Kevin O'Brien Bundle (129 page)

“I thought he was dead,” Hannah ended up telling her son. “But I was wrong. Your father was alive, and he was in Seattle looking for us when he died.”

The explanation seemed the best temporary answer to all his questions. She couldn’t very well tell him that his father wasn’t a good man, when everyone at this memorial service was extolling Kenneth’s virtues. She would tell him the truth in a few years when he was old enough to understand.

If Guy was a bit baffled, so was she. The Woodleys gave no reason for suddenly wanting to help her in Seattle. They posted bond for her, and their attorneys worked overtime, smoothing things over and making deals so Hannah wouldn’t face any criminal charges.

The Woodleys made some deals, too. They wanted to see their grandson at least twice a year, and they wanted Hannah to attend the memorial service for Kenneth. “I realize you had your reasons for taking Little Ken and running away,” Mrs. Woodley had told her. “But I don’t think it’s necessary you share those reasons with anyone else. I see no point in treading on anyone’s grave, do you?”

Hannah had agreed to cooperate. In a strange way, she felt it was important that Guy remember this memorial service for his father.

She had told her in-laws that she and Guy would be leaving after the service. That morning, they’d presented her with a car. It was Hannah’s third automobile from the Woodleys. This one was a Saturn that Kenneth had never used. They’d already had the papers transferred to her name.

The memorial service was mercifully brief. A brunch at the country club followed. Hannah used Guy being tired as an excuse to leave early.

A valet brought her new, secondhand car around to the front entrance while the two Mrs. Woodleys and Guy waited. Hannah loaded Guy into the backseat. He was already asleep by the time she got behind the wheel and buckled her seat belt.

“Do you have any idea where you’ll be going?” Mrs. Woodley asked, leaning toward the car window.

Hannah shrugged. “Maybe Chicago. I’d like to look up some old friends. Then we’ll probably end up back in Seattle.”

“What about your friend, the Polish gentleman?”

Hannah squinted at her for a moment. “You mean Ben Podowski?”

Mrs. Woodley nodded. “Will you be visiting him?”

Hannah turned away. She felt herself tearing up a bit, and she didn’t want to cry in front of her mother-in-law.

She’d never gotten a chance to see Ben. He’d left Seattle soon after her release. What with the police, the Woodleys, all the lawyers, and reporters, there had been no time to say good-bye.

Since then, they’d had a couple of brief, awkward phone conversations. Hannah couldn’t get over the feeling that his wife was always within earshot. She figured she’d have to settle for e-mailing him on occasion, as his friend Rae had.

“I don’t think I’ll be seeing Mr. Podowski,” Hannah told her mother-in-law.

“Well, if you talk to him,” Mrs. Woodley said, “be sure to tell him how we’ve treated you. Make sure he knows we’ve held up our end of the bargain.”

Hannah squinted at her. “What bargain? What are you talking about?”

Mrs. Woodley stared back at her through the window. “He didn’t tell you about meeting with me at the hotel in Seattle?”

“Ben visited you?” Hannah murmured.

Mrs. Woodley shot a look at Guy sleeping in the back. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You mean, you don’t know anything about that horrible video?”

Hannah sighed. “Mrs. Woodley—
Mom,”
she said. “I’ve seen a lot of horrible videos in the last few weeks. Which video are you talking about?”

His directions made finding the place easy.

The house was a modest two-story tan brick with green shutters and a chimney. Mr. and Mrs. Podowski lived on a quiet street in the quaint town of Croton, an hour away from New York City on the Metro North line.

Ben came to the door with his wife, Jennifer, right behind him.

Guy was thrilled to see Ben again. As he ran up and hugged him, Hannah kept having to remind Guy to be careful of Ben’s cast.

“What happened to your face?” Guy asked him.

“I was trying to be like Indiana Jones,” Ben explained. “I jumped through a window and a house blew up. Good thing you didn’t see me a couple of weeks ago. I look a lot better now.”

