Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [140]
“No, Elmo. I did it. I’ll pay the price. I wanted to do it a thousand times. I simply didn’t have the guts. I refuse to let the world believe you’re a criminal. Do you hear me, Elmo. I refuse!”
“Your promise, Annie. That’s all I ask.”
And because she could deny him nothing, she gave her promise in a tearful voice.
“It’s not right, Elmo, that I go off scot-free and your memory is tainted.”
“You aren’t off scot-free, girl. Carrying the secret forever is your punishment. In the end, I’m the one who is getting off scot-free.”
“Does Jane know, too?”
Annie had to wait so long for his response she panicked, and shouted, “Elmo! Elmo!”
“Yes. We both knew.”
And then he-was gone, his hand going limp in Annie’s hard grasp. “Jane!”
“I’m right here, Annie.”
“He’s gone.”
“I know.”
“You both knew I took that money and never said a word.”
“Whatever are you talking about, Annie?”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about.”
“No, I don’t, Annie. When I make a promise, especially to a dying man, I keep that promise.” Jane bent over to kiss Elmo’s sunken cheek. “I’ll wait outside if you want a few minutes alone. What happened in this room, stays in this room, Annie. Forever and ever.”
“Go with the angels, Elmo,” Annie whispered tearfully.
Outside in the crisp late-afternoon sunshine, Annie turned to Jane, and said, “No one in their right mind will believe Elmo Richardson did what he confessed to. Do you hear me, Jane, no one will believe it.”
“What do we do now?”
“Go back to the hotel. Daisy’s waiting for you. I’ll go back inside and make all the arrangements. Don’t worry about me.”
“Annie.”
“Yes.”
“I’m so very sorry.”
“I am too, Jane.”
It was almost dark when Annie walked out of the hospital to hail a cab. She felt numb and disoriented. Life would go on. Elmo said it would. Even if she took out full-page ads in every newspaper across the country professing her guilt, no one would believe her. Elmo had taken care of all that the way he’d taken care of everything since the first day she’d met him. The grief she felt was so total, so all-consuming, she couldn’t cry. She climbed into the waiting taxi in a daze. Where was she going? To the Four Seasons or the Ritz Carlton. “The Four Seasons,” she mumbled.
Parker Grayson set his drink down on one of the shiny tables when he spotted Annie Clark walk through the door. “Hold up, Annie.”
“What is it, Parker? I don’t have anything to say to_you. I’m really very tired right now. Wait, there is one thing. Tune in to the eleven o’clock news. I guess your nephew missed the boat. Sorry about that.”
“Annie, we need to talk. I can’t let it end like this.”
“You don’t have any other choice, Parker. When something is over, it’s over. I’ll send you a Christmas card. Excuse me.”
Parker reached for her arm and started to pull her backward.
Annie saw the golden streak out of the corner of her eye and then 130 pounds of yellow Labrador slammed Parker Grayson to the floor of the lobby. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as Jake raised one huge paw and daintily placed it in the middle of Parker’s neck.
“That’s his best trick,” Clay said, coming up to stand next to Annie.
“Awwk,” Parker grunted.
“And a good trick it is. Jake can keep this up forever. He’s got discipline. It’s your call, Annie.”
“Make nice, Jake,” Clay whispered to the dog.
Jake’s massive head lowered until he was eyeball-to-eyeball with Parker. Then he licked his face from top to bottom.
“That’s his only other trick. He can keep that up all day, too. Your call, Annie.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve drawn a crowd.”
“Well, in that case we need to do something.” Clay snapped his fingers. Jake reared back and removed his paw from Parker’s neck. Parker scrambled to his feet, his face brick red. He backed away toward the elevator, his eyes spewing sparks.
“Is that the end of that?”
“Yes,” Annie said. “Listen, Clay, there’s something I have to tell you.”
“Whatever came before doesn’t matter,