Eye of the Storm

Chapter

Thirty-four

“I THINK AH’M gonna like this.” Andrew nodded approvingly as they mounted the two wooden steps onto the porch outside the large steakhouse. He opened the door and gestured for Dar to go in, then followed her into an atmosphere rich with protein, alcohol, and the inimita-ble dust from peanut shells. “Yep. Slab of beef and a beer and a pretty lady with me. I do like this.”

“Two,” Dar told the hostess, as she shook her head. They followed the young girl down a wide aisle and slid into a booth, its table complete with bowls of packet sugar and bottles of hot sauce. Dar examined one.

“Nice.” She put it back and rested her arm on the table, then slid sideways and leaned against the booth wall. “Glad that’s over with.”

“Ah bet.” Andrew investigated the peanuts, cracking open the shells with powerful fingers, then offering exactly one half of the contents to his daughter. Dar had changed from her business suit into a pair of jeans and a crisply ironed cotton shirt and tied her hair back to keep it out of her eyes in the windy weather. “Things go all right up in DC?”

“Hard to say.” Dar paused as the waitress arrived, a very perky young woman with tiny sparkles in her blue eye shadow. “Irish coffee, please.” She glanced at her father. “Beer?”

“Yeap. One of them dark things, if you got it,” Andrew confirmed.

“And I’d like a rare steak and a tater and some ice cream.”

The girl blinked. “All at once, sir?”

Dar chuckled. “Make it two, and no, the ice cream can come later.”

She nibbled on a peanut as the girl finished writing and took their unused menus back. “Mmph.” She stifled a yawn and tilted her head back, idly watching the silent television above the bar. “Hey,” she nudged her father’s arm and pointed, “that’s the hearing.”

Andrew turned around to watch. “That her pa?”

“Yes.” Dar nodded. “That’s her mother, her sister Angie, and her brother Michael in back of them.” They watched as the camera showed the investigators and then a shot of Kerry’s brother on the stand, looking very ill at ease and embarrassed.

Then came a shot of a very familiar face. “Hey.” Dar smiled in reflex.

“Look. It’s Kerry and Mom.”

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“Darn if it ain’t.” Andrew chuckled.

Dar pulled her cell phone out and speed dialed a number. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Kerry’s voice sounded muffled against a fair amount of noise.

“I just saw you on television.”

“Yikes.”

“No, you look great,” Dar reassured her. “You and Mom both.

Though the look you were giving the cameraman could have killed a peacock at twenty paces.”

“I forgot how much I hated that.” Kerry grumbled. “I have no idea how they recognized me. I certainly don’t look like I did five years ago.”

She muffled the receiver then returned. “It’s getting sort of weird here, Dar. I guess those people who’ve been paying off my father decided to come out and support him. They’re giving me the creeps.”

Dar frowned. “Are they bothering you?” She noticed her father had caught her tone and was listening alertly.

“No,” Kerry reassured her. “I’m sure it’s just my conscience, you know what I mean?”

“Well, try to stay out of trouble until we get there.”

“Does that mean we can get into trouble then?” Kerry lightened her tone. “Seriously, it’s fine, Dar. I have to go back to the chambers tomorrow, but after that, I think they’re going to let us go and concentrate on the clerks and police who investigated and all that.”

Dar relaxed and leaned back. “Okay. Well, we’re having dinner, then heading to the airport. I think the flight’s due in around ten.” She took a sip of her coffee and let the Irish Whiskey burn its way down. “Where are you?”

“In the hotel bar,” Kerry replied. “Trying to figure out what a fuzzy navel is.”

Dar grinned. “I’ll show you when I get there,” she offered, with a low chuckle. “’Cause you have one.”

Momentary silence. “Oh, for pe—Dar!” A groan came through the line. “I’m gonna hurt you.”

“Heh. It’s peach schnapps and orange juice, I think,” Dar supplied helpfully. “Get it? Peach, fuzzy…navel, oranges?”

“I got it. Thanks.” Kerry’s voice sounded mildly exasperated. “I’m going to eat my cheeseburger. No, excuse me, my ‘cheddar topped grilled chopped sirloin steak over delicately sliced and toasted potatoes’ now.

I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Eat a French fry for me.” Dar grinned. “See you soon.” She hung up and tucked the phone away, suddenly wishing the flight was done and over with and she was explaining fuzzy navels up close and personal.

“KERRY.”

She stood, resting her elbows on the balcony railing and looking out at the brightly lit city, and she turned at the sound of her name. “It’s Eye of the Storm 319

pretty, with all the monuments and stuff and the lights.”