He smiled at Hannah, and she felt a little flutter in her heart. Even with his face slightly bruised, Ben’s smile still did something to her.

It was awkward with his wife there. Ben introduced them. Jennifer was pretty, with auburn hair and pale green eyes. She wore khakis and a white tailored shirt. She smelled nice, too.

By comparison, Hannah thought she looked like a slob in her jeans and pullover. She’d been driving most of the morning. She felt a bit better after freshening up in their bathroom.

Jennifer served lunch: homemade split-pea soup and a spread of deli meats, cheeses, and bread. Sitting around the table, they chatted politely over their lunch. Hannah did most of the talking, sticking to the neutral topic of her and Guy’s travel plans. She hoped to be back in Seattle in time for Thanksgiving. She and Guy had put a lot of miles on that secondhand Saturn. “And Guy, what’s your favorite new expression?” she asked.

He put down his glass of milk and looked at her inquisitively.

“Are…we…”
Hannah prompted him.

“ARE WE THERE YET?” Guy cried out, delighted to get a laugh.

After lunch, Guy napped in the guest room. Jennifer started washing the dishes.

Ben said something about a family of deer that often came up to the house from the forest beyond their backyard. “I want to show Hannah around outside, honey,” he said. “Maybe Bambi will pay us a visit.”

Outside, it was cold and they could see their breath. Ben apologized for all the leaves on the lawn. The cast put a crimp in his yard work.

Huddled in her jacket, Hannah knew this was probably their only chance to talk by themselves. She figured Ben knew it too, as did his wife.

“So—how are things with you and Jennifer?” she asked, picking up a leaf from the ground. “She seems really nice, Ben.”

He glanced at the forest and nodded. “Things are good, Hannah. I think we’ll be okay. We’re even talking about having a baby.”

“Oh, well, that’s great,” she said. “It really is.”

He smiled at her, and she wanted so much to hold him.

But Ben merely patted her arm. “I’m really glad you and Guy came here. Means a lot to me.”

“Ben, I—I know about your visit to my mother-in-law back in Seattle. She told me about the tape with Kenneth beating up that girl.”

“I hope I did all right,” he said.

“All right?” She let out a sad laugh. “If you hadn’t done that I—I don’t know what would have happened to Guy and me. I’d probably still be in jail right now. You gave me my freedom again. I don’t have to hide anymore. Guy and I can go anyplace we want. I’m no longer scared. And I owe that to you, Ben. Thank you.”

He shrugged. “Oh, it was nothing.”

“It was everything,” she whispered. “I’ll never forget what you did for me—and Guy.”

His eyes teared up. “Well, I’ll never forget you, Hannah.”

She hugged him. Hannah knew his wife was probably watching from the kitchen window, but she hugged him anyway, holding him once last time.

An hour later, as they said good-bye in front of the house, it was Guy’s turn to hug Ben. He threw his arms around Jennifer, too, and kissed her cheek. Hannah thanked them both, then helped Guy into the car.

Before climbing behind the wheel, she glanced back over the roof of the car and waved at Ben and his wife.

Jennifer was huddled behind him in the doorway, shivering and rubbing her arms from the cold. Ben waved back at Hannah. He smiled wistfully at her.

She felt her heart flutter again. Hannah had tears in her eyes as she ducked inside the car. “Seat belt fastened, honey?” she asked Guy, while buckling herself up.

“Yeah,” he said. “Where are we going now, Mom?”

She wiped her eyes dry, then started up the engine. “We can go wherever we want, honey,” she said, with a triumphant smile. “Anywhere we want.”

“Let’s go home, Mom,” Guy said.

Hannah nodded. “I think that’s a swell idea.”

The following is a guide to a few of the movies mentioned in this book. These films helped inspire this novel, and I pay homage to the following movies and their creators. If you want to see what my characters were talking about, check out these titles at your local video store. And be nice to the clerk.

