Tilt-a-Whirl

CHAPTER TEN

Ashley takes a deep breath.

“I woke up around six ’cause I heard Miss Stone giggling in the kitchen. I went in and Daddy said, ‘Today's our day.’ Usually, once every summer, we like to sneak into Playland before it's open.”

“Can I ask why?” Ceepak is curious. So am I.

“I dunno. It's just kind of fun.”

“But the rides aren't running, the arcade's closed….”

“I know. It's sort of stupid, but it's just something we like to do.”

“If someone else writes the rules,” Betty explains, “Reggie likes to break them.”

I figure that means wedding vows, too.

“We liked to be there while it's still quiet,” Ashley continues, “before the beach fills up and gets all crowded.”

“What do you two talk about when you're together, like this morning?”

“I dunno. Stuff. Like how he thinks I'm too young to have a boyfriend … even though I do….”

“But why the Tilt-A-Whirl?”

“He bought her a turtle once,” mom offers.

“Excuse me?”

“When I was like four or five? Daddy bought me this little turtle. I called him Stinky because he pooped all the time.”

“You should see her room in the city. Stuffed turtles everywhere. Turtle wallpaper … custom-made in Milan….”

“I see,” Ceepak says. “I think that's kind of neat. But, tell me-how exactly did you sneak in?”

You gotta admire how Ceepak can push a runaway train of thought back on track.

“There's this tunnel under the fence,” Ashley says.

“Under the board?” I say, remembering the square of plywood that looked like it was used for a lid to cover the hole under the fence.

Ceepak turns to look at me.

I never did tell him what I saw. Never told him about the trapdoor.

Oops.

Ashley nods. “Yeah. Other people can get in that way, too, I guess.”

Her mother grips Ashley's hand tight now.

Ceepak waits patiently.

“We were sitting there talking and stuff and this man … he came out of the bushes.”

“Which bushes?” Ceepak asks.

“Behind this big picture of, you know, the sun-faced guy? Clyde, I think they call him. The cartoon surfer?”

“Unh-hunh.”

“We weren't looking that way because, well, it kind of blocks the view so we were looking the other way … out to the ocean and all.”

“Right.”

“He looked crazy and then he started waving this gun at us. A pistol. He looked all dirty and I could smell him … even when he was, like, ten feet away. I think he was on drugs, like the homeless people on TV. He told my father to hand over his wallet and my father told the man to ‘calm down and not do anything stupid….’”

“Then what?”

“Dad gave the guy his wallet. The crazy man opened it and pulled out all the money. Then he looked at the credit cards and stuff like he was going to steal them but he didn't, he just, you know, read them. ‘You're Reginald Hart?’ the guy said ‘The Reginald Hart?’ My father said, ‘Yes, let's talk about this….’”

“Typical Reggie,” Betty interjects. “Trying to work a deal.”

“What'd the man say, Ashley? When your father said they should talk?”

“Nothing. He just laughed and looked at me. Then, he raised his gun up and pointed it at Daddy's chest and started squeezing the trigger and shooting. He squeezed and fired and squeezed and fired … over and over … until all the bullets were gone. The gun started clicking and I started screaming ’cause I thought he was going to start shooting at me next, but he didn't. Like I said-I think he ran out of bullets because he fired so many at my father … there was so much blood….”

I figure she's seeing it all again on the instant replay of her mind. Poor kid, billionaire's daughter or not.

Ceepak waits. Then he speaks, real soft-a gentle nudge.

“And then?”

“He just sort of smiled this freaky smile at me and told me to count to like a thousand or whatever, like we were playing hide and seek. I tried to count but I couldn't because I was crying and I knew he didn't really care how high I counted ’cause he just ran back to the hole and crawled under the fence and ran away.”

“Which way did he go?”

“I'm not sure. I ran behind the turtle to hide. I'm sorry….”

“That's okay. You were smart to hide.”

“I was scared.”

“Did you see him drop the gun?”

“No. Before he crawled back under the fence, he tucked it back into his pants. Those dirty blue jeans I told you about?”

“Right.”

“He put it in, like, the waistband. He didn't have on a belt. He had a string. Twine? Like you wrap up boxes and stuff with? He had twine for a belt, I forgot that part until just now….”

Ceepak makes a note.

“Did he say or do anything else?”

“No. I don't think so. No. Wait….”

Ashley looks at her mother.

“He used the F-word,” Ashley says.

“How so?” Ceepak asks.

“Go on, sweetie.” Her mother gives her permission to swear. “Tell them what he said.”

“He said to me, he said, ‘You should know-your father was a fucking slumlord.’”