CHAPTER TWELVE

The end of every night at the theater had now become Margo’s favorite time of day. Finn was in the habit of stopping by for a few hours before his midnight shift began. Except tonight, he had a day off, and they wouldn’t have to cut their evening short, which was nice. Sometimes, at her urging, he would even catch the evening show and she would slip in and sit beside him. After all, his film education had numerous holes in it. She was horrified to find out he had never even heard of 12 ANGRY MEN.

“That was stellar,” Finn said, genuinely impressed. “You really know how to pick ’em.”

“It always inspires me. You know. Justice. The truth destined to come out. People overcoming their preconceptions. I must’ve watched it at least three or four times now. You know what we should do? You talked about night surfing and how much fun that was. That’s what we should do. Why don’t we try night surfing tonight?”

“Oh, I dunno. I think you’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“I have?”

“Yeah. That cliff diving and . . . everything. Why not just relax, take it easy. Let’s go next door and grab a bowl of clam chowder.”

“Okay. I like clam chowder. But I think I would like night surfing too. Oh, let me just get these trash bags first,” Margo remembered.

“No, I got them. You just sit here and I’ll just be a minute.”

“Well, there are three bags. So you could do two and I’ll do one.”

“No, you just rest. Let me make myself useful.”

Rest? Hadn’t Margo just been sitting through a movie for almost two hours?

Soon enough, they were inside The Clam Shack and downing bowls of creamy chowder.

“You know what we could do after this? We can watch a scary movie. I know you have to have a lot more DVDs. How about that Alien sequel?” Margo suggested.

“Or, something a little more . . . laid back. One of your old classics, maybe.”

Margo examined Finn intently as he tried to look away innocently.

“Who told you?”

“Told me what?”

“About my heart transplant.”

Finn sighed. “I bumped into your sister on my way home this afternoon. And I mentioned the cliff diving. And she thought you were out of your mind. And she thought it was a good idea for me to know about the heart transplant. She’s absolutely right. Margo, why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Because everyone has always treated me kindly and gently and with kid gloves. It was great to be treated as normal. No pity, no kid gloves, but as if I were strong, capable.”

“You are beyond capable. But for an operation so recent, it seems a risky thing. You just got this new heart.”

“But it passes every test I throw at it. It never lets me down. Do you know what the first twenty-five years of my life were like? Can you imagine wondering every day whether you’re going to be alive tomorrow?”

“Hmm. Now you mention it, I suppose I do. A lot of my colleagues and friends never made it home from their last assignments. Smart, brave guys. No mistakes. Just bad luck. And sometimes, a little too much courage. So, I did have to prepare myself mentally for a short life, for life ending in the line of service. It was the last thought going through my head every night.”

“Yes, and the first thing you would think about every morning—is this my last morning?” Margo said.

“Is this my last meal?” Finn added. “This roast is dry—this had better not be my last meal.”

They chuckled together.

“Did you write a will?” Margo asked.

“Oh, I’ve had one for six or seven years now. Not that I have that much to pass on. The car. Chunk of savings. Most of my savings is going to Zoe.”

“I wrote my first will when I was eight. Just as soon as I learned that my mother and I had the same heart condition. Everything I owned, down to my Chinese checkers set, had to be formally accounted for in my bequests. I’ve done that for almost twenty years. And you know what? I don’t want to think about leaving life anymore. I’d rather think about living it. You know, really living. It feels like I have so much time to make up for. I can’t play it safe anymore. Worrying about the worst things that can happen. Being careful and cautious about everything. I’m strong now. I don’t want you to think of me as weak. Ever. I’m not.”

Finn reached for her hand. “I won’t. So, whatever you want to do tonight is fine by me. You name it, we’ll do it.”

Margo gripped his hand. “I want you to take me home, get into my bed, and make my heart pound.”

Finn’s mouth hung open for a few split seconds before his thundering voice caused all nearby diners to turn around. “Check!”

Margo grinned. Hallelujah.

*****

Margo’s heart held up just fine.

Around ten o’clock in the morning, they heard Bette come in and rummage around the kitchen. They didn’t mind waiting her out, enjoying the dreamlike novelty of a morning wrapped around each other.

