The Girl in White Pajamas Page 16

  Bailey was still shaking when she and David got in the Escalade. After they dropped off David and drove to her office, she continued to tremble.

  When she arrived on the twenty-sixth floor, Bailey quickly walked down the hall to Uncle Rubin’s office. With his spray tan and perfectly coiffed hair, Rubin folded his manicured hands on his desk and asked, “Where the hell have you been all day?”

  After she explained what had happened, he turned pale and asked, “Do you think they might have followed you here?”

  Bailey’s color rose as she used all her self-restraint to stop from cursing at this ego-maniac. She walked to her office mentally adding the day’s experience to her growing list of reasons why she hated her job.

  32 A FRIEND, MY KINGDOM FOR A FRIEND

  Florida

  Wearing a thin white tee shirt and cut off shorts with her white Nikes, Amanda walked through the large front door of the main building carrying a notebook. Zoe was rushing through the back door into the lobby and almost collided with Amanda. When Amanda saw Zoe’s tear filled eyes, she grabbed her arm and asked, “What’s the matter?”

  Zoe shook her head as she tried to pull away.

  “What’s the matter?” Amanda repeated louder.

  “Your fuck’n aunt!”

  “What did she do? What did she say?”

  Zoe sniffled. “I was trying to be nice to that cunt and keep her company till you got home. She was sitting there sipping her drink then out of nowhere she says ‘You must be proud of yourself since you’ll be graduating from the Benjamin. Too bad your friends had to take the fall for you. But you Jews always wind up on top and to hell with everybody else’.”

  Amanda bit the knuckle of her index finger as Zoe started to cry.

  Amanda tried to stop her, but Zoe successfully pulled away. “I’ve got to go… I’m late.”

  “No, stay!” Amanda insisted.

  Zoe shook her head and ran toward her Volkswagen.

  After Bogie had a heart attack on the way to Palm Beach four years earlier, he was told he needed immediate open heart surgery. Rose arrived hours after Bogie was hospitalized and found a sublet in North Palm Beach where Bogie and Amanda could stay while he recuperated. Since it was apparent Bogie and Amanda would be in Palm Beach for a while, Ann found the Benjamin School for Amanda. Ann paid her tuition for one year, and Amanda attended the school.

  Amanda wasn’t very happy at the Benjamin until she found Zoe and Tiffany who believed school should be a place for social networking rather than reading boring books. They enjoyed making mischief until it came time for final exams. But they aced their exams and came out with almost perfect scores. Zoe, a non-involved C student, might have found religion and studied for the finals. But the teachers at the Benjamin all agreed that if Baby Jesus tutored Tiff and Amanda all night, they still wouldn’t come out with those high scores. Amanda and Tiffany were expelled. Zoe stayed at the school with the staff watching her every move for the next three years.

  Amanda threw her notebook on the couch and marched out to the pool area where Dolores was about to take a seat across from Ann. Walking quickly toward the table, Amanda said to Dolores, “Would you please excuse us for a minute?”

  Dolores nodded and walked away as Amanda sat down. Amanda studied Ann’s bloodshot eyes then said, “You know, I always liked you. You were always nice to me and my father worries about you because he thinks you’re like fragile or something. But you know what? You’re not. You’re just plain fuck’n nasty. Where do you get off talking to my friend like that? You know you were the one who wanted me to go to that fuck’n school. It’s not like I wanted to go there and be with a bunch of snobs. I didn’t ask you to spend all that money. You know it was all your idea! I hated that school and so did Zoe and Tiff. I could leave there, Tiff could leave, but Zoe had nowhere to go! If she was out of there, she was out of Florida and back to Great Neck with her mother and her new boyfriend. I was the one who got the answers, not Zoe! Do you hear me? I got them! You have a problem with Jews!? This family acts so high and mighty! But you’re all nothing but a bunch of drunks and murderers!” Tears streaming down her face, Amanda pushed away from the table and ran to the main building.

