A Gift of Time (The Nine Minutes Trilogy Book 3) (16 page)

He bounded
down the stairs and could hear his family’s lighthearted banter at the
breakfast table. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and something cooking
caused his stomach to rumble.

He walked
into the kitchen and headed straight for the coffee pot, planting a kiss on
Ginny’s cheek as she stood at the stove and flipped pancakes. He chanced a peek
at Mimi’s face. She was smiling at something Jason had said to her. He paused
for a second before the reality of what he was seeing sunk in. He hadn’t seen
this look on Mimi’s face in a while. She was happy. She was teasing with her
brother.

He sent up a
silent prayer. God, please let this boy be who he says he is.

“Well, maybe
Mom has another pink one you can use,” Mimi teased her brother. “Maybe you can
even take it on the cruise with us next week.”

“No!” Jason
yelled at his sister. “Pink is for girls! Mom, you have a blue one, don’t you?”

Tommy had
his back to the table as he poured his coffee. He started to turn but stopped
when he heard Ginny’s reply.

“I’m sure I
have a spare toothbrush that isn’t pink, Jason. Dr. McDonough always gives us
freebies when we get our cleanings.”

Tommy
carried his coffee to the table and sat down, asking casually, “What’s all this
about pink and blue toothbrushes?”

Mimi looked
at her father and said, “Jason dropped his toothbrush in the toilet last night.
Again. Last time he did it, Mom had to give him the only spare one she had, and
it was pink. He got so mad at her that he threw it away after he used it.”

“I did not
throw it away!” Jason stated emphatically. “I didn’t, Mom, I swear. It was gone
when I got home from school.” He picked up his orange juice and shot a glare at
his sister, whining, “I don’t know why you had to bring something up from over
a year ago, Mimi.”

Ginny loaded
pancakes on the plate in the middle of the table and cast an amused eye at her
son.

“Well, I
don’t know where it went,” Ginny told Jason, “but I remember getting you a new
one that same day, and I never did find the pink one I gave you.” She smiled at
Tommy and her smile faded as she noticed his expression.

“Tommy? Are
you okay, babe? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He caught
himself and smiled. “Coffee went down funny. Feel like I have some heartburn
coming on. I just need to eat.”

“Well,
there’s plenty,” she said. “Mimi, you’ll miss your bus, and I don’t have time
to drive you. Jason, keep eating or you’ll miss yours, too. You still need to
brush your teeth.”

“But,
Mom...” Jason started to whine.

“I have a
spare toothbrush, and I’m pretty sure it’s blue. Now eat!”

Tommy wasn’t
sure how to ask without it sounding too awkward, so he blurted out the first
thing that came to mind.

“So I guess
Mom needs to save the pink ones for Mimi, right? Like Jason said, pink is for
girls.” He looked at his plate as he cut his pancakes.

“That’s what
I think, too, Dad, but Mimi always calls first dibs on the colors when we go to
the dentist and we get our new toothbrushes.”

Mimi had
already stood and pushed her chair in with her hip.

“Pink? Are
you serious, Dad? I haven’t had a pink anything since I was ten years old.” She
turned to her mother. “I like using the dining room chairs in here, Mom.
They’re easier on the butt.”

She walked
over to the bench by the back door and picked up her backpack and teasingly
addressed her little brother.

“And what do
you care anyway, Jason? I always pick green because I know you like blue. I
cannot believe we’re even having this conversation.”

She rolled
her eyes and walked out of the kitchen, but not before Ginny caught a hint of a
smile. Her Mimi was back.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Grizz

1990,
Prison, North Florida

“
Are you going
to just stare at me, or are you going to stand
up and at least give me a hug?”

By now,
Grizz had sat up on his bed and just stared at the extremely thin brunette.

“Didn’t
recognize you, Chicky. You don’t look like yourself.” He stood, and after a
long hug, he stepped back and held her at arm’s length, giving her a once-over.
“You’ve changed your look since the trial.”

