San Francisco Noir (5 page)

The little man obliged. Raymont took the bundle of paper, at which point the voice through the mail slot said, “Reverend Raymont Williams, a.k.a. Raymont Williams, a.k.a. Raymond White, a.k.a. Montel Dickson—you’ve been served with a summons and a complaint in accordance with state law and local rules of the California Superior Court. You must appear on the specified date or a default judgment may be filed against you. If you have any questions, you can call the number that appears on the summons.”

Why you schemey little bug, Raymont thought. He pulled himself up, booming through the door: “How dare you! Coming here, full of hostile intent and subterfuge. I am a man of the cloth. What’s the difficulty, tell me—the difficulty in simply ringing the bell like a decent man with honest business?”

Beyond the door’s beveled glass, the white man grinned, his eyes hard. He didn’t look so fluffy now. “Yeah, right. Straight up, that’s you.” He turned and started down the steps, saying over his shoulder, “You’re served.”

Raymont threw the door open, came after him, one step, two. “You listen—”

The little man spun around. “Go ahead. Lay a hand on me, I’ll sue you for every cent you’re worth.”

Raymont cocked his head, perplexed. “Will you now?” He reached out, lifted William Montgomery or whoever the hell he was off his little white feet, and tossed him down to the sidewalk. His head hit with a hollow, mean-sounding
thunk
. The man groaned, curled up, clutching his hat.

“Sue me for every cent I’m worth? Joke’s on you.”

The phone started ringing inside the house. Raymont slammed the door behind him, went to the hallway, and picked up. He could hear Lorene, sobbing.

“So. Lemme guess. They got you at work.”

“We got ten days—to
get out.
That’s
my house—
”

“What did you do? What did you say?”

“I tried, Raymont, I swear. But he is a stubborn, spite-ful—”

“You best try again, woman. Try harder. Try till that horizontal nigger sees the motherfucking light of goddamn day.”

“Mr. Baxter says I’m to stay in the room this time.”

Robert opened the bedroom door so Lorene could go in. She put away the fifty dollars she’d planned to pass along, tidied her hair, gathered herself. “Fine then.” She strode in like a shamed queen.

Pilgrim’s voice stopped her cold. “You come here to try to weasel your way into my good graces, don’t bother. You got ten days to quit. You and that hustling no-count you taken in. The two of you, not out by then, sheriff kicks you out.”

Lorene gathered her pride. “From the very beginning, Pilgrim, you promised—”

“Promises don’t always keep, Lorene. You crossed the line.”

Lorene sat down and tried to collect her thoughts.
Crossed the line.
Yes. And what an interesting world it became, across that line. The things you never thought you could have, right there. But here and now she was running out of options. Still, she reminded herself:
I know this man.

With the nurse there she couldn’t be as bold as the moment called for. All she could do was lean forward, tip her cleavage into view, bite her lip. “What is it you want, Pilgrim?”

Marguerite sank back in the chair and tapped her foot. “I don’t agree with this.”

“Not your place to agree or disagree.”

“That’s not entirely true. I can withdraw.”

“Just find me another lawyer, not so particular.”

“Mr. Baxter, it may not be my place, but you might want to think of your estate plan as a way to take care of your loved ones, not settle scores.”

“I want that kind of talk, I’ll turn on Oprah.”

“All right. Fine.” Marguerite took the papers out of her briefcase. “I’ve drawn things up the way you asked. Both sets.” She glanced up. “Are you all right?”

Pilgrim blinked. His face was wet. “Damn eyes is all.”

Corella came that evening to visit and found her father sleeping. His breathing was faint, troubled. She put her hand to his forehead. Cool. Clammy.

Hurry up and die, she thought.

He’d always made no secret of his feelings. If her mother was in the room, Corella did not exist. Children are baggage. How much time had she wasted, pounding her heart against his indifference—only to melt at the merest
Hey there, little girl
.

As fickle as the man could be, he still had it all over her mother. That woman was scandalous. Corella had tried to be gracious, turn a blind eye to the parade of men through that big old house—even this Raymont creature—but then the woman started spending money like a crack whore on holiday and Corella had to draw a line. Woman’s gonna burn up my inheritance, she thought. That can’t stand.

