It bothered him a little that she called him "bro," although he wasn't sure why.
Jerry knew what a gel-foam cushion was only because it was a squishy bed covering he'd figured might have real erotic possibilities. "What's the problem?"
"She's got some ugly lesions on her bottom, and a couple are starting on her shoulders, too. They weren't looking after her well at all." Beth squeezed some antiseptic cream on a gloved hand and applied it carefully to Veronica's flesh.
"'Lesions'?"
"Bedsores." Beth pulled off her gloves and tossed them into a trash can. "If she doesn't come around soon, we're going to have major complications."
Jerry snorted. "Over bedsores?"
"That's right. If they get bad enough, you have to do skin grafts to prevent life-threatening infections. That requires a plastic surgeon and anesthesiologist at the very least, assuming I can grow a few more limbs to take care of everything else." She walked past him and patted him on the shoulder.
"Trust me."
"Shit," Jerry said, turning and following her out of the room. "How do you get somebody out of a coma?"
"You don't, really," Beth said, putting her arms around him. "I guess we'd better get some rest."
"Rest?"
"I'm afraid so," she said. "We'll need our energy to devote to Veronica." She kissed the end of his nose. "This is another reason I stopped being a nurse."
"You're so good," he said. "I don't know what I did to deserve you."
Beth laughed. "For his next trick, Jerry will put all of his self-esteem into a thimble."
Jerry slapped her ass. "Enough. Let's get some sleep."
"Veronica, I love you. You have to come back for me." Jerry stroked her hand, carefully avoiding the area where her I. V was attached. Saying he loved her was a lie, but he wasn't going to crucify himself for it at this point. "Hannah needs you. We all do." Veronica's chest rose and fell slowly. Her eyelids might as well have been carved in stone.
Beth walked into the room with two plates of food. "Fettuccine for two." She set the plates on the coffee table in front of the couch. "So much for the question 'But can she cook?' Good men have plotzed for my Italian food since the dawn of time."
Jerry stood and stretched. He was glad Beth hadn't heard him telling Veronica he loved her. It would be too much trouble to explain right now. He walked on stiff legs over to the couch and sat down in front of the plate with the largest helping. It was weird having so much normal furniture in the room with a coma patient. "What time is it?"
"A little after seven." Beth took Jerry's seat next to Veronica and began bathing her with a fresh washcloth. Jerry fumbled for the TV remote control and punched the set to life. "Hot damn. I don't think I've missed much of it.
Chrissie is probably dead, though."
"What are you talking about?"
"Jaws." Jerry rubbed his hands together. On the screen, Brody was looking down at the girl's crab-infested remains. Beth wiped Veronica's forehead. Her touch was light but firm. Like she'd been with him in bed a few nights before. "I thought jaws scared you to death."
"Several times." Jerry paused and glazed-over his eyes. "Very first light, chief, sharks come cruising."
"Enough," Beth said. "It's obviously going to be a long night."
Jerry nodded. "For all the wrong reasons."
He turned back to the TV It was a commercial break, and a fast-talking salesman had a penlike device at the end of an egg. "Wow. Look at that. You can scramble an egg without even breaking it open."
Beth laughed. "I forget how much you missed in your twenty years as a giant ape.
You're Ronco's dream customer."
"It's nice to be somebody's dream something." Jerry bit his lip. He'd been trying to cut down on self-pity, but he had a genuine talent for it.
"God, I'm sick of hearing that kind of shit. If we're going to have a chance, that kind of talk has to start disappearing." She turned away from him. "Even now, you can't believe that I love you."
Jerry rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm afraid to. I'm crazy about you, always have been. You make me deliriously happy. I'm not a bad guy, but I just can't imagine you'd ever settle for someone like me.I feel so ... insubstantial or inadequate or something."
"I'm old enough and smart enough to know who I want," she said, "and I want you.
Maybe you should consider counseling to get over your self-esteem problems."
"Maybe. Couldn't hurt, and at least I can afford it." Jerry took a bit of fettuccine. It was hot and delicious, but he didn't feel like chewing.
"Jerry" Beth sounded upset.