With a half
smirk plastered on her face she looked him up and down. “So did you.”

He instantly
ran his hand over his shaved head and grabbed at his beard.

“I was going
to suggest you let me trim up that rat’s nest you have hanging from your chin,
but I guess you probably don’t get to play with scissors in here.”

She paused
then and looked around the cell. There was the standard toilet and sink, but
that was all that was standard. The sink had a mirror over it, and she noticed
razors on a small shelf. The bed was not prison issue. It was a twin-sized bed,
but the mattress was thick. An overstuffed chair sat in the corner with a
reading light behind it. A small shelf held a microwave. A microwave? And she
wasn’t sure, but she could’ve sworn she smelled blood.

“Looks like
you have everything you could need in here. Why am I not shocked?” She shook
her head as she smiled and looked down. She was standing on a braided rug. “I’m
surprised you don’t have the fancy chess set Kit bought you all those years
ago. I guess she still has it.”

“It’s in an
office I have use of.”

“Of course,
it is.” She laughed.

He gave her
a wide smile then. “Have a game going on with one of the guards. I win, I get
even more privileges. He wins, I make sure he gets something for it.”

“Looks like
you’ve been winning a lot,” she said as she took another glance around the
cell. “And besides, since when do you have to win a chess game to get what you
want?”

“I don’t.
But the games keep it interesting.”

He motioned
her to the only chair and sat on the end of the bed to face her. The cell was
small, and their knees almost touched.

“Tell me
what you’ve been up to? How has life been treating you since the trial?”

Chicky then
told him in great detail about the last few years. How she’d tried to make a go
of it with Fess, but it hadn’t worked out. She’d found herself heading a little
north and settling in a small town in South Carolina. She’d met an older man
who owned his own bar.

“My topless
days were over, but I’d picked up just enough on how to make a bar successful.”
She paused then and motioned to her chest, giggled. “Without the titties.
Anyway, Ed’s an old geezer, but he’s my old geezer, and I love him. We just got
married. I have to give him credit, you know, marrying me without really
knowing how much time I have left.”

The
realization of what she was telling him slowly dawned, and she answered his
unspoken question.

“Cancer.
It’s still early, and the doctors have told me I can fight it with treatment,
but not to get too hopeful. Lost all my hair and decided I’d give life a shot
as a brunette. What do you think?” She motioned to her brown hair, which Grizz
suddenly realized was a wig.

Grizz wasn’t
one to get emotional, but something about seeing Chicky not looking like
herself caused a lump to form in his throat. That, along with hearing Kit had
given birth to a son that should’ve been his, combined to jolt him. He stood
quickly and turned his back to her. His voice came out raspy when he finally
answered her question.

“Beautiful.
You’ve always been beautiful, Chicky.”

“I wish all
that emotion I can hear in your voice was for me, but I know it’s not.” Her
voice was quiet.

He turned
back quickly to her then, and she stood and took both of his hands in her own.

“I heard,”
she said. “I still keep in touch with some people, you know? I heard yesterday
that she was in labor, and I took the first flight down to see you. I’m sorry I
hadn’t done it before, but something in my gut told me you might need a
friend.”

He didn’t
know what to say so he didn’t say anything. With her hands still clasping his
own tightly, he sat back down on his bed and closed his eyes. Chicky took her
seat and waited until he made eye contact with her.

“I ain’t
never seen a man that loves a woman the way you love her. Ever. Why didn’t you
just take life without parole, Grizz? She would’ve accepted that, you know. She
would’ve brought that baby girl here to see her daddy, and don’t tell me with
all of your clout that you couldn’t have had as many conjugal visits as you
wanted. She could’ve still been yours.”

He could
never tell Chicky the real reason he didn’t accept life without parole. He was
counting on the death penalty as a bargaining chip. But it wasn’t working.

