Pier Lights (11 page)

“Why?” Lina saw the two biddies exchange
glances. “He’s not scary. He’s...”

“He’s not welcome here. And neither are you.
Leave by tonight.”

“I can’t. I can hardly stand up and...”

“Not my fault your lechery is making things
difficult for you...”

“No it’s not...” Caroline opened the door
enough they could see her crutches. “My foot is acting up. I can’t
pack like this or if I could I couldn’t carry boxes..”

“Then hire someone.”

Caroline shoved a hand through her hair. Get
out? She hadn’t done anything except the mess and she cleaned it
up.

“Fine. I’ll give you till tomorrow night,
considering your foot. That’s all I can do.” The landlady walked
away, down the stairs.

Caroline tried again to stop Mrs. Tennan, to
ask if Dio said anything. The old bitty turned up her nose and
nearly slammed the door behind her. Caroline imagined Mrs. Tennan
had never been lucky enough to have a Dio of her own, even for a
night. Sad. Damn sad. It would do her good. Or maybe she had one
and lost him.

Evicted. By tomorrow night. She guessed it
was a good thing she didn’t have much to pack and it was a
furnished apartment. But that meant she had to go out today, to
find somewhere to take her few things. And her stomach was still
upset. She had to talk to him. She had to know.

She would stop by the club tonight but it
was Monday. He didn’t work Mondays. It would be near torture to
wait until Tuesday. By then, she likely wouldn’t have a job and she
could pick up her final paycheck at the same time.

Dio, don’t give up. Come talk to me.

He stopped by Lina’s and knocked on her
door. No answer. If she was sick, why wasn’t she home? He tried
again, gave her time.

The door opened across the hall. “She’s not
here and if you don’t leave, I’m calling the cops.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“You can’t just wear a mask like that to run
around scaring people. Get on out of here.”

“Where is Lina?”

“Who? I don’t know anyone by that name.”

A stage name. Of course. “The girl who lives
here. Do you know where she is?”

“If I did I wouldn’t tell you. Go on outta
here now.”

“Look lady, I’m a friend of hers and I heard
she was sick. I just want to check on her.”

“Sick. Right. Drunk more likely. And it
doesn’t matter after today. She’s leaving. Now get on outta here.
We don’t want you and your black mask in our building scaring the
heck outta people. I don’t scare easy. You just gave me a start
yesterday, that’s all, so go on now.”

“I’m not trying to scare anyone. What do you
mean she’s leaving?”

“Leaving, as I said.
Now
get
. Before I
call the cops.”

Dio clenched his jaw. “Fine. I’m going. If
you see her, tell her I need to speak to her and I’ll be at work
tonight. Would you do that?”

“Why should I?”

“Because you’re a human being?”

“Hmph. Get out now.”

With a shake of the head, Dio left before
she could make good on calling the police. He didn’t need that kind
of trouble.

Lina was leaving? And it wasn’t her real
name. How would he find her? Work records. Hayes would never tell
him. But he could get someone to find out for him. Drunk? The old
lady said she was probably drunk? No. He couldn’t see it. At least
not enough to make herself sick. Not his Lina.

But what did he really know about her?

Not even her name.

Caroline pulled her car in front of her
mom’s house and sat looking at it. She shouldn’t have driven out
there, not with her right foot unusable and her left foot not used
to driving. But she made it well enough.

Did she dare go in? Maybe she could at least
crash there for a while, just long enough to pull her head together
and find another job. She laughed at herself. Pull her head
together at her mom’s. Wishful thinking.

With a sigh, she pulled away from the curb
and made the slow trek fifteen minutes back to Folly Beach. Passing
the old Folly Boat, Lina looked over as she always did to catch
whatever was newly painted on the hurricane-stranded vessel.
Usually it was horribly uninteresting. Birthday announcements were
dominant, as though everyone else cared. The recent camouflage
paint to wish someone well was nice. Now and then there was actual
artwork on the boat, such as whales in water.

More writing this time. She slowed and
looked back.

Lina
... The boat said Lina and something she missed.

