Russell Andrews - Midas

When she backed away a step she smiled at him. It was an anxious smile. She reached back for his face, put her palm on his thick beard and stroked it.

“I’ll shave it,” he said.

She shook her head. “No. It feels like a part of you right now and I want all parts of you to be here.”

“Okay,” he said. “Okay.”

“There are so many things I want to tell you. And ask you.”

“Me too. But we’ve got lots of time now.” He touched her chest, the spot where he’d seen her shot. “How are you?”

“I thought I was dead when he pulled the trigger. But I was just sore for a few days. It wasn’t bad at all.”

“That was the worst part of it for me. I couldn’t even let myself think about what had happened to you.”

“It’s over now,” she said. “Isn’t it?” And when he didn’t answer, she continued, “It’s on the Net and we’ve all been watching the news all day long. They caught all the people responsible for everything, Jay.”

“I know they have.”

“So it’s really over. Everything can go back to normal.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Everything can go back to normal.”

She took his hand and led him upstairs. “That was the worst thing for me, too, not knowing what happened to you,” she said. “When I woke up, two of those. . those men. . were here. They told me they were FBI and they wouldn’t tell me where they’d taken you. They wouldn’t tell me anything, just asked me all sorts of questions. What I knew about the plane crash, what I knew about all sorts of things, none of which I knew anything about. They took all the papers you had in the living room, all the files. And your computer. They told me not to say anything to anyone. I said I had to say something, you were the fucking chief of police, and one of them said he’d take care of it, he’d talk to the mayor and take care of it.”

They were in the bedroom now and she sat on the bed.

“I didn’t know what to do,” she told him. “I thought you were dead.”

“So what did you do?”

She looked embarrassed. “I called your father.”

Justin looked surprised. “That was smart,” he said. “That was good.”

“Well, you’d told me a little bit about him, and I’d seen some background when I Googled you. I knew he was rich and I figured rich people would have connections.”

“What did he say?”

“He was very calm, he made me feel better. He said he was going to talk to your friend in the FBI, the one up in Boston.”

“Wanda.”

“Yes. He said she could help.”

“She’s all right? Wanda’s okay?”

“I guess she is. She must have gotten involved.”

“Did you talk to Leona?”

Reggie nodded. “Yes. She called me, came to my house, said she’d talked to the FBI, said the one who’d talked to me was named Schrader.”

“What else did she say?”

“She said you were involved in something to do with national security. That you’d be okay, but that you were going to be kept in custody for a while. I was going crazy, Jay. They said I couldn’t say anything, if I did I’d be arrested, too. I didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t until your friend, the big one, came and told me you were okay. .”

“Bruno.”

She nodded. “He wouldn’t give me any details, said he couldn’t. But he came and said you were all right, that I shouldn’t worry, and that you’d be back soon. How did he-”

“I don’t know,” Justin said. “But I’ll find out.”

“Jay, what happened? Why were you arrested? I just couldn’t believe-”

“That’s the right thing,” he said. “Don’t believe anything. Just believe me.” He touched her cheek lightly, ran his finger down to her neck. “How was it handled? What do people think happened?”

“No one knows a thing. At least I don’t think so. I mean, you’re not the most social person in town. So we told the other guys at the station that you were called away for a family emergency.”

“They bought that?”

“They seemed to. No one asked too many questions. Occasionally, they’d ask if I’d heard from you or if everything was okay. But I just said that Leona was the only one in touch with you.”

“Nothing in the paper? No media?”

“No.”

“So no one really knows what happened. Or knows I’m back.”

“No,” she said. “I don’t think anyone knows.” She took his hand in hers and now she kissed the tip of his fingers. “I was going crazy,” she told him. “When I woke up and you were gone, I didn’t know what to do.”

“There was nothing you could do,” he told her.

“But now there is.”

“Yes,” he said. “Now there is.”

They made love very gently this time. There was none of the passion or the physicality that was there the first time they’d been in this bed together. She gasped when she saw his body-the bruises, how much weight he’d lost-and she kissed him lightly, careful not to hurt him. She made no demands on him, just held and kissed him and touched him until she coaxed him inside her and they came together, shuddering. She held him tightly for a long time after they came. She thought he was asleep in her arms but then he spoke quietly.

“Who was in charge?” he asked. “Who did Leona put in charge?”

He felt her shift her weight and he heard, rather than saw, her smile, could tell from the quiet way she breathed in and exhaled. “Me,” Reggie told him. “I’ve been the acting police chief. It’s a miracle there hasn’t been a crime wave.”

They both started to laugh. He kissed her on top of the head.

“I’ve never been so happy to give up a job,” she said.

But Justin immediately shook his head. “No,” he told her. “Not yet.”

“Why not? You’re back, Jay. No one has any idea what happened. It’ll be fine.”

“I’m just not ready yet. I’d like to stay quiet for a while.”

“Why?” she asked.

He glanced away from her. Instead of answering, he said, “You and Gary getting along?”

“Sure,” she answered. “He’s a nice guy. I mean, he doesn’t like having to report to a woman, but he’s been pretty professional about it. Yeah, we get along fine.”

“He’s the only one you can tell. In the morning. Ask him to come over here around noon. But make sure he doesn’t tell anybody else that I’m back. Okay?”

She raised her head. In her eyes he saw a bit of confusion, an equal amount of suspicion.

“You said it was over,” she whispered.

“I know I did.”

“But it isn’t, is it?”

“It’s almost over,” he told her.

In the morning, he sent her home. Asked her to go about her business as usual, reminded her to say nothing about his return except to Gary. He knew it wouldn’t be a secret for long, someone would drive by his house, someone would spot him through a window, someone would call him up, and it’d be all over town. That was fine. He didn’t need to keep hidden for long. He just wanted a brief period of peace and quiet. All he needed was a little bit of time.

The first thing he did was call Bruno Pecozzi. Bruno didn’t sound surprised to hear his voice. Didn’t seem surprised about anything.

“Bruno,” Justin said, “you remember that envelope I mailed you? From Washington?”

“It’s already in your house.”

“What?”

“Hey, if you’re mailin’ me somethin’ from D.C., I figure it’s somethin’ important. Who knows what these sick fucks are gonna decide to do, maybe they’re gonna search my house just ’cause I know you. I figured they already searched your place, they wouldn’t be lookin’ for nothin’ new after that. So I did a little B and E and put it someplace safe for when you came back.”