“This isn’t
the kind of life I want for her or my daughter,” he told her gruffly, pulling
his hands away.

He stood and
walked to the sink. He turned it on and started to splash cold water on his
face.

“And I know
what you were doing before I walked in here,” she said. “I know you have a
prostitution ring and can have access to as many women as you want. That’s
probably why the guard let me in here. But something tells me you don’t. You’re
still in love with her. You’re still loyal to her.”

He ignored
her last comment and reached for a towel.

“And you
pushed for the death penalty because you’re too fucking prideful to rot in a
prison cell for the rest of your life. You always were an egotistical ass,
Grizz.”

He was
drying his face when he stopped and turned around to look at her.

“Yeah, I
guess I am,” he answered with a grin.

She didn’t
know if he was answering the charge that he was still in love with and loyal to
Kit or acknowledging that he was an ass. Either way, Chicky’s comment had
sliced through the tension, and they both laughed as they realized that she
would’ve never spoken to him like that in years past. But it was okay now, and
she was right—about all of it. Chicky was his friend. And he needed a
friend.

“I bet she’s
a great mother,” Grizz said quietly.

“Oh, honey,
I’m sure she is the best mother. If you can take one thing off your worry
plate, if you even have a worry plate, I’m sure it can be any doubt about Kit’s
love and devotion as a momma.”

He nodded
and smiled. Neither would say what they both were thinking. That Grunt would be
an excellent father, as well. Grunt had run as far away as he could from that
life, ensuring his education at a young age. If Grizz had done anything right
in his life, it was rescuing his son from the misery he’d been living in with
Candy’s sister, Karen. If he wasn’t so fucked up in the head over Kit and Grunt
having a baby together, he might even have let himself be proud of his son.

Sensing the
conversation might go somewhere neither one of them wanted, she added, “You
remember how sick she was that first time she got pregnant? Poor thing couldn’t
keep water down and wouldn’t let you take her to the doctor for medicine. That
alone told me how dedicated she was.” Chicky smiled warmly at him.

He returned
her smile. “Yeah, she was so fucking sick with that baby. But you’re right, she
wouldn’t even go to the doctor. Said she wasn’t going to put drugs in her body
because it might hurt the baby.”

“She
wouldn’t even use the herbs Grunt gave her,” Chicky said. “And they were all
natural. She just needed to add them to her tea and they were supposed to
help.”

“I don’t
remember Grunt giving her any herbs.”

“She
probably never told you about them because she never took them. Grunt told me
he’d gotten them from Sarah Jo. Her college roommate had made a little
concoction that was supposed to help Kit keep some food in her stomach. Anyway,
it didn’t matter. I caught Kit throwing them away, and she begged me not to
tell Grunt. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Yeah, that
sounds like Kit.” The memories of the Kit he’d been so in love with, was still
in love with, warmed his heart, and he realized he was grateful Chicky had come
to see him. Maybe she would be able to visit him in the future. Or maybe not.

“Chicky, are
you getting the right kind of medical help? You have everything you need?”

“We have
good insurance, Grizz. I can’t think of anything they won’t pay for. Well, I
have been told about some experimental drugs that are being used in trials, but
those are out of the country. That would definitely be something not in our
budget. But I’m okay. I’m confident I’m getting the best care I can.”

“If you had
the money, would you go for the trials?”

“Of course,
I would. I’ve been told I’m going to die from this cancer, and the chemo and
radiation can only help for so long. It’s inevitable. So yeah, I’d go for the
trials. What’s the worst that could happen? It’s gonna kill me?” She laughed
then and waved her hand in the air in typical Chicky fashion. “We all gotta die
some time.” She flinched at her words. “I’m sorry, Grizz. I didn’t mean that
like it sounded.”

“It’s fine,
Chicky. I didn’t take it that way. Before you leave today, write down all your
banking information for me. Okay?”

She cocked
her head and smiled, giving him a nod. He then made another request that
surprised her.

