Surfacing
Part 15
By Lauren
The sky was black and cold when Drew woke up, or thought she had woken up. Fluorescent lights and white paint invaded her psyche, then flew away before she could grasp them. She was immersed in the blackness again and again, as if she were being dunked underwater over and over, managing to gasp for breath before being plunged in again.
Finally her mind submitted to the darkness, and she found herself sitting in the middle of the Santos mansion, idly chewing on a hard peppermint candy, watching Marah talk with Andy. The living room was crowded with people who’d come to the reception following Elena’s christening.
“Hey,” Michelle said, walking in front of Drew. When Drew didn’t respond, Michelle frowned and snapped her fingers in front of Drew’s face. “Drew?”
“Huh?” Drew replied inelegantly, blinking her eyes rapidly. Michelle was standing in front of her, her blonde curls unruly about her face, Elena cradled in her arms.
“I came over to say hi,” Michelle smiled. “You seem to be off in never-never land.”
“Oh, yeah,” Drew said casually. “Max had a rough afternoon, and I was wondering how he was.”
“Is he still having a hard time about the Jesse situation?” Michelle asked, gently running a hand over the sleeping baby’s soft brown curls.
“Yeah,” Drew answered, crunching down on her peppermint. Michelle winced, and the baby gave a startled cry.
“Oh, sweetie,” Michelle soothed, pulling the baby close and pressing a kiss to her cheek.
Danny was at the couch immediately. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, she’s just a little fussy,” Michelle said. “Elena, I mean.”
Danny smirked. “Is there anything I can do?” he asked, squatting down beside Michelle and carefully touching the baby’s head.
“Entertain everybody while I go upstairs to feed her,” Michelle offered. “I think she’s hungry after her little nap.”
Danny nodded, rising to his feet and taking the baby as Michelle stood up. Elena whimpered and batted her chubby fists against Danny’s suit jacket.
“Be back in a little while,” Michelle promised, kissing Danny’s cheek and gently easing the baby into her arms.
“We’ll be here,” Danny smiled. Drew followed his gaze as he watched Michelle ascend the stairs, cooing at the baby as she walked.
“You two look happy,” Drew remarked.
Danny smiled, his eyes far away. “We are.”
“And the baby’s doing okay?” Drew asked, picking at a piece of fuzz on the expensive-looking fabric of the sofa.
“Yeah. Every day is an adventure,” he mused. “Hm. Listen, I’ve got to go talk to Marah and Andy for a bit. Take care, Drew.”
“Yeah,” she said softly, watching him walk away confidently. “Yeah.”
She felt as if she was in a bubble. The room was full of activity, and there she sat, alone, quiet. It was incredibly uncomfortable. She shifted uneasily on the sofa.
“Hey, there’s my favorite boss,” a familiar voice said from just beyond Drew’s peripheral vision.
Blinking, she looked over. “Hey, there’s my favorite bartender,” she said with a forced smile.
Ben walked over and flopped down on the sofa, the soda he was holding nearly splashing over the rim of its glass. “How are you doing, Drew?”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Fine. Why?”
“I don’t know, you just look a little upset,” he observed. “But then again, God knows that this house is bound to do that to anyone.”
Drew nodded slowly in agreement. “I assume Marah’s spending quite a bit of time over here lately.”
It was Ben’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Why would Marah be spending time here?”
Her brow furrowed automatically. Marah hadn’t told her boyfriend that she was working on the Santos case? “Well, I know that Griffin is doing some work with the Santos family, and I just assumed…”
Ben shook his head, taking a long sip of his soda. “Marah doesn’t even take her bar exams until two weeks from now. She’s been doing some desk work at Griffin’s firm, but nothing more than that.”
Drew opened her mouth to say something, but her voice escaped when she saw Dahlia walk into the room, arm in arm with David Grant. Drew’s eyes immediately flew to Marah’s face, which lit up with delight when she saw her friend with the detective.
Danny, on the other hand, looked much less pleased than Marah. David Grant was the reason that Pilar had left the country for Barcelona a few months before, Drew remembered. Carmen had been caught red-handed with an illegal shipment of narcotics, and Officer Grant had turned her in. She’d eventually gotten the charges dropped, but Pilar had been heartbroken and had returned to the place where she felt most at home. It was all the same to Drew, however; she’d always regarded poor Pilar as an idiot, in her insensitive, unfeeling way.
David’s hands were shoved in his pockets, and he regarded the room with a sharp, careful eye. Drew was so caught up in staring at Dahlia and Company that she almost didn’t hear when Ben spoke again.
“Sorry?” she said, focusing her eyes.
