I turned my face to one side, trying to avoid contact. "Get away from me." I thought about my gun.
"Not until you tell me what's going on."
"If you don't get off me, I'm going to scream."
"You won't scream," he murmured.
"HENRY!"
"Shh!"
"HENRY!!"
Henry's back light went on. I saw his face appear in the door.
"HELP!"
"Bitch," Tommy said.
Henry came out the back door with a baseball bat. Tommy glanced at him, turned, and walked away at a leisurely pace, showing his contempt, showing he wasn't intimidated. Henry came across the patio at a quick clip, bat raised, looking as angry as I've ever seen him. I could hear Tommy's heels clatter down the sidewalk, sound diminishing. "What was that about? Should I call the police?"
"Don't bother. By the time they get here, he'll be gone."
"Did he hurt you?"
"No, but he scared the shit out of me."
"I think you should file a police report. That way they'll have something on record in case he does this again."
"I'll talk to Jonah on Monday."
"Do more than talk. That guy's dangerous. You need to get a restraining order out against him."
"For all the good it will do. Really, I'm fine. Would you help me get this stuff in?"
"Of course. Open the door and we'll get this picked up in no time."
Sunday was full of hard rain and gloom. I spent the day in my sweats, stretched out on the couch under a quilt in my sock feet. I went through one paperback novel and picked up the next. I had another two for backup, so I was in good shape. At five o'clock, the phone rang. I listened to the message, waiting to hear who it was before I picked up. Fiona. I felt such relief I almost warmed to her. She said, "Sorry I didn't have a chance to speak to you after the service yesterday. Blanche had her baby late in the afternoon."
"She did? Congratulations. What'd she have?"
"A little girl. Seven pounds, eight ounces. They named her Chloe. Blanche was actually in labor at Dow's memorial. She and Andrew skipped the reception at the country club and went straight to St. Terry's. There wasn't even time to get her into the delivery room. She gave birth on a gurney in the corridor."
"Wow. That was close. How's she doing?"
"She's fine. The baby had to stay an extra day because of jaundice, but the doctor seems to think she's fine now. We'll bring her home this afternoon. I told Blanche I'd keep the children tomorrow so she can get some rest. I wish she'd have her tubes tied and put an end to this. She can't keep churning out infants. It's ridiculous."
"Well, I'm sure you're relieved everything's okay."
"Actually, I'm calling about something else. Last night when I went to the hospital to visit Blanche, I saw Crystal's white Volvo parked in the driveway of a house on Bay. You know that neighborhood. Parking's always at a premium. The hospital lot was full so I had to circle the block to find a space or I wouldn't have seen the car. Naturally, I was curious, so I went over again this morning and there it was. I'm assuming there's a way you can find out whose house it is."
"Sure, I can do that. Why don't you give me the address?" I made a note as she recited it and then said, "What's your concern?"
"I think she's finally showing her true colors. You know the rumor about Crystal's affair with that trainer of hers, Clint Augustine. I put it out of my mind until I spotted her car and then I began to wonder. Whatever she's up to, I think it's worth pursuing, don't you?"
"Assuming it was her."
"The license plate said 'Crystal,' big as life."
"How do you know she was driving? It could have been anyone."
"I doubt that. Like who?"
"I don't know, Rand or Nica, one of the household help."
"Melanie suggested that as well, though I don't know why either one of you would stoop to defending her. I called Detective Paglia and told him you'd be looking into it. As I said to him, this is exactly the sort of thing they should have been doing from day one." I was certain Detective Paglia appreciated her input. After we hung up, I dialed the gym and Keith answered the phone. I could hear weights clanging in the background. The Sunday faithful. "Hi, Keith. Kinsey Millhone. When I was in there last week, I asked you about Clint Augustine. Do you happen to have an address and home phone number for him? I've been thinking a personal trainer might be fun for a change."