Читать книгу Lethal Justice - Fern Michaels - Страница 11

Myra walked out of the airport into the warm sunshine. She looked around at the busy passengers who were waiting for friends or relatives to take them to their destinations. She reached for Charles’s hand and squeezed it. “I do so love traveling. We should do it more often, but just for a few days at a time.”

Charles smiled as his eyes scanned the long line of waiting cars, hoping to pick out the one that would take them to Anna Ryland’s home. “We don’t travel, Myra, because you get homesick after three days. Ah, there’s our car. Come along, dear.”

The uniformed driver held up a placard that said “Rutledge” in bright red letters. Charles held up his hand in greeting. A moment later, their sparse luggage was settled in the trunk and they were inching their way into the moving airport traffic. Myra and Charles settled back for the long drive to Anna Ryland de Silva’s mountaintop retreat.

“I think Barcelona is beautiful but I don’t think I could live here. Anna loves it, though. It’s so hard for me to believe she doesn’t want to live in the United States. I thought … hoped … once Anna stopped grieving she would want to return to her homeland. Nellie and I miss her. This reclusiveness of hers is not healthy. It’s gone on way too long. I’m the living proof. Nellie … Nellie …” Myra threw her hands in the air when she couldn’t finish what she was trying to say.

“It’s tragic, Myra, that each of you lost your family. It’s almost bizarre. First Anna losing her husband and two children in that boating accident years ago, followed by Barbara’s death, then Nellie’s daughter Jenny killed in that awful accident. Grief is a terrible thing.”

“I know, Charles, but Anna carried it to the extreme. You know how many times Nellie and I tried to get her to come back to the land of the living. She literally told us to mind our own business. Nellie gave up and simply told Anna she was hopeless and she deserved to wallow in her misery. Maybe this time … I hope she doesn’t kick us out when we show up at her door. Good grief, whatever will we do if that happens?”

Charles reached for Myra’s hand. “Anna would never do that, Myra. She adores you. I guarantee she will be happy to see you.”

“Do you think she’ll be happy enough to give up watching the weather channel or whatever they call it over here, to spend some time with us?”

“Of course she will. When we were here three years ago she entertained us royally. The three of you were like sisters. You and Nellie are all she has left. The people she surrounds herself with here in Spain are employees and servants. You’re the closest thing to family Anna has. I don’t want you to give it another thought.”

“I’ve always wondered if the people she has around her are taking care of her financial affairs. I’ve been tempted to ask but never did. She used to use some of the same financial people Nellie and I use back in the States. I hope that hasn’t changed. Armand left her a fortune equal only to that of the late Aristotle Onassis. With the fortune her parents left her as well, Anna is probably one of the wealthiest women in the world. I’m going to have a real heart to heart talk with her on this visit. I don’t care if she shows me the door. Someone has to get through to her. Nellie seems to think I can do it.

“The girls gave me a lot of suggestions. I … ah … might use some of them if things get … sticky. I know how to be forceful, Charles. I know when to back off if I hit a nerve. I should have done it a long time ago. Why didn’t I, Charles?”

Charles squeezed Myra’s hand. “Because you said you didn’t want to stomp on Anna’s grief. You said it was all she had left. You said you had to respect that grief because you remembered only too well how difficult it was.”

“It’s been fifteen years. That’s way beyond the time one lives in a shell. Maybe I’m too late. Maybe she won’t be able to … get past that line she’s drawn. What will I do then, Charles?”

Charles stared out the tinted window at the brilliant scarlet bougainvillea that seemed to be everywhere. He searched his mind for a response that would satisfy Myra. The best he could come up with was, “I don’t know, dear. I think it’s best if you think positive and hope for the best. For whatever it’s worth, I think, if nothing else, you will pique her interest. If you can do that, I think the rest will fall into place.”

Myra leaned back and closed her eyes. She didn’t let go of Charles’s hand. From time to time, she squeezed it. She smiled to herself when he returned the slight pressure. Eventually, she slept.

A long time later, Charles woke Myra with a gentle kiss on her cheek. “We’re almost there, Myra. We’re halfway up the mountain.”

Myra’s eyes snapped open. Her hands started to shake. Charles reached for her hands and held them tightly. “It’s all right, Myra. If things don’t work out, it won’t be the end of the world. We’ll just have to fall back and regroup. If you get uptight, if you’re nervous, Anna will pick up on it. You have to be calm and serene. Later, you can be the feisty Myra whom I love and adore.” Myra laughed.

