Secret Light (10 page)

“You gave a description? Do you have anything to add to that now?”

Rafe shook his head. “He was hooded. Like a…a balaclava. Full ski mask. I was

reaching into the car to get out some food my friend’s wife gave me after a party, and

he struck me with a bat from behind.”

“You’re lucky all you got was a broken arm.”

“I didn’t exactly stand still and let him beat me with it.”

“I heard. Officer Muntz said you handled yourself well.”

Rafe made a disgusted sound. “Until the threat was gone. Then I saw Mooki and…

I-I gave the officer your name. I told him we were acquainted.”

“He told me when I got on shift today. That’s how I found out.”

“I’m sorry.” Rafe glanced Ed’s way and lowered his voice. “Afterward, of course, I

thought why would I do such an idiotic thing, but at the time, Mooki was hurt, and I

was—”

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“Wait, what? What do you mean, idiotic?”

“I gave your name. I didn’t say we were friends. I didn’t want them to think—”

“Of course you can say we’re friends. You should have had them call me that night,

Rafe.”

“No.” Rafe appeared taken aback. “
No
. They should bother you at home? No.”

“It’s no bother. I
am
your friend. Friends help each other out.” Rafe stared at him as

if he was crazy, and Ben shook his head. “How is Mooki?”

Tears shimmered on Rafe’s lashes. “Resting. She hit the stairs so hard I didn’t think

she’d make it. She had an enormous swelling behind her ear and two of her ribs were

cracked. She’s been pretty woozy, but she’ll be all right, thank God. She’s getting her

appetite back.”

“I’ll bet you’re spoiling her, and there’ll be no living with her.”

Rafe smiled at that—a genuine, heartfelt smile—and for Ben it was like the sun

breaking through storm clouds. “She tried to save my life. Of course I’ll spoil her.”

“She’s a heck of a guard dog—” A horn honked outside the big bay window, and

Rafe jumped. “Easy. That’s just Calhoun. I told him I wanted to stop by. He gave me a

couple of minutes, but we didn’t go out of service. I have to go.”

“That’s all right. Thank you for coming.”

“My mother is still expecting us for dinner Saturday, if you feel up to it.”

Rafe glanced at Mooki. “Will you call me later this week?”

“Can you tell me the number here? I take it you won’t be going in to work for a

couple of days.” Ben produced his little notepad.

“No. I can do my cold calling and make appointments from here”—Rafe lifted one

shoulder in a shrug—“once I wake up fully. I can’t write, though, so I’ll have to learn to

decipher the notes I take in my left hand. The number here is Orchard 2-5141.”

“Got it.”

“You can leave your number on the pad by the phone in the kitchen, if you like.”

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“I’ll do that. And I’ll leave my mother’s. Just in case. She knows how to get in touch

with me anytime.”

“Thank you for stopping by.”

Ben rose. It was impossible to exchange more than the barest niceties while Rafe’s

neighbor looked on helpfully and Calhoun laid on the horn like a spoiled child.

Ben’s hands seemed superfluous somehow. As a man, he desperately wanted to

caress the side of Rafe’s face or the fingers of his good hand to reassure himself that

everything would be okay. He wanted Rafe to accept the touch of his hand—to accept

him
, even if it was only in friendship.

Ben wanted Rafe—any way he could get him.

The cop in Ben wanted to tell Rafe he’d never allow anyone to hurt him again.

Instead, he simply let his hands hang at his sides awkwardly. “Take care of

yourself.”

Ben jerked his chin in salutation and got a weak smile in return. Ben glanced back

as Ed saw him to the door.

Ed lowered his voice. “Don’t you worry about Rafe. I’m staying on the couch until

I’m sure he and Mooki are doing fine.”

Ben was glad to hear it. “Would it be all right if I stopped by after work? I don’t get

off until after one a.m.”

Ed threw a glance Rafe’s way, but he didn’t appear to hear them. “I think that

might be good. I know he’s scared that bastard who attacked him might come back. It

would probably help if everyone knows he has a cop checking in on him.”

“I’ll knock softly.”

“I’ll be here. I don’t sleep much. Can’t. The wife snored, and ever since she—”

Calhoun’s honk cut Ed off. “I have to go. I’ll see you later, Ed.”

“See you.”

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Rafe watched Ed as he let Ben out. Ed was so happy to have something to do, which

made an odd kind of sense. When Rafe moved into the neighborhood and they’d

introduced themselves, Ed told him his wife had been ill for a long time. His situation

had seemed sad at the time, given the way Ed had to care for her. But far sadder still

was the way he’d wandered his home alone after she finally passed, with nothing and

no one—not even a pet—to take care of.

Rafe’s unexpected run of bad fortune made it clear Ed was in his element with

someone who needed him, and he wondered if his neighbor wouldn’t enjoy taking

Mooki on the days when Rafe was forced to leave her alone for longer stretches. That

bore looking into.

“He seems like a nice fellow. You only just met him when your garage burned?”

“Yes.” Rafe erred on the side of caution. What constituted an acceptable reason for

Ben’s interest in him? “We discovered a mutual interest in winter sports when I

mentioned all my ski gear had gone up in smoke. If I replace my skis, we thought

perhaps, if we get a good snowfall, we could share a ride to Big Bear.”

“It will be a long time before you’re able to ski.”

“I know. What a run of rotten luck.”

“I know I’ll feel better knowing he’s coming by to look in on you.”

“He said that?”

“He said he’d be back later on after his shift to check on you. That ought to give

whoever hurt you something to chew over.”

When Rafe said nothing to this, Ed sat back down on the couch and picked up a

part of the newspaper.

“Have you given any thought to why someone attacked you?”

“No. I assume whoever it was meant to rob the place. Possibly steal my car. Thank

heavens you stopped him.”