When Margo felt certain her sister had probably fallen asleep, they tiptoed out and down the stairs and headed quietly to the kitchen. There on the counter, they found a bowl of batter, the sign next to it saying, “Make him pancakes.”

*****

Since Margo did have a picture of Russell’s grandfather in her possession, it only seemed right pass it on. Finn gave her a ride to the station, and then they had tentatively planned on catching a mid-afternoon surfing session. From the station lobby, they could hear a big, angry commotion coming from the visitor’s room.

“Who’s got visitors?” Finn asked.

“Russell Knox. These guys say they had something financial to work out with him. But I think we have ourselves a situation.”

Finn rushed down the hallway, and Margo was on his heels. In the visiting room, Julian Meeks’s brother, Carson Meeks, was straining to get his hands on Russell and was being held back by Julian’s cousin, Lester Quinn.

“You messed with the wrong family,” Carson shouted. “That was my brother. That was my blood. Your days are numbered, buddy. My brother’s gotta die because you owe him fifty grand? That’s how you get out of paying your debts? You make me sick. Lethal injection is too good for ya. You made him suffer. No way should you get the easy way out.”

Finn pulled Carson back and handed him to two officers behind him. “Mike, Barney, get him outta here.”

“Just calm down, okay? Just calm down,” Barney told Carson sternly.

The two officers led Carson Meeks out of the room.

“What was that about?” Finn asked.

“This guy owed our family fifty grand, like my cousin said. He signed a deal with Julian, and it was really starting to look like he wasn’t going to hold up his end of the bargain. Jules was a tough guy, maybe a little harsh with him. But that’s what you gotta do when you lend money. Carson’s a hothead. But I get where he’s coming from. We’re all pretty upset about Julian. We need to see some justice. Now, I gotta get out here and get to my lumber office.”

Margo drew closer to Russell. “Are you okay?”

“They’re never going to believe me.”

“Does Julian’s family know about the arson threats and the fire insurance?”

“If they do, it just gives them more reason to think that I killed their brother.”

“What’s this? Arson? Fire insurance?” Finn inquired warily.

Margo thought it best to step outside the police station to explain to Finn the rather damaging motive that might lead a lot of people to believe that he was a killer. As she supplied one detail after another, Margo watched as Finn got madder and madder.

“How long have you known this?”

“A little while. A couple of weeks. The thing is, his lawyer told him not to tell the police. Because it would just be used against him. Because it looks like a really serious motive. And no one would even think about investigating other suspects if they believed Russell had such a strong reason to kill Julian Meeks.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what it looks like. That was the missing piece—the motive I didn’t quite have a handle on. It was too random, too unconnected. They knew each other, which he lied about. Julian Meeks was about to ruin him. Reason enough to kill. I can’t believe you knew all this, Margo. You knew, and you never said a word.”

“I don’t believe that Russell did this. I really don’t. And I don’t want to get him in trouble. He finally got to this good point in his life, and now it’s all been taken away. He doesn’t deserve this. He really needs someone on his side now.”

“I thought you said you barely knew him. That’s right, isn’t it? That visiting him here was pretty much the first time you spoke to him in your life. Which still doesn’t explain to me why you took such an interest in someone you barely knew. What’s up with that?”

“We . . . grew up in the same town,” Margo said feebly. “We went to the same school at the same time.”

“You’re keeping things from me. Which doesn’t work for me. Not as a cop. And not as someone who I thought was getting close to you. I thought we had some real trust here. But maybe we don’t. In either direction.”

He turned away and walked back into the station. Margo turned away woodenly and wandered off in a daze. What had she done?

*****

Finn was right. Why, why, why hadn’t she confided in him? Margo just hadn’t wanted to help put the final nail in Russell’s coffin. It would have been too easy for Finn and the police force to completely give up on following any other leads. But now he was mad at her, and after their wonderful night together. What if his feelings about her had changed? She had to figure out some way to make this right.

It would help if she had someone to talk to. Bette? That would actually feel a bit hypocritical. Margo didn’t know when she would ever be able to let her sister know about her newfound powers. But how could she talk about keeping secrets from Finn when she was also keeping such a big one from Bette?

