“And good thing you got out of there before Marjorie showed up with Hank’s gun.” He grew quiet and studied both. “I take it you and Ernestine were good friends back in Poca?”
Jackie said, “We were drawn together. We found that we had some...” Her voice suddenly faltered.
Ernestine finished for her. “We found that we both had some challenges in our past that drew us together.”
Archer gave each of them a searching look. “I can understand why you might not want to trust any man for the rest of your lives. But I want you to know that I wish you no ill will.” He took one of their hands in each of his. “Life can make suckers of us all. I’m a young man in years, but an old one inside after the war and prison.” He directed his gaze at Jackie and then Ernestine. “During the war, I guess we were all part of something bigger than ourselves. Then the war was over, and it just left us with what we started with, but wanting something more than what we had before. But I think to really be part of something special, you have to find something special in yourself first. Now the three of us have a second shot at something and maybe we’ll mess that up, too, I don’t know. But what I do know is I’m a lot better off for having met both of you.”
The women looked back at him, and tears clustered in not only their eyes, but in Archer’s as well. Maybe for the first time in his life.
After a few moments of silence, Jackie said quietly, “What you just said was pretty insightful, Archer. You sure you didn’t graduate from college?”
“Yeah, I did. The college of hard knocks.” He rose and drew two pieces of paper from his pocket. “I also came down here to give you these.” He handed one to Jackie and the other to Ernestine.
They were two cashier checks.
Both women gasped when they saw the enormous amounts the checks were drawn for.
“What in the world, Archer?” cried out Jackie.
“Good God,” chimed in Ernestine.
He said, “That’s your shares from what was in the safe.”
“Why did you take it from the warehouse?” Jackie asked.
He smiled in an embarrassed fashion. “After you left me high and dry, I did it partly out of anger. But maybe part of me was thinking you would have more incentive to come back if you thought I had the money.”
Jackie returned the smile. “You didn’t trust me to do the right thing for altruistic reasons?”
“I never expect more from others than I expect from myself,” Archer replied diplomatically.
“But why give it to us?” asked Ernestine.
“I considered it a debt that needed to be repaid to you both. And you know I’m really good at collecting debts.”
“But you deserve some of it,” said Jackie.
“The good folks of Poca City compensated me fairly for my troubles.” He ran his hand along his suit lapel. “How do you think I could afford these duds or the boat passage here?”
A few seconds passed, and Archer watched Ernestine reach out for Jackie’s hand. And then they hugged. And in that hug Archer saw two people who were perhaps more than friends. This made him smile. Because everyone should have someone like that in their lives.
When they had drawn apart, Jackie said, “Now I got a question for you. Where’d you hide the stuff from the safe after you took it from the warehouse?”
“You know that place you told me about? Where you used to play as a kid and imagine yourself to be anything you wanted to be when you grew up? Well, I buried it there for safekeeping under that burned-up Cadillac. Didn’t think anybody would bother looking there.”
Archer put his hat on, cocked it at an angle, and turned to the door.
Jackie quickly rose and said in a disappointed tone, “You’re leaving? Already?”
“Well, if you’re willing, I thought I might take you two ladies out to dinner and drinks before I shove off and commence wandering again. And who knows, I might make something of myself. Mr. Shaw thought I could make a decent shamus.”
“I think you can make of yourself anything you want, Aloysius Archer,” said Ernestine.
“We’ll need to change,” said Jackie, looking at her plain outfit.
Archer shook his head and said, “I think you both look fine just as you are.”
He put out an arm to each of them, which they immediately took.
The three walked out the door into the bright sunshine of a new world that held an abundance of possibilities.
Acknowledgments
To Michelle, here we go again, this time to the 1940s. Thanks for your encouragement on this one.
To Michael Pietsch, for your vision.
To Andy Dodds, Elizabeth Kulhanek, Brian McLendon, Karen Kosztolnyik, Beth deGuzman, Albert Tang, Bob Castillo, Kristen Lemire, Anthony Goff, Michele McGonigle, Cheryl Smith, Andrew Duncan, Joseph Benincase, Tiffany Sanchez, Morgan Swift, Matthew Ballast, Daniel Modlin, Jordan Rubinstein, Alison Lazarus, Rachel Hairston, Karen Torres, Christopher Murphy, Ali Cutrone, Tracy Dowd, Martha Bucci, Rena Kornbluh, Jeff Shay, Thomas Louie, Sean Ford, Laura Eisenhard, Mary Urban, Barbara Slavin, Kirsiah McNamara, and everyone at Grand Central Publishing, for always being by my side no matter the path I take.
To Aaron and Arleen Priest, Lucy Childs, Lisa Erbach Vance, Frances Jalet-Miller, John Richmond, and Juliana Nador, for always being so supportive.
To Mitch Hoffman, for paying your dues on this one!
To Anthony Forbes Watson, Jeremy Trevathan, Trisha Jackson, Katie James, Alex Saunders, Sara Lloyd, Claire Evans, Sarah Arratoon, Stuart Dwyer, Jonathan Atkins, Anna Bond, Leanne Williams, Natalie Young, Stacey Hamilton, Laura Ricchetti, Charlotte Williams, and Neil Lang at Pan Macmillan, for being a great publisher, and the nicest group of people.
To Praveen Naidoo and the team at Pan Macmillan in Australia, for consistently taking me to #1!
To Caspian Dennis and Sandy Violette, for being the absolute best.
To Bob Schule, for your great insights.
To Mark Steven Long, for good copyediting.
And to Kristen White and Michelle Butler, for doing all the things I can never manage to do!