The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.) (155 page)

As he watched her with the animals, his ire began to grow. Why had she come here? Why had she come to disrupt his life again just as he was beginning to put it back in order and forget about everything that had happened, to forget about
her
? His resentment prevented him from seeing the lie in that last question.

He said curtly, ‘you didn’t answer my question.’ She looked at him perplexed, ‘I asked what’re ya doing here?’

‘I told you, I wanted to see how you were, make sure you were all right, all of you.’

He snapped, ‘that’s not what I meant and you know it, what are you doing here in Alban?’

She looked away as though not wanting to answer that question, then took a deep breath, ‘when I was released from hospital I went to recuperate in a hotel, but, well, I got tired of people asking if I was all right and if I needed assistance. Some even asked what had happened to me. I just got weary of it and so I decided to leave. I called the realtor, the same one who had got the cabin for me, and asked if he had any properties for rent, he told me that the cabin I had previously been in was vacant. I must admit I hesitated but then thought, why not, it was empty, I needed a place and so,’ she held out her arms as if to say, “here I am.”

He was aghast, ‘you’re staying in the same cabin.’

She nodded, ‘yes.’

‘All alone?’

‘Yes, this is my third day.’

His face stretched with incredulity. Not only that she had been her all this time and he hadn’t known. He had seen Lomax the day before and he had not said a word. But that she would stay in that place all alone. The place where it all began. He said, ‘why? Why would you want to stay there? Have you learned nothing from your experience?’

She didn’t seem to take offence at his criticism but said calmly, ‘why not? What happened to me didn’t happen there did it? Nor even in this state, and I’m hardly likely to go to the aid of another young girl,’ her lips twitched slightly, ‘they do say that lightening never strikes twice in the same place don’t they?’

He just stared at her as though s
he was quite mad. ‘Why didn’t you just go home?’ He snapped.

She looked hurt for a moment before the mask she had been wearing since she had arrived slipped back into place, leaving her face expressionless. ‘I can’t go home, not yet. I just couldn’t stand the pitying glances of my family, the “I told you so’s,” both expressive and verbal. I want to be fully recovered before I face them then they need never know what happened here.’

His face was a picture of astonishment, ‘why wouldn’t you want them to know. They could help you, comfort you.’

Her smile was almost contemptuous as she said, ‘that’s a nice thought, Mr. Lando, and in an ideal world and in an ideal family that’s what would happen.’

His eyes narrowed and she looked away and began patting Josie again, kneading her fingers into her thick soft mane. She said very quietly, ‘and…and I just wanted to see if I could do it, if I could be alone without starting at every sound, every movement. I need to be able to go to bed without checking every room and every window three times. I need to be able to sleep without the light on and one eye open,’ she turned to look at him, ‘I can’t live my life like that, Mr. Lando.’

He was astounded by her candour. It took some guts to do what she was doing after everything she’d been through, and even more guts to admit her fears, particularly to him.

His tone was softer than it had hitherto been, ‘I can understand that.’

She looked at him for so long he had to look away from the intensity of her gaze. Eventually he said, ‘what about the rest of your vacation?

She shrugged, ‘I don’t know, I’m not sure what I’ll do now.’

There followed another uncomfortable silence until she said, ’well, I’ll go now, leave you in peace. It was nice seeing you again, and Dante and the others too.’ Goodbye, Mr. Lando.’ Then she was gone.

He stood staring at the door then looked down at Dante who looked back as if to say, “What you waiting for? Go after her.”

She was just walking past the cabin when he exited the barn and before he knew it he had called, ‘I have something that belongs to you.’

She paused in her stride and turned to him a questioning look on her face. He walked past her and into the cabin leaving the door open. After a few seconds she followed but stopped dead on the threshold and gasped. With more animation than she had shown since she arrived. ‘Oh gosh, Mr. Lando,’ she cried, ‘it’s delightful,’ she stepped into the room, ‘so lovely and bright and, well, bright.’

For some reason he felt embarrassed by her enthusiasm and praise and felt as though he should explain why he had made the changes, he didn’t of course, instead he opened a drawer and took out a small white bag which he handed to her.

She took it from his hand and opened it, inside were her hair clips. 

She looked at them then up at Lando surprise e
vident in her eyes, ‘thank you, very much. I’m surprised they survived the fire.’

He dropped his eyes for a moment before nodding to his right, ‘they were in a drawer in the kitchen, which wasn’t too badly damaged.’

She turned to follow his gaze and noticed the new mahogany counter and cupboards.

She asked, ’did you do those yourself?’ Stupid question she thought, of course he did.

He nodded and she said, ‘you’re very clever, Mr. Lando, you can turn your hand to just about anything, construction, carpentry, decorating.’ She looked behind her at the window and a small smile playing mischievously on her lips finished, ‘sewing and embroidery.’

He raised his eyebrows not just at her compliment but at her teasing. He said, ‘my mother was always sewing, I picked up a few tips.’

It was her turn to raise her eyebrows as her eyes widened, ‘you really
did
make the curtains?’

‘Just the sewing, I don’t have the patience for embroidery.’

It was hard to say who was the more surprised, Adela that he sewed and admitted it, or Lando because he had shared some personal information with her.

She smiled her first real smile, although it was a watered down version of the one Lando had seen when he had met her in the woods before all the horror had begun, there was no sparkle in her eyes. The smile lasted only a few seconds before it vanished.

She walked over to the grandfather clock and said, ‘oh, I’m so happy the clock survived.’

She looked at the wall beside it then turned to Lando her expression grave. ‘The picture of the little house didn’t survive the fire?’