Ceci came out to join her, having entered the room through the connecting door between their two rooms. “Yes, it is,” she agreed. “Would you like to take a walk down to some of them? It’s a nice night out.”

“Anything to walk off that collection of animal protein floating in solid grease,” Kerry told her, making a face. “I could have used the excess to lube my car.”

Ceci laughed. “Well, I’d suggest vegetarianism, except that my mushrooms were just as greasy and I think those artichokes were older than I am.”

Kerry chuckled and they exchanged looks. She noticed they were getting more comfortable with each other and she found herself liking Dar’s mother very much. She had a dry, wicked sense of humor that came out around blind corners, much like her daughter’s did, but was based in a totally different mindset from her vastly different experiences. “Sure,”

she agreed amiably. “You can explain paganism to me while we walk.

I’ve been wondering about that since Dar mentioned it.”

“Dar mentioned it?” Ceci scratched her jaw at that, as she led the way out of the hotel room and headed for the elevator. “Dare I ask in what context?”

Kerry thought about the question. “Oh. Right. We were in this Thai restaurant…”

“And that spawned a discussion of paganism,” Ceci mused. “Was it those little Buddha statues?”

They exited the hotel and walked down the steps, turned to the right and headed down the street towards a well lit monument. “No. Duks and I were discussing believing in God.”

“Food that bad?”

Kerry laughed. “No.” She shook her head. “He’s an atheist, so we were comparing belief systems. Maríana told us what her religion was, then Duks asked Dar for her viewpoint.”

“Ah.”

“She said that her father was a Southern Baptist and that you were a pagan and that she always knew you both believed in something.” Kerry scrunched her brow. “Let me see. She said, you both believed in something, not necessarily the same something, but something, and she sort of patterned herself after that.”

Ceci thought about that as they walked. “And what did you think about that?”

“What did I think? I thought holidays at your house must have been interesting,” Kerry replied and chuckled. “But what really impressed me was that Dar was free to make her own choice.”

“That’s very true.”

“It gave me a different slant on religion. I went to Christian school right up until the time I went to college and even then, it was in the same area, pretty much. So I didn’t get exposed to…” Kerry hesitated.

“Heathens?” Ceci arched a brow.

320 Melissa Good

“People with different value structures,” she corrected gently. “I mean, we studied different cultures in school, but it’s not the same thing as seeing it face to face.”

“Mmm. That’s true.” Ceci nodded. “It was like that for me, after I married Andy and went to live on a navy base.”

Kerry glanced at her, the smaller woman’s profile outlined in the moonlight. “That must have been a tough transition.”

“It was,” Ceci murmured with a slow nod. “Andy was gone so much and we were so young.”

They walked in silence for a little while. “Miami must have been a shock for you,” the older woman said, as they turned into a well manicured park and started down a path covered in cedar chips, which crunched lightly under their feet.

“Oh yeah,” Kerry agreed. “I had the opportunity to get a management position at Associated Synergenics and I’d said yes, before I’d really thought about what I was doing. My parents were livid.” She sighed.

“But off I went. I found an apartment in Kendall, got all settled in. Found some friends…” She paused with a faint smile.

“And?” Ceci heard the unsaid words.

“Went to South Beach and figured out I was gay.” She gave a light laugh. “You know, the usual stuff. I remember the night it all became clear to me. I went out onto the beach and sat there looking at the stars, convinced I was going to Hell.”

Ceci made a light hissing noise. “That’s something I never understood about the Christian religion. Its founder is one of the few, genuine icons of love the world has ever known, yet more violence and hatred has been done in his name than just about anything else ever.” She lifted her hands. “I don’t understand it. I never have and that’s why I could never accept its teachings.”

Kerry fell silent and let those words penetrate. “I guess,” she exhaled softly, “I guess my real problem with it came when I tried to reconcile the words that called me a sinner with the joy love brought me.”

“Mmm.” Ceci nodded as she walked, reaching out an idle hand to brush the thick marble walls as they passed. “When Dar first told us she was gay, I swear, both Andy and I really believed she was doing it just to add one more bit of rebelliousness to what was already a very shook up adolescence.” She laughed softly. “I think I remember saying. ‘Well, honey, it could have been worse. She could have joined a cult.’”

Kerry laughed as well. “Was it hard for D—for Mr. Roberts?”

“Andy would have loved Dar no matter what she’d decided to be or do,” Ceci told her. “He did what he always did when he was faced with something he didn’t really understand. He went to the library and read everything he could get his hands on about homosexuality.”

“Wow.”

