“Damn,” Edgar said. “Who would do such a thing?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to.
Beth said, “Unfortunately, it looks like it was my father who did it.”
Chapter Fifty-five
I slept a long time in Dan’s bed. Beth and I went there after we left Dover Community, figuring that it was a safe place to spend the night. It was too late for her to drive back to Reston Point anyway, and once Dan got over his initial shock at learning that I suddenly had a half sister, he was willing to accommodate us. Beth slept on the couch, curled up with one of Dan’s old blankets pulled up to her chin. We made sure the door was double-locked.
The only thing I could think about before falling asleep was Ronnie. I hadn’t been back to St. Vincent’s. I hadn’t checked in with Paul. Dan reassured me, telling me that when he’d left the hospital Ronnie was content and resting. He already looked healthier.
“I need to see him tomorrow,” I said.
And then I faded out.
I don’t even think I got out of bed to go to the bathroom during the night. I was deep under, dreaming of Neal Nelson being chased by someone I couldn’t see, when the phone started ringing. It took me a long time to surface. Even though the dream scared me, I didn’t want to come out of it. I feared that the ringing phone was going to bring me something worse.
Then Dan gently shook me awake. He held the phone in his hand.
“You need to take this,” he said. “It’s the police. That detective, the one from your mom’s case.”
I shook the tattered remnants of the dream away and wiped my eyes. I was in Dan’s bed. I was safe.
I took the phone, hoping for Post but instead hearing Richland. I had called them the night before and left a message telling them what I had learned at Dover Community.
“Ms. Hampton?”
“Yes?”
“We’ve been trying to locate you,” he said.
“You just did.”
“We went by your apartment and you weren’t there.”
“That’s because a fat man with a knife wants to kill me.”
“Can you tell us where you are?” he asked. “We need to give you an update on the investigation.”
“Did something happen?”
“We’d rather not get into it over the phone.”
I sighed. Would the day ever come when I’d be done with the police? “I’m at a friend’s house.” I gave them the address. “Can you give me half an hour? And then after I talk to you, I need to go see my brother.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” he said. And hung up.
That comment didn’t make me nervous. Not at all.
Beth sat up on the couch when I emerged from the bedroom. Her hair was tangled and ragged, her face puffy. Dan must have made coffee, because she held a mug in her hand. She lifted it to her mouth and blew on it gently.
“Did you sleep okay?” I asked.
“Not really.”
“It’s not a great couch for sleeping, I guess.”
“It’s not that,” she said. “I had a lot on my mind.”
“I did too. But that didn’t stop me.”
Dan disappeared into the kitchen. I heard water running and dishes clanking. He meant to give us our space to talk.
“The police are coming to talk to me,” I said. “They have something else to tell me.”
“They want to come here?” Beth asked.
“Yes.”
“Hmm,” she said.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s probably nothing, but usually when they have to tell you some bad news, they come to your house and do it in person.”
“At this point, I don’t know what to expect,” I said. “But you’re welcome to stay if you want. I’m going to shower since I haven’t done that in two days. But if you want to wait…”
Beth shook her head. “I have to get back. My granddaughter has a soccer game. I know it’s not a big deal, but I agreed to take her. I could call my daughter and arrange something else, but…”
“But what?”
“I feel that you might be better off doing this on your own,” she said. “I feel like I brought all of this down on you. Maybe you need to be away from me.”
“I wasn’t thinking that at all,” I said. “Are you worried you might be in danger in Reston Point? Gordon knows where you live. He could hurt you or your family. He was already there with a knife. I’m pretty sure he broke into my apartment and trashed it.”
“I know,” she said. “But I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I’ve been in tight spots before. Gordon is a son of a bitch, but I’ve known my share of those as well.”
I didn’t know what to say. “Well, I’ll call you when I know anything else. And if you want to come visit Ronnie in the hospital, you can.”
She smiled, but it looked forced. She set the mug of coffee down on Dan’s table. I could tell there was something else she wanted to say. I could see her gearing up for it.
“You’ve been very nice to me. Wonderful, really. And it’s great to get to know you like we did yesterday. But I understand that you and I come from very different worlds. If you decide you don’t even want to see me or talk to me again, I understand. I have my own family, and you have a nice life here.”
“I wasn’t thinking those things,” I said.
“Well, a lot of time has passed. I don’t want to force anything.”
She stood up and grabbed her sweater. I stayed in my seat while she gathered her purse and started for the door. The water in the kitchen had stopped running. I suspected Dan was eavesdropping, monitoring my interaction with my half sister. He probably wanted to know whether I’d let her just walk away the way I’d let him go before.
When Beth reached the door, I said, “You know, it was… I guess ‘fun’ isn’t really the right word. But I liked being with you last night. I mean, it felt fun to do those things with you, like getting into the hospital and all that.”
Beth smiled. “We were like Thelma and Louise or something.”
“Right.” She didn’t open the door. I continued. “I used to ask Mom to have another baby because I wanted a sister. She always told me she was too old. Which she was.”
“How old was she when you were born?” Beth asked.
“Forty-three.”
“That is too old,” Beth said. “I already had grandchildren when I was forty-three.”
“Damn,” I said. “Well, I know Mom thought Ronnie ended up with Down syndrome because she had him so late. She told me once that the main reason they had me was so that someone could take care of Ronnie after they were gone. It used to really piss me off that she said that.”
“She didn’t mean that,” Beth said. “That’s not the only reason she had you.”
“I know that now,” I said. “In a way, meeting you and everything with Ronnie has made some of that clear. I think Mom probably had me and probably would have had more if she could just because she liked having us around. You know?”
“Yeah,” Beth said. “I know. That’s why I’m off to the soccer game on a Sunday morning.”
“I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Okay.”
She left the apartment, and I went to take my first shower in forty-eight hours.
Chapter Fifty-six
I wanted to stay in the shower for a long time, letting the hot water keep running over my body until I turned into a prune. But I couldn’t afford the time. I knew the detectives were coming, and my mind raced with more possibilities. I worried that another shoe had dropped with Ronnie, or that everything we knew about Gordon Baxter wasn’t enough to convince them to go after him. I tried to contain the rampaging thoughts.