The rain came just before Milo called.
Robin and I were reading in bed when I felt the air turn suddenly heavy and saw the sky crack.
The windows were open and a burnt smell drifted through the screen. For one knife-stab moment, I thought of fire, but as I looked out, the water began dropping.
Panes of plate glass, filming the view. The burnt smell turned sweet- gardenias and old roses and cloves. Spike began barking and circling and the room got dimmer and warmer. I shut the windows, blocking out some but not all of the sound.
Robin got up and stared through a now filmy pane.
The phone rang.
"How's everything?" said Milo.
"Bad and getting worse." I told him about my experiences in the village. "But we're booked for home."
"Smart move. You can always stop over in Hawaii for a real vacation."
"Maybe," I said, but I knew we'd be jetting back to L.A. as quickly as possible.
"Robin there? Got some house stuff to tell her."
I handed over the phone and Robin listened. Her smile told me things were going well.
When I got back on, he said, "Now your stuff, though now that you're leaving, who cares?"
"Tell me anyway."
"First of all, both Maryland cannibals are still locked up. The asshole who only cut the victim is eligible for parole but has been refused. The asshole who cut and dined isn't going anywhere. Thank God it wasn't an L.A. jury, right? L.A. jury couldn't convict Adolf Hitler. What's that sound? Static on your end?"
"Rain," I said. "Think of a shower on high and triple it."
"Typhoon?"
"No, just rain. Supposedly they don't get typhoons here."
"Supposedly they didn't get crime, either."
I moved closer to the window. Only the tops of the trees were visible through the downpour. Above the rain clouds, the sky was milk-white and peaceful.
"Nope, no wind. Just lots of water. I hope it lets up in time for the boats to come get us."
"Daylight come and you wanna go home, huh? Well, when you hear the rest, you'll wish it were sooner. Guess who covered the cannibal case for a local rag?"
"Creedman."
"Didn't even have to look for him, his name was right there on the articles. Then someone else took over mid-case and that made me a little curious, so I dug deeper. No one at the paper remembers Creedman specifically, but I found out there'd been some hassle with the local police around the same time he got pulled off the story: officers leaking information to his paper and others for money. A bunch of cops got fired."
"Did reporters get fired, too?"
"Couldn't find that out, but it's a good bet. Anyway, Creedman's next gig of record was at a D.C. cable station, some kind of business show, but he only lasted three months before getting hired by Stasher-Layman Construction's D.C. office. Communications officer. The company issued a press release describing major balance-sheet problems. Their stock went way down and the owners bought it all up and went private. Next year profits went way, way higher."
"Manipulation?"
"Maybe the owners are just a couple of lucky guys. And maybe lawyers go to heaven."
"Who are the owners?"
"Two brothers from Oregon, inherited it from their daddy, moved to Texas. Big liberals on paper- funding ecology research, humane solutions to crime."
"Oregon," I said. "Hoffman's constituents. Was he part of the buyout?"
"If he was, it didn't hit the news, but they did contribute big to his last reelection."
"How big?"
"Three hundred thou- what they call soft money, gets around the spending limits. Seeing as Hoffman didn't have to put out much- he was a shoo-in- that's very sweet. So it wouldn't surprise me if he's backing them on some island project. He chairs a committee that considers big federal development grants, has the power to let things through or hold them up. But I can't find anything smelly."
"The cops who got fired," I said. "Were the leaks directly related to the cannibal murder?"
"I had trouble getting details. The press doesn't believe in full disclosure when it comes to the press. But the firings took place right after the arrest."
"Did you get any names of fired cops?"
I heard paper rustling. "White, Tagg, Johnson, Haygood, Ceru-"
"Anders Haygood?"
"That's what it says."
"He lives here. One of the guys who likes to cut things up. His buddy's been whipping the crowd up against Ben. Likes to pee when women are watching."
"Wonderful."
"So he and Creedman got booted at the same time- they know each other. Ten to one they're both on Stasher-Layman's payroll. Same for my next-door neighbor. She claims to be a scientist, but both she and Creedman are carrying guns that they picked up in Guam."
"Jesus, Alex. Just sit tight till the boat comes in. Don't try to find out any more."
"All right," I said. "But now I'm starting to think Moreland could be right about Ben being innocent. Not that he's got much of a story."
" 'I wuz framed'?"
"Ten points for the detective."
"It's always "I wuz framed' unless it's "I blacked out' or "He started it."'
"Ben's two for three, claims he was choked out, the rest is blank."
"Brilliant."
I told him the rest of Ben's account.
"Beyond lame," he said. "Needs a four-prong walker. You know, Alex, a real bad smell's coming through the line. Even with Creedman and Haygood in cahoots over some development deal, that doesn't get Benjy off the hook- hell, for all you know he's on Stasher's payroll, too. You watch your back."
"What should I do about the info on Creedman and Haygood?"
"Nothing. If the lawyer Moreland hired is really so sharp, let him do something with it. I'll tell him, not you. Name?"
"Alfred Landau. Honolulu."
"When's he getting over there?"
"Two or three days."
"Perfect timing. I'll wait till you've left."
"Meanwhile Ben sits there rotting?"
"Ben ain't going anywhere no matter what anyone says or does. They found him lying on the goddamn body."
"Convenient, isn't it?"
"Or stupid," he said. "But that just makes it typical. I had an idiot last month carjacked and killed some citizen, then drove the car for a couple of days before taking it to the dealer to complain about the fucking brakes. Funny, except the citizen's just as dead. Don't deal with it, Alex. I'll call Landau as soon as you're off the island. And don't feel bad about Ben. From what you're telling me, that jail cell may well be the safest place for him right now."
"I'm not sure of that. We're not talking maximum security, just a hole at the back of the building. The victim's family visited the police station today. I saw the look in their eyes. It wouldn't take much of a mob to pull him out."
"Sorry about that, but where else can he go? How's security at the estate?"
"Nonexistent."
"Just stay put, Alex. Stay in your goddamn room- pretend it's a second honeymoon and you don't even want to come out."
"Okay."
"You definitely have your passage booked?"
"Definitely." If the storm didn't stall things.
"See you soon. Enough of this paradise shit."
Cheryl brought dinner up to our room and we picked at it. Darkness made its entrance virtually unnoticed. The rain got stronger, relentless, slapping the sides of the house.
But still warm. No lightning. The air was flat, deenergized.
As I sat there and did nothing, time's edges melted.
Time… Einstein a magician… bending reality.
Relativity-Moreland, a moral relativist?
Trying to excuse himself for something?
"Guilt's a great motivator."
All these years- all his accomplishments- propelled by a troubled conscience?
Milo was right. It wasn't my battle.
Robin smiled from across the room. I'd told her what Milo had learned and she'd said, "So it's good we're leaving."
She was curled up now with some old magazines that had come with the suite. Spike snored at her feet. Peaceful scene, damned domestic. Pretending was fun.
I pointed to a wet window. "Listen to it."
She let her hand drop to Spike's head. "It was a dark and stormy night."
I laughed, went over, and kissed her hair.
She put the Vogue on her lap and reached up to stroke my face. "This isn't so bad, huh? When you get down to it, making the best of a bad situation is the heart of creativity."
She teased my tongue with hers. Our mouths collided. All the electricity, here.
We were slow-dancing toward the bed, fumbling with buttons, when the knocks on the door added thunder.