  Ann covered her face with both hands and sobbed. Dolores came to her, sat down next to her and put her arm around Ann’s shoulders. “Don’t, Ann! She’s just a child. Don’t let her upset you like this!”

  Dolores picked up some paper napkins from the table and handed them to Ann. “You know what your problem is?”

  Tears and snot running down her face, Ann McGruder stared at Dolores. “I don’t think I can stand one more person telling me what’s wrong with me today.”

  “Well, honey, you’re going to listen to me! You’re too good! You’re just too good to people and you let them walk all over you! How many women your age would give up their lives to play nursemaid to an old lady?”

  Ann sniffled.

  “You’ve worried about everyone around you for too long, and now it’s time for you to worry about the most important person, you! When was the last time you had your hair done? A manicure? A pedicure? A massage?”

  Ann just shook her head from side to side.

  “I’m going to make appointments for you to get the works! There’s a place over at City Place called Anushka’s. You’re going there for a day of beauty.”

  “Will you come with me?” Ann asked hesitantly.

  Dolores shook her head. “When houses were selling, I went there every three weeks just to treat myself. But now that the real estate market collapsed, that’s out of my league. But I’ll give you a ride.”

  Ann brightened. “No! If it’s the money, don’t even think about it! You’ll be my guest!”

  33 CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER

  When Rose returned to the house in Weston, it was three fifteen. Bogie stood in the middle of the cleaned kitchen holding his cell phone. “I know, Margarita, but you can’t…listen…listen, Margarita. How the hell am I supposed to remember what he was wearing? Where are we going with these questions?...I’m sorry you feel that way. Good bye!”

  Rose looked at him and asked, “Carlos playing the cheating game again?”

  “When the hell did he ever stop? What a dog!”

  “So what does she want from you?”

  “She told me that Mandie told her he was wearing a tee shirt and shorts when he came over the Sunday after Bud died. Carlos told her he was going to church, and he gets dressed up for church.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I told her that if she thought he was fucking around, then he probably was and not to get me in the middle of it.”

  “Oprah Winfrey retired. Maybe you could go on TV with one of those feel-good shows. You always know just the right thing to say to people.”

  Bogie gave her one of his Bogie smiles. “Thanks, Rose, I knew you’d see it my way! I can’t believe Mandie got involved in their shit. And just as an aside, Margarita mentioned that Mandie told off Annie and had her in tears.”

  Rose just shook her head. “The family tradition goes on! Where’s your little sidekick?”

  “I wore her out. She’s taking a nap.”

  “You wore her out? I thought it would be the other way around.”

  “I took her for a long walk. What did you find out about Kim?”

  “Let me tell you about Kim Nguyen. She lives on Dorchester Avenue with about a hundred thousand of her tribesmen. There are so many Cambodians in that area that folks have taken to calling it the Ho Chi Min trail. Anyway, she worked in a nail salon owned by her boyfriend until two or three months ago. They have a child and she collects Aid for Families with Dependent Children. The boyfriend, of course, handles all her money. They had a bit of a misunderstanding and he beat the crap out of her and kicked her to the curb. She heard someone in Weston was desperate for a nanny and would pay her under the table.�
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  “Tell me you’re shitting me!”

  Rose shook her head. “She claims she can’t remember the name of the person who hooked her up with this job, can’t remember if it was a man or a woman.”

  “This is insane! Bailey has to be out of her mind! She brings in this druggie and pays her under the table to watch a child?”

  “Calm down! I mean it! I told you now so you’d have time to deal with it and not make a big scene tonight. What happened before is in the past, leave it there! We’re moving forward. She pushed the set of car keys over to him. Go work out! Angel’s at the shop, and Tommie is coming in today. You can kick box with one of them in the back room.”

  Bogie laughed. “Lover Boy or Tiny Tommie, who should I choose?“

  “Lover boy could sweep the floor with you, and if Tommie sits on you, you’re road kill!”

  “Is that bitch coming back?”

