Alarums. Part 32

'Fine,' Melanie said. She cupped them to her mouth and drank half the water.

'You don't have blurred vision or nausea, do you?' Bodie asked her.

'No. Just a headache.'

'Better lie down after you eat,' Bodie said.

'Yeah.'

Pen got a bottle of beer for Bodie and poured wine for herself and Melanie to drink with the meal. Sitting down, she took her tacos from their paper envelopes and put them on her plate. Bodie and Melanie unwrapped their bacon cheeseburgers. Bodie had bought an order of nachos for each of them - tortilla chips smothered with melted cheese and green chilis.

'All we're missing is a mariachi band,' Bodie said.

'I should've whipped up some margaritas,' said Pen. It was just as well that she hadn't, she realized; she wouldn't have dared give Melanie the sleeping pills. Some wine on top of the pills might not cause a problem. Tequilla and triple sec, thougha 'Why don't you tell Pen what happened this afternoon?' Bodie suggested.

Melanie raised a shoulder. 'Not much to tell,' she said, and took a bite of her burger.

'Apparently,' Bodie said, 'they had quite a lot to say about the three of us. None of it very flattering.'

' Harrison really tore into you,' Melanie said, looking rather gleefully at Pen. 'He used names on you that'd make that caller of yours blush.'

'Sweet of him,' Pen muttered, and bit into a taco. 'Yeah. He thinks you were the brains behind my phone call and breaking into his garage. Said you're out to get him.'

'Did he happen to say why?'

'Told Joyce it was because he dumped you.'

'Is that so.'

'Said he'd fix your wagon.'

'My wagon isn't broken.'

'Said he'd like to ream your a.s.s,' Melanie added. Bodie set down his beer. 'I should've laid waste to that p.r.i.c.k when I had the chance.'

'What did he say about the accident?' Pen asked. 'They know we know. First thing Harrison did when they got back was check the garage. He had it figured out even before he found the broken window that the call was a trick to get rid of him so we could check out his car. When he came back in, he said to Joyce, "I knew it. Those f.u.c.ks are onto us." Then he told her not to worry, we'd never be able to prove anything.'

'He was probably right about that,' Bodie said.

'Joyce is afraid Dad saw Harrison driving. She thought maybe they should inject air into his veins.' Pen stiffened. 'At the hospital?'

'Yeah. But Harrison told her they'd be idiots to do anything that risky since Dad probably wouldn't ever come to, anyway. He said they should wait and see. Even if Dad does revive, there's only a slight chance he'll have any memory of the accident.'

Bodie nodded. 'It's very unlikely that he would remember. I fell off a roof when I was a kid, and I still can't remember falling.'

'What were you doing on a roof?' Pen asked.

'I don't know. I ate lunch about an hour before it happened, but the rest of it's a blank until I woke up in an ambulance.'

'That's how Peter Hurkos became psychic,' Melanie said. 'Fell off a ladder or a roof or something.'

'Well, it didn't make me psychic. Thank G.o.d. One around here isa'

'One too many?' Melanie supplied, and raised an eyebrow.

Bodie looked annoyed for a moment, then just somber. 'I was going to say, "One is enough." '

'I bet.'

'Cut it out,' Pen told her.

Melanie fixed Pen with a knowing gaze. 'I'm sure you can't wait to get rid of me.'

'Hey, look, we're on your side.'

'Then how come you're both so eager to get me back to Phoenix?'

'It's for your own good,' Bodie told her.

'Oh, sure.'

'Look what you did today,' Pen said, trying to keep her voice calm. 'You broke G.o.d knows how many lawsa'

' Lot of good the law is.'

'Christ, you went ape, you actually a.s.saulted Joyce.

'She tried to kill our father!'

'Maybe so.'

'No maybes.'

'On top of that, you put yourself in real danger. Bodie, too. You both could've ended up killed because of that dumb stunt you pulled.'

'And you were safe in the car.'

'Hey,' Bodie said, 'somebody had to stay out to get help in case the s.h.i.+t hit the fan. Pen wanted to go in instead of me.'