Caroline pulled over, pulled her crutches
out from beside her, and went back to look.

Lina, work Tuesday night. Please. D.

D. Dio. Work Tuesday night?
She couldn’t work. She couldn’t even put pressure on her foot. But
she would go.
Oh Dio, don’t play games
with me. Please.
She wished she had paint
to answer him. Even a Sharpie. Going back to her car, Caroline
searched her glove box and her center column. Nothing. Not even a
dull pencil.

She’d have to wait and hope he would be
there whether or not she answered. Tuesday wasn’t his work
night.

~16~

She was packed. Everything she could carry
with a backpack or by pushing down the stairs was in her car. The
rest she couldn’t do. Her books, of which there weren’t many but
she’d carted them with her from home, childhood books she wanted to
keep, were in one box with her Starfish collection on top, wrapped
well, not well enough to shove down the stairs. A few pots and pans
were in another. A few mismatched dishes.

Her landlady had checked to make sure she
knew to be out by nightfall. Caroline assured her she remembered
but asked if she could get some help carrying the boxes to her car.
Pointless.

With a disparaging frown, the woman told her
it wasn’t her problem, but if they were in the apartment after
nightfall, they would be locked inside of it and would belong to
her.

It was getting far too close to nightfall.
Lina had spent the first half of the day again looking for a place.
No luck. Nothing she could afford or feel safe in had surfaced
within ten miles. Soon she would not only not have an apartment or
a job, she also wouldn’t have her starfish, her pans, her dishes.
No, she would have her starfish. Even if she had to shove the box
with her crutches and sit down on the stairs and lower it one step
at a time, she would have her starfish, karma be damned. She
supposed she could do them all that way.

Except she was exhausted and she was almost
out of time.

Oh Dio, come find me. I could use a black
knight about now.

With a deep breath, she got a grip on
herself and decided to use her brain, to get out of her fantasy
world. She was smart. She could do this.

The taxi driver.

Caroline dove for her handbag and dug
through to find his card. He’d said to call if she needed help. She
had to hope he was as safe as he said. At this point, she had few
options.

A woman answered. Lina hesitated, then asked
if he was there, reading the name. The woman corrected her
pronunciation.

“I’m sorry. I ... I’m trying to move out of
my place and ... I’m packed but I can’t get my things downstairs
and he said I should call if I needed help, that it would be safe
because his wife would ... would...

“Hit him over the head with an iron
skillet?”

“Yes. That’s what he said. If he even
thought of looking at another woman, which he didn’t. I have a bad
foot. He saw me at the pier, leaving the pier, about to walk home,
limp home, and he helped me a lot. I just ... I have to be out
before nightfall and I don’t have...”

“Give me your address.” The woman took it,
or at least Lina hoped she really did. “We’ll be there in a
few.”

“We?”

“Sounds like you need more than brute
strength. Hang tight.” The phone clicked.

Lina nearly cried, but she wouldn’t. She
hoped she hadn’t just set herself up for another trap. She could
open the door, leave it open, and...

Hell, let the damned Fates do as they would.
She was too tired to fight it.

Leaning back on the stripped bed against the
headboard that she’d cleaned with disinfectant before she used it,
Lina let her eyes close. She hadn’t been so tired since ... since
her early days of dance school.

The knock jolted her awake. She looked out
the door with the chain still latched. The taxi driver. He said his
wife was there, also, and gave someone a nod. The woman stuck her
face where Caroline could see it and offered a hand through the
door.

“Need help, child?”

Caroline nearly cried again. She just
nodded.

“Well, open the door then.”

Obeying as though she was the woman’s child,
Lina closed it enough to unlatch it and opened it again. And she
explained again. The woman shook her head. “You’re not the first
it’s happened to, love. Don’t worry about her and her kind.” Her
strong hand clasped one of Lina’s. “Things have a way of working
out, they do. Is that all you have?” She looked at the five
boxes.

“The rest is in my car. I know. I should
have been able to...”

“On those things?” The woman rolled her
eyes. “Nonsense. Harry, grab those and bring them down. I’ll walk
with ... what did you say your name was?”

