Hunter's Moon.htm (41 page)

"Can't you people just leave us alone!" Bekki said, slapping the microphone aside. She kept walking toward the limos but Erin walked in step with her. She voiced the question that I just had.

"I was just wondering. Isn't this service sort of soon after the alleged murders? No bodies have been found yet and police are still hopeful that some people survived. Your sister might still be alive."

Bekki stopped then. She turned and faced the camera. She was angry. "I watched the video. It was a direct hit. My sister is dead! Do you understand that?"

She suddenly looked startled. She took a deep breath and added more calmly, "It's time to get on with our lives. We need closure of this awful thing. I have my children to think of. They need to move on. Suzi would have wanted that."

Says who? came an angry voice in my head. I locked onto it, held it.

Don't go! I asked— begged— commanded.

I can't wake up, Tony! Why can't I wake up? Then she was gone.

I looked at Betty. She was watching me, not the screen. My face probably held the panic I felt. So close. Damn it! I hit pause again.

"She was here again." Only Betty understood what I meant.

"Don't fight it, Tony," she said calmly. "Don't fight her. Just watch the tape. Let Sue watch the tape."

I took a deep breath and then let it out slow. I punched the play button once more.

Erin Stewart's face took on a sly look when she asked Bekki, "What about the money? Your sister was a very rich woman. If there's no body, will your sister's estate ever be probated?"

Ah. There's the trick. No body, no money. Bekki's lips grew tight. Erin had struck a nerve. "Our attorneys have informed us that the law requires that we wait for seven years before we can probate."

"How do you feel about that?" She stabbed the mike in Bekki's face. She had scented blood. I wonder how many reporters are Sazi. I'll have to ask Bobby.

"No comment."

Abruptly, the microphone was pulled sideways by a slim well-manicured hand. I knew those fingernails!

"Oh God!" said Linda and dropped her head into her hands. Her scent changed to hot desert winds. "Here comes the embarrassing part! I looked like such a harpie!"

The camera turned to give a full face view of Linda. She was wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a veil. I couldn't see the dress but it was probably black. Although with Linda you never know.

Babs patted Linda's arm soothingly as she watched the screen through spread fingers, "s'okay," Babs said softly. "You 'ad erry 'ight to be angry." Linda turned to her and smiled. I smelled warmth and caring flow from Babs. Bread and sugar and musk.

"Well I have a comment!" Linda said sharply on the screen.

The camera stepped back, so all three women would be in the picture. Erin spoke, "You're Linda Leone, right? Owner of Carlin's Restaurant? Did you know Sue Quentin?" At least she picked up on the "Sue" the first time she was corrected. Some reporters never get the hint.

Bekki wanted to leave but it wouldn't be viewed well. I watched her eyes dart this way and that looking for an escape. Still, she seemed fascinated by Linda.

"Yes, I'm Linda Leone. Yes, I own Carlin's and yes, Sue was a very dear friend of mine." I felt Sue's happiness and gratitude at the admission.

"Sue says thanks," I said quietly to Linda. She gave me a startled look.

Just go with it, I told myself. Just relax. I leaned back into the soft cushions and watched.

"What did you want to comment on?" asked Erin. She seemed to have forgotten the question.

"You asked how the family felt about having to wait seven years to probate Sue's will. Sister dear here didn't have a comment. I do." Her voice rose until it drowned out everything surrounding her. Erin handed her the microphone and Linda addressed the assembled crowd. It wasn't big, probably thirty people.

"I've just spent the past two hours with Sue's friends and family. I've listened to the bickering, the sniping and the griping. This was supposed to be a memorial service for Sue. I came because I thought that I'd hear nice things about my friend. I did. From her other friends. But I guess it's true what they say. You can pick your friends but you can't pick your family." Bekki's eyes shot open and her jaw dropped. Myra looked furious. Her lips thinned just as Bekki's had earlier.

"All I heard from her family were complaints." She turned to Erin so suddenly that the reporter took a step back in reflex. Her brown eyes were startled.

"Know what her family thinks about waiting for the money? They're pissed! All of them." She imitated them one by one.

First Myra. She did her perfectly. Cold, with a whiny nasal quality. '"This is all Suzi's fault! What could she have been thinking? How am I going to get by?'" Linda glared into the camera. "Like she had a choice or something! She was kidnapped!"

