Chapter Fourteen: Come Hell or High Water

"Doctor Eppes?"

Charlie turned to see Mrs. Allison Whitney floating across the penthouse roof in his direction, a petite woman with chestnut brown hair on her arm.

"I want you to meet Tabitha Karney. She used to work for Robert."

The tall elegant looking blond woman stopped in front of him, a hostesses smile plastered on her face.

"Tabitha, this is Doctor Charles Eppes."

Another woman who had been introduced as Allison's mother-in-law had been hovering nearby and she quickly stepped up next to him. Putting her arm around his shoulders possessively, she pulled Charlie toward her in a sideways hug, squeezing him tightly.
"He and his brother are the reason I am still able to go on living."

The overly dramatic introduction left Charlie feeling a little conspicuous and the strong odor of scotch on the older woman's breath actually made him feel a little light headed. Despite his discomfort, Charlie turned toward the new arrival and offered a friendly smile.
"You can call me Charlie. I only make my grad students call me Doctor Eppes."

Extending her hand in his direction, Tabitha pulled her arm away from Allison Whitney. Although her voice was friendly, she didn't return the smile.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet one of the heroic Eppes brothers I read about in the paper."

Charlie, in turn, pulled away from the elder Mrs. Whitney's tight grasp. Lifting the cast on his right arm slightly to apologize for the awkward handshake, he used his left hand to clasp hers lightly.
"Don't believe everything you read in the paper. My brother is the hero. I teach applied mathematics."

Mrs. Whitney, the mother-in-law, erupted into an over exaggerated bout of laughter.
"Oh Doctor Eppes, you are just too modest. And far too attractive. Are you married?"

Trying not to act taken aback by the older woman's flirtations Charlie just smiled and remained silent.

"I guess I picked the perfect day to drop by."
Tabitha Karney sounded somewhat annoyed by the proceedings and Allison looked from Charlie to her mother-in-law, a slight hint of embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

"Yes. You did, Tabitha. You will stay won't you?"

The younger woman shook her head.
"Oh, I didn't come here to impose on you, Allison."

"Of course you didn't, dear."
The mother-in-law interrupted the exchange.
"Well, I insist you at least stay for a cocktail. The kids are having cake and punch…the grownups get something a little stronger."

From the cockamamie grin on her face, Charlie wondered how many drinks she'd had before the party had begun. He instantly wondered if a full bar was a normal staple at a children's birthday party in Hollywood and he smirked to himself at the thought. The party was just getting up to full speed and the kids were inside beating the crap out of piñata that didn't seem to want to break. Through the plate glass doors and windows that kept the penthouse open to the rooftop balcony, Charlie could see the oldest of the Whitney girls taking her shot at busting the piñata open. Seeing Kaitlyn fully recovered from their traumatic dip in the river brought a smile to Charlie's face and he let his gaze linger on the revelry inside the penthouse. Most of the adults were milling around the bar inside and were watching Sophia Damari as she encouraged each child to hit the piñata harder. Picking up his glass from the nearby table and downing the rest of his Perrier, Charlie wondered if he should have accepted the offer for an actual drink-drink. He looked at the empty highball glass in the older woman's hand. Misinterpreting his glance as a longing for refill, she snatched the glass from his hand and headed back into the penthouse.
"Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

As the older woman exited the balcony, Charlie had to fight to sustain an amused chuckle as he imagined getting a vodka tonic in place of his water and lime.

But Allison Whitney looked as if she were about to cry.
"I'm so sorry, Charlie. My mother-in-law is a bit of a lush. Most of our guests are accustomed to her outbursts…and her tactless pursuit of younger men."

Tabitha Karney put her arm around the woman's shoulders. Her embrace looked friendly, but her tone was anything but.
"Some things never change, Allie."

She turned her head to Charlie.
"But if you're into older women, she is loaded. Just like her son."
From the dramatic change in the woman's voice, Charlie suddenly felt as if he had been transported from the land of wine and roses to the middle of a long running soap opera. And he was completely lost.

