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“Yes, darling, I figured that out. You do realize, I have to provide three months of bank statements to get a mortgage. Believe it or not, mysterious cash deposits are a bad thing. It makes lenders nervous.”
“I didn’t think about that.”
I reached to take the money back.
“Not so fast. I’ll buy groceries, gas, use some money orders to pay bills. That way the money in our account stays in our account. No one will ask what we’ve been living on.”
“Okay then,” I said with a shrug. He was still obviously angry, even as he set my breakfast in front of me. I was too on edge to sip my coffee, though I needed it badly.
“You’ve been saving money and hiding it from me.”
“I didn’t—”
“It’s probably best if you don’t talk.” He collected his thoughts. “I know you keep things from me. We’ve talked about that. But that’s about the past. You’re not supposed to keep things from me now, in the present. You promised.”
“I did.”
I took a moment to think this through. He was right, of course. He usually was, but that didn’t mean I could tell him anything. The more he knew the more danger he was in. I couldn’t tell him I might be disappearing without notice. I couldn’t tell him that I might—that Iwouldbe leaving soon. Very soon.
“Some things about the past… well, they’re in the present as well. They’re not as easy to separate as you’d like them to be.”
“Dom, that sounds like a riddle.”
“Look, I wanted you to have the money because I want you to have everything you dream of. I suppose I shouldn’t have done that.”
His eyes narrowed. “In other words, you’re an asshole because you love me so much?”
“Something like that.”
He looked at his breakfast as though he wasn’t sure what to do with it. I still hadn’t touched mine.
“Is there more you’re not telling me?”
“No, that’s all there is.”
Said the man who wished he could stop lying.
****
It was Tax Day. I keep things as simple as possible, doing the EZ form. I don’t want to draw any more attention to myself than necessary. Ronnie on the other hand goes all out. I swear, he deducts everything right down to his cologne.
“I have to smell nice for clients, don’t I?”
Immediately after breakfast he left for a last-minute meeting with his tax accountant. I had another cup of coffee, turned off theTodayshow, then went back upstairs for a shower. It was almost nine. Given my hours at the bar, Lydia didn’t mind my starting late on Mondays.
Once I was dressed, I walked around the block twice. I didn’t see any blue Neons or any other possible rentals—other than the green Taurus I was driving. After the second spin around the block, I climbed into it, keeping a sharp eye on the rearview mirror.
When I got to The Freedom Agenda, no one was there. There was a note on Karen’s desk saying she was downtown researching a few things and that Lydia wouldn’t be in until afternoon. I turned around and left. Then I headed out to Downey.
After driving around the high school twice, I parked on Brookshire, across from the school’s swimming pool. A logical guess since the gym was nearby. As I stepped onto campus, I saw that there were two rows of tennis courts. Eight, in all. South of them were two terra cotta buildings with red tile roofs. Boys & Girls locker rooms?
A few steps later and I discovered I was right. I walked into the Boys building. I found myself in a large lobby. To one side, a hallway led to a series of offices for coaches and teaching staff. On the other side, the locker room and showers. The only furniture in the lobby were several glass cases. I scanned their contents until I found the two long shelves devoted to the tennis team.
There were trophies and team photos for the years the team did well in their division. I scanned the shelves to find 1976, the year they’d placed second in the state. They’d received a small trophy—a bronzed tennis racket—which sat next to the photo. I found Paulie and next to him his brother, Pete. They bore a striking resemblance. Pete had more freckles and darker blond hair, but other than that they looked very similar. They’d placed third in both 1974 and 1975. The brothers played both years. The team did not win a trophy in 1973, so I couldn’t be sure they weren’t on the team.
Also in the photos were the nine other players and, of course, the coach. The coach was in his mid-fifties, rugged, handsome, with a well-maintained body and salt-and-pepper hair. He reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t think who.
I looked at the other photos and found him in 1966, 1964 and 1959. Then I moved in the other direction and found the coach in 1977and 1978. After that he was gone. The team did well in the eighties. Second once and third twice. But they had a new coach by then.
