The smile she gave him made his heart stutter in his chest. ‘Thank you. I’m careful on the job, but I’ll be doubly so from now on as well.’ She worked out a few more tangles, then began to braid her hair. ‘You know, you never did tell me about the gun you’re so attached to.’
The one he’d hidden in her gun safe. He carried one of hers now.
She hesitated when he didn’t answer. ‘Is it okay to ask?’
‘You can ask me anything you want.’ He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. ‘I guess it’s easier to talk about now. The day after my father’s body was found, the doorbell rang. Gayle was with Stone and Mom was sedated again, so I opened the door and there he was – the scary guy. I thought, “Shit, he was lying after all”, and started thinking about where I could run.’
‘You’re kidding? The enforcer came back?’
‘He did. He told me not to worry, that he wasn’t there to hurt us. Then he said, “It’s done.” I told him I’d heard. I told him I felt really guilty, that I shouldn’t have told him where to find my father, but that I was glad my mother was safe. Then I asked him why he took him away from the cabin to the hotel and he actually looked embarrassed. Told me I didn’t need to know stuff like that. That I was too young. Which, you know, kind of blew my mind. I’d helped him kill my father. I was plenty old enough.’
‘You did not kill your father,’ Scarlett said patiently.
‘Yeah, well, the man said the same thing. Then he told me that my father used that hotel to meet “lady friends”.’
She winced. ‘Oh. So because your father had a history of going there to meet hookers, the police would buy the robbery setup.’
‘He told me this like he was giving me a gift. Looking back, I realize that the truth about my father’s role in our kidnapping would have whipped the media into a frenzy, and that would have hurt Stone, Mom and me, so it was for the best. There was a minor scandal and heads wagged, but it blew over quickly, mostly because my mother’s father stepped in and spread the rumor that she’d already filed for divorce before the kidnapping. He made sure that my mother was described as a divorcee in the Ledger articles, rather than a widow. Ledger articles were quoted in other papers and soon everyone believed my mother had been divorced. The power of the press,’ he added.
‘So your mother didn’t look like the pathetic cheated-on wife.’
‘Exactly. Anyway, I told the hit-man that I still felt guilty for telling him where to find my father, and he said that he would have found the cabin in the public record eventually and gone hunting. Then he said, “When I said it was done, I mean it’s all done. You don’t have to worry about either of the other two guys ever coming back.” It was like he really cared, which was strange. I guess in his eyes he’d righted a wrong. Then he said that they’d suffered for what they’d done to my brothers.’ He exhaled heavily. ‘And I was glad.’
‘Me too. What about the money?’
‘He said he got all but a few thousand that they’d blown on drugs. That his boss had been paid and the slate was clean.’
‘But you still haven’t told me about that damn gun.’
‘I’m getting to it. After he told me about the kidnappers, he gave me a paper bag with that gun in it.’
‘Holy shit. He gave you a gun? Why?’
‘He said he’d found it with my father’s things, saw my grandfather’s name engraved on the grip and thought I might want to have it. I wanted to know if it was the gun that he’d used to kill them all, but I was afraid to ask. I wanted it to be and I didn’t want it to be, all at once.’
‘I think I can understand that. The gun symbolized justice, but also your freedom because they couldn’t come back to get you. But I didn’t see a name on the grip.’
‘I scratched it off.’ He gave her a sideways glance. ‘At the same time that I scratched off the serial number.’
‘You scratched them off? Why?’
‘Because if it had been used to kill someone, I didn’t want my grandfather to get dragged through the mud. He’d already been through enough.’
‘You’re a kind man. In a twisted sort of way. But I still can’t believe he gave a gun to a little kid.’
‘I know. I remember gazing up at this terrifying-looking man and saying, “Mister, you realize I’m only eight years old. I’m not even allowed to touch guns.”’
Scarlett chuckled. ‘What did he say?’
‘He patted my head and said, “You won’t always be eight, kid.” Then he wished me luck and left. I shut the door and thought that was the end of it.’ He drew a breath and let it out. ‘And then I turned around and there was Gayle, stepping out of the shadows.’
‘Shit. Busted big time.’
‘She was pale and shaking and holding a rifle I didn’t even know she owned. She thought the man was there to kidnap me and she was going to blow his head off. But when she saw I wasn’t afraid, she listened to the conversation. She asked me why I’d done it. I told her everything, and she sat down on the floor and cried. Big, huge sobs. I hugged her, told her it would be all right. She said she was crying for me because I’d had to make that decision, because I’d felt so alone and had no one to help me. I thought she’d tell my mother, but she never did. She did take the gun away, though, and gave it to my grandfather when we moved to Ohio once Stone was able to travel. Mom sold the apartment in Lexington and never went back. My grandfather put the gun in his safe, but his combination was easy to guess.’
‘The date of the liberation of Bataan?’
‘You got it. When we moved to Cincinnati, I was still having nightmares. Stone’s were worse, so I took the gun and slept with it under my pillow. My grandfather’s house – which now belongs to my mother – has eight bedrooms, but Stone and I shared a room until I joined the Army. When he was really little, my having the gun made him feel better, knowing I could protect him. Later, he got his own guns.’ He sighed. ‘He has more weapons than a lot of small countries. Knows how to use them, too. He’s a helluva shot and he has black belts in three different martial arts.’
She was quiet a long moment. ‘Did you ever tell him what your father had done?’
‘No. He was so fragile for so long that I didn’t dare. But I did tell him that the men who hurt him were dead. I cut out the article from the newspaper and showed it to him.’ Marcus swallowed hard. ‘He slept with that article under his pillow until the paper disintegrated. I went to the library and downloaded a copy and laminated it at school. I don’t know what he did with it after that.’
‘You protect him.’
‘He’s my brother. He knows I carry a lot of guilt, but he thinks my hero complex is because I didn’t save him from the men that hurt him. And because I couldn’t save Matty. I’ve considered telling him a thousand times, but I always figure, what’s the point? He has enough issues to work through.’
She was quiet for so long that he glanced over at her. ‘You don’t agree?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘He’s your brother. But I suspect he may be stronger than you think. Anyway, back to the gun. Didn’t your grandfather ever miss it out of his safe?’
Marcus smiled grimly. ‘He knew. Who do you think taught me to shoot?’
She shook her head as if to clear it. ‘He let an eight-year-old have a loaded gun? What kind of man was your grandfather?’
‘A man who knew what it was like to fight with demons in your dreams. And he didn’t let me have it. Not at first. He kept putting it back in the safe and I kept taking it out. He kept changing the combination and I kept figuring it out. Finally we came to an understanding that I wouldn’t keep it loaded. He took the clip. He didn’t know I’d hidden a loaded clip of my own.’