And apparently, so was Allison Whitney. She pulled away from the younger woman and took a step back.
"What's going on, Tabitha? We haven't seen you in three months. What do you want."

"It should have been mine, Allison. All of it. It should have been mine."
The younger woman's phrase had no immediate meaning for Charlie but Allison's eyes suddenly opened widely and she gasped.
"You bitch. I always knew it….I didn't want to believe, but I always knew."

Charlie took a step back, shocked at the sudden outburst of hostility between the two women. Being in the middle of a cat fight wasn't his idea of a good time and Charlie turned toward the door.
"I'm sorry. Maybe I should go inside……….."

"NO."
Tabitha's elevated voice cut him off.
"This concerns you too."

Trying to imagine how a petty fight between a Hollywood lawyer's wife and one of his ex-employees could possibly involve him, Charlie turned back to the pair.
"Ladies, I think you need to just take a deep breath…."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Charlie jumped at her belligerent eruption, cringing at the malicious tone in the woman's voice.
"Just shut up. It's good you're here…its good. It's good."

She ran her hand through her hair in an almost vicious fashion.
"You weren't supposed to be here. But no…no….this is better. I can still do this. I still have to do this."

The woman was almost chanting now, sounding as if she were trying desperately to convince herself of something and Charlie suddenly found himself feeling almost afraid of this woman whom he had just met.
"I'm sorry. But I don't have anything to do with whatever…."

His words seemed to yank her back to reality and she cut him off.
"Oh, no. You do. You see, things should have turned out so differently. Everything would have been fine if your brother….he was driving, right? If he'd just passed the damn car and gotten out of my way."

Her words sent an electric current of fear through Charlie and he stared at her in astonishment.

He had just found the other driver.

Unsure of what to do next, Charlie took a step away from the woman.

"Don't."
Her single word warning wouldn't have stopped him if it hadn't been for the small .22 caliber pistol that suddenly appeared in her hand.
"You should have let them drown."

She turned to Allison with her jaw clenched.
"Do you really think Robert would have stayed with you without the children?"

Tabitha Karney's voice developed a hysterical pitch as she continued to rant.
"Would he still love you if they were gone?"

Allison was staring at the younger woman in shock. She opened her mouth to speak, but Tabitha slapped her hard across the face.
"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE CAR, YOU STUPID BITCH! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!"

"Mommy?"

A timid voice from nearby turned all three of their heads. Kaitlyn Whitney was standing just few feet away. The child was holding tightly to her baby sister and looking in confusion from her mother to Tabitha Karney.

Charlie eyes darted from the gun in the frenzied woman's hand to the young girl standing nearby. When Kaitlyn had spoken, the startled woman had shifted her body in that direction and now the gun to pointing directly at the child.

Charlie felt his heart go from beating double time to triple time. This was about to get very bad. An intense feeling of dread rose up in his throat as he tried to comprehend the motive that had led this woman to this moment in time. She had maliciously planned to murder these kids and according to her last statement, their mother as well. Now she was standing in their house, in front of a witness, with a gun.

It wasn't hard to determine her intentions.

And if it could ever have been said that someone had gone off the deep end; this woman was in a nose dive and quickly reaching terminal velocity.

Having never seen proof of telepathy and not being able to mathematically prove the probability of its existence, Charlie had never been a believer. But that didn't stop him from trying to project a single thought in the direction of downtown Los Angeles.

I need some help here, Don.

Tabitha Karney had come here to kill these children…and their mother too. The sight of this obviously psychotic woman holding a gun terrified him, but he knew he couldn't just let stand there and watch it happen.

Taking a deep breath, Charlie gathered up the courage to open his mouth.

"Ms. Karney…"

………………………………

Authors Notes: Thank you all so much for your comments!

Chapter Fifteen: Do You Feel Like Swimming?