“Mmm…and the conversation he and Dar had when he finished doing that—and he was determined to make sure she wasn’t going to get herself into trouble—was one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever had to Eye of the Storm 321

listen to.”

Kerry covered her mouth, muffling a giggle. “Oh my god. I can picture it.” She cleared her throat and pitched her voice lower. “Now you listen here, Dardar, I ain’t gonna have you getting your butt into trouble, mind, so here’s some of them condoms they say you should be wearing.”

Ceci almost doubled over. “Oh.” She laughed. “That’s very good.”

She had to stop and lean against the wall. “And very, very close.”

Kerry joined her in laughter. “Well, I wanted to be in the local gay shop in Fort Lauderdale when he went in there to by a rainbow sticker.”

Cecilia laughed harder. “He didn’t.”

“Oh yeah. And he had one of those rainbow key chains, too,” Kerry cheerfully told her. “It was such a…” She paused, becoming more serious. “It was such a wonderful relief to just have him accept us, accept me, the way he did. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

Ceci took her arm and they continued walking. “I think I do,” she murmured. “He’s such an unsophisticated person, really. But he’s good at everything he does. He was a good soldier, he’s a good husband, and he’s a very good father.” She turned to look at Kerry’s profile. “I’m glad he’s become a father to you, Kerry.”

Kerry didn’t answer, waiting for the lump to go down in her throat.

She bit her lip and swallowed, fighting the tears that stung her eyes. She kept walking, with Ceci strolling along next to her accepting the silence with quiet sympathy.

They crossed out into an open area, lit by halogen lights that turned the grassy shadows to sharp slivers of black and silver. Kerry heard a soft crunching behind her and she glanced back, surprised to see three tall forms walking slowly behind them.

Coincidence? The three had leather vests over their white T-shirts and she could just barely see the mottled darkness of tattoos across their arms. All three had shaven heads and were talking in loud…overly loud voices.

Ceci followed her gaze, then returned her eyes forward. “Into every life a few assholes must fall.” She sighed, drawing a startled look from Kerry. “C’mon, Kerry. You’re not one of those people who believe parents don’t curse or have sex, are you?”

“Uh.” She bit her lower lip and steered Ceci a little more towards the lit areas. “Well…”

The voices behind them got louder and coarser and the subject matter switched from fighting to something far less savory.

“See all them niggers over there?”

“Must be giving something out for free, lookit them gathering around for handouts.”

“City’s too full of fucking niggers and fags.”

“They oughta nuke it.” Ribald laughter. “Send fag and nigger bits up like confetti.”

“Excuse me.” Cecilia took three steps to her right and faced them, forcing them to stop walking. “About the only nukeable thing I see here 322 Melissa Good are a couple of pieces of very white trash who need to shut their ignorant mouths.”

They stared at the diminutive, silver blonde woman in shock for a long instant, one shared by Kerry who never expected her older companion to turn into an activist so suddenly.

“Hey. You talkin’ to me, bitch?” The first one pointed at his chest, puffing it out.

“No,” Ceci replied. “I’m talking at you. Talking to you would require some intelligence on your part, and we’re just not going to go there.” She put her hands on her hips. “Scram. You’re polluting the ozone.” She gestured with a thumb over her shoulder. “Move it.”

They edged around her and ambled down the path, looking behind them as though expecting her to grow a second head. “Bitch!” One shook his head. “Fucking crazy ass bitch.”

Ceci watched them go. “Morons.” She sighed in disgust. “What in the hell are their parents thinking? What are they teaching kids these days, anyway?”

Kerry blinked at her, then smiled. “Um…”

Ceci brushed her sleeve off then continued walking. They turned a corner in the large park, then paused, watching a larger group of people just ahead of them. One man was wrapped in a Confederate Flag and they could see flasks being passed around. “I don’t think that little trick’s going to work twice.”

“No,” Kerry agreed, turning around. “C’mon. Let’s start back. This is giving me the creeps.”

They headed back the way they came, turning the corner again and almost running into a half dozen men going the other direction. “Excuse me.” Kerry tried to edge around them, but found her sleeve grabbed.

“Hey, cute stuff. Where are ya going? Come party with us.”

“No thank you.” Kerry gently tried to pull away. “I’m not much of a party person.”

The man who had her arm was a tall, handsome blond, with a mostly cropped head and a necklace of silver barbed wire. “We could change that. Right guys?” His companions laughed. “Get lost, mama, we’re going to show little blondie here a good time.” He pulled Kerry towards him, grinning when she stopped resisting. “That’s a gi—”

Kerry went with the motion and stepped in, then threw her weight upwards and slammed a knee squarely into his groin. He coughed, and she whirled, grasping his arm and pulling him over her head to land on the ground with a thump.

