Promise Me Eternity (16 page)

Dr. Patterson was extremely kind to her. He
invited her to drink tea with him whenever she finished her work.
If the weather was nice, they sat in the garden and looked at the
roses.

A year ago she had again found herself a job,
working as a cook in a workers’ cafeteria, and so didn’t need to
work as a cleaner anymore. Her salary wasn’t all that high, but it
was enough for her immediate needs. She had often been angry with
Helen Patterson and had frequently thought of quitting, but she had
always changed her mind when she thought of never seeing Dr.
Patterson again.

First she started on the living room windows,
hoping to avoid Helen that way. The criticism was still echoing in
her head. What she’d said was simply not true. Granted, it had
rained a lot since then.

The front door opened. Edna was delighted,
knowing it would be Dr. Patterson. She stepped up her pace.

Helen was sitting in the kitchen, drinking a
coffee which she had made for herself earlier. When Simon entered,
she barely returned his greeting. She was staring at the wall as if
he hadn’t come in.

He noticed she was getting ready to go
somewhere, so he asked, “Where are you going?” He only said it to
break the silence.

“What’s this, now? Am I on trial? Can’t I go
out without you asking me stupid questions?”

His good mood vanished. “I didn’t mean—”

“I will go out with whom and when I wish.
It’s none of your business.”

He heard a creak from the living room and
remembered Edna Weiss. “Listen, you don’t have to shout, I only
wanted—”

“I’ve had enough of you questioning me all
the time.” When she said that, her voice was already so loud that
it hurt his head. “Isn’t me working hard all day for a small salary
enough? Do I have to then listen to you as well?” She gulped down
her coffee and picked up her purse. “Don’t ask me what time I’m
coming back because I don’t know.” She slammed the door.

Simon collapsed onto a chair. Pushing the
ceramic coffee jug away, he held his head. The fact that they
weren’t capable of having a normal conversation anymore saddened
him. At the same time he was embarrassed because she had shouted in
front of Mrs. Weiss.

Edna also felt uncomfortable because of what
she’d heard. Never before had she heard them arguing. Generally
Helen wasn’t home when Edna was cleaning.

Simon’s thoughts stayed with his wife a
little longer, then returned to the hospital and Christine Vucci.
She had hinted several times that she wasn’t happy with Carlo.
Obviously she is lonely and in need of a friend,
he thought.
She’s got no one to comfort her.
He hoped the tests would
actually show something, so that he could help her.

In a while, Edna came into the kitchen. Lost
in thought, Dr. Patterson had forgotten her and was startled.

“Oh, it’s you, Edna. Hello, how are you?”

Edna glowed. “Good, thank you, and you, Dr.
Patterson?”

“So-so.” He felt obliged to say something
because of the argument earlier. “Helen and I are going through a
difficult patch, but I hope we’ll soon straighten things out. Apart
from that, everything’s OK.”

“And how is your research on fertilizers
going?”

He couldn’t help smiling. “Very well, Edna,
very well. Nice of you to ask.” He carried the coffee mug Helen had
been using to the sink. “I think it’s time for our tea. Have you
finished yet?”

“I have one more thing to do, but I’ll be
through in ten minutes.” That was her usual answer if he invited
her for tea. She wanted to give the impression that she really did
work right up to the last moment.

“Come into the garden when you’re done. It
really is wonderful weather.”

She blushed and hurried off to finish
polishing the windows.

Chapter 28

_______________________

They had arranged to meet at the entrance to
the Greek museum on Lincoln Street.
Where is he again?
Helen
fumed. She had been standing waiting for ten minutes. She was
already irritated because of Simon.
How dare he ask me where I’m
going. Does he think I’m going to be at his beck and call while he
spends all his time in that lab? I’m not stupid.

An enormous silver limousine pulled up next
to the sidewalk. The windows were tinted dark-blue, so she couldn’t
see who was driving. She thought it could be Robert, and then she
remembered that last time he’d come in a black jeep.