ALL FALL DOWN (1962) Director: John Frankenheimer; Screenplay: William Inge, from the novel by James Leo Herlihy. Cast: Eva Marie Saint, Warren Beatty, Karl Malden. Available in VHS from M-G-M home video.

THE BIRDS (1963) Director: Alfred Hitchcock; Screenplay: Evan Hunter, from the short story by Daphne du Maurier. Cast: Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette. Available in DVD and VHS from Universal Home Video.

BODY HEAT (1981) Director: Lawrence Kasdan; Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan. Cast: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Mickey Rourke. Available on DVD and VHS from Warner Brothers Home Video.

BONJOUR TRISTESSE (1958) Director: Otto Preminger; Screenplay: Arthur Laurents, from the novel by Francoise Sagan. Cast: Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Jean Seberg. Currently not available for purchase on home video.

BUGSY (1991) Director: Barry Levinson; Screenplay: James Toback, from the book by Dean Jennings, “We Only Kill Each Other: The Life and Bad Times of Bugsy Siegel.” Cast: Warren Beatty and Annette Benning. Available on DVD and VHS from Paramount Home Video.

CASINO (1995) Director: Martin Scorsese; Screenplay: Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese, from the book by Nicholas Pileggi. Cast: Robert de Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci. Available on DVD and VHS from Universal Home Video.

THE GODFATHER (1972) Director: Francis Ford Coppola; Screenplay: Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo, from the novel by Mario Puzo. Cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Alex Rocco (as the victim, Moe Greene). Available on DVD and VHS from Paramount Home Video.

LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR (1977) Director: Richard Brooks; Screenplay: Richard Brooks, from the novel by Judith Rossner. Cast: Diane Keaton, Tuesday Weld, Richard Gere, Tom Berenger. Available on VHS from Paramount Home Video.

NIAGARA (1953) Director: Henry Hathaway; Screenplay: Charles Brackett and Richard L. Breen, from a story by Walter Reisch. Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotton, Jean Peters. Available on DVD and VHS from 20th Century Fox Home Video.

ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) Director: Elia Kazan; Screenplay: Budd Schulberg, from a series of articles by Malcolm Johnson. Cast: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Available on DVD and VHS from Columbia Home Video.

THE PARALLAX VIEW (1974) Director: Alan Pakula; Screenplay by David Giler, Lorenzo Semple, Jr., and Robert Towne (uncredited), from the novel by Loren Singer. Cast: Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, William Daniels. Available on DVD and VHS from Paramount Home Video.

PSYCHO (1960) Director: Alfred Hitchcock; Screenplay: Joseph Stefano, from the novel by Robert Bloch. Cast: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin. Available on DVD and VHS from Universal Home Video.

ROSEMARY’S BABY (1968) Director: Roman Polanski; Screenplay: Roman Polanski, from the novel by Ira Levin. Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Angela Dorian (also known as Victoria Vetri, as the victim, Terry Gionoffrio). Available on DVD and VHS from Paramount Home Video.

SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943) Director: Alfred Hitchcock; Screenplay: Thornton Wilder, Alma Reville, and Sally Benson, from a story by Gordon McDonnell. Cast: Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotton. Available in DVD and VHS from Universal Home Video.

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) Director: Alfred Hitchcock; Screenplay: Raymond Chandler and Czenzi Ormende, from the novel by Patricia Highsmith. Cast: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Laura Elliot (as the victim, Mariam Haines). Available on DVD and VHS from Warner Brothers Home Video.

VERTIGO (1958) Director: Alfred Hitchcock; Screenplay: Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor, from the novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak. Available on DVD and VHS from Universal Home Video.

WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967) Director: Terence Young; Screenplay: Robert and Jane-Howard Carrington, from the play by Frederick Knott. Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Jack Westen (as the victim, Carlino). Available on VHS from Warner Brothers Home Video.