She backed off and stood in a balanced stance, her hands at shoulder level lightly curled into fists, and waited.

“Hey, you can’t do that you little—” One of the others reached for her, and she nailed him with a roundhouse kick to the jaw, sending him sprawling.

“Yes, I can,” she warned. “Now, just leave us alone.”

“Like hell.” A shorter man in the back stuck his head around the Eye of the Storm 323

building. “Hey. Hey you guys. We got some boot bait over here.”

“Shit,” Ceci cursed. “I think it’s time to leave.”

“Yep.” Kerry turned and pushed her forward. “Run!” She evaded the outstretched hand of the closest of them, then ducked in and kicked him in the ribs, shoving him hard against his companions as he went off balance. She used the distraction to bolt after Ceci, tucking her fists in against her side, and dashing over the grass with even, powerful strides.

A yell told her they were being followed. “Move it!” She hollered at Ceci, who was holding her own. Ahead of them, the entrance to the park loomed huge and remote, promising safety in the sparse crowds traveling across its opening. Kerry caught up to Dar’s mother and put a hand on her back, pushing her forward and glancing behind her to see a crowd chasing them. A rock flew by her head and she ran faster, sensing the bodies just behind her by the sounds of breathing and footsteps.

They broke into the open, startling the wits out of several bystanders and attracting the immediate attention of a policeman on horseback trotting by. He pulled up and backed his mount, and they made for him, almost colliding with the huge animal. “Whoa there.”

Kerry turned to see a crowd of men come out of the park, skidding to a halt when they spotted the policeman. She caught her breath and put a hand on Ceci’s shoulder, gazing in concern at the older woman leaning against the horse. “You okay?”

Ceci nodded.

“What’s going on here, ladies?” the policeman asked, his broad, bearded face wrinkled in concern. He watched the collection of sullen men fade back into the park and scowled. “Were those people giving you some trouble?”

“You could say that.” Kerry sighed. “They invited us to party. We declined. They took exception.”

The man shook his head and dismounted. “Damn it. I knew there was going to be trouble from those people.” He dug out a book from his saddlebag and made some notes, then picked up his walkie talkie. “Sim-monds to base. Looks like we’ve got some trouble at the FDR Memorial.”

He clicked off. “I’ll need some information from you ladies.”

“Um,” Kerry backed off a step, “you know, they really didn’t do anything to us, and I’d kinda rather not get involved.” That earned her a very dour glare from the policeman. “I know, I know. I’m supposed to be a good citizen, but trust me, officer, you don’t want to deal with the paperwork I’m going to cause.”

“Listen, Ms. ...” He looked at her in question.

Kerry sighed. “Stuart.” She paused. “Kerrison Stuart.”

“Stuart, right. Listen Ms. St—” He stopped. “Not that Stuart?”

She nodded. “Unfortunately.”

He rubbed his face. “Where are you staying?”

Kerry pointed.

“Go there and stay there, okay?”

“You got it.”

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“Did they know who you were?”

“I don’t think so.” Kerry shook her head. “And I’d rather they didn’t.”

He wrote something down, then nodded. “All right, Ms. Stuart, go on. Please. It’s a little crazy out here tonight. Stay inside.”

“I will,” Kerry agreed, then took Cecilia’s arm to move her towards the crossing light. “Jesus. I didn’t think those classes would come in so handy.”

Ceci was rattled. She took in several breaths, waiting for her heart to settle. “No kidding,” she murmured. “Did Dar teach you that?”

“Yes.” Kerry suddenly was extremely grateful for the long hours spent in the gym being tossed on her butt. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” Ceci straightened her shirt out as they crossed the street and headed towards the hotel entrance. “But I don’t want to have to repeat that any time soon.”

“Me either,” Kerry agreed, unaware of the eyes on their back. “What time is it?” She checked her watch. “Almost ten. Good.” She pulled the hotel front door opened and allowed Ceci to move in ahead of her. “Let’s find a movie to watch. Maybe room—yes?” She’d felt a brush against her back. “Can I help you?”

“Sorry,” the cheerful looking young man apologized. “Excuse me.”

He pushed ahead of her and marched towards the front desk.

“No problem,” Kerry murmured, twitching her shoulders, unable to escape a feeling of vague familiarity in his face, or his movements, she wasn’t sure which.

Definitely, though, things were getting creepier. She checked her watch again, then shook her head and followed Ceci towards the elevator.