1 Hot Scheming Mess (12 page)

Madison shook with quiet laughter as she said, “Can you imagine how long it took every morning before you could leave the house?”

Pointing at a beehive hairdo in a black and white photo, Ann said, “On the other hand, you could probably hide your lunch in it.” Simultaneously they said, “Yummy,” and laughed at themselves.

A waiter came up with a coffee pot and poured more black coffee for Ann. Madison had hers topped off a bit, adding cream. A waitress seated a young couple at a table nearby, while a woman stepped up to the waiter with the coffee pot and quietly asked about the restroom. He pointed to the back corner, not far from the large table where Madison sat with her mother. The activity in the room was at a leisurely pace.

“But I have to say, I love these suits,” said Madison. “They’re so cool, so retro. Especially this one here.” She pointed at a tall skinny man with square glasses in an early 1960’s suit.

“That’s Jerry, when he first started at the FBI,” said Ann, refolding her napkin.

“You’re kidding.” Madison leaned in closer to study the photo. “Wow. I didn’t recognize him. He looks so young here. And skinny. He used to wear glasses?”

“I guess so,” said Ann. “By the time I met him, he must have been wearing contact lenses.”

“These’ll be a big hit at the party. In fact you could present a montage to everyone with all these photos, and start with this one,” said Madison, referring to the cool retro suit photo. “You could even add music from each era to go with the photos.”

“A montage?” She picked up two photos. “I was going to make lots of little copies for each table,” said Ann, staring at one photo in her hand then looking at the second one in her other hand. “Presenting a montage would be so much better.” She sighed. “I wish I had more time.”

“I could make it for you,” Madison volunteered. What am I saying? She won’t like anything I come up with.

“Really?” Ann turned her head to look at Madison. “You wouldn’t mind?” Ann’s dark eyes shone with pride. “You were always so good at that sort of thing. You made such interesting collages for your bedroom walls.”

Madison, embarrassed at her inner dialogue, smiled.
I’m an idiot.
“This will be fun,” she said, “like playing a little trick on him.” She was glad to be able to say that with sincerity, then asked, “Where did you get all these photos?”

“Everyone pitched in if they had anything, but most of the old ones came from FBI archives.”

“Wow.” Madison looked down at the photos with new respect.

Ann said, “Don’t worry, they’re all copies.”

Madison asked, “Do you have any from those lectures he used to give at the high schools?”

“Not really.” Ann was gazing down at the stack of photos in front of Madison. She added, “Security has been tightened up since those days, but back then they used to give tours of the FBI building here in Seattle. He took over the tour the day I went. He made it sound so exciting.” Reaching for her coffee cup, she said, “I was hooked.”

“I’m surprised Grandpa allowed you to go. He couldn’t stand Jerry.”

Ann looked at her in surprise. “I didn’t know you knew that.”

“Well, it was the old invisible-kid-in-the-room trick. It’s amazing what people will say in front of a child, as long she holds still and lets them forget she’s there.”

Ann didn’t move for a moment, her sad eyes on Madison. She lowered her china cup, clinking it as it hit a little askew in the saucer, spilling a few drops. Ann grabbed her napkin, her lips closed tight as she cleaned the small spill. She stopped wiping, her hand going lax around the napkin. Staring at nothing, she said, “I can only imagine the things you heard.” She took a big breath and exhaled saying, “I really made a mess, didn’t I? I’m sorry, Madness.”

“Hey, I was no picnic back then.”

“I’m trying to make up for it,” said Ann.

“Me, too.” Madison felt it only fair to own up to her share of their problems, specifically her rebellion years. But she was never comfortable with her mother’s idea of making up for something and wondered what was coming.

Ann smiled and her enthusiasm returned, saying, “I’m excited about your montage idea. I’m looking forward to seeing the end result.”

“I’ll scan them in tonight,” said Madison. She looked on the back of a photo. “Names and dates,” she noted. “That’ll help me know what order to put them in.” She tucked them all back into the large envelope Ann had brought them in. “You know, Grandpa may not have liked Jerry, but I did. He was cool Uncle Jerry to me. He used to pick me up and throw me in the air, while Grandma got all panicky.” Madison laughed as she continued, “She’d pull me away from him as if I were in danger, telling me to go play in my room.” She shook her head, smiling at the memory.

