Soulshine (24 page)

Oliver returned to the room where Evan was resting. He was visibly irritated. “I can"t believe that it is easier to get information from a hospital than it is to get it from hotels and airports.”

“What information are you trying to get?” asked Bryan, who was catching up with Evan on old times.
“I figured that if the car Michelle was driving is out of commission, she likely either rented a hotel room in Ottawa until the car is repaired, or she took an airplane out of Ottawa. I called all the hotels in Ottawa and they have policies protecting the privacy of their guests. When I contacted the airport, they also refused to give me any information.”
Jean entered the room. “No luck, huh?”
“I found out that she spent one night at Fletcher University Hospital in order to calm down. She was released yesterday morning. She could be anywhere… yet she could still be in Ottawa.”
“I"m trying to think about what she would do,” said Evan. “After all, I know her pretty well after traveling with her for over eleven years.”
“Why were you two in Ottawa? Did you have a destination in mind?” asked Bryan.
“Yes,” said Evan. “She wanted badly to go to the winter carnival in Quebec City. That"s not until February though. I doubt that she would rush to get up there before January.”
“You mentioned her mother,” said Bryan. “Do you think you could call her… or is she as hostile toward you as the father?”
Evan shrugged. “I had no idea that her father hated me
that
much. I guess that when her mother gave him the news about us, he went ballistic. But I believe her mother left the hospital on good terms with me. It was touch and go for awhile.”
“You
told
the parents about yourself and Michelle?” questioned Oliver. “Everything? Including the elixir?”
“I had to tell Mary… that"s the mother"s name. She came into my hospital room, took a good look at me and Michelle, and noticed how obvious it was that we didn"t age. There wasn"t much I could say but the truth. To be honest, it felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. Confession
is
, as they say, good for the soul.”
“So do you think she went home to her mother?” asked Bryan.
Evan thought about the possibilities. “It could be. After the accident, one of the first things she did was call her mother. I can imagine that she would do the same thing if she thought that I haddied.”
“Why not call her mother and see if she has gotten in touch with her?” asked Bryan.
“That might work,” said Evan. “Whether she took a plane to Rhode Island or not, she may have first called her mother. Since they both may be thinking that I"m dead, it may be good to let Mary know that I"m alive so she can relay the information to Michelle when she sees her.”
“Yes,” said Oliver, “then you can let her know where to find you. If she wants, I can send someone to pick her up. My only question is… are we better off with her parents presuming you are dead? The last thing we need is the authorities turning this place over.”
“I committed no crimes,” protested Evan. “I need to contact Michelle. I"m not sure I want her coming
here
though. I"d rather go to her once I"m well.”
“Evan,” said Oliver, “the best thing for her and the baby is to be right here at the cloister. She"ll get the best of care. After all… she"s one of us.”
“You make it sound like it"s some sort of exclusive club.”
“It seems to becomeless and less exclusive by the day,” joked Oliver as he motioned toward Bryan and Jean. “Anyway… for us to properly restore what you have lost, you will need to spend months… possibly years here. Do you really want to wait thatlong before trying to find her on your own?”
“If I get word to Mary, I think she"ll let her know.”
“What if she doesn"t? She may have condoned her husband"s actions toward you and decide to keep that information from her daughter… or, as I said… call the authorities to get
you
.”
“That"s… possible,” said Evan. “But if I don"t call, we"re just guessing about her return to Rhode Island. The way I see it is this… Michelle already thinks I"m dead, so if Mary keeps the information from her, nothing changes in her mind. I"ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose. I only need to leave the phone number with her so she can give it to Michelle.”
“Very well,” said Oliver. “Timothy, get him the phone connected to our unlisted line.”

Mary Fleming felt shivers as she entered the Rhode Island Correctional Institution. She never dreamed that she would ever need to enter a building built to house dangerous criminals. A guard led her down a long hall to a room where she could talk to her husband while sitting on the opposite side of a clear plastic separation. As much as she thought about what she may see, the bright orange outfit John was wearing still intimidated her.