When the car finally came to a stop, Myra stepped out before the driver could open the door for her. Charles followed her as they stood looking at the refurbished old monastery that was now Anna Ryland de Silva’s home. “It’s so beautiful it takes my breath away. I think I can understand why Anna doesn’t want to leave here. It’s like a magical place with all the flowers, the landscaping, the view of the Mediterranean from all sides. It’s so blue. I don’t think I noticed that before. Well, maybe I did, but I wasn’t in the mood back then that I’m in now. The breeze is heavenly, isn’t it?”

“It’s wonderful. Very peaceful. Yoko would love all these flowers,” Charles said. “I wonder how long it took to turn the old monastery into this lovely place.”

“Three long years. Anna lived in one of the outer buildings while the work was going on. In the beginning they brought all the materials up the mountain road, and then Anna had the supplies helicoptered in when she saw how long it was taking. There’s a helicopter pad in the back somewhere.”

“How many people live here?”

“I have no idea. There are at least a dozen gardeners but I think they go home in the evening. Anna is not a demanding kind of person. I’m sure she has a cook and a housekeeper. I never asked. Is it important, Charles?”

“It might be. When it’s time to leave, we’ll know everything. Should we announce ourselves?”

“I’m sure Anna is in the back in one of the open rooms. Let’s just walk around. She’ll find us.” Charles shrugged but he fell into step next to Myra. “Oh, Yoko would dearly love this place. I think all the girls would. Do you like it, Charles?”

“It’s certainly interesting. I have been here before, dear. Nothing much seems to have changed. Ah, I think I see our hostess.”

Myra waved as she ran forward. “Annie!”

“Myra! How nice to see you! You should have told me you were coming.” They hugged, kissed, and then hugged again.

“I would have if you’d answer your phone or read your mail. How are you, Annie? Nellie sends her regards. She said to tell you she’ll come over for a visit later in the year.”

Anna Ryland de Silva was tall and thin. Her long gray hair was braided and twisted in a coronet around her head, making her seem taller than she was. Round, lightly tinted glasses covered her blue eyes. She wore a long flowing dress and sandals. Myra thought Annie looked like a sixties flower child. Her eyes behind the tinted glasses were still vague and basically unfocused. It was as if one part of her was here but the rest of her was somewhere else.

So, nothing had changed since her last visit. Myra tried for a cheerful tone. “I’d like to shower and change. And then, Annie, I’d like to take a nice walk if you’re up to it.”

“But of course, Myra. Run along. You know where your room is. Charles, you look in need of a nap.”

“How astute of you, Annie. Myra slept on the plane and on the ride up the mountain. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll see you later.” Annie waved both of them off as she made her way back to one of the outdoor rooms where she spent most of her time.

It was a beautiful room with a Mediterranean flavor. The furniture was dark, the tile and mosaics so interesting one could carry on a conversation for an hour pointing out the intricacies of each tile. Anna no longer noticed the tiles or the works of art on the walls. She settled herself in a chaise with brilliant colored cushions before she turned up the volume on the plasma TV attached to the wall. Sheer organza hanging from the long open windows billowed in the soft mountain breeze. A moment later she was engrossed in the weather conditions of her adopted country, forgetting that she had guests from her homeland.

Down the hall, Myra stepped out of the shower to see Charles stretched out on the bed sound asleep. She tiptoed around as she dressed and then unpacked both their bags. She brushed out her gray hair, clasped the pearls she was never without, and left the room. At Anna’s doorway, she drew a deep breath and then let it out slowly.

“I’m ready, Annie. For heaven’s sake, are you still watching the weather station? Whatever do you get out of watching it?”

“Myra! You look wonderful! You must be happy. It shows. Are you ever going to marry that wonderful man?”

Myra perched on a chaise opposite Annie’s. “Look at me, Annie. I want you to really look at me. I need to talk to you and I want your undivided attention. But to answer your questions, yes, I am happy. I’m glad it shows. And maybe one of these days I will marry Charles.”

“That’s nice. How is Nellie?”

Myra decided it was time to take a page out of Kathryn Lucas’s book. “A hell of a lot better than you are, that’s for sure.” She reached over for the remote lying on a marble table next to where Annie was sitting. She looked at it and then stood up and tossed it as far as she could, but not before she turned off the weather channel. Annie looked on in horror. “Watch this, you weather junkie.” In the blink of an eye, Myra picked up the marble table and pitched it at the plasma TV. She clapped her hands when the screen shattered. “No more weather!” she said.

“Now get off your skinny ass because we’re going for a walk. I didn’t come all this way to watch the weather channel. I need your help.”

Annie started to cry.