Delphine. That’s who she needed to talk to. In the short time they’d known each other, she had become so comfortable with the older woman. So safe. It was nice to have someone who she could say anything to . . . someone she didn’t have to hide anything from.

Margo rounded the corner to the street Delphine’s boutique was on, and for the second time in as many days, she was met with the sight of Walter Knox. This time was quite a bit more surreal than seeing him have his car repo-ed. He was standing right next to Delphine, their bodies angled away from Margo. Walter’s hand was outstretched and Delphine was counting cash bills into it. Crisp bills that even from a distance looked a lot like hundred-dollar bills. What on earth could Delphine be paying Walter for? Margo didn’t even know the two them knew one another.

But what she did know was that she had rattled on enough about Julian Meeks’s murder, and her own attempts to uncover the truth, and that she had most certainly mentioned Walter’s name to Delphine. If she knew him, why wouldn’t she have said so? And again, why was she giving him money?

They were in front of Delphine’s business. Any normal transaction should have had money going in her direction, not his. But then, he was an accountant—perhaps Delphine was one of his clients. But no one pays their accountant in cash. Check usually. PayPal, possibly. Something business appropriate.

All of a sudden, Margo was on the very uncomfortable end of having a secret kept from her by a trusted friend. The payout continued till it amounted to what Margo would have estimated as $2000. What service had Walter performed for Delphine to get such a nice compensation?

Margo drew back into a doorway to remain unseen. Delphine returned to her shop and Walter took off briskly down the road. Margo scurried after him. There was no reason to think that a direct confrontation would be fruitful. But she did want to know what he was up to.

It was entirely predictable that Walter was headed directly to his car dealership. He was going to get his car back, apparently, courtesy of Delphine. Which brought Margo’s thinking back to Delphine—who was someone Margo had taken at her word, never questioned, and knew very little about.

*****

It was much earlier than she needed to get to the theater, but sometimes, the lobby sitting area served as a cozy little oasis of solitude. A place to think things through. As Margo approached her theater, she could see a man reading the posters and reviews right outside. But his back was to her, and she didn’t see that it was restaurant owner Ian Fowler until she was right on him.

“Well, look who we have here. A little thief. You have a lot of nerve going into my things. Taking things that don’t belong to you.”

“I was taking things that didn’t belong to you. You messed Russell Knox up, but good. Delayed his restaurant’s opening. Got him in trouble with his creditors. You want to take me to court? That would necessitate your explaining how those documents came into your possession. I believe the operative concept here is mail fraud, with malicious intent.”

“You got me in hot water with the cops. They not only wanted to talk to me about those letters, but about poisoning the dead guy and things that have absolutely nothing to do with me. He wanted to look over the office and the kitchen, but I said no warrant, no search. Look at the mess you got me in.”

“You’re a free man, which is more than Russell Knox can say.”

“You can get yourself into some serious trouble if you keep messing with me.” There was a menacing tone behind the implied threat.

“Don’t you have a dinner shift to get ready for?” Margo was not in a mood to be intimidated.

“You think about what I just said.”

“What I’m thinking is that I would love a plate of yummy tapas. And I’ll bet hundreds of folks in Oyster Cove would agree.” She arched an eyebrow at him, slipped into the theater, and left him fuming. Two months ago, that man would have had her cowering, assuming she would ever have had the nerve to do anything to cross him, which she hadn’t. Thank you, Lilith.

*****

Finn mindlessly pushed the eggs over easy around on his plate. He was at his favorite diner, one he stopped by often on his way home after the all-night shift. The last sixteen hours had been a torturous anxiety. He had been awfully rough on Margo. Perhaps he should have given her the benefit of the doubt. He paid for the barely eaten meal and stumbled out into the street—where he found Margo standing, waiting for him. The relief of seeing her was almost enough to make him forget how mad he was supposed to be. Almost.

“Russell was a year behind me in junior high, so I never paid him any attention. I never even knew his name,” Margo began. And so she gave the full detailed account of that bullying event that had left her with such shame and regret.

