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Rapp fell into a chair and held him as tightly as his ribs could take. The sight of someone he cared so much for, someone he knew adored his wife, melted what little resolve he’d managed to muster and the tears flowed once more.
They sat underneath the umbrella like that for a long time. He tried to tell Tommy everything would be all right, but even he could hear the uncertainty in his voice. Everything wasn’t going to be all right. The one person he loved more than anything in the world was gone, and he found himself teetering on the verge of complete despair. How did his life get to this awful place?
Rapp heard a dog bark and he looked up to see Shirley, his collie mutt, running toward him. The unexpected surprise put a smile on his face. Rapp let go of Tommy and held out his arms for Shirley. The dog jumped up, placing its paws on Rapp’s lap. Rapp scratched her neck and said, “I thought you were gone.”
“One of your neighbors took her in after the explosion,” Kennedy said. “Tommy thought it would be a good idea to bring her with.” Kennedy smiled at her son. “He said a person came to school this year and told them dogs helped people recuperate after they’ve been in an accident.”
Rapp scratched Shirley’s neck some more and looked at Tommy. “Thanks, buddy.”
“You’re welcome.” Tommy reached out and petted the dog. “If you need me to, I can take care of her.”
“That’d be nice.”
“I also brought my Game Cube.”
Rapp nodded, touched that the little boy was so concerned.
“Maybe we could play later.” He started kicking his leg. “I thought it might help.”
Rapp wanted to cry all over again, but managed to keep it together. “Thanks, Tommy.”
Kennedy wiped away a tear of her own and asked Rapp, “Are you hungry?”
“Starved.”
The three of them went back into the house and Kennedy made pancakes. She managed to keep the conversation off the explosion by handing Rapp a newspaper and sending Tommy into the other room to set up his Game Cube. As he read the paper, Kennedy informed him that his brother Steven had called. He was on his way down from New York. Kennedy offered to bring him to the house for dinner. Rapp simply nodded. Both Rapp’s mother and father were gone. He and his brother were not close in the sense that they spent a lot of time together, but they shared a deep bond. It would be good to see him.
The hard part came when she brought up Anna’s parents. They’d arrived the day after the explosion and were waiting to talk to him. Funeral arrangements needed to be made, and they wanted his input. It was obvious Rapp was dreading the confrontation. They would blame him for their daughter’s death. Why wouldn’t they? He blamed himself, after all.
They ate breakfast outside next to the pool. Rapp devoured four pancakes and three sausage links. Tommy tried to keep up with him, but only managed two of each. They were just finishing when Scott Coleman showed up. He entered the backyard through a side gate. He was wearing jeans, hiking boots, a blue T-shirt, and a baseball cap. A large black nylon bag was slung over his shoulder. He stopped next to Rapp and dropped the bag.
“I picked up a few things at some stores. I assume you’re still wearing extra small.”
Rapp ignored the barb and slowly leaned over to unzip the bag. His ribs were giving him some difficulty. There were several North Face T-shirts, a fleece vest and jacket, sunglasses, hiking boots, pants, underwear, socks. The colors ran decidedly toward muted greens and light browns. At the bottom of the bag he found a brand-new Glock 17 pistol complete with silencer and hollow-point ammunition.
Coleman rubbed Tommy’s short hair and asked, “How are you doing?”
“Fine.”
“Do you think I could have a minute alone with your mom and Mitch?”
Tommy looked at his mother and then said, “Sure.” He stood. “I’m gonna go look at the horses.”
“Be careful,” Kennedy said as Tommy took off at a trot. The boy called for Shirley to follow and she sprang after him.
When he was far enough away Rapp pulled the pistol from the bag and held it up to the sunlight for a better inspection. He grabbed the back of the slide between the meaty part of his palm and his fingers and yanked it back. He moved the weapon around and checked out the chamber and barrel. The piece was well oiled and clean.
“What in the world are you doing bringing him a gun?” Kennedy was not happy.
Coleman ignored her. “I added the night sights and had them shorten the trigger pull.”
Rapp pointed the gun toward the ground and squeezed the trigger. He nodded. “Thanks.” Rapp set the 100-round box of ammunition on the table and began loading all three clips.
“Did you bring him a razor?” Kennedy asked.
Rapp scratched his thick stubble.
“You’re not going to want to shave that just yet,” said Coleman.