“And if you
ever have some free time and aren’t feeling too bad, do you think you can keep
coming to see me? You know, just to talk?”

Before she
could answer him, he quickly added, “I’ll pay all your travel expenses, of
course.”

“Awww,
Grizz, honey. I’d be glad to come back and see you. Now, will you do something
for me?”

He nodded
slightly.

“Tell me why
this fucking cell of yours smells like blood.”

Chapter
Twenty-Five

Tommy

2000,
Fort Lauderdale (After the Execution)

Tommy sat in
the office of Axel’s auto repair shop and
watched through the big glass window as the mechanics worked on high-end cars
and motorcycles.

Axel had a
thriving and legitimate business and, from the looks of it, an extremely
successful one. Tommy had called Axel to ask for a favor the day after Mimi
brought Elliott home for dinner.

Just then,
the door opened from behind him, and Axel came in. Tommy stood and went to
shake his hand, but Axel pulled him in for a hug.

“Grunt—errr,
Tommy! Man, you look fantastic. How the hell have you and Gin been?”

“We’ve been
good, Axel. The usual. Work, kids. Life in general.”

Axel nodded
as they both took a seat. “I was wondering how things have been since, you
know, this summer?”

Tommy knew
Axel was referring to Grizz’s execution.

“It’s all
good, Axel. We’re good. I’m glad it’s over,” Tommy said honestly. Of course, he
wouldn’t tell him about the problems he and Ginny had after the execution, not
to mention the ongoing drama with Sarah Jo.

Axel didn’t
know what to say so he didn’t say anything. He’d known Grizz since they were
children, and in spite of Grizz’s ruthlessness, Axel actually missed his
friend.

“Hey, before
I forget,” Axel said, breaking the spell, “I got a quick and lucrative deal on
the cars and bikes.” He reached into a drawer, pulled out a check, and handed
it to Tommy. “I had it made out to Ginny. Can you give her this check?”

“That was
quick.” Tommy pocketed the check. “Thanks for handling it, man. I wouldn’t have
a clue what those cars and bikes were worth, but I bet you got a pretty penny
for the seventy-eight Harley.”

“I didn’t
sell a seventy-eight,” Axel said as he picked up another envelope and started
to pull its contents out.

“So it’s
still there? You didn’t sell Grizz’s favorite bike?”

“I don’t
know what you mean, Tom. Ginny told me to sell the bikes and cars in the
garage. My guys picked up a Trans Am, a Corvette, and two Harleys, an
eighty-one and an eighty-five.” Axel handed him the contents of the envelope.
“And here—the other thing. I didn’t have a lot of time because you wanted
this back so quickly.”

“Yeah. We
leave for our cruise tomorrow, and I would’ve gone nuts wondering if there’s
anything I needed to know about this kid. And I really appreciate you doing
this. I know it’s not your thing anymore.”

Axel raised
an eyebrow. “The Ax Man still has the right connections.”

Tommy
smiled. Just then someone outside in the shop caught Tommy’s eye. Axel noticed
and followed the direction of Tommy’s gaze.

“Looks like
the spitting image of his father, doesn’t he?” Axel said.

“Holy shit,
yeah. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was looking at Anthony Bear. That’s
not Slade, is it?”

“No, Slade
favors his mother, but Christian looks exactly like Anthony at that age except
for his eyes,” Axel said. “He’s just as mean, too. I would know. I knew Anthony
as a kid.” Axel shrugged. “I’ve given him a job. He’s been in and out of
trouble. His parents even let him sit in juvie a stint hoping it would
straighten his ass out, but it didn’t help. Anthony tried putting him on one of
his landscaping crews, but the kid has no interest in lawns, so Anthony asked
me for a favor and I said I’d do what I could. I have to give the kid credit.
He knows his way around an engine, and it’s keeping him busy. Hopefully, it’ll
keep him out of trouble. Seems to be working.”