She was well aware that it was likely to sound silly or pathetic or a lie. The event was obviously more traumatic for Russell Knox than for herself, and yet he had been able to move past it with flying colors, creating a great life for himself prior to the recent unfortunate turn of events. It hadn’t held him back. It hadn’t even caused him to hold any resentment toward her. So, it was hard to convey why it had affected her so, why it had burdened her soul and why she felt that she owed it to Russell to help him out now in his time of need. Not for the sake of an old friendship that had never existed, but for decency. For atonement.

“That was one of the worst things about my old heart. Knowing that I couldn’t ever help anyone. Feeling so useless. I still don’t know if I can help Russell now. But I have to try. I owe him that. And I should’ve told you that. Not because you’re a cop, but because you’re my . . . my—”

Finn came close to her and dropped his forehead down till it lightly touched hers.

Margo sighed. “I wasn’t sure if you’d understand.”

“Understand that my supercool girlfriend just keeps getting cooler and cooler?”

Margo leaned into him with an audible sigh of relief. “So, we’re good, then?”

“Absolutely. In fact, we should shake on it. Full body shake. Over at your place.”

“Oh, I see. You were very highly motivated to forgive me. Lucky for you, we’re on the same page, but Bette is probably going to be home soon.”

“Oh . . . maybe she’ll make us pancakes.”

“No shame.”

Finn threw an arm around her shoulder and steered her toward his car. He stopped for a moment to answer his cellphone. Margo had a hard time reading the strange look on his face. He hung up.

“Guess who just made bail?”

Margo had no problem guessing. But how? Russell’s bail had been set for $100,000.

“Who could have done that? That’s a lot of money,” Margo marveled.

“Family?”

“His family doesn’t have any money. Neither does his fiancée.”

“Well, I hate to delay the . . . pancakes. But, we need to see what’s going on.”

Margo nodded gratefully. She wasn’t sure how it was coming about, but Russell seemed one step closer to freedom.

*****

Russell was retrieving the small stash of possessions he had brought with him to the jail. He greeted Margo’s entry with a look of stunned gratitude.

“I was wondering if this was your doing,” he said to her.

“I do not sell enough popcorn and Raisinets to ever have a spare hundred grand lying around. No. It wasn’t me.”

“Nobody gave you a heads up?” Finn asked Russell. “Any special visitors in the last few days?”

“No. I mean, a lot of people have expressed their support. There were even a couple of editorials in the paper saying they didn’t think I did it. But I don’t know anyone who could help me like this.”

“Yeah, we saw those editorials. Free Russell. Maybe there was some effort to raise money?” Finn wondered.

“A Kickstarter?” Margo offered. “We should have thought of that. Where’s your fiancée?”

“I called her. She had to get a temp job after the restaurant closed. She really wanted to be here, but the job pays well, and we’re going to need that money, whatever happens. But especially if I wind up going back in.”

“Need a ride somewhere?” Finn asked.

“No reason to rush home—Wendy’s not there. It’s been so long since I could walk around and since I had a meal that wasn’t capped off with green Jell-O. I think I’m just going to stretch my legs. Thanks, though.”

“Well, my boss wants to go over the particulars of this case. Why don’t you walk your buddy out?” Finn suggested to Margo. “I’ll give you a call in an hour.”

“Sure.” Her plans with Finn could wait another hour. Russell really looked as if he could use the company.

As they stepped outside, Russell shielded his eyes against the bright sunlight. “The little outdoor space they let me wander around in was shaded. Which was for my benefit, I guess. But it’s been too long since I’ve felt the sun beating on me.”

“I can imagine. Or I probably can’t. What would you like to do? Anywhere. Anything.”

“Oh, definitely the beach. Fried clams. And a gelato.”

They laughed.

“Green Jell-O, huh? Yeah, we can do better than that.”

Margo and Russell stepped into the street, the street lights and spotlights having given them the right of way. There was a car approaching that had slowed down appropriately as they stood on the curb. But as they stepped into the street, it sped up and headed straight toward them. Margo spotted it first, grabbing Russell’s arm and yanking him back behind the tall streetlight pole. The car veered away, squealing out of control, and skidded into a parked car on the opposite side with a hard crash.