He didn’t answer but looked away and she let out a heartfelt sigh, ‘I’m so sorry. I really liked that picture, it was…intriguing.’

He looked impatient as if he had no time for such things. There followed a silence as she stood staring at the now empty wall as though she could still see the painting there. Eventually she turned to him and said, ‘could I see the rest of the house?’

Again he was surprised by her request but shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him one way or the other. She went into the bedroom and he followed. As with the living room she enthused over the décor and complimented him on his taste. After she’d seen the bathroom which she told him now seemed to look bigger and brighter she turned and went back into the bedroom. He noticed that she had used the word bright three times now, maybe she was telling him something.

When he joined her in the bedroom he found her standing in the middle of the room just staring into space. Before he could ask if there was something wrong she turned to him and said very softly, ‘Mr. Lando, I’m so very sorry that you’ve had all this extra work on top of everything else, you’ve had a lot of trouble and expense because of me.’

He said nothing just watched her face waiting for her to say what he knew she would. She said, ‘Mr. Lando…

He cut her off, ‘the answer is no.’

She frowned wondering how he knew what she had been about to say. He said, ‘it needed doing, it’s not been decorated since my grandparents lived here.’

‘This was your grandparent’s cabin?’

He nodded, ‘they lived here until they died, within three months of each other.’

‘Oh, I'm sorry.’

He shrugged, ‘it was a long time ago.’

‘Still, it was their home and because of me it was almost destroyed. Please, Mr. Lando…

Again he cut her off, ‘I said no, I neither want nor need your money.’ This last part was untrue but what the hell.

She knew better than to argue with him although she wanted to.

She left the bedroom, he followed. Once in the living room she said, ‘oh, I almost forgot, Ellis, Detective Leyton, sends his regards.’

His eyes widened, ‘you’ve seen him?’

‘Yes. We spent some time in the same hospital don’t forget. I left before he did.’ Her eyes were anguished now, ‘He…he had to stay for skin grafts. I went back every day to visit. His parents came to take him home last week, they were awfully nice people and very friendly to me. Although Ellis didn’t tell them who I was or they might not have been.’

Lando told himself that his anger stemmed from her constant belief that she was to blame for everything, he told himself this so as not to admit to the real reason. He said caustically, ‘you might find the solution to your fear in that isolated cabin, but where will you go to rid yourself of your unnecessary guilt?’

She looked sharply at him, ‘unnecessary? It’s not unnecessary, Mr. Lando, but deserved.’

‘Will you quit that, quit taking on the responsibility for everyone else’s actions.’

She didn’t look angry or offended at his brusque words, but said calmly, ‘I
am
to blame, partially anyway, and you can tell me I’m not until the sky turns a bright shade of pink and the clouds into purple candyfloss but it won’t alter the facts.’

He was startled by her answer but also maddened. ‘You must have a different interpretation of the word "facts" than I do. But then if it makes you feel better to berate yourself, to blame yourself, then you’re right, nothing I say will change your mind, so I’ll save my breath.’ He realised what a hypocrite he was being and expected her to tell him so.

She didn’t but turned away and stared out of the window her back to him then her voice very low said, ‘I read Hennessey’s dossier.’

She said nothing further for a long time so he asked, ‘and?’

Still not looking at him she said, ‘the FBI seems to think that he killed only bad people, criminals, people like Glissando and Blakemore.’

‘It certainly seems that way.’

She turned to him, ‘that’s if everyone he ever killed is in that dossier. And even if it is a full…for want of a better word…itinerary, he still worked for the same kind of men he killed, he still took an evil person’s money.’

Lando shrugged, ‘to him it was just work. It might even have been a way for him to gather information, who better to know the wheelings and dealings of a crime boss than another crime boss. He could get all kinds of information from someone like Glissando on just about everyone else. You could say that both Hennessey and Glissando wanted the same men removed but for different reasons. As Hennessey himself might say, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

Hennessey would think of Glissando as his snitch, the only difference being that Glissando paid
him
for disposing of his rivals. Hennessey would consider it killing two birds with one stone, pardon the pun. In his own warped kinda way he believes he’s doing the world a service by dispatching these evil men, and that he gets paid huge amounts of money to do it would appeal to his twisted sense of humour. But there’s no doubt that he would have eventually killed Glissando too, what happened with you just precipitated that day.’

She listened with rapt attention to his interpretation of Hennessey’s killing sprees then said quietly, ‘you admire him.’

It was neither a question nor a criticism but a statement of fact. His eyes flashed but he said coolly, ‘I admire him in the same way I admire a panther, for its wildness, for its savagery. I find him exhilarating and amazing to behold but I wouldn’t want him as a friend.’

She looked keenly at him; she knew he had deliberately used the panther analogy. She could see his point; she knew that the panther for all its beauty would have thought nothing of tearing out her throat. She said, ‘they might both be wild animals, but there’s only one who deserves to be in a cage, and it’s not the panther.’

His head snapped up in surprise, ‘a few years ago I might have agreed with you. I see things a little differently now. I know longer see things in black and white, there are always grey areas. Maybe you should try that too, stop seeing people as you want them to be or act how you would like them to act. People aren’t perfect, they’ll never live up to your expectations and they’ll
always
disappoint. If Hennessey taught you nothing else, he must have taught you that.’

She had rarely been so flabbergasted, not just at his words but the way he had said them, as if warning her. She knew he was telling her to let go of Hennessey because he believed she had been in love with him, that the betrayal by the man she loved had hurt more than the physical and mental pain he had put her through. She also knew he was talking about himself too, he was telling her that he was not a good man, that in his own way he was like Hennessey, like a wild animal.