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“Lucas, what are you going to do?”
“That doesn’t answer my question, Antonio.”
“I’m not telling you.”
“She’s staying at the Fairmont Hotel.” Toni hobbled into the study with his cane.
“Grandfather!” Antonio spat.
“But Toni’s right, Lucas,” the senior Toni continued, acknowledging Antonio with a nod but not addressing him further. “Don’t do anything rash that would cause a scene, or Lord help us, a headline in the news.”
“I won’t,” Lucas assured dryly.
“That’s the same thing that got you in trouble at school, Lucas. Always standing up for anyone who was getting their butt kicked. Always fighting for the little guy and getting suspended.”
Lucas growled. “This is not school, Antonio. Far different. Don’t even compare.”
“But you don’t have all the facts. Shouldn’t you just leave it to the police? I know you’ve made an inquiry to a contact to likely interfere with the investigation, Lucas. Don’t go there.”
“I’m not going anywhere, except to see if a friend in need could use a little help. I don’t back away when someone needs help.”
“Oh, and I do?”
“Boys, boys. Please! Let’s not argue over such nonsense,” Toni interjected.
Lucas walked over to the counter by the door of the study and grabbed his keys off the top. “I’m heading into town, Gramps. My phone is charged so you can reach me if you need me.”
Lucas thought he saw his grandfather grin but Antonio scowled. Lucas could see Antonio’s point but wasn’t really interfering. Yeah, it was his big cousin Antonio who had to help him out while in senior high when he would fight off bullies for his friends or stick up for someone who was being harassed by the authorities, only to get suspended in the process and take the rap for “stirring up trouble.”
But as far as he was concerned, Maxine was practically family. She was a close friend of the family and they had business dealings together. Whoever attacked her, attacked him. He took what happened to her home personally. Very personally.
“Thank you,” Maxine told the counter clerk as he handed her the key card for her room. She changed her mind about staying at the Fairmont Hotel. The clerk at the Fairmont could see her hesitation, and when she told him she was looking for something less expensive, he was kind enough to suggest the Hopeton Travel Lodge down the street. She just couldn’t afford the nightly fee at the Fairmont even though it would probably have been more secure. But what was she to do? She had no idea how long it would be before she could return home.
Her stomach squeezed when she thought about her personal possessions being violated by some stranger. She almost felt violently ill as if she was going to throw up. Old photos of her mother when she was young and precious priceless family keepsakes were vandalized with spray paint and nail polish. Who would do such a thing? And why her?
“Enjoy your stay, ma’am.” The clerk smiled at her.
Maxine smiled weakly before turning to face the elevator. The ambiance at the motel was dim and soft. It was a travel lodge more than anything else. Still, it was better than staying alone in her ravaged apartment. Darn that security system in the building. It was virtually useless. Apparently someone else had their home broken into before and the security camera image came out too grainy to make any positive identification on the culprit who entered their building from the lobby. So much for that.
Maxine turned around to look both directions before swiping her card in the door slot. She was beginning to feel more paranoid than ever.
What had her life come to? This was not really one of those moments she wanted to have a reflection on where she was going in her life but she was forced to. When she got inside she slumped down in the chair and tossed her backpack to the floor. She held her head in her hands and let out a good cry.
After a while of sobbing, she went to reach for the phone only to realize that it was two o’clock in the morning. Who could she call now? There was a passage she’d read somewhere in a book but she could not recall from where. She thought it could be from a later Hollywood screen legend. Was it Marlene Dietrich who once said: “It's the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.”
