Part 16 (2/2)
”Tess. It's Becca.”
Tess was at once pleased and disappointed to hear her friend's voice. ”Hey.”
Becca knew her too well. ”You sound disappointed. Who were you hoping to hear from?”
Becca's question made Tess realize that there was someone else she was hoping would call besides Chief Fuller. She had not even thought of Ben Ramsey since she left his office, but now, as she waited by the phone, the image of his face had crossed her mind more than a few times. ”It's a long story,” said Tess.
”We've been following the news,” said Becca. ”It's been all I can do to keep Wade from hopping the next flight up there. He keeps talking about what a missed opportunity it is.”
”NO,” said Tess. ”I hope you keep reminding him that I expressly forbid him to try and make a movie out of it. This is not a game.”
”I know. I'm keeping him under control,” said Becca. ”How are you holding up? How's Erny?”
Tess sighed. ”Well, let's see. Erny fell out of a tree today.”
”You're kidding,” said Becca. ”Is he all right?”
”He got the wind knocked out of him. A slight concussion. My brother was in charge, so naturally...there was an accident. But he's okay. He'll be fine. He was trying to fish from a tree limb.”
”Well, at least he was having some fun. The papers make it sound so grim. Have you two been able to do anything to escape it all?”
Tess frowned. ”No. Not really. A couple of Sudoku puzzles. I was just reading to him for a while. But I've hardly had a minute to spend with him.”
”Sudoku puzzles? You can do that here. You should go on a picnic or something. Get away from all the madness.”
”We should,” said Tess.
”Or better yet, you should come home,” said Becca. ”What's keeping you there now? Why stay there any longer?”
Tess shook her head. ”Unfinished business. After all, I'm the one responsible for Lazarus Abbott's death.”
”I knew you were going to say that,” said Becca. ”Tess, that is so not true. You've got to stop thinking that way.”
”Thanks, Becca. I know you're sincere when you say that.”
”No one blames you. All your friends feel the same way about it.”
”Well, I wish I could feel that way, but I have to try to...get a few answers while I'm here.”
”Never mind answers. That's the job of the cops. Hurry back. We need you here. Tell Erny that Sosa is fine and Jonah is taking good care of him.”
”I'll tell him,” said Tess.
Tess said good-bye to her friend and they hung up. She took another warming sip of sherry, but felt even more warmed by the call, which reminded her of the good life she had made for herself and her son. Almost immediately the phone rang again. Tess picked it up, smiling. ”What'd you forget?” she asked.
”Tess, you're there,” a man's voice said.
The sound of his voice coursed through her like a current. For a moment Tess felt too surprised to reply. ”Ben?” she said at last.
”I was thinking about you,” he said.
Tess felt happy but fl.u.s.tered at the same time. She didn't know whether he meant it in a business or personal way. ”I'm glad you called,” she said.
”I ran into a friend of mine who works at the hospital. She said they treated your son in the emergency room today.”
This is a small town, Tess thought. Word got around. ”That's right,” said Tess.
”What happened? You never mentioned it when you were in my office today. Is he okay?”
”He's going to be fine,” said Tess. ”Thanks for asking.”
”How did he get injured?”
Tess sighed. ”My brother was supposed to be keeping an eye on him, but he was busy working. Erny decided to fish from the branch of a tree and he fell off when the wind blew up. He got a bit shaken up, but he's okay.”
”Kids,” he said. ”They can be a handful.”
His words surprised her. It was as if he were offering her a little opening into his private world. ”You say that like you know,” Tess observed carefully.
”Not from personal experience. I...just remember my own reckless youth.”
She was reluctant to pursue the topic of children since it would surely remind him of his late wife and marriage-a subject that, he had made clear earlier in the day, was off limits. She was casting about in her mind for another less personal conversational topic when he said, ”I always wanted them, though. Kids.”
Tess felt herself blus.h.i.+ng, despite the fact that his statement had nothing to do with her. ”Really,” she said.
”My wife and I used to talk about it but we never got around to it.”
All right, Tess thought. You brought it up. ”Do you wish you had?” she asked.
”No,” he said abruptly. Then he softened his tone. ”No. I don't think I could have managed it on my own. I mean, I admire you for going it alone but...for me, it's probably better this way.”
”Well, it's not like you couldn't still have kids. You're still young.”
”Ah, the silver fox look didn't fool you?” he said.
Tess smiled. ”The gray is obviously...premature.”
There was a hesitation at the other end of the line. ”Well, I was one of those people you hear about who go gray...almost overnight.”
”They say it can be caused by a shock,” Tess said.
”It's true,” he said. ”Mine was.”
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