Part 32 (2/2)

Thomas and Darby were intent on not letting their son dictate how they lived their lives, and they were willing to use themselves to catch him; they had already proved that. They trusted Jade more than Travers had realized. There seemed to be an element of faith between them, something unspoken yet understood.

”I want it to end,” Darby had said to both Jade and Travers earlier in her kitchen. She had looked up at Jade, keeping her eyes steady on his. ”Just make it end.”

The Atlasias' Singspiel entrance was beautifully natural. They walked in and ordered a drink at the bar, standing only about four feet from Travers, never making eye contact.

Thomas looked very sharp in his tuxedo, complementing the sweeping black sequined dress that Darby wore. She carried a small clutch purse, having denied Jade's request that she put a gun in it for the evening.

Jade smiled to himself as he remembered something Darby had told him. ”We'll do fine,” she had said. ”We're good actors. We've had lots of practice.”

She proved that now as they walked to their table, pretending not to notice the hushed silence that fell around them, the hands covering whispers, the curious glances that lingered a beat too long. They smiled and nodded at the people they knew as they threaded their way gracefully through the tables to their own.

They were seated in front of the brewing vat, to Jade's right. He leaned out from behind the vat and scanned the restaurant, focusing on the Atlasias' table from time to time. Once in a while, he caught Travers's eye at the bar and she shrugged, raising her shoulders and eyebrows just slightly. The agent working the coat check was doing well-she wasn't so much as looking at Jade and Travers. Jade didn't let down his guard, but he started to relax.

Travers gave him another half shrug and he frowned, bringing his hands up in frustration. What do you want me to do? he thought.

The first part of dinner was over and Jade couldn't smell any danger in the air. At this point, another fruitless evening out might be devastating for the Atlasias. Glancing over, he checked on Darby and Thomas.

Darby laughed boisterously, raising one hand to cover her mouth. An elegant pearl bracelet hung from her wrist, swaying with the force of her laughter. She sat at a table full of grinning men who looked at her with expressions of delight and amazement.

It had taken some doing, but she had won over the table. She was used to the routine. It started with awkward glances and pointed questions: Well, how are you, Darby? How are you holding up? But she had done it again. She had won another small social victory for herself and her husband. A moment of normalcy to hold in their memories and cherish.

She smiled and continued with her story. ”And so I didn't know that Thomas had just washed the floor, so here I come, walking in with bare feet and-” She burst into fresh peals of laughter and some of the men began to chuckle prematurely, antic.i.p.ating the rest of the story.

”-two cartons of eggs (I mean, what are the odds of all the things I could be carrying in-not one, but two cartons of eggs?), and Thomas was at the sink peeling carrots and he said he just heard this enormous THUMP!”

Darby banged the table with a fist to punctuate the thump and all the water gla.s.ses jumped. One fell over into the lap of a man with a carefully manicured mustache and Darby burst into laughter all over again.

”Oh my G.o.d, I'm sorry. I'm a nightmare. See what a nightmare I am?” Her voice was high as she strained to speak through her laughter. ”And during my eggs story.”

The mustached man a.s.sured her that he was fine and that the water would soon dry.

”But my feet went out, and I swear to G.o.d I hit the floor flat on my back. I mean, every part of my back hit the ground at the same time. And the eggs, the eggs . . .” She covered her mouth, her shoulders heaving again with laughter. ”I mean, it was like a cartoon. Up in the air.” She imitated her frantic attempt to locate the eggs above her, and then the exaggerated expression of shock that crossed her face once she did. ”All over me. My face, my hair, my neck. All over.”

Everyone at the table laughed.

”And so Thomas turns around to me slowly and says, 'Darby, honey, if you need more attention from me, all you have to do is ask.' ” She laughed and pounded the table again. The men all grabbed their water gla.s.ses.

Thomas leaned over, draping his arm across her shoulder. ”Dear, why don't we see if the Lawrences have arrived yet? We told them we'd catch up.”

”Sure, sure.” Darby pushed back from the table and laid her napkin gracefully across her place setting. ”Gentlemen, it was a pleasure horrifying you with stories of my inept.i.tude.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. ”Now you know the truth,” she added to smiles all around.

She followed Thomas through the cl.u.s.ters of tables, the self-a.s.sured patrons of the arts, the lipsticked smiles, the jeweled fingers, until they were alone by the bar. Glancing over Thomas's shoulder, she caught Jade's eye.

”How are you, love?” Thomas asked.

She rolled her eyes. ”What a ch.o.r.e. I swear to G.o.d these people all have large sticks up their a.s.ses. I feel like I'm talking to a bunch of corpses.” She imitated a wide-eyed stare with an excessive head nod. ”'And how are you, Darby? You look great-I mean fantastic. And Thomas is all right? Good, good. And has your son embalmed anyone this week? Oh. Good, good.' ” She made a quick gagging gesture, bringing one finger to her open mouth.

