Domino (34 page)

It seemed so long ago that Virginia had given
her the clothes, when it had only been four days. The black t-shirt
and jeans would eventually find their way into the nearest garbage
can. The black scarf she left on the bed. The red one she would
keep. They would be a grim reminder of her ordeal and the death of
Myra's dream.

Down the stairs to the hotel lobby, the
paramedics were bringing up the bodies of Marco and Graciella
McKinnon from the cellar. The last stretcher out the door was Dusty
who was protesting loudly that he was alright. It made Clarissa
smile at the crusty old man.

"It's just a little cut," he rasped at the
paramedic. "I don't need to go to no hospital for a little bump on
the noggin. I have a job to do. Let me up off this thing, will
ya?"

She followed Dusty's stretcher outside, her
thoughts lost on the crystal angel and scarves in her hand. When
she looked up, another stretcher was wheeled toward an ambulance
and Clarissa ran over and put her hand on the paramedic's arm to
stop it. Randy lay beneath a white blanket. His eyes were doleful
as he turned his head slightly toward her.

"How bad is he?" Clarissa asked the
paramedic.

"Not good, but we think he'll pull through. He
doesn't seem to be responding to us, though."

"He's a mute. He can't speak."

"Thanks for letting us know."

Clarissa took the boy's hand and leaned down
to kiss his forehead. "Thank you, Randy. You're going to be just
fine," she smiled at him.

His lips move, trying to form a word. Clarissa
clasped his hand tighter. His lips moved again and Clarissa leaned
down closer. His lips formed the word "friend."

"Friends," she smiled and let the tears fall
as they lifted the stretcher in the waiting ambulance.

"Clary!" Hugo grinned and waved at her as he
flounced toward her. "Oh, my God, when I saw you and Morgan up
there I almost died. My God, girl, you look a complete
mess.

She threw her arms around Hugo's neck and he
held her for a moment. "Thank you, Hugo, for being here. Thank you
for coming for me."

"It was the least I could do," he said. "The
salon in La Jolla is fantastic. Clary, you've got to come down and
see it!"

"I promise I will."

"Let's get you home, girl. Get you out of
those clothes. Really, Clary, where ever did you get these
things?"

"I can't, right now," Clarissa said. "Can you
lend me cab fare, Hugo?

"Hon, my car is parked right on the next
street. You don't have to take a cab."

"I have a date."

"You have a what? With who? Oh, alright. Be
secretive. I have some errands to do anyway."

Clarissa kissed Hugo on the cheek, tucked the
bills and the broken crystal angel into her jeans pocket, and tied
the red scarf around her neck. She slipped her arm through
Rowland's and he tipped his hat and smiled at her. "Hope they got
some of that roast beef left," she said.

"Child, they never turn away the hungry. I
would be right honored, Miss Dugan, if you would accompany me to
some of that fine fare."

"I would be delighted, Mister
Rowland."

As they walked down the rain slick sidewalk,
an old song from a record Clarissa's mother used to play rang in
her head. It was a song from the sixties, a Beatles tune. Something
about blackbirds, broken wings, and learning to fly.

The End

Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed
it, won’t you please take a moment to leave me review?

Thanks!

Chris Barnhart

Discover other titles by Chris
Barnhart

Bloodstorm (Fire Crystal Legacy
Book 1)

Coming
soon!
Solfire (Fire Crystal Legacy Book
2).
Look for it in January 2015 at your
favorite ebook retailer.