  “Which one?”

  Bogie laughed. “Kim.”

  “Kim said she’d be at the MBTA Station in Fields Corner around five. I’ll be surprised if she shows. We’re bringing Bailey home after six.”

  “You just let Kim go?”

  “No. I know where she lives. I had Angel follow her after we dropped her off. We can always pull the string and bring her back if we have to.”

  “I have a lot of questions for that—”

  “Down, boy! Go work out! You’re wound up tighter than a drum. Get some exercise, sweat, you’ll feel better! Oh, I just thought I’d mention this. After we dropped her off, Kim talked to somebody on her cell phone. She stood on the corner for about ten minutes and a dark sedan pulled up. She got in and they drove about three blocks then parked. When she got out of the car, her little purse was stuffed and she had a smile on her face. Then she went home!”

  “Her dealer?” Bogie asked.

  “I hope not,” Rose answered. “That car’s registered to Maureen MacDonald, Matt’s wife.”

  34 APPLES FROM THE TREE

  Boston

  Bogie finally got a parking space on Lincoln Street. The neighborhood looked sadder and more run-down every time he saw it. When he walked in the front door of R&B Investigations he watched the enormous, spectacled blonde man sitting on two of the three black cubes used as a receptionist’s desk. Tiny Tommie stared at a monitor while his fingers glided over the computer keyboard. With buds in his ears, he seemed entranced, but he suddenly got up, grabbed Bogie and squeezed him with his ham-sized arms until Bogie felt light-headed. Tommie Jurgenson ripped the buds out and said, “It’s good to see you!”

  “Back at ya!” Bogie said as he pushed away. “What are you working on?”

  “Divorce case. Wife claims he’s hiding funds. We’re supposed to find them.”

  As Bogie glanced at the screen, he said, “Don’t you think you should be doing this in the back instead of out here?”

  Tommie smiled. “It’s not like we get walk-ins. Rose said you were coming so I was working and looking out for you.”

  “Thanks.” Bogie said although he was concerned with Tommie’s lack of discretion when it came to hacking. It wasn’t that hacking was a bad thing. It was just that the kid was too blatant about it. Following Rose’s advice, Bogie shut up.

  *****

  At five o’clock, Bogie pulled up in front of the Fields Corner MBTA Station. Kim was waiting there. He beeped, and she ran to the Escalade and opened the door. When she saw him, she hesitated deciding if she wanted to get in. “Get in! There’s traffic behind me.”

  She considered a few seconds then pulled herself up into the vehicle. “I thought Rose—” she started to say with her glassy eyes and sing song inflection.

  “She’s busy. Don’t worry. I don’t bite!”

  Doubting that, Kim asked, “What happened to your face?”

  Bogie touched the butterfly bandage over his left eye. “Kick boxing.”

  “Aren’t you too old to be boxing?”

  “No!” Insulted that this little drug-addict would think such a thing. He said nothing until they entered the parking garage on Washington Street. “Are you coming in or waiting here?”

  “I’ll wait.”

  When Bogie opened the front door of the firm, Jesus Hernandez was sitting on the couch grinning. “So Angel showed you how to really kick box!”

  “He got in a lucky shot,” Bogie muttered with no conviction.

  Bailey came out of her office and stared at him. “I didn’t believe Jesus when he told me, I thought he was joking. A man your age!”

  Bogie was feeling older than Father Time as they left the building and walked into the parking garage. When they got near the Escalade, Bogie saw the small figure standing behind the car. He smelled the marijuana fumes but only said, “Get in or we’re leaving without you.” As Kim moved to the passenger door, Bogie softly said, “We’re going to talk.”

  *****

  Isabella was in tears when they entered the house in Weston. She pointed to Bogie and wailed, “You…you left without me!”

  Bogie picked her up and patted her back. “But I came back didn’t I, Pumpkin?”

  She nodded and sniffled, wiping her nose on his sleeve. Bogie hugged her and looked at Rose. “Why didn’t you call me?” he asked.