He looked over quickly. Veronica had reached up and taken Beth by the arm. The bedridden woman pulled Beth's face to hers. Beth twisted away and tucked Veronica's arms down beside her. Jerry jumped up off the couch and over to the bed. Veronica's eyes blinked slowly, then opened. "Veronica. It's Jerry" He brushed a damp strand of hair away from her eyes.
Veronica swallowed and looked slowly around the room. She stared long and hard at Beth. "I hope you're not married to this guy."
Beth squeezed Veronica's hand and brought a cup of water up to her dry lips.
"Once you sweep them off their feet, they stay swept, bro."
"I feel terrible," Veronica said. Jerry smiled. "I feel better."
"Latham's girls were supposed to kill me," Veronica said. She glanced over at Jerry. "I guess you rode to my rescue." Jerry shrugged. "I couldn't just let them kill you. You'd have done the same for me."
Veronica closed her eyes. "Sure I would. How long have I been out?"
"Latham?" Beth grabbed Veronica's arm. "Edward St. John Latham? He did this to you?"
"Actually, it was Zelda who did the damage," Veronica said. "He just ordered it, as usual."
Beth looked up at Jerry. "And you knew?"
Jerry nodded. "I had a reason for not telling you."
"Kenneth. It was Latham, wasn't it." She put her hand over her mouth.
Jerry held her by the shoulders. "Yes. I knew he was behind it, but I couldn't prove anything."
Beth stood, shaking her head. "You should have told me. You know you should have." She walked stiffly from the room. Jerry headed after her.
"What about me?" Veronica tried to sit up, fell back on the bed.
"You're not going anywhere right now," Jerry said. "We'll talk later."
Jerry caught up with Beth on the stairs. He grabbed her by the elbow. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to get hurt." She wheeled on him, her eyes full of tears. "You think this doesn't hurt. My husband was killed, and you didn't think I had the right to know all the truth."
Jerry's shoulders slumped. His eyes were beginning to sting. "If I screwed up, I'm sorry. We both know I have a track record of doing that. But you have no idea how crazy Latham is. All the things he's into. And he's getting worse."
"What about the police?" Beth dabbed at her eyes. "There are some good cops, but you can't know who they are. If somebody can be bought off or intimidated, St.
John would probably go that way. If not, he'll just have them killed. Like Kenneth." Jerry looked down. "I swore I'd get Latham for what he did. I watched him for months, got to know his mind, his habits." Jerry made a fist. "I had him in the sights of my rifle once, and I just couldn't do it. Who knows how many other people would still be alive if I could have squeezed the trigger."
Beth took his hand. "You're not a killer, Jerry"
He looked up, right into her eyes. "Yes, I am. We all are. It just takes more extreme circumstances to bring that out in some of us. I have to kill him."
Beth shook her head. "For a promise to someone who'll never know you kept it?"
"No. Because he'll get me first. Why do you think I have all this security? He's bound to come after me sooner or later."
"Come to Chicago with me," Beth said. "We can start something for us there. If you go against Latham, he'll kill you. I can't believe I didn't figure this before now, anyway. Who else would want Kenneth dead?"
"It's only obvious in retrospect." Jerry dabbed the tears from her eyes. "No matter where I go, he'll find me. If there's one thing St. John is, it's thorough."
"Don't make me beg you, Jerry. If you try this, you'll only get killed."
"I don't think so." He tried to sound cocky. "I've got Veronica to help me now.
If I can convince her to help. With Latham's killers breathing down her neck, that shouldn't be too hard."
Beth opened her mouth in disbelief. "She can hardly move, Jerry. There's no way she's up to any kind of fight."
"She's an ace. Aces heal fast," he said. "Trust me."
Latham made most of his personal calls late at night. Jerry was sitting in a building across from St. John's apartment, waiting for some action on the line.
A regular phone bug would have been found in a hurry, so Jerry didn't even bother. But Latham had a cordless phone that operated on a specific frequency.
It had taken some doing, but he'd found out what it was and how to intercept it.
Most of what Jerry had learned came from the late-night listening.
