THEO
THE SUN WAS SETTING. Puffs of fog moved and settled throughout the streets as we coasted to a stop by Imogene’s store. Bud and I quietly slipped inside. The pink light from upstairs trickled down the steps. Pearl was watching Perry Mason in the living room, but everything else was quiet. We carefully opened the freezer latch and tossed Toreck’s stiff corpse into the back of the truck. As Bud covered the body with a tarp, I inched the back door closed so it wouldn’t creak. Mrs. B appeared out of nowhere, glanced in the back of the truck, and said, “Good. Take out that trash.”
“Shit!” Bud said. “Ya scared me.”
“B,” I said. “Tell Immie that Tula’s fine, she’s with Netty and Oz.”
“She’s sleepin’,” she said, “and Solomon’s still here for now.” She tapped the truck with her cane. “You boys finish this thing.”
“Yes ma’am.” We said in unison.
While Bud tied down the tarp, I went back inside, grabbed Imogene’s phone, and said, “Lucy, get me the Bouvre line, would ya, love?”
“Yes, Father,” she said. “Is everybody okay over there?”
“We will be.”
While waiting, I glanced at the stack of daily papers. Headlines of a rape, kidnapping, and vigilante killings, no matter how much the perpetrators were hated and wouldn’t be missed, would bring an unwanted spotlight. I’d failed to protect Imogene from this attack, but I could protect her from reliving it over and over again through gossip and prying eyes.
Finally Andréa picked up and said, “Theo?”
“Is he settled in?” I asked.
“He passed out and slept for an hour but woke about seven o’clock. He’s wide awake now, talking about how he should have kicked that bad guy, and how he tore his cape and scared Tula.” She sighed, “I guess he’s fine, better than me. I keep crying, thinking what could have happened . . . to you both.” She started to sob and then sighed of exhaustion. “I’ve never been so terrified. Did I thank you? I don’t remember anything other than you and Bud bringing him home.”
“You thanked me . . . you thanked us both,” I said noticing the clock—it was seven thirty. I needed to take care of a few things. “You going to be okay?”
“Yes, fine. You?”
“Yeah, since your little Superman saved the day.”
“He did?”
“Yeah, if he hadn’t shouted at Hansel, made him turn his head for split second, I don’t know what I’d have done. But that split second was all I needed. So yeah, Superman saved the day. Tell him that.”
“How about you tell him?”
“Okay, but first I have some things to do.”
“We’ll be here.”