Couples
Chapter 37
"It's got potential," Lana offers, gazing around a tiny storefront.
Eli runs his finger over a gouge in the wall. "That's exactly what the real estate agent said. But according to Evelyn Montgomery, that's also exactly what she and Roy heard when they were looking for their first home. Agents tried to foist rat-infested disasters on them. This place needs help, but even with the money from Castle, it will stretch my campaign budget."
"We'll make it work," Lana declares. "I can get a crew of cops in here to fix it up a little. And a lot of campaign volunteers can make calls from home."
Eli sighs. "Assuming we have volunteers, aside from our friends and relatives. Burrell's publicity blitz is still going strong against the boss and me. He's got people believing his big lie. And Victor Barron is out on bail and yelling frame. We need to convict Holtzstein to get the truth out in the open, but his trial isn't even on the docket yet. And we're still investigating Gaetz. His case is going to have to make its way through the grand jury. And the Feds may grab it because of the international angle. You know what they say about all politics being local. Our office can't claim much about a prosecution that's out of our hands."
"You have a great record, and you have plenty of other cases," Lana insists.
"Too many others. In the middle of the s**t coming down on us from Burrell, we have a full load." He waves at the beat-up walls. "It's going to be tough to find enough time to be here."
"Which is exactly why you're running," Lana points out. "You're a man who gets the tough jobs done."
Alexis and Dana fill their goblets with sparkling cider while Rick raises a glass of Champagne. "To the happy couple. May the years ahead be many and joyful. May your roles be epic, and reviews be magnificent on stage and in life. Salute!"
As the toast echoes around the room, Martha pulls Finley aside. "I've wanted to meet you for years. I saw your performance as Gloria, and it was haunting, just haunting."
"And I saw yours as Maggie the Cat. You should have won the Tony. You were perfect," Finley declares.
"You know," Martha confides, "Until this week, I had no idea that you're Craig's sister."
"It's not anything that we put in our bios because it is a rather sordid story," Finley explains. "I'm actually his half-sister. Our late mother, Jean, married Craig's father, Sean Daniels, when she was very young. I haven't seen any pictures of him. Mother destroyed any she had. But after she passed, I found her diary. She said that physically, at least, Craig takes after his father. He was very handsome and could be quite charming. For their first few years together, he was a loving husband. He brought her flowers, and they went on long walks together.
"But after Craig was born, everything changed. From what my mother wrote, it was as if Sean was jealous of any time she spent with the baby. He wanted all her attention no matter what. He started drinking and became abusive. Jean put up with it when he struck her, for the sake of having a home for Craig. But one night, Sean went after the baby. Jean threw herself between them and took the blows until Sean passed out. But she knew she had to get herself and Craig away from him. She sold a brooch her grandmother left to her, and they went to stay with cousins in Scotland. After a few weeks, she got a job as a live-in housekeeper to the MacDonald family.
"At the time, the MacDonalds' older son, my father David, was in the United States, studying at Yale. When he came home, he and Jean fell in love and got married. He wanted to adopt Craig, but the family had a problem with it. My mother never knew why. She and David had me a few years later. By the time I was old enough to get to know my big brother, Craig had already started acting in local theater. I wanted to follow in his footsteps, so here we are."
"Great actors coming together from different worlds!" Martha declares. "It was meant to be. Something more to celebrate."
"Hey, you two," Rick calls to Alexis and Dana, "there's something I want to show you."
Following Rick to his office, Dana throws Alexis a questioning look. "No idea," she whispers.
Rick points to the yellowed map spread out on his desk. "I was going to take this and some other maps to the Asian Studies Department at Hudson tomorrow. I want to get it translated. But you'll be at the university, anyway, won't you, Dana?"
"Uh-huh. The lab I'm working in this summer has some equipment arriving I need to assemble. Did you want me to bring that there for you?" Dana inquires. "What's it a map of?"
Rick wiggles his eyebrows. "A treasure trail – I think. Didn't Alexis tell you about Kate's emerald?"
"Right. The emerald in the elephant," Dana recalls. "The story sounded like a Scooby-Doo cartoon."
"Or a Nancy Drew novel," Alexis suggests.
"I'm sure the emerald has a heck of a tale attached," Rick declares. "Sometimes real life is more exciting than fiction. But I won't know anything else about the gem until I find out what's on the maps. Surely as seekers of the truth yourselves, you're intrigued."
"I am," Dana admits.
"So am I," Alexis confides.
"Great, that's settled," Rick proclaims, beginning to roll up the document on his desk. "Professor Saelim will be doing the translation. Dana, I'll make sure she's expecting you."
With his head propped on his arm, Rick stares at the ceiling as Kate slips into bed beside him. "Thinking about Martha's marriage?"
"That too. She hasn't been spending much time here lately anyway. I think she comes home mostly to play with Lily. I guess she'll be officially moving out now. But actually, I was thinking about Alexis. Did you see the way she was clinging to Dana when they said goodbye tonight? She didn't want him to go – or she wanted to go with him."
"At their age, that's normal behavior, Babe," Kate points out. "Her hormones are still running rampant."
"I know," Rick acknowledges. "But it was more than that. Alexis looked wistful during the ceremony today – as if she wished she were next in line."
"Do you think she wants to marry Dana?" Kate asks.
"I know she does. She told me. And he told me he wants to marry her. But they both said they saw their marriage as being years off. Now I'm not so sure my little girl wants to wait that long."
Kate cuddles into his chest. "She's not a little girl, Babe."
"She's not an adult either," Rick argues. "Come on; you know the statistics. Cops consider them too. Teenage brains are still developing. Hell, the rental companies won't lease a car to someone under 25. Impulsive behavior. The chances of accidents are too high."
Kate's finger draws invisible patterns on his chest. "You can be pretty impulsive yourself."
"I know. But believe it or not, I was a lot more reckless at Alexis' age."
"Whether she can rent a car or not, in the eyes of the law, she's an adult, Babe. She'll do what she'll do. You have to accept that."
Rick wraps both arms around Kate. "I know. I just hope that she and Dana aren't the next ones to show up at the clerk's office. If they decide to get married, I want her to have the wedding of her dreams."
"Then," Kate advises, "you have to make sure she knows that."
For a moment, he buries his face in her hair. "You're right. I will."
