Randy White - Black Widow

It was written on paper torn from a spiral notebook. Written in a rush by a woman desperate for relief.

In the world’s most dissimilar languages, pet words for mother and father are touchingly similar. The Chinese say baba and mama. In Arabic, they are ami and omi. When conquistadors invaded, Aztec children ran screaming for apa and ama.

The first two words we learn as infants echo humanity’s first words. They are the sound of primal bleating; a child’s plea for help. Those two words are hardwired in the womb, and we carry them with us to the grave. It is known, from voice recorders recovered at crash sites, that mama is often the last word a pilot speaks.

Corey had called for help, but silently, as proud people sometimes do.

I folded the note as Shay said, “Was I wrong to take it? A suicide attempt… all I could think about was how bad it would look on her record. She’s given up on the acting thing, but the design department loves her at Chico’s. Without the note, they can’t prove it wasn’t accidental, can they?”

I said, “You did the right thing,” as I returned the note to her purse. “She needs help and protection but, yeah, I think Corey will thank you-” Then I said, “Hey,” watching her yawn. “Enough for now. I’ll come back this afternoon.”

“But I don’t want you to go. I’m not sleepy.”

Yes, she was. The nurse had also told me she’d been given a painkiller. But the girl reached and took my hand, something else on her mind.

“I’ve been a good friend to everyone but you, Doc. I needed to say that. And apologize.”

“I’ve got no complaints.”

“But I haven’t been straight. Even now. The real reason I missed Corey’s call was because I was at the computer. There was an e-mail waiting when I got home. He wants more money. The full quarter million. He knows my wedding’s a week from Sunday. If he doesn’t get the money by Friday, he’ll… he’ll…” The girl closed her eyes and touched fingers to her head. “He’s going to put the video on the Internet. That’s what Corey meant, the part about her parents being ashamed.”

“I see.” I gave it some time, as if surprised by the news, then said, “But maybe he did us a favor.”

Her expression read, You got to be kidding.

“Think about it. At least he showed his hand-better now than later. And he gave us time, seven days. We have space to deal with it.”

“But I don’t have the money, Doc. And… there’s something else. My bridesmaids got the same e-mail. They knew from the beginning. The four of us chipped in to pay the hundred and nine thousand.”

I sat back in mock disbelief. “Dex didn’t leave a fat insurance policy?”

“All that man left me was a couple of guns, a junker Cadillac, and some real bad memories. Dumb, I knew you didn’t believe me. But it was the only thing I could think of.” She squeezed my fingers, her grip childlike. “I lied to you, pal.”

I smiled. “So what? Compartmentalization-the smart way to handle it. I would’ve done the same.”

Again, she squeezed.

“If I was smart, I wouldn’t be in this mess-I think Michael knows.

Vance stole Corey’s password and read the e-mail before she did. Michael hasn’t mentioned it, but Vance told him something. I can feel it, the way he looks at me now. There’s not going to be a wedding.”

“Did he tell you it’s off?”

“While I’m in a hospital bed? No, he’ll wait.”

“What about his mother? Would he have told her?”

“Uh-uh. If he had, the only reason she’d come to the hospital is to spit on me. Mrs. Jonquil’s French, not Swiss, and a serious Catholic. The woman wouldn’t be here if she knew.”

“Were there files attached to the e-mail?”

She moved her eyes. No.

“How was it worded?”

“What I just told you. He wants the rest of the money.”

“Can you remember specifics?”

“I should, I read the damn thing a dozen times before I trashed it. It was kinda like the first one, the way he tried to be clever. It went, ‘Some vacation memories are priceless, so your vacation video is a bargain. Either pay the rest of the money, or…’ No, that’s not right.” She thought for a moment. “No, he said, ‘Pay the balance or you’ll be sinning with your new boyfriends on the Internet-’ It went like that.”

I said, “Sinning. That’s a strange way to put it.”

“Yeah, he’s nasty clever. Called me a slut-that was in the subject line. And he said ‘porn sites,’ not Internet. But he didn’t attach any more video files.”

Like before-it wasn’t just about the money. The blackmailer got a charge out of humiliating victims.

“Is there a chance Michael or his pals can retrieve the earlier files if they go hunting through your computers?”

“No. We trashed everything. Then I found a special software that we all used to make sure it stays gone.”

“That includes his latest e-mail?”

She nodded.

“What about the other girls?”

“They got rid of it while we were still talking on the phone. But poor Corey, she didn’t know that Vance had already snooped.”

I said, “In that case, Michael doesn’t really know anything.”

“Of course he does… or soon will. He’ll find out the girls and I are being blackmailed about something bad enough we already paid a chunk of the quarter million. That and whatever else Vance slapped out of Corey before she OD’d. He’ll know about the video. There’s no getting around it.”

I looked into her eyes for a long second before saying, “Video? I don’t know what you’re talking about. What video?”

Shay stared back, her expression blank. Huh?

I said it again, deadpan. "What video?”

She continued to stare. “You’re serious.”

“Very.”

She tried to sit, but I placed my hands on her shoulders until she was lying back.

“But they’ll know.”

“They don’t know anything. Michael and his fraternity pals never saw what’s on that cassette. Neither did you. Neither did your bridesmaids. I have it. No one’s going to get it. So, as of now, it doesn’t exist.”

“But Vance read the e-mail-”

“An e-mail doesn’t prove anything. Some freak in the Caribbean is hounding you about a film he doesn’t have, and about a night that never happened.”

The girl took a deep breath and settled back, thinking about it. “My God, I’d give anything if it was true. But… but how do I explain why we paid all that money? Michael can check my bank-” She stopped, her voice turning inward. Her expression changed. “Wait… we have separate accounts. Same with Beryl, Liz, and their guys. We all chipped in, so we didn’t have to dig into our wedding accounts. They can’t check. But what about Vance and Corey-”

“Vance is a loser and liar. They had a fight last night. I’m sure it wasn’t their first. He’s jealous, pathological, so he made up a bunch of crap as an excuse for hitting his wife. You got involved after hearing Corey’s phone message.”

“Doc… I don’t know. Will it work?”

I leaned and kissed the same bare space on her temple. “Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it’ll buy us some time-as long as nothing else happened on Saint Arc. Something worse.”

“What the hell could be worse?”

“You tell me. An accident? If someone got hurt, and the camera caught it?”

“No. What we did was bad enough.”

I looked at her, letting her know this was serious. “Is that the truth?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Then that’s the way we’ll play it. There is no video. Got it? The party, the swimming pool, the three locals, it never happened. Keep telling yourself that. I’ll send Beryl and Liz in so you can tell them-”