The Ideal Man

TWENTY – THREE

The article about the garden party was in the local newspaper Friday morning. Ava was upset. She had requested that they run the piece on Saturday because more people read the Winston Falls News on weekends, not during the week.

The first line in the article gave Ellie chills. It stated that Ava’s sisters-as in plural-were hosting the affair. And that meant that anyone who read the paper would know she was back in town.

Had Ava deliberately included her as a way of getting rid of what she called “vicious rumors”? Ellie hoped not because that would make Ava a colossal bitch.

She couldn’t ask her because she and Annie had already left on a day full of spa treatments and errands.

Ellie was finishing her second glass of milk, watching the repairman and her father cross the backyard to get to the air conditioner. Her mother was sorting through mail at the table.

“Have you seen the article in the paper about the garden party?” Ellie asked.

“Yes, I did. It was quite nice, wasn’t it?”

It was apparent she hadn’t noticed the word sisters, and Ellie decided not to make an issue of it. She would just be adding to her mother’s worries.

“The backyard looks beautiful,” she said instead.

Claire beamed. “I thought the tent would make the yard look so much smaller, but I think it actually looks bigger now.”

Max appeared in the doorway. “Are you ready to go?”

“Where are you going?” her mother asked, looking anxious. “You’re not leaving Winston Falls, are you? You promised you’d stay, and Aunt Vivien and Aunt Cecilia will be so disappointed if they don’t see you. They’re arriving this afternoon.”

“Mom, we’re just doing some errands and meeting the agents Max has asked to help.”

“Dressed like that?”

“What’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?”

“Eleanor, you’re wearing tattered jeans and a T-shirt, and those shoes…”

“I thought I’d show Max the falls. That’s why I’m wearing my old tennis shoes.”

“At least take a change of clothes. You don’t want to embarrass Max in front of his friends.”

“She could never embarrass me,” Max said. He tilted his head toward the door.

Ellie kissed her mother on the cheek and whispered, “We’ll be home in time to help with dinner.”

Ellie assumed Max hadn’t seen the article in the paper. She waited until they were on their way out of town to tell him.

He didn’t take the news well. “Son of a…”

“Maybe no one will notice.”

The look he shot her made her feel foolish. “Okay, but very few people read the local newspaper.”

The muscle in his cheek twitched. That wasn’t a good sign. Hoping to change the subject, she said, “Would you like to see the falls today? It’s a little hike, but not too bad.”

He shot her the look again. “What?” she demanded.

“We aren’t on a vacation, sweetheart. I’m supposed to keep you alive, got that? And trampling through the woods with a picnic basket isn’t part of my job description.”

“I never said anything about a picnic basket,” she snapped back. “And stop calling me ‘sweetheart.’ That’s supposed to be a term of endearment. You growl the word.”

His cell phone rang. She poked him in the arm. “If that’s Simon, you’d better ask him.”

“I will,” he said.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t Simon. It was Ben with more information about the missing eyewitness, Greg Roper.

Max finished the call and said, “Agent Hughes doesn’t think Roper’s been killed. He thinks he’s running. Someone got to him and scared him.”

“What happens now? Can they even hold the Landrys without witnesses?”

They discussed the possibilities for several minutes and ended up frustrated with no answers. “Ben said he’ll call me later, after he’s had a chance to talk to all the agents involved.”

“Hughes will expect me to take the stand if the Landrys do go to trial someday. I’ll have to tell what I saw, even though I can’t point them out. Right?” Ellie asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t know what the prosecutors will decide, but I’ll do everything I can to keep you out of this. It’s a wait-and-see game now.”

Max was taking his time getting to his destination. He was on the highway for a little while, then took an exit and drove down a side road for several miles before getting back on the highway again. He watched the traffic ahead of them and in the rearview mirror as he drove. She knew he was making certain no one was following them.

He spotted a sign for a pharmacy at the next exit. “Want to stop there and get the pregnancy test?”

“Too close to home,” she said.

He got the same response the next three times he asked. Finally, he said, “Are you going to buy this pregnancy test soon, or do you want me to drive to Miami?”

“You can stop at the next one,” she said.

“What would you do if you found out you were pregnant?”

She didn’t hesitate. “I’d have a baby.”

“That’s what Annie said.”

“I’ll help her any way I can.”

“Would you tell the father?”

“Yes, of course I would. I would have the responsibility to tell him. Did you ask Annie that question?”

“No.”

“She just took the bar exam.”

He nodded, indicating that Annie had also mentioned that. How long had they talked? she wondered.

“Where are we meeting Agents Clark and Hershey?”

“A restaurant called Hathaways. It’s about a mile off the highway.”

A sign for a national pharmacy chain appeared, and Max pulled into the parking lot. Ellie bought three pregnancy tests, each a different brand.

“Just to be sure,” she told Max at checkout.

The clerk behind the counter, a stout woman with rosy cheeks and short, curly hair, gave Ellie her change and, looking at Max and then back at Ellie, said, “I’ll be rooting for you.”

Ellie smiled. “Thank you. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

Once they were back in the car and on their way, Max said, “You’re keeping your fingers crossed?”

“I didn’t want to disappoint the woman.”

He shook his head. “You’re something else, you know that?”

“I bought dessert,” she said and held up a Hershey bar and a Clark bar.

He laughed and shook his head again.

They reached the restaurant a few minutes later. They were early and had their pick of tables. Max chose one in the corner for more privacy. From where he sat, he could look out the window, and their backs were to the wall.

“Do you know Agents Clark and Hershey?” she asked.

“I’ve talked to them a couple of times, but I haven’t worked with them. I’ve been told they’re good,” he added.

“How are they going to blend in?”

“You won’t know they’re there.”

“Max, it’s a small community. Every stranger sticks out.”

“Stop worrying.”

The waitress brought glasses of water and handed them menus.

His cell phone rang.

“If that’s Simon…”

“It isn’t,” he said. “And stop obsessing about football.”

She looked appalled. “That’s un-American.”

He answered the call on the fourth ring. “Agent Daniels.”

He didn’t say another word for several minutes but the look on his face told her the news wasn’t good. When he put the phone back in his pocket, he turned to her.

“That was Spike,” he began. “He said he got a call from a friend who runs a guns and ammo shop near Winston Falls. He told Spike that, about five minutes after he opened the store, Evan Patterson walked in and tried to buy a gun.”