He stepped out. “I’m so sorry, Helen. I’m
late again. I really do apologize.” He respectfully bowed and went
to the other side of the vehicle to open the door for her.

“Didn’t you come in a different car last
time?”

“You’re right. I have four. Two were my
wife’s, two mine. You know, I don’t have the heart to sell my
wife’s things.”

Her bad mood evaporated in a moment when she
inspected the inside of the car: seats of real leather and natural
wood dashboard. The various buttons and displays made her feel like
she was sitting in the cockpit of a plane.

Dr. Miner pressed one of the buttons. Out of
a small slot slid a six-inch screen. Helen had never seen anything
like it. It was very thin and when it had fully slid out it was in
an upright position.

“That’s the player,” he explained to her.
Various bright orange buttons appeared on the screen. He only had
to touch it twice for the space to be filled with pleasant music.
“Tell me if you don’t like it. I can change it to another CD. I
have over fifty in the back. What kind of music do you like?”

She looked at him and tried to imagine him
holding a scalpel and operating on a patient.
Maybe he will
perform free cosmetic surgery on me,
she thought. Then she
remembered what one of her colleagues had said. “Haven’t you heard
of Robert Miner? There’ve been quite a few articles about him.”

Helen had mentioned him in passing. Of course
she hadn’t said anything about going to dinner with him.

“Something happened during his wife’s
surgery,” her colleague had told her. “I read that it was a simple
procedure. I think she wanted a face-lift. The poor thing didn’t
survive the operation.”

“My God, what happened?” Helen asked.

“No one knows. Some say that Robert Miner was
very nervous because he loved his wife so much. Then again, others
say he killed her intentionally and made it look like an
accident.”

“And why would he do such a thing?”

“His wife was from a very rich family. He
didn’t have a penny. He built the private cosmetic surgery clinic
with her money.”

Helen could barely swallow the lump that had
formed in her throat. “And what happened then?”

“They couldn’t prove anything. Two other
surgeons and an anesthetist were also present. They all confirmed
it was an accident. It’s interesting, though, that none of them
work with him anymore.”

“How do you know that?”

“That’s what they say. I don’t know if it’s
true, though.”

Helen was surprised. “Funny he still has
clients if there’s so much gossip.”

“He’s one of the biggest experts in the
field. Even before, his waiting list was months long. He has
clients from all over the world and they don’t read the local
papers. Probably it affected business a bit, but people soon
forget. The clinic is doing well now.”

Helen was lost in thought for a while.
Is
it really possible he killed his wife?
She shook her head, as
she had seen with her own eyes how much he had loved her. When he
told her how he couldn’t throw away her clothes, she felt the
sadness and suffering in his voice.
No, no. He must have loved
her very much. It was an accident and the press always gets carried
away when something like that happens.
She decided not to think
about it anymore.

They had finally arrived at his place. When
the automatic gate opened, she could see a well-tended garden: the
lawn was neatly cut and all the trees were groomed.

She was impressed. The modern one-story house
was adorned with a slanting roof. In the middle of the roof was a
massive window. She had always longed for a house that let in a lot
of light. The house was white, with dark-brown wood decoration.

“It’s very nice here,” she said when the
limousine came to a halt.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Who takes care of this beautiful
garden?”

“Contractors. They come when needed. In
winter, slightly less often, but in the spring and autumn at least
once a week.”

She nodded and again directed her gaze to the
front of the house.
It can’t have been built long ago
, she
thought. Everything was completely new.

Robert Miner gladly showed her around. One
could see that he was proud and fond of it. He told her that he had
chosen the furniture with the help of an architect. “My wife didn’t
show much interest in interior decor,” he grumbled. He waved his
hand. “It’s not nice of me to talk about her in that way because I
loved her a lot, and in some ways she was really something
special.”

Helen thought about what her colleague had
told her and then shooed away the annoying thought. “It’s
absolutely wonderful. Very roomy and furnished with good
taste.”

