The Pendleton Omens - 23. Chapter 23

When I went looking for the bathroom, I found Julie. She was working on her kitchen counter, paperwork spread all over the center island, talking on the phone. The Great Dane lay at her feet. As soon as Julie saw me, she ended the call.

“Sorry about the lies,” she began. “I hope you understand.”

I laughed. “I understand nothing.”

She laughed, too, then we both laughed. Then she said, “It really isn’t funny.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wouldn’t have brought you here if I thought this was under control.”

“It isn’t?”

“No, you never should have paid his bills.”

“That’s what Scoot said. But why?”

“You bought him another month.”

I thought about that, then said, “Listen, I really need to use the bathroom. All that iced tea...”

She smiled and pointed the way. In a few minutes, I was back. She was on the phone again but this time signaled me to wait.

“I guess you shouldn’t have told him about the bills,” I said, when she was free.

“I didn’t think it would be a problem. That was Tuesday. The last day of our bet. I thought he was coming out that night.”

“And?”

“And I told him it was just in time. We’d gotten your e-mail Sunday morning. He always wondered how long it would take for someone to start looking.”

“So he’d thought about that?”

“It was part of the fun.”

I really didn’t understand this.

She went on. “And we talked about that on Sunday and Monday. But part of the rules was I couldn’t tell anyone.”

“Rules?”

She laughed. “Oh, this thing is like haiku. And the more Scoot thinks, the more rules he adds. I’m not sure which of us is more locked up.”

“Why don’t you stop it? Unlock the cage. If he won’t come out, you could take it apart.”

“Actually, it’s a little harder when someone’s in it. It’s designed to keep a big dog restrained, no matter how much it pushes. But I know what you mean. I could get a wire cutter. Take it apart around him.”

“You’d need something stronger than a wire cutter.”

“Actually, I had something. I threatened to have a party. With him as the center of attention.”

I grinned. “He might like that.”

“No, it would be too much. He doesn’t mind the occasional photo. Some way to remember, he jokes. But he doesn’t want to be a frat boy with a webcam.”

Unfortunately, I knew what she meant.

“Besides, most of our friends are industry people. He might have trouble finding work again.”

“Then why do you let him stay?”

She laughed. “It might be the only way I can keep his interest.”

I looked at Julie. Out of the softer lights in the restaurants and without her sunglasses, I could tell she was easily into her thirties. But sitting on that tall kitchen stool, wearing a short skirt, her legs extended, she looked like a model. I couldn’t imagine her having trouble attracting anyone.

She watched me looking. “We all get older,” she said.

“But you really like him?”

She shrugged.

“Then what do you want?” I asked.

“To be a dozen years younger,” she joked. “But still have my money.”

“And your job?” I indicated the paperwork.

She laughed again. “If I had the money and knew at twenty-three what I know now, the job wouldn’t be a problem.”

I studied her. Thirty-five, tops. That didn’t put her out of Scoot’s range, since he seemed to like older women.

“Have you asked him?” I said.

“I don’t have to.”

“You never know.”

“Oh, come on. Look at what might happen with Amy.”

I remembered that at The Farm, she didn’t know about Amy. Had Scoot just told her? Or had that been another lie?

“I thought you didn’t know about her.”

She smiled. “I now know just about everything about your son. We’ve spent hours talking.”

“It’s not too weird?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes, I think I’m just as high as he is. You can’t imagine what it’s like spending the day knowing I’ve got a guy locked in my pool house.”

Again, we laughed. “He’s never complained?” I asked.

“I keep expecting him to. I keep expecting to come home every night and find him gone. But he’s always there. Waiting to be fed. Waiting for hot water and soap. Or his razor.”

“What if he got sick?”

“He’d be out of there in a second.”

“And if you got home too late?”

“Oh, c’mon, he’s twenty-three. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“What about earthquakes?”

She laughed. “People outside LA think about quakes a lot more than we do. I could get killed more easily on the freeway. And the secret of the freeways is there may be a lot of small accidents but very few people die. Too much traffic. Too slow.”

