a parade and got crushed by an elephant?”

“Before my time, Unk.”

“She can’t keep it together. Her body’s starting to shake, so I put my arm round her, like I’m consoling her, like she’s crying instead of laughing, and whisper, ‘Follow my lead. Act really upset.’ We’re right at the end of the pew, so I stand and take her with me, my arm still around her, and she’s making these noises that sound like sobs but she’s actually laughing. I get her out of the church, and the door closes, and she explodes with laughter. But I’m worried the people in the church can still hear, so I pull her in close to me, practically smother her, and I can feel her heaving in my arms, and when she slows down and has herself under control, she looks up at me, and I don’t know what happened, but right then, I looked at her and thought she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, and I kissed her. I kissed her, Reggie, right on the mouth.”

“What a story.”

“Yeah. And the second I did it, I thought, Shit, this is wrong, I’m going to get my face slapped, but she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me back. Know what we did then?”

“Tell me.”

“Drove to Mystic, got a motel and stayed there till the next day.”

“You dog, you.”

“I was never happier.”

“I know, Unk.”

“Get her back. Do whatever you have to do.”