Tommy hadn’t
seen Anthony and Christy’s family in years. He was never comfortable around
them because Anthony had been Grizz’s friend. But Ginny had formed a friendship
with Christy and wasn’t giving that up because Grizz went to prison. Tommy knew
the women had gotten together with the children many times over the past years.
Since Anthony and Christy had moved over here from the west coast of Florida,
Ginny and Christy frequently met for lunch, and he knew Christy had been
invited on an occasional girl’s night out, but he was pretty certain the kids
hadn’t crossed paths in some time.

Good thing.
He couldn’t imagine Mimi bringing home a Christian Bear. It had been a while,
but he thought he remembered Ginny telling him Christy had told her Christian
used to have a small crush on Mimi. Tommy dismissed the memory and was reminded
as to why he was there to see Axel.

“So, this
kid, Elliott. What did you find out?”

“According
to what you’re holding, he checks out.” Axel swiveled in his chair and picked
up a soda can from his desk. He took a big swig and watched as Tommy read the
report.

“So he
really did just turn eighteen this past summer,” Tommy said more to himself
than Axel. “I thought he looked older.”

“I agree.
But he is who he says he is. He graduated high school in June and lives with
his maternal grandmother, Edith Wainright. He’s named after his grandfather,
Elliott Wainright, but as far as I can tell, his grandmother is the only one
who calls him Elliott. He’s mostly known to his friends by his middle name. He
was raised by a single mother who remarried the kid’s father. When she left to
be with him, Elliott moved in with his grandmother to finish school. The mom is
a bank teller, and the dad works in a car factory in Michigan.”

“Why would
he introduce himself to Mimi as Elliott if his friends call him something
different?”

“I don’t
know. You told me the kid admitted to coming close to being in trouble. Maybe
he wants a fresh start with Mimi. I can’t tell you for certain, but if you’re
worried about aliases and gang affiliations, I couldn’t find any. Like I said,
I can dig more, but you haven’t given me a lot of time.”

Tommy read
over the papers as Axel talked.

“I didn’t
have a lot of time to put the kind of detail on him I normally would. I can
confirm some of the shit he’s already told you. He is taking classes at the
community college and works at the hardware store. I had him followed twice. One
time he took his grandmother to church, then out to lunch. The next time he met
with some friends in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. Looked like
they were just hanging. No drugs that my guy could see, but they were all
having a beer. They weren’t crazy drunk, and they weren’t causing trouble. Just
to be sure, my guy got a couple of license plates. I ran them, and looks like
he’s still friends with the kids that were trouble, but he didn’t leave with
them or anything. He just went home. That’s as far as I got. I can do some more
digging if you want.”

“What kind
of trouble were his friends in?”

“Punk shit.
Some vandalism, petty theft, joyriding.”

“Are they
his age and are they staying straight, like him?”

“They’re all
younger than him. Two are still in high school, and one should be, but he
dropped out. Nothing on the record for any of them since January, almost a year
ago. I don’t know. Maybe he’s their leader, and he’s setting a good example,
and they’re following suit. I still think they’re punks, but maybe we could ask
Christian. He’s been around the streets, and he hears shit. Let’s run these
names by him, see if he recognizes anyone.”

Before Tommy
could stop Axel from dragging Christian into his business, Axel stood and
opened the office door. He jumped back with a start causing Tommy to look up.

“Fuck,
Christian, you scared the shit out of me. I was just coming to get you,” Axel
said.

“I was just
coming to tell you Mrs. Fuckface wants to talk to you,” Christian said.

Axel rolled
his eyes and stepped aside, motioning for Christian to come into the office. He
shut the door behind him.

“You can’t
refer to one of our regulars as Mrs. Fuckface. As a matter of fact, you can’t
be calling any of our client’s names, Christian. Are you trying to get fired?”

Christian
rolled his eyes.

“And I told
you to keep your hair in a ponytail or something. You should know how fucking
dangerous it is to have your hair around the engines.”