Ann was pleasant and quiet. But there was something else there. The lack of anything else to say made it seem as if she were being guarded. Something was not being said. Was her mother uncomfortable about Jerry?
Maybe she and Jerry had a falling out.
Madison decided to ask her about it some other time. She was enjoying a rare and wonderful visit with her mother right now and didn’t want to spoil it.

“So,” Ann smiled. “Your new apartment. Do you love it?”

“Actually, I do. It’s so much nicer than my last place. I’m on the second floor, and the outside hallway is always clean. The toilet never runs, kitchen counters look new, plumbing never drips. It’s awesome.”

Ann was beaming. She asked, “Is the management treating you well?”

“Yeah, they’re really nice! If I need anything they jump on it. It’s almost weird.”

Ann nodded, seeming very satisfied. She caught the waiter’s attention and said, “Check, please?” The waiter came over with the check, passing by the woman who had inquired about the restroom earlier, each of them brushing past the table in opposite directions.

Feeling her confidence build, Madison decided to try Spenser’s idea of the mother/daughter talk about boyfriends, though she would have to embellish the truth a little. More than a little. Quite a bit, actually.

She put on a conspiratorial little smile and leaned in saying, “And guess what? I have a boyfriend.”

Ann looked up from the check, her eyes soft, and said, “I’m not surprised. You’re so pretty. Those sparkly green eyes have always taken my breath away.” Madison thought her heart would burst.

“So tell me,” Ann joined in with her own conspiratorial smile, “What’s his name? What does he do? Is he really cute?” Madison couldn’t believe this moment. This was the best moment ever.
Just like normal people!

She giggled. “His name is ExBoy, he sells his artwork, and he’s beyond cute. He’s hot!”

Ann’s face didn’t move for a second. In a faint tone she said, “ExBoy? Did I hear that right?” The light in her eyes seemed to be having a brown-out, flickering with the strain of staying on.

“Yeah. He’s the one who found the apartment and told me about it. I really owe him for that.”

“You don’t owe him anything,” Ann blurted. “Anyone can find an apartment, it doesn’t mean anything. With a name like ExBoy he… he’s probably a crook. You can’t trust people like that, Madison, you don’t want to be with a crook.”

Madison stiffened. We’re normal people, all right.

“Why don’t you date a nice man?” Ann’s tone was pleading. “Someone who would never get in any trouble, or ever give you any reason to worry, or—” Her words came to an abrupt halt as her hand came up over her mouth.

She lowered her forehead into her hand. “I’m sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t do that to you.” She looked back up and said, “Please don’t go.”

Scattered voices from around the restaurant with their clinking china were all that Madison could hear. A tiny leaf quivered and fell onto their table.

It occurred to her that Ann had just done something that she had never done before. She had stopped herself. So Madison did something that she had never done before, either. She said, “I’m not going anywhere.”

*****

As they were leaving, the waiter said, “Please come again, Ms. Cruz.” She answered with a pleasant, “Thank you.” The sun was still coming in through the large front windows, pouring heavy sunbeams into the room. Summer was in its glory. Madison noticed one sunbeam hitting directly on the head of the lady who had brushed past their table earlier. The sunbeam revealed her hair to actually be a stunning dark red color, leaving Madison with the idea of trying that color someday. She admired the hair, but the woman didn’t notice, continuing to look down, reading her book, sipping coffee.

Stepping outside, they walked in the direction of Madison’s car parked down the street. People getting off work caused traffic to slow its pace as more cars appeared, congesting the streets. The occasional honk or street musician added to the sounds of footsteps, car engines, and police whistles. Madison carried the large envelope of old photos under her arm, her high heels clicking on the pavement.

“Madison.” Ann exhaled. “Thank you for sticking it out with me back there. I still have a lot to figure out about myself. I’ve been going through… some changes, lately.” She removed her suit jacket, draping it over her left forearm and rubbing the back of her neck with her other hand as she looked down at the sidewalk.

Madison could see the tension and weariness. She swallowed, searching for the right thing to say, then settled for, “I’m trying to use adult eyes.”

“Adult eyes?”

“Yeah. You know. The kid inside me had a head start in forming my opinions, but it’s not her turn anymore.”