Next came Bekki. A younger version of the same whine. '"Oh no! Seven years! Can you believe it? We should sue that attorney! The law should be changed. It's right there in living color. The woman is dead! I'm entitled to my inheritance!'"

Then another voice. '"How will I ever survive on the pittance that the trust gives me? I have a lifestyle to uphold. My children will be homeless in days!'"

It sounded just like Mitzi. I let the knowledge fill me because I knew it was Sue. I'd never met Mitzi. I felt Sue's thoughts swimming just behind my own. I felt angry and sad.

"That's what the family thinks about it! You people make me SICK!" She turned her back on the stunned group and tossed the microphone back to the closely following reporter.

Erin caught the mike on the fly. There was a scrambling hiss. She opened her mouth twice before she could speak. "Okay, then." She took another tack, "Um. Mrs. Leone. It's well known that even though you are married you have occasional… relationships with other women. Was Sue Quentin your lover?"

Anger and embarrassment filled me but I fought it down by being amused. Linda can take care of herself.

On the screen, Linda turned to the reporter with a look that could cut stone. "I said that Sue was my friend. If you know I'm bisexual, and in an open relationship, then you also know that I'm not shy about it. Nor am I embarrassed. If I had meant that Sue was my lover I would have said so!" Her voice rose with each word until it was a controlled yell in Erin's face. Small drops of spittle landed on the microphone. "How dare you even ask that! Sue's sexual preferences are none of your business! God! You're as bad as her family! Let the woman rest in peace."

Tears were rolling down her cheeks unchecked. Linda glared at the reporter until Erin's eyes dropped. Then she turned on her heel, slipped an arm through Babs's waiting one, slipped her other arm around Carmine and leaned into them, crying. Carmine put a caring arm around his wife while Babs turned and gave the reporter a look that could not only cut stone but should be able to turn Erin into stone. I found out after Linda arrived that Carmine hadn't said a word to them. They didn't know we were alive that day.

There was a stunned silence on the screen for a moment. Then Erin spoke. "Um, this is Erin Stewart, from Sue Quentin's memorial service. Back to you, Angela." The video clicked off. The entire group of us sat in dazed silence as the screen went dark.

Rage filled me and I let it. Homeless? Homeless! For God's sake! The trust gives her two hundred thousand a year. She's going to starve on that? What the hell is she doing with the money? I felt Sue's anger burn along my body like a flame. Her outrage and pain.

It's okay, I thought at her, You have the right to be angry. Tell me how you feel. Tell me all of it I stood and walked toward the bedroom. Betty followed me like a ghost. My peripheral vision caught John and the others as they trailed in our wake.

I sat down on the bed, touched Sue's cheek with my hand. The tingles grew while I stroked her face.

"Wake up, Sue. Time to get up, sweetheart," I said to her sleeping form.

I can't! I can't wake up, Tony. Help me! I didn't know how. I looked at Betty. She was waiting patiently for some word. Her scent was masked by the sweet antifreeze curiosity drifting from the others assembled.

"She can't wake up. She's here." I tapped my temple. "But she can't wake up."

I looked to the group for any suggestions. Carl was out cold at a table in the corner. His snoring head was half underneath his left arm. His right fist was tight around the neck of a bottle. Still rum but the bottle was white this time. He smelled thickly of alcohol and sweat. Damn it, Carl. Why now?

Nobody understood what the problem was. How could I explain it?

Betty gripped my arm. She pulled me back. "Let me take a look at her." I moved aside for her. I shifted back a dozen steps. I felt Linda move up behind me. She rested cool hands on my arm and I let her. She laid her head on my shoulder and we watched the doctor work. Sue and I both felt comforted by her touch.

Betty leaned over Sue until I couldn't see her anymore. The room was strangely silent. Tough with so many people present. There was an air of solemnity. I felt Sue in my mind. She was worried. What if this was all? If she never woke up, never lived again.

I wouldn't consider that as a possibility.

A flash of light appeared over Sue's head. Trust a doctor to carry a penlight. The light flicked once, then twice. The white embroidered flowers on the pillow cover gleamed briefly.

