"I really didn't want to talk about religion. "
"Good. I'll tell you my beliefs in the morning. You'll be quite shocked, I'm sure. "
"I doubt that, I really do. . . Did you say 'in the morning'?"
Jenny held her hand out to him. Inside she was unsure of what she was doing, but it seemed fine - at least it didn't feel wrong.
"Did I miss something?" Travis asked. "I thought you were angry with me. "
"No, why would I be angry at you?"
"Because of my faith. "
"I think it's cute. "
"Cute? Cute! You think the Roman Catholic Church is cute? A hundred popes are rolling in their graves, Jenny. "
"Good. They aren't invited. Move over here. "
"Are you sure?" he said. "You've had a lot of wine. "
She was not sure at all, nevertheless she nodded to him. She was single, right? She liked him, right? Well, hell, it was started now.
He slid down the couch to her side and took her in his arms. They ki
ssed, awkwardly at first; he was too aware of himself and she was still wondering if she should have invited him in in the first place. He held her tighter and she arched her back and pushed against him and they both forgot their reservations. The world outside ceased to exist. When they finally broke the kiss, he buried his face in her hair and held her tight so she could not pull away and see the tears in his eyes.
"Jenny," he said softly, "it's been a long time. . . "
She shushed him and dug her hands into his hair. "Everything will be fine. Just fine. "
Perhaps it was because they were both afraid, or perhaps it was because they really didn't know each other; it might even have been that by playing a role they would not have to face anything but the moment. The roles they played throughout the night changed. First, each gave when the other needed, and later, when need was no longer an issue, they played their roles out to felicity. It progressed thusly: she was the comforter, he the comforted; then he was the understanding counselor, she the confused confessor; she became the nurse, he the patient in traction; he took the role of the naive stable boy, she the seductive duchess; he was the drill sergeant, she the raw recruit; she was the cruel master, he the helpless slave girl.
The small hours of the morning found them naked on the kitchen floor after Travis had played a rampaging Godzilla to Jennifer's unsuspecting Tokyo. They were crouched over a cooking toaster oven, each with a table knife loaded with butter, poised like executioners waiting for the signal to drop their blades. They polished off a loaf of toast, a half-pound of butter, a quart of tofu ice cream, a box of whole wheat cream-sandwich cookies, a bag of unsalted blue corn chips, and an organically grown watermelon that gushed pink juice down their chins while they laughed.
Stuffed, satisfied, and sticky-sweet they returned to bed and fell asleep in a warm tangle.
Perhaps it wasn't love that they had in common; perhaps it was only a need for escape and forgetting. But they found it.
Three hours later the alarm clock sounded and Jenny left to go wait tables at H. P. 's Cafe. Travis slept dreamless, groaning and smiling when she kissed him good-bye on the forehead.
When the explosions started, Travis woke up screaming.
PART FOUR
MONDAY
The many men, so beautiful!
And they all dead did lie:
And a thousand slimy things
Lived on; and so did I.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner
23
RIVERA
Rivera came through the trailer door followed by two uniformed officers. Robert sat up on the couch and was immediately rolled over and handcuffed. Rivera read him his Miranda rights before he was completely awake. When Robert's vision cleared, Rivera was sitting in a chair in front of him, holding a piece of paper in his face.
"Robert, I am Detective Sergeant Alphonse Rivera. " A badge wallet flipped open in Rivera's other hand. "This is a warrant for your and The Breeze's arrest. There's one here to search this trailer as well, which is what I and deputies Deforest and Perez will be doing in just a moment. "
A uniformed officer appeared from the far end of the trailer. "He's not here, Sergeant. "
"Thanks," Rivera said to the uniform. To Robert he said: "Things will go easier for you if you tell me right now where I can find The Breeze. "
Robert was starting to get a foggy idea of what was going on.
"So you're not a dealer?" he asked sleepily.
"You're quick, Masterson. Where's The Breeze?"
"The Breeze didn't have anything to do with it. He's been gone for two days. I took the suitcase because I wanted to know who the guy was that was with my wife. "
"What suitcase?"
Robert nodded toward the living-room floor. The Haliburton case lay there unopened. Rivera picked it up and tried the latches.
"It's got a combination lock," Robert said. "I couldn't get it open. "
Sheriff's deputies were riffling through the trailer. From the back bedroom one shouted. "Rivera, we've got it. "
"Stay here, Robert. I'll be right back. "
Rivera rose and started toward the bedroom just as Perez appeared in the kitchen holding another aluminum suitcase.
"That it?" Rivera asked.
Perez, a dark Hispanic who seemed too small to be a deputy, threw the suitcase on the kitchen table and opened the lid. "Jackpot," he said.
Neat square blocks of plastic-covered green weed lay in even rows across the suitcase. Robert could smell a faint odor like skunk coming from the marijuana.
"I'll get the testing kit," Perez said.
Rivera took a deep sniff and looked at Perez quizzically. "Right, it could be just lawn clippings that they weighed out in pounds. "
Perez looked hurt by Rivera's sarcasm. "But for the record?"
Rivera waved him away, then returned to the couch and sat down next to Robert.
"You are in deep trouble, my friend. "
"You know," Robert said, "I felt really bad about being so rude to you yesterday when you came by. " He smiled weakly. "I've been going through some really hard times. "
"Make it up to me, Robert. Tell me where The Breeze is. "
"I don't know. "
"Then you are going to eat shit for all that pot over there on the table. "
"I didn't even know it was there. I thought you guys were here about the suitcase I took. The other one. "
"Robert, you and I are going to go back to the station and have a really long talk. You can tell me all about the suitcase and all the folks that The Breeze has been keeping company with. "
"Sergeant Rivera, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I wasn't quite awake when you were telling me the charges. . . sir. "
Rivera helped Robert to his feet and led him out of the trailer. "Possession of marijuana for sale and conspiracy to sell marijuana. Actually the conspiracy charge is the nastier of the two. "
"So you didn't even know about the suitcase I took?"
"I couldn't care less about the suitcase. " Rivera pushed Robert into the cruiser. "Watch your head. "
"You should bring it along just to see who the guy was that it belonged to. Your guys in the lab can open it and. . . "
Rivera slammed the car door on Robert's comment. He turned to Deforest, who was coming out of the trailer. "Grab that suitcase out of the living room and tag it. "
"More pot, Sarge?"
"I don't think so, but the whacko seems to think it's important. "