He folded his arms in a satisfied way.

“Who cleans the house?” Helen asked.

“A woman comes in three times a week. I’m not
too happy, but you know how hard it is to get really hardworking,
reliable people these days.”

Helen immediately thought of Edna Weiss and
said that she herself had similar problems. “Good servants are
extremely hard to find,” she added with an air of snobbery.

Robert showed her a gorgeous balcony on which
stood a bamboo table with four chairs. Helen felt wonderful.
Everything was to her taste. All the rooms were huge and spacious.
Exactly what she had always wanted. He showed her his wife’s
closet. She took a deep breath. It was the size of a small room. He
pushed a switch and the clothes started moving past her on hangers.
The woman could wear something different every day.
She
quickly checked the size and found to her surprise that it was the
same as hers.

Finally, they stopped in the dining room,
where he offered her coffee and cookies.

They chatted about the past. Robert told her
he had spent his childhood in a village near Portland and that his
parents owned a farm. “While studying for school I had to work in
the fields,” he complained. “I hated that farm.”

Helen listened to him with interest. She
asked him a few questions about his wife to satisfy her curiosity.
“What did your wife do?”

Robert’s eyes changed. “She was mostly at
home managing the house.” He looked at Helen sadly. “At first we
were planning on having kids but it turned out that she couldn’t
get pregnant. Tests showed she had something wrong with her
Fallopian tubes.”

Even though she felt his reluctance to talk
about his wife, she continued. “You must have been very close?”

He nodded. “I loved her very much. Her death
was a big loss to me.” He told her that they used to go somewhere
every weekend. “She loved the mountains.”

Helen was reassured. She could tell by his
voice that he could never have deliberately killed his wife,
perceiving how much she had meant to him.

“You remind me of my wife very much,” Robert
said suddenly.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, you look alike. That’s why I
was first drawn to you.” He looked at her and placed his cold,
rough hand on hers.

She didn’t know what to say. She moved her
hand.

“I really want us to be good friends.” Again
he found her hand and put his on it.

And she again pulled her hand away. “Why not,
we could become good friends.”

Then Robert suddenly got up and sat down next
to her, taking hold of her face with both his hands. Helen felt the
sweet smell of his aftershave and before she could do anything, his
lips were on hers. She grimaced and at the same moment pushed
against him. She managed to unglue herself from his lips.

“What are you doing? Let go of me!”

“Oh, my shy little creature. I know your
type.” He kissed her again, this time so hard that she couldn’t
move her head.

Helen was trying to resist with all her
might, but she didn’t succeed in moving him even an inch. He was
surprisingly strong for his age.

She threw her head back. “Let go, I said.”
She was about to scream when she felt him stroking her thigh. “Stop
that! What do you think you’re doing? Stop!”

“Just relax and you’ll enjoy it. I promise.
Your husband will never find out. You want a bit of adventure,
don’t you?” Robert kissed her again.

As she couldn’t push him away, she started
fumbling with her right hand, looking for a hard object on the
table. She took hold of the china cup she had been drinking coffee
from earlier and with all her strength hit him on the head.

He cried out. “What are you playing at? Why
did you hit me?”

As Robert had moved away from her slightly
Helen took the opportunity to lift her legs and, with them, push
him away. It was a funny scene, him trying to balance and falling
on the floor between the two couches.

“Touch me again and I’ll call the police!
Have you gone crazy? I’m leaving right now.”

“Wait! Sorry, I got a bit carried away.
Forgive me. If you want to go home, why not?” He quickly got up and
straightened his hair.

She picked up her purse and went toward the
door. “How dare you!”

But before Helen could grasp the doorknob,
Robert picked her up in the air like a little girl and carried her
in the opposite direction.

“What are you doing? Let me go!” she
screamed.

“Don’t scream, no one will hear you anyway.
We’re just having a bit of fun, that’s all. You’ll like it, you’ll
see.”