“John… what were you thinking?”
“It"s who… not what… I was thinking about, Mary.” “Taking a gun across the border and opening fire… on an

ambulance?”
“An ambulance carrying the scum that kidnapped Michelle,
Mary. Or have you forgotten?”
“Oh, John. You have to stop talking like that. They"ll lock
you up forever.”
John bent closer to the small holes in the partition that
enabled them to hear each other and said softly, “The best part, Mary, is that the bastard disintegrated into dust right away… so
there"s no body... no proof that I killed him.”
“I never thought my husband would resort to killing.
Yes… we all know that the ambulance was carrying Evan… so
yes, his blood is on your head. You"ll be haunted with that
forever, John.”
“Haunted? I"m proud that I protected my daughter.
Speaking of Michelle… where is she? Did you hear from her?” “Not a word… and I"m worried about her. I was thinking
of going back to Ottawa, but I have no idea if she"s even still
there.”
“She didn"t call you?”
Mary got visibly irate, but maintained a low voice.
“John… she probably thinks we
both
planned the murder, despite
my efforts to tip her off.Thanks to you… I"d say that we lost our
daughter forever. Maybe if committing murder doesn"t haunt you
for the rest of your life, losing your own daughter might!” “Mary… I…”
“Never mind. I need to go. I have a house to take care
of… all by myself! Oh… by the way… something came in the
mail for you. I have it with me.”
“What is it?”
Mary motioned to the guard. “May my husband receive
this letter?”
“We just need to examine its contents, ma"am,” said the
guard as he took the envelope from Mary and examined the letter. “You opened my mail before I could read it?” asked John
incredulously.
“It was postmarked from Ottawa a few days ago, John.
And you were arrested and sitting in a Canadian jail cell. I think I
had the right to see what it was.”
“This letter is fine. The prisoner can have it,” said the
guard.
“Good,” said Mary. “He should have a wonderful time
reading it… I hope.” Then she rose from her chair and asked the
guard to show her out as John was returned to his cell. Michelle freshened up at the airport in Boston before
boarding the bus to Providence. As she looked at her face in the
mirror, she thought to herself how Evan would not approve of her
trying to look older.
He always told me how pretty I looked just as
I am. But being alone now… I really don’t want to have to explain
myself to everyone. That guy on the plane thought I was older so I
guess the makeup is doing the job.
After she had arrived in Providence, she switched over to
another bus heading for Riverside. It had been longer than eleven
years since she last had seen her home town. The Christmas lights
looked festive. She started feeling sad that shecouldn"t have
visited there even once in the last eleven years. Even now, she still
felt like a stranger in her own home town. She got off the bus at
the Riverside Post Office.

Evan dejectedly placed the phone receiver back on its base. “There"s nobody answering at the Flemings" home.”
“Hmm,” said Oliver, “then we must think about our next step.”
“I can try calling back every fifteen minutes until someone answers the phone.”
“The best approach to get Michelle back with you is for us to go and find her ourselves.”
“I"ll go myself. How are you doctors at fitting a patient with an artificialleg?”
“Don"t be absurd. The order of Gerasimos only deals in alchemy and medicine. Besides, an artificial leg would only impede your progress. Evan… we are working on enabling your body to grow that leg back on its own.”
“How long will it take?”
“As I told you… months… possibly years, Evan. You"ll be here a while. Let
us
handle finding her. Do you have a picture of her?”
“She"ll never go with you or any of the ot her
monks
.”
“Have you forgotten how resourceful we are, Evan? We brought you here with two men disguised as an ambulance driver and a paramedic.”
“It doesn"t matter what disguises you come up with, Oliver. She thinks I"m
dead
. She won"t believe you… and from what I"ve been hearing you say… you don"t seem willing to share your complete story out there withthe outside world.”
“Yes… you are correct. I would suggest a couple of my
monks
go to Riverside dressed as policemen. If we can forge passports, then we can certainly produce some police badges that will look authentic. None of the brothers ever played the role of a policeman before, but then again, none of them ever played the role of an ambulance driver until this week. Perhaps you can lend some of your thespian knowledge to the men I select for the assignment.”
“You"re crazy. You"re going to arrest Michelle and haul her up here?”
“Of course not. They will tell her that she needs to come in for questioning regarding the shooting.”
“She"s been through enough. She needs to see
me
, not the Keystone Cops.”
“
You
are in no shape to be doing any traveling. And don"t take my men lightly. Our clandestine operation has required some slick maneuvering… and they are all quite good at what they do. We"re not
all
merelymedical specialists here. We"re constantly one step ahead of the rest of the world.”
“How will you find her?”
“We"ll start at her parents" house. She"ll turn up there sooner or later. We"ll stage a stakeout and won"t make our move until we see her enter the domicile.”
“Don"t ask me to tell you the address or show you her picture. I don"t like the plan.”
“You have already told us the names of the family members. We"ll find the house. And I don"t think there will be many younglooking girls entering the home, will there be?”
Evan gritted his teeth. He wished that he could rise up from the bed. Jean entered the room. “I got a very good look at her at the hospital in Ottawa if you want me to tag along and point her out.”
“Thanks…
friend
,” said Evan sarcastically.
“It"s for her own good. What obstetrician will take care of her and the baby without sounding an alarm when they find out that the baby is not growing as they expect it to? She can only get proper care here, Evan.”
“Listen to Jean,” said Oliver. “She has a heart of gold and even
she
thinks it"s the right thing to do.” Oliver looked at Jean. “I think its best that you leave the trip to Riverside to a couple of the men, Jean. But we must cover all our bases. If we don"t find her there, plan on going to Quebec City a week or two before the winter carnival. Since you know what she looks like, you may be able to spot her if she goes there.”