Ann seemed to take this in and nodded her head. “You’ve come to that conclusion much sooner than I did about myself.”

“When did you come to it?” Madison asked.

Ann answered in a rueful tone. “A few weeks ago.”

Looking up, Madison saw a tall suit across the street, walking down the sidewalk. Aaron Reed, she smiled to herself. Must be getting off work, too.
He said she has pictures of me in her office. All ages.
She was too embarrassed to ask Ann for confirmation. Not yet, anyway. Aaron made a call on his cell phone but kept walking.

“We had a good start today,” Ann said, “but there’s going to be a lot to talk about. There’s so much to tell you. I decided not to try to fit in too much today.”

“Do you want to talk about it tomorrow?”

“I can’t. There’s a problem.” She huffed, “Lots of problems. I need to wait for events to settle down.”

Madison stopped walking, letting passersby flow around them. “What are you not telling me? Does it involve Grandpa?” She had tried not to sound too intense.

“No, it’s FBI business.” Ann looked at her puzzled, then added, “Dad was doing well when I saw him.”

Madison said, “I wonder if he’s getting out enough. He should see friends. Which ones are his very best friends? The ones he would tell anything to?”

Ann’s quizzical look deepened and Madison knew her line of questioning about Grandpa didn’t feel natural. But after a pause, Ann answered. “That would be either Ray or Mitch. Those three started out together in gardening jobs at the UW.”

“I think I remember those old guys.” Madison said. “They would get together once in a while.”

Ann said, “I’d say mostly Mitch. When I was a kid, Dad gave his son a job. Then when Mom died, Mitch kept an eye on Dad, cleaned him up when he got too drunk.” Ann looked down, and said, “One of the reasons I took you to Philadelphia so suddenly was because Dad fell apart. The impact of Mom’s death almost took him with her. But in an odd way, your rebellion out there in Philadelphia was a blessing. He sobered up fast when he realized how much you needed him. It gave him a purpose.” She looked off into the distance. “I couldn’t take that away from him.” Her fierce eyes glistened, tears refusing to leave their corners.

Traffic continued its pokey downtown pace while the distant roar of an accelerating public bus could be heard. “Anyway, Mitch was the one who held him together at that time. Later still, Dad gave a job to Mitch’s grandson. They’ve always looked out for each other.”

“I had no idea.” Madison blinked. Had she been that self-absorbed? So much for the old invisible-kid-in-the-room trick.
I guess they could hide things when they really wanted to.

Ann said, “I’m sure he still sees his friends, but you could ask him.” They resumed walking and soon approached Madison’s car and the moment for saying goodbye.

Madison chose to offer a light little hand clasp with one hand, while patting Ann on the shoulder with the other hand. She knew it probably looked as awkward as it felt. But her emotions were too raw to trust herself to offer a hug. Not yet. She was walking a tightrope here, navigating between a nervous reunion with her mother and mysterious trouble with her grandfather. Clearly, there were ongoing secrets on both sides. Madison was going to have to do a little secret scheming of her own to get to the truth.

She climbed into her car, feeling the car’s interior heat from being parked there in the sun, and started the engine. She hit the power button to lower all the car windows and let some of the heat escape. Ann bent down to be seen at the passenger window, saying, “Thanks for offering to meet me where I work. I loved it.”

“It was pretty impressive,” said Madison. “There are a lot of hot guys working there.”

Ann blinked and smiled. “I guess there are.”

“I met one named Aaron Reed. I might want to have his baby.”

“What?” Ann laughed.

Madison waved at her and pulled into traffic. As much as her mother’s reaction to ExBoy annoyed her, she figured there wouldn’t be any harm in having an imaginary break-up with her imaginary boyfriend.

Chapter Thirteen

She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it sooner. The best place to hide something wasn’t a place they would never think of because eventually they’d think of it. It wasn’t a place that was guarded because eventually they’d find a way in.

The best place to hide something would be a place that was so chaotic you wouldn’t know where to start, and eventually you would talk yourself into thinking that it couldn’t possibly be there. The only thing you would find in this place would be something you weren’t looking for. Therefore, she should hide the contents of the box in the battered warehouse of Robot Moon Productions. She swung the car around and headed north to Ballard.