“I don’t know…” Ed said darkly.

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“What else can it be?”

“Have you had any trouble at work lately? Any altercations over a girl or

anything?”

“No.” Rafe shook his head. “No, I’m actually famous for happy clients. There are no

girls, per se. As far as I know, I’ve got no outraged husbands after me.”

“I’ve noticed you don’t go out much at night.”

“I spend my energy and effort on my work.”

“I know.” Ed was silent for a long time. “That’s good you have a friend.”

“I have lots of friends.”

“Oh sure.” Ed smiled. “Like that Dorothy who helped with your dog, yeah. But I

mean someone who’s young and single. Someone you can kick around with. You need

to sow some wild oats.”

Rafe smiled at his neighbor sleepily. The day was cool, but Ed had a fire burning in

the fireplace. He sighed with contentment. “All right. I shall start on the oat sowing

after my hand heals.”

“That’s the spirit.” Ed grinned at him. “Handsome cop like that, you two will pull

in all the pretty girls wherever you go. I can just see you two cutting a swath through

the female population of LA.”

“Sure.”

“Yes, sir.” Ed’s benign face disappeared behind the paper. “You two will make

quite the pair.”

* * * *

up—both the porch light and the multicolored holiday lights. It was a cheerful

welcome, maybe even for him, since he’d announced his intention to come back.

He’d changed at the station and was carrying his uniform in a suit bag. He wasn’t

worried about how it looked to the neighbors. He didn’t have to worry about that as

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long as Rafe was laid up and his neighbor Ed was in and out. If not for that, he might

have parked farther away. He might have kept to the shadows and gone in through the

back door, as he had that last time he’d visited Rafe in the middle of the night.

Ed opened the door with a tired smile. His hair stuck out in tufts, one side longer

where he normally combed it over to cover his baldness. Ben could see past him into the

living room where the couch had been made into a makeshift bed with sheets and

pillows.

“Hi there, officer.” He stepped back, and Ben entered. Ed was still wearing the

same clothes he’d been wearing that morning, slacks and a sweater that had seen better

days.

“Call me Ben. How’re your patients doing?”

“Fine, Ben. They’re doing fine. I was finally able to talk Rafe into taking a pill for

pain, and he’s been sleeping. He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t sleep at all. I kept

hearing him shuffling around. That’s not good. He needs his rest.”

“Yes.”

Ed rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hand. “Now that you’re here, I think I’ll go

home and catch a wink or two in my own bed. Take a shower. I didn’t want to leave

him here alone, but I’m assuming you can fix him something for breakfast—”

“Of course.” Ben was surprised by this development. Some part of him had counted

on the neighbor creating a sense of propriety. “Sure. I can do that.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” Ed said with a sigh. “It’s not right when people are laid up

and they’re all alone. My wife used to always say she didn’t want to be a bother, but

honestly, I wouldn’t like to be alone if I was sick or hurt. It’s not a bother if you care

about folks.”

“You’re a very caring person, Ed.”

“No more than the average, I guess.” Ed gave the sweater he wore a little tug at the

hem. “I think sometimes maybe I’m just nosy.”

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“Nosy stands across the street watching. Nosy doesn’t roll up its sleeves to help

out.”

“Maybe I’m both, then.” Ed grinned and took hold of the doorknob. “My number’s

by the phone, next to where you wrote yours. If Rafe needs anything, give me a call.

“Thanks, Ed. I don’t know Rafe all that well, but I think he must feel lucky to have

such a nice neighbor and friend.”

Ed waved that off and stepped out. “He’s a nice guy. This was a crummy thing to

happen. He’s lucky to have you too. No one will make a try for him with a cop around.”

“I’d actually like to see someone try.” Ben frowned. “I want the bastard who did

this behind bars.”

“Me too.” Ed glanced up the darkened street. “I used to feel real safe here, and

now…”

“I’ll keep my eye out. Don’t you worry.”

“Thanks.” Ed stepped down the steps and out to the sidewalk. He gave a jaunty

wave and disappeared up the path to his own house.

Ben closed the door and glanced around. Even before he did it, he knew he was

going to indulge in a little unobtrusive detective work. But there was nothing—

absolutely nothing—to find out about the man who lived there, other than his taste in

music, which ran to the classical, and his taste in kitchenware, which was inexpensive

and not a little austere.

Rafe had both white and red wine. Some imported beer. In the liquor cabinet, he

kept a very fine whiskey and only two cut-crystal glasses. The guest bedroom and

bathroom revealed nothing but that Rafe was tidy and considerate. The office was

simply that. There was nothing personal there, only business-related correspondences, a

file cabinet, a desk, and a wall covered with awards for top-grossing salesman, month

after month. Hung on single nails, neatly, but not in any kind of pride of place. Not

where, for instance, he could see them from his desk. They hung behind him when he

was seated, for some presumptive customer to see.

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It was all oddly cold. Or maybe Ben was reading way too much into things. Maybe

he just wanted to see Rafe as lonely, and that wasn’t the case at all.

Maybe, in reality, Rafe had a new girl every night, and he simply didn’t bring them

here.

Ben reached the master bedroom and stood in the doorway, looking in. Rafe was

nestled in his bed, pillows supporting and cushioning his arm. His Mooki was next to

him, in her blanket-lined basket. Both seemed fragile; both slept deeply. He took a step

forward, and Mooki noticed him first. Brown eyes assessed him, decided he wasn’t

much of a threat, and closed again. He missed the warm welcome he usually got from

the dog. It turned up the fire under his simmering anger, that unnatural quiet from

what was ordinarily such a happy little creature.

He drifted toward the bed and looked down. Rafe slept deeply. His normally cool

expression had softened with sleep and maybe pain. His cheeks were flushed, and