Determination's hot metal filled my nose suddenly as Betty stood. Without any warning she slapped Sue hard across the face. What the hell!

Sue's head shifted violently sideways. Honeyed hair spilled over her face and her whole body rocked slightly. A vicious backhand brought her face back to where I could see it. The crack of the slap filled my ears and filled my mind with fury.

I broke away from Linda and was across the room faster than thought. A sound erupted from me— part howl, part roar. All rage. The third blow never reached Sue. I grabbed Betty by both shoulders and fiercely threw her sideways. She sailed across the room. Her back hit an oak and brass entertainment center that filled one corner near where Carl was slumped.

Carl woke in a flash as the cabinet disappeared in a rain of splinters, metal and broken glass. A shard of glass sank deep into her neck. I felt my eyes go. The beast inside was trying to lunge out. Betty's eyes glowed golden as she looked at me. Her lips pulled back and she growled low and deep. I didn't care. I answered with a growl of my own. She smelled confident and anticipatory. Her power raced over me; nearly as strong as Bobby. I think she intended to frighten me off.

Whether I was too angry or too stupid, it didn't work.

She would die for hitting my mate or I would die trying.

Thick orient spice crawled and clawed over the sweet copper blood. It urged me on, making me want the battle. I didn't need to look behind me to feel the fear from the humans. The tang was strong enough to make me salivate. The sound of the turning fan assaulted my ears. I was almost to her. My body tensed to fight. I saw her adjust her footing to spring.

"Tony?" came a tentative voice from the bed. Simultaneously, a burst of intense color exploded in my brain. Sunsets in the middle of the day.

I felt my heart stop. I turned in a flash. I had no words. Sue was sitting up with a slightly distressed look on her face. But her eyes were open. Her pale face was blushing. She smiled at me and I felt my eyes burn.

I ignored Betty. I hoped she wouldn't dive for me. In two steps I was at the bed with Sue in my arms. I hugged her tight. A pained sound reminded me that I could hug a little too tight. I eased her back and put pillows behind her so she could sit upright.

Long moments passed. I just stared at her. I couldn't keep a grin off my face. When I finally turned to the group, Linda had happy tears rolling down her face. Betty stood off to the side. Her arm was twisted at an odd angle. The shard of glass in her neck was pushed out by the flesh around it. When it was nearly out she reached up and plucked it away. She didn't admit the pain. She was stronger than I had credited her; I had underestimated her.

"Hey," I said to Betty with embarrassment, "I'm really sorry. I didn't understand… "

She waved it off with her good hand. "I forgot about the mating. You aren't an alpha so I didn't think you could hurt me." She looked at her arm with chagrin. "My mistake."

Carl narrowed his bloodshot eyes to stare at Betty. There was an injury and he was still a doctor— mostly. His voice was thick and slurred. "I think that arm's… um, unlocated."

She nodded seriously. "I could use some help." Actually, I didn't think she needed any help at all and certainly not from him. But maybe it's what Carl needed to hold on. Pretty good shrink. They moved into the other room where he had his black bag.

Sue smiled at me and then laughed. "Won't they be surprised when they find out I gave it to the geese?"

I frowned at her, unable to make the subject leap. It took me a moment to realize that she was commenting on the last thing she remembered: her funeral on the video.

"You gave your fortune to the geese?"

"Well, to the Department of Wildlife. I want them to tear down the house and make a preserve out of the grounds. I went to the attorney just before I had lunch with my sister. I changed my will and cut them all out."

Linda burst out laughing. The tears flowed so hard she couldn't speak.

"What's so funny?" asked Sue.

"Oh, God!" exclaimed Linda, gasping for breath. "They were so angry at the service because the lawyer wouldn't tell them what was in your will. He said until you were officially dead he couldn't reveal the contents. But your sister was so sure that you hadn't changed the will, because you told her that you intended to, not that you had."

Sue looked chagrined. "She was so weirded out at even the prospect that I felt guilty. I fudged a little. I actually thought about going back to the lawyer and ripping it up. But I didn't get the chance. Vinny grabbed me right when we were coming out of the restaurant."

"They were making plans at the service about the things they were going to do. Bekki is going to build a custom house and your Mom is going to travel. They plan to borrow and borrow and borrow some more against their future fortune."