“When we found Rollo he scavenged and stole like an abandoned mongrel. Part of him will always be unsure where the next punch or plate of food’s coming from. He’s not the thug he pretends to be.”
“No?”
“He just needs people to give him a chance. He needs family to look out for him.”
“He’s lucky to have such a family.” She says family like it’s the grail.
“You’re part of it too.”
“I’ve not been part of anything for a very long time.”
“You’ve had it tough.”
“Haven’t we all?”
Leo chuckles.
“Chris looks like our dad. Tall, handsome. Girls like that.” He regrets the words straight away. He sounds self-pitying. He knows Rebecca doesn’t give a shake of salt for looks. “He’s had a bad time. Motherless. Fatherless. A childhood on the road. But sometimes, when I look at him. ” His thoughts are tangled.
“It’s like he’s untouched by it.” It’s alarming how she unravels him. “He hurts like the rest of us but life’s not destroyed his joy or innocence. That’s why we both love him.”
Leo’s heart twists in his chest. He’s become accustomed to the sounds of their life as man and wife filtering through the thin wall. Rebecca singing, the unsteady rhythm of the shower, and, worst of all, peals of laughter followed by a silence that leaves Leo dead inside.
He can’t allow this.
Then he thinks of her at the center of the tent, illuminating the faces in the crowd.
Pernicious love. It burns us up and leaves charred husks.
And yet she warms him, through and through.
Rollo puts an arm around Christos’s neck as they walk away from the turnstiles. When Christos sees his wife and brother he shouts up to them. Rebecca waves back, her whole arm in motion and her smile wide.
“Do you think she’s happy here, Rollo?”
“Sure. She’s a big hit. Everyone loves her.”
“Even Leo?”
“He’s come around to the idea. She was a surprise, in more ways than one. But what about you, kiddo? How are you settling in?”
“It’s good to be home.”
“Of course,” Rollo ruffles Christos’s hair. “All I meant is that I thought you were looking to do something else with your life. I never figured you’d want to be part of this.”
“I liked studying but I never felt like I belonged out there. It’s so gray, Rollo. I realized how much I love it here. The only problem is that I don’t know enough about the business. I mean, Leo knows it all. Inside out.”
“Leo kept you out of things. It was what Lil wanted.”
“I know,” Christos pulls a face, “but I’ve a lot to learn if I’m going to become more than a bookkeeper.”
“Huh?”
“I’m going to need to make an impression if I’m going to be Leo’s partner.”
“Partner?” There’s a long pause. “Wow, that’s really something, isn’t it? I couldn’t be happier for you.” Rollo’s words are falling out now, one after another, “a real family affair. The Saunders brothers.”
They walk on, silent, until Christos says, “It’s important to me to be more than Leo’s little brother.”
Rollo’s reply takes a beat too long.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. Leo’s a hard act to follow. He’s done everything from selling candy to performing. That’s why he’s so respected. Show people will listen to him. He and your mother were legends.”
“The double-bullet catch.” Christos sighs.
“No other family has performed it. And Leo is still the youngest ever at fourteen.” Rollo sounds wistful. “Lilia was fearless, even with her own son. No one will see the likes of it again.”
Christos is silent, swallowing every word.
Henry turns off the recording of Rollo. Something nags at him.
He opens his book. The group photo’s lodged between the pages where he left it. This time he looks at the cropped version reprinted within.
It smacks of glamour. Rebecca Saunders looks like a film star. She has a strong, pointed chin. Her hair’s scraped back despite the fashion for piled-up curls. Her mouth’s mid-laugh and her eyes downcast. Her peach skin’s lost on monochrome film. Her dark gown’s shot with silver that glitters.
Christos looks straight into the lens. Henry wants to dislike him: his narrow nose, long hair touching his collar, an arm around Rebecca. It’s at odds with Rollo’s portrait of a usurper and thief. Christos looks starstruck by love and, God help him, like an innocent.
I shouldn’t begrudge him their time together, knowing how it ended.
The dog looks straight into the camera too. Christos holds his collar with his free hand. The dog. Something about the dog.
Henry picks up the phone.
“The Gramercy.”
“I’d like to speak with Roland Henrikson. Room 136.”
He waits, the phone ringing in Rollo’s room. Henry’s kept track of him, all these years.
“What?” Rollo’s voice is thick with sleep. He’s currently on a downturn, a sad state because at seventy-eight life should be easier.
“I’ve woken you, sorry.”
“What’s the time?” He can hear Rollo fumbling with a clock. “Henry, it’s eleven in the morning. What do you want?”
“The dog.”
“What?”
“Rebecca’s dog.”
“You got me up to ask about a dog?”
“What happened to it after they died?”
“I think it got sent to her cousin, along with her remains.”
“This is the dog you said you bought them.”
“That’s right.” Rollo sounds wary.
“You didn’t want to keep it.”
“Why would I?” Rollo pauses. “I’m sorry, Henry. I’ve got a bad head.”
Henry takes bad head to mean bad hangover.
“What was it called?”
“What?”
“The dog’s name. You said she always gave the dog the same name as the one she had as a child.”
“Oh God, it was a long time ago. Bobby. I’m pretty sure it was Bobby.”
Henry closes his eyes. The back of the photo listed the group’s names, including the dog, Sam. Rollo should know that.
“Have you got a lead?” There’s the sound of Rollo gulping from a bottle.
“I’m not sure.”
“Call me if you find anything new. They were my best friends, you know.”
“Sure.”
“Hey, Henry, I don’t suppose you could do me a favor?” Henry knows what’s coming. “I’m a bit short this month. I don’t suppose you could wire me some money?”
“Do the double-bullet catch with me or I’ll find someone else who will.” Christos is adamant.
“Like hell you will.” So is Leo.
“You can’t stop me.”
“I can. You can’t perform here without my permission.”
“I’ll find somewhere else.”
Leo gives Rebecca an imploring look. “Talk some sense into him.”
“Leave her out of this.”
“She’s your wife.”
“Don’t do it.” Rebecca’s ashen.
Christos clutches her hands in his.
“Nobody will take me seriously unless I do something like this.”
“What are you talking about?”
“They look at you with awe,” he says to Rebecca. Then he turns to Leo, “I’m just your little brother and always will be until I prove I’m as good as you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’ll ask Rollo.”
“And Rollo will say no. I’ll make sure of that.”
“I’ll go to Jim Shaw. He knows guns.”
Leo wonders how Christos is so well informed and ignorant, all at once.
“Jim Shaw shot the fingers off a man last year.”