“So the odds are with you?”

She grinned.

“You should ask him to stay. You might be surprised.”

She sighed. “He’d stay for a while. But in fifteen years, he’ll be my age now. And who wants to be alone when you’re over fifty?”

That put her at thirty-eight. I was wrong.

“So you’re thinking about yourself?” I went on.

“Who else?”

“Maybe that’s why he wouldn’t stay.”

She laughed again. “You don’t get LA.”

“Maybe I don’t expect to. Even after all Scoot’s told me.”

Then her cell phone rang, and she had to take the call.

I got some water from the sink. I found a glass easily enough and walked to the patio doors, looking out at the pool. It was good to know Scoot was safe and less than thirty feet away. But I still wondered what I’d tell Sharon.

“The truth,” Scoot had insisted, but I tried to imagine that call. Even the easiest lie wouldn’t get past her. Sharon was great at asking questions. She’d get the real story from me, and Scoot and I would both be in trouble. And if I couldn’t tell Sharon, I wouldn’t tell Noah. It wouldn’t be fair.

“You want something better than water?” Julie asked, after setting down her phone. “Or there’s bottled.”

“This is fine. Thanks.”

“So what are we going to do?”

I thought for another moment. “I’ll talk with him.”

“And if you can’t change his mind?”

“I’ll get a bolt cutters.”

She laughed. “I’m gonna miss him. Miss all the talking.”

“What do you say every night?”

“It doesn’t matter. We relax and let our minds wander. Sometimes, I don’t even interrupt ... don’t contribute... I let his thoughts flow. Or tease him about how he tenses when he’s cramped but won’t admit it.”

“You’ve got a toy.”

“Hardly.”

“How long it’s been?”

“What?”

“Since you’ve been together?”

“We aren’t, really. We’ve only gotten friendly this past month. I noticed him when he first appeared. He was what, twenty-one? He and Carla came to my office. They both knew Bill from school and were looking for work. I helped some. And even though I liked him, I stayed out of the way. He was in love.”

“What happened with Carla?”

“She wasn’t getting the work she expected, and it bothered her. And she wasn’t getting the work he was, and that bothered her, too. She’s beautiful, but dark. The business favors blondes.”

“You’ve done okay.”

She smiled. “My hair’s not always red.”

I laughed. “So Carla left?”

“No, she wanted to get married and have kids. That’s respectable out here, no matter how young you are, and she’s twenty-eight. It was time.”

“But not for Scoot?”

“That’s the problem with being in love with a kid.” She grinned.

I considered. “Scoot was nine when I was twenty-eight.”

“But he’s not you.”

No kidding.

“So Carla went east,” I said.

“She’s been doing theater... New York and the regionals. She can find work there – he’s very good. And once she settles in with another guy...”

“That sounds cold.”

“The way of the world.”

“Like what Scoot’s doing with Amy?”

Julie shrugged. “I can’t help that. He started seeing her before we...” She didn’t finish that. “And he didn’t tell me about her till he was locked in.”

“Kind of a problem.”

“But not mine... it’s his to decide. And he isn’t even promised...”

She looked at me, and I suddenly realized she was closer to my age than Scoot’s. And only two years younger than Noah.

“I’d better get back to him,” I said. “I told him I’d be a minute.”

“He’ll be fine. He likes being on his own.”

“For another month?”

“Is that what he says?”

I nodded.

“I’d like that,” she admitted.

“I thought you wanted...”

“I’d like him out of the cage... like to do more than listen and talk... I’ve even thought – more than once – about cutting off his food. But that might piss him off.”

“Self-defeating?”

She nodded.

I considered her problem. I wanted to say more – something in sympathy. But I didn’t know what or how. It would be easier calling Owen just then – or Sharon or Amy. Noah and Jamie would just laugh. So I simply smiled at her, then headed back to the pool. But I did add, “I’ll see what I can do.”