CHAPTER fifty-four
Vanessa was peeking out the front window of her house when the cab arrived and she hurried outside to pay the driver. I’d never been so glad to see a friendly face and I felt like sobbing.
The woman behind the bullet-proof partition at the self-service gas station had been understanding. She couldn’t pass the phone through the small opening but she handed me the receiver and her tinny voice through the speaker offered to dial the number for me. There was no answer at my place or Jay’s and this time I didn’t hesitate to call Vanessa.
When Vanessa followed me through the front door, I told her I needed her car, her cell phone and some cash. She looked at my bloody knees and said, "Not so fast. How about a clean pair of pantyhose too?"
I shook my head.
"Well, you can have whatever you need. Come on in and I’ll make you some coffee."
I followed her into the kitchen which was off the hallway at the front of the house and sat on a bar stool at the counter. She talked and moved about the kitchen efficiently making coffee and getting cups, and cream and sugar from the cupboards. I lit one of her cigarettes and put my elbows on the counter.
"What happened?" she asked me.
"I got mugged," I lied easily. "They stole my car and my purse."
"Did you call the police?" she asked calmly and I knew she didn’t believe me.
"No. I called you."
"Where’s Jay?"
"Don’t know. What time is it anyway?"
"Quarter to ten," she replied as she dropped a full coffee cup in front of me. About a third of it slopped over the edge. "You’re bullshitting me, Kate."
I tried changing the subject. "How’s Ashley?"
"Fine. Asleep in bed. Every time she spends the weekend with her father she comes home exhausted. And don’t change the subject."
I felt guilty but wanted to protect her. We’d been friends forever it seemed. The fewer people I cared about that I dragged into this mess, the better.
"Okay, I won’t change the subject. Where’s Chris?"
"How the hell should I know? I’m not his keeper."
"Yeah, right Vee. Is he in town or out?"
"In," she replied tersely. "Has this got something to do with where we work?"
"Correction. Where you work. I’m quitting tomorrow," I told her.
"Oh, now I get it. Harold gave you shit for coming in late again and you got down on your knees to beg for forgiveness. That would explain the blood on your knees."
"Save the sarcasm, Vee. This is serious but I’m not getting you involved. Now, are you going to give me your car and phone?"
Her car keys and cell phone were on the counter near the wall and she cupped both of them in her hand and slid them angrily across the counter at me. I caught them before they ended up on the floor. A couple of twenty dollar bills hit me lightly in the face and she said, "Don’t forget the cash."
"Friends?" I asked her sheepishly.
"Always. But let me help you Kate," she pleaded. "This is too scary. First Ev and then Rick. And now you, showing up at my door with blood on your hands and knees. You’re a mess. And that black eye has something to do with this. I know it. You didn’t fall down any stairs, did you?"
I ignored her reference to my shiner. "You are helping me Vee. And seriously, I can’t get you involved." I held up my scraped hands and said, "I ended up like this tonight because I was stupid enough to get involved." I casually felt the lump on the side of my head left there compliments of the butt of Philip’s gun, but didn’t tell her about it.
"Somebody hurt you," she said, sure that the cuts and scrapes had been caused by someone else. "At least call the police."
I slid off the barstool and gathered up the keys and cell phone in one hand, and the cash in the other.
"I plan on calling the police," I told her. "But in the meantime, please don’t tell anyone I was here."
Alfredo placed the Diet Coke in front of me and I drank thirstily. I smiled up at his friendly face, glad for the presence of a friend.
"Hungry?"
"Not really. I just needed a place to hang out for a while. Lost my keys," I told him.
"Your friend was here looking for you, earlier."
"Which friend?"
"Your boyfriend. Mr. Jay Harmon," he winked.
"What time?" I had been trying to reach Jay because he had a set of keys to my apartment. I got furious again thinking about the possibility of losing my purse with all my treasures in it, including my original Frank Mahovlich hockey card which I kept hidden in a secret compartment of my wallet.
Alfredo looked at his watch and said, "About an hour ago."
Jay’s machine kicked in when I tried it again on the cellular. The message said, "Kate, if that’s you, leave me a message and the time. Jesus Christ, I’m worried." I hadn’t thought to listen to the message on the machine when I called before.
"I’m at Alfredo’s. I mean Tony’s Pizzeria. It’s about ten-fifteen. I’ll wait here until eleven. Jay, I lost my keys to my apartment." I paused for a moment and when nothing else came to mind I pushed the power off button on the cell phone.
While I waited I thought about the events of the evening. Philip Winston, or Robert Weinstein to those blood-related to him, was definitely a wacko, and I decided to avoid him at all costs. He was definitely bad for my health.
He was bad for my career as well, but I was resigned to the fact that I was quitting tomorrow. Enough of the funny farm for me. I wondered what Harold’s reaction would be when I handed in my notice. The thought, though, of going into the office, turned my blood cold. Maybe I could get Harold to meet me somewhere outside the office, where I could break the news to him. Of all the executives I was working with, Harold was about the only one I trusted.
I picked up the cell in one hand and tried dialling with the thumb of the same hand. I’d seen Vee do this several times and was impressed with her dialling prowess. The phone on the other end rang only twice before someone answered.
"Hello."
"Harold. It’s Kate."
"Yes, Kate," he said slowly. "How are you?" He actually sounded concerned, even interested.
"Uh. I’m fine."
"Where are you?" Now that was a little too interested for me. On a good day, Harold wouldn’t ask me how I was, let alone where I was. I started to feel uneasy.
"Oh. Out and about. Listen, can I meet with you first thing tomorrow morning?"
"Sure," he said like he was talking to a three year old. "If it’s important, we could meet tonight," he offered without demanding to know why. When I placed the call I had the hope in the back of my mind that he’d force me to tell him why and then I could resign over the phone. I thought I knew Harold, but this solicitous side of him was something new to me.
"It’s important. But tomorrow morning would be fine. How about Shopsy’s Deli at Yonge and Front?"
"Fine, fine. Where are you now Kathleen?" The fact that he’d now asked me twice where I was made my knees start to shake.
"None of your damn business Harold. Why are you so interested all of a sudden?"
"Listen Kate. I talked to Philip tonight. He told me what happened and he knows he made a terrible mistake. We want to meet with you to make sure you’re all right."
I jammed my index finger into the power off button on the cell phone and dropped it on the table like a hot potato. Jesus Christ. Now who could I trust?
I gave Alfredo the number of Vanessa’s cell phone and made him promise to give it only to Jay. I couldn’t stay at the pizzeria because I felt like a sitting duck so I got in the car and drove aimlessly around. When the phone on the seat beside me finally rang, I quickly pulled over to the curb and answered it.
"Yes," was all I said.
"Kate, it’s Jay. Where are you?"
"I’m not exactly sure right now. Where are you?"
"At Tony’s Pizzeria. I c
alled there but Alfredo said he didn’t recognize my voice but if I showed up in person, he had a message for me. I feel like James Bond."
"Wrong Jay. This is turning out to be more like Mission Impossible. Can you meet me?"
"Sure. At your apartment?"
"No," I said quickly. "Not my apartment. Or yours. How about the bench were I sat the other day while you went jogging?"
"You mean down at the park? Why all the cloak and dagger stuff?"
"I’ll tell you later. How soon can you meet me there?"
"Kate, it’s too dangerous to be alone in the park at night. Meet me at the pub where we danced. You remember?"
"That’s a better idea." I looked out the window of the car to get my bearings and it took a moment for me to remember where I was. "I’ll be there in five minutes."