She pulled up a chair to wait until her father woke up. A manila envelope peeked out from under the bed covers. Carefully, she lifted it out. The lawyer’s address label was on the front, with the notation: “
Pilgrim Baxter—Estate Plan—DRAFT
.” About time he got to this, she thought.

Corella had earned her teacher’s certificate just as the new governor was talking about taking pensions away and basing salaries on “merit”—meaning your career lay in the hands of bored kids cut loose by lazy parents. Schoolwork? Not even. Not when there’s curb service for rock and herb on the street, Grand Theft Auto on the Game Boy, streaming porn on the web. The American dream. She was sorry for what had happened to her father but the money was luck and she’d need all she could muster. Otherwise the future just looked too grim.

She checked to be sure he was still dozing, then opened the envelope quietly, removed the papers inside. There was a living trust, a will, some other legal documents captioned “
Baxter v. Williams et al
.” Not like I don’t have a right to see, she thought. He’ll need me to make the calls, transfer accounts, consult with the accountants and all.

She read every page, even the boiler plate. By the time she was done her whole body was shaking.

* * *

Raymont, wearing his preacher collar under a gray suit, stared out through the beveled glass of the Victorian’s front door at Corella on the porch. Girl’s nothing but a snitch for her father, he thought. He felt like telling her to just go away but Lorene hadn’t come home the night before. He’d rattled around all night alone in their canopy bed, like a moth inside a lampshade, wondering if he shouldn’t call the police. But, given his troubles, that could turn tricky. Besides, he figured she wasn’t missing. She was hiding.

He cracked open the door. “Your mama’s not around.”

Corella had her hands folded before her, prim as a nun. “I didn’t come to see her.”

She might as well have thrown a rock. “Say that again?”

“Turns out you and I have something in common.” She looked him square in the eye. “We need to talk.”

They sat in the kitchen, Raymont sipping Hennessy with a splash of 7-Up, Corella content with tap water as she told him what she’d learned.

“The lawsuit and eviction remain in place—against you. Everything against my mother is dismissed in exchange for her cooperation and truthful testimony.”

Girl sounds like a bad day on Court TV, he thought. “Your mama says I forced her into anything, that’s a damn lie. I may have
suggested
—”

“She gets the house, too. He’s quit-claiming it to her. But the debt comes with it.”

Raymont shook his glass, the ice rattled. “There’s his pound of flesh. Payments too steep. She can’t keep up, they’ll foreclose.”

Corella shook her head. “She’ll be able to hold them off for a while. And the insurance annuity that pays for my father’s care? It has a cash payout when he dies. Half a million dollars. He’s giving half of that to my mother to pay down the debt. That should make it manageable but still steep enough it’ll feel—if I know my mother and father—like punishment.”

Girl understands her blood, he thought, I’ll grant her that. “And the other half—who gets that?”

Corella shook her head, a little flinch of outrage. “It goes to the nurse.”

Raymont put down his drink. “The
bouncer?
”

“‘For services rendered charitably, patiently, and generously.’” Corella seemed about to cry, but there was ice in her voice, too. “I get nothing.”

“You got a half-sister floating around somewhere, too, am I right?”

He might as well have slapped her. “She doesn’t deserve anything! Where has she been? What has she done?”

“Easy. Easy. I just—”

“The nurse is bad enough. I’m the one in the family who’s been there. Every day.”

“Fine. Agreed.” Raymont juiced up his drink with a little more Hennessy. The girl was getting on his nerves and he needed to think. His mind boiled. “I’m gonna hire me a lawyer,” he said. “A real junkyard dog. You best find yourself one, too, girl, before this all gets finalized.”

Corella stood up from the table. “You’re missing the point.”

Lorene left the hotel where she was hiding and arrived in Hunter’s Point shortly after dinner to visit with Pilgrim. Robert let her in and said, “Mr. Baxter told me you and him would be wanting some private time.” She opened her purse, figuring they were back on the old payment schedule, but Robert said, “No need for that, ma’am.” He grabbed his hat, glanced at his watch, and added, “I’ll come back in an hour.”

She inferred from his cheerfulness that Pilgrim had informed him of his good fortune. Once Pilgrim executed his documents, the former wrestler and part-time bouncer would stand to inherit a princely sum. Pausing at the window, she watched him flounce out to his beat-up car. He’ll buy himself a new one first thing, she thought, something everyone will stare at. New car, new clothes, flash and trash, waste it all. But who’s the bigger fool for that—him or Pilgrim?