“Caroline.”

“Caroline. What a beautiful name. That’s
Harry who you already met. I’m Nelda. We’ll get you where you’re
going. I do spose you’re not going too far?”

“I ... hopefully within ten miles or so but
right now just to my car. I’ll ... have to find a hotel or...”

“No hotels available tonight, love. Big
meeting of some kind in town. Everything’s full. You mean you have
no place in mind to go?”

“I ... no. I’ve been looking since
yesterday. It wasn’t enough time.”

“Mean old biddy, doing such a thing to a
girl, a girl with a lame foot, no less. She’ll pay her due when
it’s time. You’ll stay with us tonight. All we’ve got’s an old
couch if that’ll work...”

“Oh I can’t ask you...”

“No askin’ involved. Come. Harry, move it
along.”

Since she had no other option in the world,
Caroline let Nelda take the lead. She pointed out her car and Nelda
asked how she drove that way without the right foot. She shook her
head when Caroline answered. “Nonsense. I’ll take you in the taxi.
Harry can follow in your car. I don’t drive a lot but I can drive
that old thing no farther than we’re going. Harry, he’s a good
driver. No worries about the car.”

“I’m not. It’s ancient anyway. Not that I
would doubt his ability. I only mean...”

Nelda grinned, a beautiful grin, and patted
her hand. “Don’t worry. We’re not touchy. Come get in the taxi now
and get off your feet. We’ll take care of things tonight. Tomorrow
you can start sorting it all out.”

“I ... I have to be somewhere tonight. By
nine. It’s important.”

“Harry’ll get you there and back, then.
Don’t you worry. Time don’t matter at all to him. He can sleep for
ten minutes and jump up and go whatever the time day or night.
Don’t you worry.”

Dio drove like hell. She was barely
breathing, gasping for air. He’d carried his mom to the car and
jumped in and just ran it. He hadn’t even grabbed his mask.

He hadn’t called in to work, either. He
would do that from the hospital as soon as they took care of her.
They would take care of her, and this time, like it or not, she
would damn well stay there until he didn’t have to worry every
minute.

“Still okay?” He glanced over.

She gave him a slight grin. Very slight. She
didn’t answer.

He whipped around a car that poked along
trying to read the damned boat where he hoped Lina saw his
message... And he wouldn’t be there. If she saw it and he wasn’t
there... Dio would have to worry about that later. First things
first. Ten more minutes to the hospital. Or less if he could make
it less. His mom hated when he drove even the speed limit which she
said was too fast, but she’d have to understand this time.

Only a couple of minutes left, and red and
blue lights pulled in behind him. He wasn’t stopping. They were
nearly there. He’d explain later. And he could just see that going
well.

Dio nearly laughed at the irony. Yesterday
the threat of cops only because he knocked on Lina’s door and today
he would have to explain his speed without his mask. He’d wind up
in jail yet. Wouldn’t that be the topping on the stripper’s cake?
Not bad enough he had to live with hiding his face and he had to
run a farm he didn’t want and he’d probably just lost the one girl
who might have had the spunk to stay with him when she saw him, but
a jail record on top of it?

He did slow down as he pulled into the
hospital parking lot. He wouldn’t risk some other poor soul’s life
to save his mother’s. Whisking around to the emergency room, he
stopped right at the doors, threw it in park, and jumped out to
hurry to her door. Orderlies came.

“She’s having trouble breathing.”

They looked at him and drew back, at the
same time the officer stepped out of his patrol car, directly
behind Dio’s, and came at him.

“My mother.” He reached in to pick her up
out of the car and turned to where they could see her. “She has
pneumonia. She’s barely breathing.”

At the look of her, they hurried forward
again, with glances at him, and helped her into the chair.

“Take her in. I’ll be right there.” He
turned to the officer. “I’m sorry. I don’t drive like that, but
she...” He pointed.

“Yeah okay.” The man eyed him. “You have a
license?”

Dio pulled it out and handed it over. It
looked just like he did now, full face scar and all.