The Narrows - Michael Connelly [110]
“It’s all right,” I said. “Look at it this way, when she goes to school and kids say their dad is a lawyer or a fireman or a doctor or something, she’s got the trump card. She’ll tell them her daddy fights demons.”
Eleanor laughed but then cut it off when she thought of something.
“I wonder what she’ll say her mother does.”
I couldn’t answer that, so I changed the subject.
“I love how her view of the world is uncluttered by deeper meanings,” I said as I looked at the picture again. “It is so innocent, you know?”
“I know. I love that, too. But I can understand if you don’t want her thinking you’re out there literally wrestling with demons. Why didn’t you explain it to her?”
I shook my head and thought of a story.
“When I was a kid and I was still with my mother, there was this time that she had a car. A two-tone Plymouth Belvedere with push-button automatic transmission. I think her lawyer gave it to her to use or something. For a couple years. Anyway, she suddenly decided she wanted to go cross-country on a vacation. So we packed the car and just took off, her and me.
“Anyway, somewhere in the south—I don’t remember where—we stopped for gas and there were two water fountains on the side of this service station. There were signs, you know. One said WHITE and the other said COLORED. And I just sort of went up to the one marked COLORED because I wanted to see what color the water was. Before I got to it my mom yanked me back and sort of explained things to me.
“I remember that and sort of wish she’d just let me see the water and didn’t explain anything.”
Eleanor smiled at the story.
“How old were you?”
“I don’t know. About eight.”
She stood up then and came over to me. She kissed me on the cheek and I let her. I put my arm loosely around her waist.
“Good luck with your demons, Harry.”
“Yeah.”
“If you ever change your mind about things, I’m here. We’re here.”
I nodded.
“She’s going to change your mind, Eleanor. You wait and see.”
She smiled but in a sad way and gently caressed my chin with her hand.
“Will you make sure the door is locked when you leave?”
“Always.”
I let go of her and watched her walk out of the kitchen. I then looked down at the drawing of the man fighting his demon. In the picture my daughter had put a smile on my face.
36
BEFORE GOING UP to my efficiency at the Double X, I stopped by the office and told Mr. Gupta, the night man, that I would be checking out. He told me that because I had been keeping the place on a weekly basis, my credit card had already been dinged for the entire week and I told him that was fine, I was still leaving. I told him I would leave the key on the dinette table after I gathered up my belongings. I was about to leave the office when I hesitated and then asked him about my neighbor Jane.
“Yes, she is gone, too. Same thing.”
“What do you mean, same thing?”
“We charge her for a week but she not stay a week.”
“Hey, do you mind me asking, what was her full name? I never got it.”
“She is Jane Davis. You like?”
“Yeah, she was nice. We talked on the balconies. I didn’t get to say good-bye. She didn’t leave a forwarding address or anything like that, did she?”
Gupta smiled at the prospect of this. He had very pink gums for someone with such dark skin.
“No address,” he said. “Not that one.”
I nodded my thanks for the information he had given me. I left the office and went up the stairs and then down the walkway to my room.
It took me less than five minutes to gather my things. I had some shirts and pants on hangers. I then took out of the closet the same box in which I had brought everything and filled it with the rest of my belongings and a couple of toys I kept in the place for Maddie. Buddy Lockridge had been close, calling me Suitcase Harry. But Beer Box Harry would have been better.
Before leaving I checked the refrigerator and saw I