Tommy
cleared his throat, and Axel remembered the reason he’d wanted to talk to
Christian.

“Listen,
Christian, I know it’s a big city, but I also know that for someone your age,
you’ve been around,” Axel said.

“Yeah, so
what?”

“I’m going
to say four names. I just want to know if you know them or know anything about
them. Okay?”

“Why?”

“It’s none
of your fucking business why.”

He then
proceeded to say the four names, slowly. First, middle, and last names. One guy
even had a nickname Axel made sure to mention.

Christian
shook his head. “Never heard of any of ’em. Anything else?”

“No. That’s
it. Thanks. And tell Mrs. Fu...Mrs. Marquart I’ll be out in a minute.”

Christian
looked at Tommy then. “How’s Mimi? Haven’t seen her in a long time.”

Tommy was
caught off-guard. He hadn’t seen Christian in years and was a little surprised
the boy remembered and recognized him.

“Mimi’s
doing really good,” Tommy said. “You know girls. She’s got herself a serious
boyfriend and thinks he’s ‘the one.’”

Christian
nodded and, without saying anything, left the office and shut the door behind
him.

Tommy looked
at Axel and shrugged. “What? I remember Gin telling me he had a crush on Mimi
when they were kids. You think I’m opening the door for him to show up one day?
No fucking way.”

Axel started
laughing then and stood. “It was nice to see you again, Tommy. Let me know if I
can do anything else for you.”

They said
their goodbyes, and Tommy followed Axel out as Axel went to look for the upset
customer.

Tommy was
relieved. Elliott had been truthful. Tommy would be taking his family on their
cruise tomorrow, and he wouldn’t have the burden of not knowing if Elliott was
who he said he was. Of course, now Tommy would have to handle the thought of
Mimi dating an eighteen-year-old, but at least now Tommy knew who he was
dealing with. A kid who’d almost found himself on the wrong side of the law but
came to his senses just in time.

Christian
watched out of the corner of his eye as Mimi’s father left Axel’s office. He’d
noticed him walk in earlier, and he’d purposely pissed off Mrs. Fuckface so
she’d insist on speaking with Axel. He’d wanted an excuse to ask about Mimi.

He hadn’t
spoken to Mimi in years, but he still had deep and unresolved feelings for her.
He couldn’t understand why. They were so young the last time he’d seen her, and
he’d been with plenty of girls since then. But there was always one face that
kept coming back to haunt him. Mimi’s.

He never
sought her out or suggested to his mother that they do something as a family.
As a matter of fact, he was so disturbed by his obsession with her that he ran
as far away from it as he could.

Then, at the
beginning of this year, he’d seen her from afar. She was at the mall and had
been sitting on a bench talking to a woman. He’d stopped in his tracks and
ducked into a store. He watched her from the store window as he remembered how
they’d played as children and when they’d gotten a little older, just old
enough to be aware that they were the opposite sex, how those get-togethers had
turned a little awkward and shy. Then, the family get-togethers just stopped,
but he never stopped thinking about her.

He was
getting ready to walk into Axel’s office and interrupt whatever they were
talking about when he heard Mimi’s name. Most of the conversation was muffled,
but he was sure he heard them mention Mimi. He stopped to see if he could hear
more. He then heard his own name and had his hand on the knob to turn it when
Axel swung the door open.

He’d gone
inside and listened as Axel recited the four names. He’d politely inquired
about Mimi. He’d noticed the concern in her father’s eyes, and he’d feigned
indifference as he walked out.

But he
wasn’t feeling indifference now. He was pissed. He was angry. He wanted to beat
on something or someone.

He wouldn’t
let his temper get the best of him. He would have to play along to figure out
what the fuck was going on. He wanted to know which of the guys Axel named was
dating Mimi.

And more
specifically, he wanted to know why that piece of shit gang-wannabe Nick Rosman
was calling himself Elliott.