She went into the bedroom and stood beside the bed. Pilgrim gazed up at her. “You look tired,” he said.

She smiled grimly, thinking: You have no idea. Tired of pretending I feel for you. Tired of keeping up that charade just so I can have the one thing I want, my home and the things in it, a safe place as I grow old. Tired of watching you hang on to your miserable life with all its petty jealousy and resentment and hate. Tired of trying to convince myself I can do what you want. You think you can control my life and who I love, now and forever, even from beyond the grave. So yes. I’m tired.

It’s always the devil, she thought, who shows us who we really are. She knew Raymont was evil, but so? Love is not a choice and who would want it if it was? He’d taught her things. Fortune favors the bold. No risk, no reward. She did not intend to waste that lesson. And there were hatreds and resentments of her own to abide.

“Come here,” Pilgrim whispered. “Visit with me.”

She stepped out of her shoes, lowered the bed, climbed on, and straddled him, edging forward on her knees. Maybe you’ll forgive me, she thought. Maybe not.

“Let me move this,” she said, wrestling the pillow from beneath his head.

“Lorene, damn, careful—”

She clamped the pillow across his face and pressed down hard. The plump soft weight muffled his cries. Two minutes, she thought. That’s how long they say it takes for old folks in nursing homes and Pilgrim lacked even that much strength. The killing would leave tiny red dots in his eyes but she would call her own doctor, not his, say he’d just stopped breathing. Her doctor would take her word, sign the death certificate before anyone was the wiser. And though Robert would be suspicious when he got back—he’d be out a quarter of a million dollars—he’d be in no position to make trouble. The police would see right through him. Besides, she made out no better than he did with Pilgrim dead and no documents signed—why would she kill him?

Her heart pounded and she was drenched with sweat by the time it was over. She couldn’t bear to lift the pillow, see his face. She just leaned down, listened for sounds of breathing. Nothing.

From behind: “You just do what I think?”

Lorene spun around on the bed. Raymont stood in the doorway. Stranger still, Corella peeked out from behind him.

“We knew you’d be here,” Raymont said. “We saw the nurse leave. Corella has a key.”

Lorene held out her hand. “Help me down.”

Raymont approached her like he thought she might turn into a bat but helped her as she climbed off Pilgrim’s body. He caught her when she nearly fell. Her knees felt rubbery. She almost fainted.

“I couldn’t go through with it,” she said.

Puzzled, Raymont lifted the pillow. “You already did.”

“No, I mean go through with what he wanted me to do. Turn against you.” A shudder went through her and she began to weep softly. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right, baby, stop.” He stroked her face. “Don’t fret. We got it all figured out.”

“We?” She wiped her face.

“Corella and me. She’s the one stands to inherit, she’s the next of kin.”

“But Cynthia—”

“To hell with Cynthia.” It was Corella, holding herself so tight it looked like she might explode if she let go.

Raymont, more gently, said, “Anybody heard from this Cynthia? Anybody even know where she is?”

“St. Louis. Somewhere near—”

“No, Lorene.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, shook her. “No. Listen to me. Corella and me, we’ve come to an understanding.” He looked at Pilgrim’s body, the face exposed now. Vacant. Still. “Corella’s gonna file the probate. She’ll say she heard some talk about another daughter, tried hard to find her, couldn’t. We ransack this place, destroy any letters or anything else that might give us away, lead somebody to where she is. Hell, why can’t we pretend she doesn’t even exist?”

“What about the lawyer? The one he’s been talking to. What if he’s told her—”

“Why should she care? You pay her whatever she’s owed, she’ll go away, trust me. One thing I know, it’s lawyers.”

The next impulse took Lorene by surprise. She reached for Raymont’s face, clamped her eyes shut, and pressed her mouth so hungrily against his she thought, again, she might faint. A cold pulse ran through her, it felt like laughter. He’s dead, she thought. He’s dead and I’m free and God help me but I have lived for this moment.

* * *

Watching her mother grab the bogus preacher within inches of her father’s corpse, Corella suffered a moment of clarity so searing she nearly got sick. Nothing would change, she realized. She’d be used. These two revolting people would get what they wanted then toss her aside. She was a tool. She was, again, baggage.