  “Jack and George came over. She’d be okay for a while and then start up again.”

  Bailey walked to the child and smoothed her arm. “Hi, Baby! I’m home.” Without moving away from Bogie, Isabella extended her little arm to her mother for kissing.

  During dinner, Isabella sat on her father’s lap and picked food off his plate. After they ate, everyone scattered. Kim went to her room since Bogie glared at her every time she came near the child. Rose left for the night, and Bailey went into the dining room and worked on her computer. Bogie loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen while Isabella swept the floor with a large broom and watched his every move.

  When Isabella finished her bubble bath, Bogie brought her downstairs to say good-night to her mother. Bailey held the little girl on her lap, smiled and held her foot. She held her toes one-by-one as she recited:

  This little piggy went to market,

  This little piggy stayed at home,

  This little piggy had roast beef,

  This little piggy had none.

  And this little piggy went

  ‘Wee wee wee’ all the way home.

  Bailey tickled the bottom of Isabella’s foot and they laughed until Isabella held up her other foot. “Do this one, Mommy!”

  Bogie smiled as he watched them. “Come on, Pumpkin, I’ll read you a story.”

  Ten minutes into the story, Isabella was sound asleep. As Bogie was getting up from his spot on the floor, Kim stood in the doorway. Bogie walked outside the room with her and asked, “What?”

  She shook her head and turned to walk away when he softly said, “What you do on your own time is your business. I don’t want to find you smoking or snorting in this house. There’s a small child here in case you didn’t notice.”

  Her yellowed eyes blazed as she glared at him.

  Bogie stared at her, lifted his hand and folded his fingers inviting her to speak up.

  “She was in danger. I was here. Where were you for three year?” Without waiting for a response, Kim turned and walked to her room.

  Knowing Bailey was busy on her computer downstairs, Bogie sat on Bailey’s bed and called Amanda.

  She greeted him with, “I hate Aunt Annie! She’s a nasty drunk! She insulted Zoe!”

  “Anything good happen today?” Bogie said dryly.

  “No! Randy has to work to make up the shifts other guys covered for him. He’s not even entitled to days off for a death since it wasn’t his family. Carlos and Margarita are fighting. I sent Carlos to two apartments, one had red ants, and the other had a broken window. Margarita yelled at the pool man tellin
g him he was doing a crappy job. Dolores came over and now she and Aunt Annie are like BFF’s. Oh, and you know, I think Grandma’s actually settling down. She likes Margarita, and, when Margarita yells at somebody, Grandma gets all happy and smiles.”

  “Just another day in the McGruder crazy house!” Bogie said. “How’s school?”

  “Sucks!”

  “That’s my girl, tell it like it is. Just a few more weeks, and it will be just another unpleasant memory.”

  “You’re definitely coming back for my birthday and graduation, right?”

  “Wouldn’t miss either one, Princess.”

  “Is somebody really trying to kill Bailey or is she just trying to snare you in her evil web again?”

  “Wow! You’re vicious! Yes, somebody is really trying to kill her. We have her under twenty-four/seven protection now.”

  “So you’re supposed to stay there forever to ward off evil spirits?”

  “No. We’re just taking it a day at a time.”

  “I miss you.”

  “I miss you, too. I love you.”

  “I love you more.” And she hung up.

  Bogie sat down at the dining room table and started working on reports. He watched Bailey and knew what she was doing. He wanted to scream at her and tell her that applying for refinancing after the economy imploded was a waste of time. How could he let her know that every time she applied for another mortgage, her credit rating showed it. Rejection after rejection was only making any probability of refinancing impossible.

  If he even mentioned the subject, she’d think he was snooping in her computer and all hell would break loose. Her privacy, as she saw it, would have been irrevocably compromised and he would prove himself once again to be a busy-body.

  He only sighed as he sat in the drafty room in the old house that was worth about a third of the value of the mortgage on it.