Thomas smiled at her, shaking his head. ”I recognize that the strain of being charming must wear you down considerably,” he said. ”But, you know, you do look quite lovely.”

”Thank you, honey. I don't mean to be ungrateful, it just seems like there are no real people here. You know what I mean?” Her shoulders dropped. ”Not many real people anywhere for us anymore.”

She ran her open hands over the lapels of his tuxedo. ”And you look very handsome. Are you here with anybody?” Rising to her tiptoes, she kissed him gently on the lips.

53.

J A D E watched the Atlasias from across the restaurant. They had agreed that they should move to the bar area if nothing happened during the first half of dinner. They'd be more visible there, more vulnerable.

Now that they were in position, Jade was having second thoughts. There was so much activity at the bar that there was no way he could keep an eye on everything. He drummed his fingers underneath the table and grimaced. It suddenly felt wrong again, like it had in the theater. It felt risky.

He moved to a table that was closer to the bar, signaling Travers to head outside and watch the street. He was convinced that everything was safe among the tables behind him, so he wanted to s.h.i.+ft their coverage to the front of the restaurant and outside. Travers exited the bar casually, turning a few heads on her way.

With Travers outside, it was up to him to cover the entire restaurant. The other agent, who was casually watching the crowd above the bottom half of the Dutch door, was not to leave her post. They were daring Allander to strike. The Atlasias were dangling like bait on a hook.

After Travers left, Jade felt a sinking in his stomach. The early taste of panic flooded his mouth. As he watched the smiling faces moving in all directions, he felt his control of the situation slowly slipping away.

His sweat seemed to come in waves, as if his hammering heartbeat was pus.h.i.+ng it through his pores. He thought of Darby outside the movie theater, her smeared makeup and tired eyes, trying to face the crowd of jostling cops and reporters. We're more than this.

One of the waiters b.u.mped into Thomas, and Jade almost left his seat in a sprint, but the fellow righted his tray, apologized, and moved on.

Once they got to the bar, Darby and Thomas knew not to return to their seats. The front door opened and swung closed slowly, and Darby felt a breeze blow across her shoulders. ”Honey, I'm a little chilly. Would you mind getting my coat?”

Jade had told them not to separate, but force of habit made them forget their instructions. A crowd of women headed for the bar to refresh their gla.s.ses of wine, blocking Darby and Thomas from view. Jade sat up straight in his chair to keep his eye on them. He felt a tingling down his spine as he waited for his view to clear. When the women parted, he saw only Darby.

Jade stood up, knocking his chair over clumsily and scanning the restaurant for Thomas. Darby looked over at him, concern written in the furrows of her brow. With a tilt of her head, she indicated where Thomas was. Jade turned and saw Thomas heading for the coat closet.

The restaurant flooded in on Jade, and he pivoted to try to hold the scene together, to keep control of the surroundings. The Atlasias were split apart, people hustled at the bar, the waiters and bartenders clamored around noisily. The glow of cigarettes flicked through the air, and for a moment Jade saw only the cigarettes, tracing orange lines through the smoky air. The necklace around his neck felt like an albatross.

For the first time, Jade felt doubt lower, like a cloud, over his intentions. He couldn't do it. He couldn't risk the Atlasias like this, even to catch Allander. He knew something was wrong-in his gut, in his bones, in the raised hair on his arms he felt it. Then he realized. The top and bottom of the coat-closet door were both shut.

As Thomas placed his hand on the doork.n.o.b, Jade sprang forward shouting, ”BACK OFF. IT'S NO GOOD.” He wanted the Atlasias side by side, and he wanted himself in front of them. He ran toward them.

All the people in the restaurant turned to stare at Jade. He could have sworn the crowd took in a huge collective gasp of air. Then, they were still.

Thomas froze. He noticed a slight movement at his feet. Blood seeped slowly out from beneath the door, the edge of a growing pool. It rippled slightly, and as it reached his shoe, Thomas saw the reflection of the ceiling fan in its gla.s.sy surface. He released the doork.n.o.b, its click echoing through the silent restaurant.

He took a cautious step back and then the door swung open, cras.h.i.+ng against the wall. A silver arc slashed through the air and a neat slit appeared across Thomas's tuxedo jacket and s.h.i.+rt. He stumbled back, a vacant look in his eyes, his hands clutching his chest. Blood oozed from beneath his fingers as he fell to his knees.

And then Allander was on him, an arm around his neck, a hand gripping the back of his head. Thomas felt the coldness of a blade at his throat, pus.h.i.+ng the skin as far as it could go without breaking. He knew he was going to die.

How did I beget such a cursed thing? he thought.

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