Mary hurried home from the prison, hoping that Michelle would either be there waiting for her or there would be a message on the answering machine. When neither hope materialized, she called both hospitals in Ottawa to find out if anybody could give her any information about Michelle.
It’s odd that I haven’t heard from her at all
.
I lost my husband and possibly my daughter, all because I allowed Evan Troy into our lives. God, forgive me. If only I had it to do all over again… who am I kidding? They were so in love, it would have just been a matter of time. Please call, Michelle. Please call.

Michelle kept looking over her shoulder as the post office clerk showed her to Evan"s box. Michelle took the key and opened it, fearing her mother or one of her relatives would notice her.

Oh, God. I don’t need this right now.
She peered out of the corner of her eye and saw a woman in her late twenties or early thirties.

“Oh, my God! It
is
you. I can"t believe it. You haven"t changed a bit. Well, I guess I
can
believe it. You always looked so young. You look different, but you
still
don"t look your age.”

Great
, thought Michelle as she slowly turned to the woman.
The makeup makes me look only somewhat older.
“Judy? Judy Conlon?”

“Michelle… I haven"t seen you since high school. Where have you been?”
“I"ve… been doing a lot of traveling.”
“Really? That"s interesting. Are you traveling because of work?”
“No… just for fun.”
“Wow. I wish I had the time to do that. We have so much to catch up on. It"s been so long.”
“If I recall correctly, all you ever did was tease me about my appearance. That week before graduation was pure torture.”
“Oh… we didn"t mean anything by it, Michelle. I"ll tell you something… all the girls were envious of you. That"s why they all teased you… including me. Believe me… we
all
wanted to be you. Who was that hunk that you used to hang around with? Kevin?”
“His name was Evan.”
“That"s it! Here the rest of us were… trying to look mature and beautiful… and
you
had this hunk who would go to the dances with you and stay with you the whole night. We would have given
anything
to be in your place, Michelle. I"m sorry if the teasing bothered you a lot. I think it was our way of paying you back for being so lucky. Whatever happened with Evan anyway?”
“Um… we dated for a while.”
“Then it ended, huh? That happens with most school romances.”
A tear dripped from Michelle"s eye as she quickly turned to get the contents from the box. On top was the small glass container that looked empty until you looked closely in the corners at the bottom of it.
He wasn’t kidding when he said there was just a little residue.
Under the bottle there was a substantial amount of cash with a note on top of it. Michelle put the bottle in her coat pocket and looked back toward Judy, wanting to read the note after Judy was gone. Judy noticed the tear.
“Oh my. It looks like you never got over him, did you? I don"t blame you, Michelle. He was a dream… and a little older too. He wasn"t even in school anymore when you guys were dating, was he? Did he end up ditching you for someone older?”
Michelle did her best to fight back the rest of the tears. “No… he wouldn"t do that… ever!” she answered angrily.
“Hey… I"m sorry, Michelle. I just meant that older guys usually lead the younger girls around before they end up leaving them for someone their own age.”
Michelle looked back into the box and picked up the note. She could wait no longer for Judy to leave.