Myra turned another page from the Kathryn Lucas book. “Cut the crap, Annie. All you do is cry and whine. I’m sick of it. Nellie is sick of it. Annie, look at me. We’ve been friends since that first day at Miss Ambrose’s dance studio. The three of us huddled together because there was nothing graceful about any of us. Remember how scared we were when we had to go out on the dance floor with a boy. You started to cry. Nellie kicked Miss Ambrose and I turned off the Victrola. She kicked us out and we walked home swearing allegiance to each other. We’ve been friends for almost sixty years. That allows me to do what I’m doing.”

“And you think busting up my television and throwing away my remote will make me want to help you!”

Myra turned to page three in Kathryn’s playbook and said, “I don’t give a good rat’s ass if you help me or not. I want you to get over it. And you know what it is. It’s fifteen years since you lost your family. You can’t bring them back. Not ever. They’re gone, Annie. I know what you went through. Nellie knows, too. I wanted to die when I lost Barbara, and I might have if Nikki and Charles hadn’t stepped in to help me. I wallowed in my grief just the way Nellie did. I’m proud of the fact that I was able to help her get over the worst of it. You wouldn’t let us help you, Annie. You shut us out. I’m going to help you whether you like it or not. I’m not going to give up this time.”

“Because you need my help.” Annie’s voice held a tinge of sarcasm.

Page four of Kathryn’s playbook. “Screw the help. Nellie will help me. I can’t count on you anymore. You’re useless, worthless. You exist. That’s all you do. You take up air other people need to breathe. Why haven’t you ended it all, jumped off that mountain? Because you don’t have the guts, right? I’m going to help you do that. That’s the main reason I came over here.”

Annie leaned forward, her eyes frantic behind the tinted glasses. “Are you insane, Myra? You came here to kill me! Why?”

Page five of Kathryn’s playbook. “See! See! You don’t listen worth shit! I didn’t come here to kill you. I came here to help you do it yourself. So, let’s get with the program here.”

Panic filled Annie’s voice. “You’re crazy!”

Myra moved on to page six. “How in the hell would you know if someone is crazy or not? You live in la-la land. If you don’t like going over the mountain, Charles can power up that yacht of yours that sits down there in the marina and we can push you overboard the way your family died. Yes, yes, that would be more fitting. I can see it now. The mountain isn’t a good idea. You’d be too broken up when they found you.”

Annie was still crying, wiping at her eyes with the hem of her long flowing gown. “What happened to you? You sound like a street person. I thought you were my friend and now you want to drown me. Oh, God! Why?”

Myra wasn’t sure but she suspected that Kathryn’s playbook was working. She pressed on and turned to page seven. “Because.” She shrugged. “Give me one thing you’ve done for someone else in the last fifteen years. Just one, Annie.”

“What business is it of yours what I do or don’t do?” Annie continued to cry.

“I want you to come back home, Annie. I want to help you. We’re coming down the home stretch now. I hate it that you’re here alone while Nellie and I are back in the States. We still have each other. I don’t want to see that slip away. I want to tell you something, and take it as gospel. After … after Barbara died, I went into a very deep depression. I didn’t care if I lived or died. What was there to live for? My daughter was gone, I couldn’t bring her back. When I came back to join the living—that’s how I thought of it at the time—and got involved … in … other things, Barbara started talking to me. I swear it, Annie. I can be having a cup of tea and she’ll start talking to me. I could be in a tizzy over something or other and there she is. I can’t see her, but I can talk to her. I want you to open yourself to the possibility that maybe your family will do the same thing for you. I’m not saying it will happen. I’m not crazy, Annie. I know it sounds far-fetched but it does happen. She comes to me when I need her the most. She said she’s proud of me. God, Annie, do you have any idea what that means to me? Well, do you?”

“I … I can’t imagine. I would give anything …”

Myra relented and tossed away Kathryn’s playbook. “Let me help you, Annie. Then if you want to help me, we’ll work on that. Let’s go for that walk, okay?”

“Will you tell me what she said to you? You wouldn’t lie to me, would you, Myra?”

“I would never lie to an old friend. Yes, I will tell you everything my daughter said to me. It’s all part and parcel of me coming here to enlist your help. Do you want to change your clothes before we go for that walk?”

Annie looked down at the white gown. She frowned. “It’s so easy to pull it on in the morning. I think I have hiking boots.” She looked up at the shattered plasma TV and said, “I’m going to have to get a new television set.”

Myra shook her head. “That’s the one thing you are not going to buy. Hurry up, I’m not as patient as I used to be. Shake it, sister!”

Annie allowed herself a small smile. “Your vocabulary is certainly different these days. You must be leading a very interesting life back in the States.”

“Annie, you have no idea.”