'Sure, stick up for her.'

'd.a.m.n it!' Bodie slammed his bottle down on the table. Pen flinched. Melanie jumped, then burst into tears and rushed from the kitchen.

Bodie watched her go. He looked at Pen, shook his head, and muttered, 'Sorry.'

'She was asking for it.'

'I know, buta' With a sigh, he pushed back his chair and stood up. 'I'd better apologize to her, or something.'

Bodie found her in Pen's room, lying on the bed with a pillow hugged over her eyes. He sat beside her.

'Leave me alone,' she mumbled.

'Hey, I'm sorry I lost my temper. Why don't you come on back and finish eating?'

'I'm not hungry.'

'Don't you want to grow up to be big and strong?'

'Ha ha ha.'

'Come on, Mel.'

'I just want to sleep. I'm tired and I've got a headache.'

'You'll feel better if you come out and finish your hamburger.'

'No, I won't.'

Bodie put his hand on her belly. Her skin was warm through the blouse. 'I don't like seeing you upset.'

She sniffed. 'You're both against me.'

'No we're not. Maybe we were a little quick to snap at you, but it's been pretty tense. We didn't know what was happening to you while you were in that house.'

'I was fine.'

'We didn't know that. We were really worried, and the only reason we worried is because we love you. n.o.body's against you. Well, maybe Joyce and Harrison.'

Her mouth trembled into a smile. She pushed the pillow away from her face and drew it down beneath her head. With fingertips, she brushed the tears from her face. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 'I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble.'

'It's all right. Hey, it was kind of exciting.'

'Did Pen really want to go in and get me herself?'

'Yeah. I had to threaten her bodily harm to keep her in the car.'

'I shouldn't have talked to her like that.'

'I'm sure she understands. The past couple of days have been tough on all of us.'

'Would you close the curtains for me?'

Bodie got up. He found the draw cord and pulled, shutting out the late afternoon light.

'I'll come out as soon as I feel better.'

'I'll stay.'

'No, go ahead and finish eating.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah. Just don't eat up the rest of my burger. I'll be but a little later.'

Bodie bent over the bed. He kissed her gently on the lips. 'Sleep tight,' he whispered.

Leaving the room, he started to pull the door shut. Then he realized that Melanie might get the wrong idea, so he left it wide open.

He returned to the kitchen. Pen, still at the table, looked over her shoulder as he approached. 'How is she?'

'Fine. She wants to take a nap.'

'That's probably a good idea.'

'She warned me not to polish off her dinner.'

'I guess she is feeling better.'

Bodie sat down across the table from Pen. He felt relieved to have Melanie out of the way, and guilty about the feeling. His bacon cheeseburger was no longer warm. It still tasted good. He washed down a mouthful with beer.

'She doesn't seem very happy about going back tomorrow,' Pen said.

'I'm not overjoyed by the prospect, myself.'

'I'd think you might be glad to get out of this.'

'I don't like the idea of leaving you holding the bag. Melanie made a real mess of things, and you'll be left with the consequences.'

'I'll be okay. I wasn't involved in the hairy stuff. With you and Melanie gone, Harrison might figure he's won. He'll probably pretend the whole thing never happened. He's good at that.'

'What do you mean?'

Pen shook her head. 'He won't try anything with me.'

'I hope you're right. But Melanie said he thinks you were behind all this today.'

'Let him think what he wants.' Pen lifted a chip to her mouth. Some cheese clung to her upper lip. She chewed, then licked it off. 'Maybe you shouldn't tell Melanie at least not before you're gone - but I plan to visit the police tomorrow and tell them everything.'

Bodie frowned. 'Do you think that's a good idea?'

'It's self-preservation, for one thing. Once I've talked to the police and accused those two, I don't think they'd dare to come after me. It wouldn't look good if anything happened to me after that. Besides, I plan to make believers out of the cops. Maybe they'll turn up some evidence.'

'Better them than us.'

'That's for sure,' Pen agreed.