He stifled a yawn. He still wasn't clear how to get Latham, but he knew he wanted Veronica to do the actual killing. That shouldn't be a problem, since Latham had ordered Hannah killed and almost put Veronica away too. The specifics were just not there, though. Probably he was .distracted about Beth. When he wasn't thinking about her, he was congratulating himself for not thinking about her, and then there he went again. Being that happy, even for one day, was a scary thing. All of a sudden, he had a lot to lose.
There was a dial tone. Jerry flipped on the recorder and listened to the numbers being punched in.
Several rings later, a young female answered the phone. "I was wondering when you'd call." The voice belonged to Zelda.
"Yes," Latham said. "I want you to make some arrangements for Friday night. I'll need a companion."
Zelda sighed. "Again? I don't know what you need that for, with me around."
"It wasn't a request, Zelda." Latham was cold, but his voice lacked the total control Jerry was used to hearing. "After letting that woman slip away, you should be eager for a chance to do something right."
"I don't think anyone else would have done a better job than I did." Zelda sounded angry and defensive.
"Blaise would have."
"Fine. I'll get your young blond god, but he won't be David. Even Blaise can't bring him back." Zelda paused. "Anything else?"
"That will be all," Latham said, and hung up.
Jerry stopped the recorder and pounded his fist into his palm. This was the setup he needed. He flipped through his notebook for the name of the escort service Latham had been using. He'd pay them a visit tomorrow as a handsome blond young man. Bight now, though, he needed to check on Veronica.
Beth met him at the door. She waited a moment before saying anything. Her face was tight. She forced a smile. "She's gone."
"What?" Jerry stared hard at her, expecting some kind of lengthy explanation.
"So..."
Beth walked over to the couch. "She recovered so quickly. I've never seen anything like it. Look, I'm sorry, but I don't know what I could have done to stop her."
You could have gone to bed with her, he thought, remembering Veronica's current sexual preference and the way she'd looked at Beth. Jerry flopped down on the couch and combed the hair from his eyes. "How did she leave? Did she walk? Catch a cab?"
"A cab." Beth sat down next to him, perched on the front of a cushion. "Jerry, is it really that important?"
"Yes," he said, sharply. "Absolutely."
Beth's mouth tightened. "Starline," she said. "That was the cab company." She stood and left the room.
"Beth, wait." Jerry took a couple of steps after her, then stopped. Explaining would take more time than he had right now. He had to get on Veronica's trail while it was still hot.
He absolutely needed her to take out Latham. He'd apologize to Beth later. Get down on his knees if necessary. But there was no safety for any of them until Latham was dead and gone. He checked the cash in his wallet. There was plenty for what he had in mind. He headed for the door.
The back seat of the cab was sticky. Jerry didn't want to know how it got that way. He'd found out the name of the driver at the Starline central office and had him sent down.
The cabbie was young and Middle Eastern. At first, he could barely speak English. But after Jerry introduced him to the Jackson twins--a trick he'd picked up from Ackroyd-the cabbie became more helpful. He told Jerry how he'd picked up Veronica, described her clothing, the way she smelled, and how she behaved. After a little more financial inducement, the cabbie agreed to drop Jerry off at Veronica's destination.
They were in an old part of Brooklyn. The red-and-white stone walls were faded, but for the most part clean. Kids with easy smiles played on stoops or out in the streets. The cab eased to a stop.
"Here. It was on this spot." The cabbie leaned across the seat and pointed through the passenger-side window. "That building. She went into there." The cabbie turned and smiled. "You are grateful now"
"Unspeakably." Jerry peeled off another twenty and handed it over. The cabbie certainly had grasped the essence of capitalism. Jerry got out of the cab and walked over to the stoop. He looked up.
Veronica was staring down at him. "Fuck." He didn't hear it, but he could read the word on her lips.
This wasn't going to be easy or fun. He fingered the door and went in. The paint on the walls was fresh, but the overhead light flickered. Jerry walked slowly toward the stairway at the end of the hall. He could hear kids screaming in Spanish inside one of the rooms.
She met him at the landing between the second and third floors. Her teeth were clenched, her eyes wide with anger. "Leave me alone, Jerry. Just leave me the fuck alone." She said the words slowly. "My family lives here. Do you understand?"
Jerry looked her in the eye and took a step forward, like a kid trying to sneak up on a cat. "He knows who you are, Veronica. He's going to come after you.