“I asked if you had done inventory again since I last checked the liquor cabinet,” Ben asked, calmly sipping his soda.
Drew remembered Max’s revelation that afternoon. “Have you been taking bourbon from the club?” she asked bluntly.
Ben closed his eyes. “I wondered if that was ever going to come to light. I know that Max saw me with two bottles from the cabinet.”
Drew felt anger blazing behind her eyes. “You’ve been stealing from me?”
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it so that you didn’t get the wrong idea,” Ben admitted calmly, though his face looked a shade paler than normal. “I bought those two bottles. I have no clue who took the others.”
“Are you lying to me, Ben Reade?” she asked matter-of-factly.
Anger flashed in Ben’s eyes. “No, Drew, I’m not lying to you.”
Sighing, but not satisfied, Drew nodded. “Fine, that’s fine.”
“Good,” he replied.
“Good,” Drew repeated.
***
Two weeks passed by in an instant, in a flash of light that burned Drew’s eyes and made her tongue feel dry, like sandpaper. She was sitting in Company, eating one of Susan’s huge chocolate chip cookies and sipping at a cup of peppermint tea. The Journal was spread out in front of her, and her fingertips were darkened with newsprint.
Andy’s column was boring. The paper was nothing but boring. The facts that Drew knew about what was really going on in Springfield sizzled in her veins. She wanted to pop, but knew that she couldn’t.
This knowledge was even more set in stone when Drew saw Danny and Marah storm in through the door and sit down at a table. Marah was wearing a plum-colored suit with an Ally McBeal-worthy miniskirt, and immediately pulled out a cell phone. Danny rested his head in his hands and exhaled so deeply that Drew thought he might pass out.
Curiosity overtook her, and she abandoned her tea and newspaper to pull up a chair at the small table. “Good morning, good morning,” she said with faux brightness.
Marah glared over at her, and Danny didn’t even look up. “Yeah, thanks, Andy. See you soon,” Marah said into the cell phone. As she pulled it away from her face and snapped it shut, Drew’s eyes were glued to the long bruise that ran along Marah’s perfect cheekbone. It was so purple it was almost black.
“Are you all right?” Drew asked, horrified.
Marah ignored the concern and turned to Drew with a sigh. “And what are you doing on this fine Easter morning, Drew?” she asked automatically.
“Scoffing at Christians everywhere,” Drew joked. “So why exactly are the two of you, both followers of Jesus Christ, here instead of at St. Michael’s or wherever?”
“Stuff has happened,” Danny said cryptically, still staring at the table.
Drew felt her heart drop. “Is everyone all right?”
“So far,” Danny said darkly, standing up. “I’m going to get a cup of coffee. Want some?”
Marah shook her head, and Danny walked up to the counter to talk to Buzz.
Drew turned to Marah, her breath coming quickly. “What the hell is going on here?” she hissed.
Marah sighed, briefly touching her bruise and wincing. “Things have gotten a hell of a lot more complicated.”
“How?” Drew fairly begged.
“Well, the Spauldings have apparently decided to hook up some Mafia connections of their own,” Marah revealed. “Ever heard of the Vizzinis?”
Drew’s brow furrowed. “No. Are they from here?”
“No, they’re from New York. Apparently, though, a detective from here had a connection with one of the family’s daughters years ago.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know; I was in Italy with my father. Her name was Francesca. That’s not important. Anyway, they’ve allied with the Spauldings, and there was a threat of a bomb this morning,” Marah answered.
“At the Santos house?”
“In the car that was taking Danny, Michelle, and Elena to St. Michael’s.”
“Oh, God…” Drew breathed, her fingers flying to her lips.
“The case starts next week,” Marah informed, “but I’m going to Boston with Andy to track down some people he interviewed who had ties with the Vizzinis. We’re leaving Tuesday.”
“Is everything…is everything going to be okay while you two are out of town?” Drew asked. She felt stupid, like a helpless little child, asking so many questions.
“I pray to God that it will be,” Marah said with a grim smile.
Danny sat back down at the table, his eyes sad and worried. “What did Andy say?”
“The family that he dealt with in Boston knew these people. He and I are going up to check things out on Tuesday,” Marah replied.
“Marah, you don’t have to do that,” Danny said.
“Danny, the Spauldings have my family’s company. My family’s life. These Vizzini people not only have their hands on Spaulding, but on Lewis Oil, too. I have a vested interest.”
“I understand that, Marah,” Danny said exasperatedly. “But this is not something that someone like you should be involved with.”
The bruise glared. “You don’t think I can handle this?”
“I didn’t say that,” Danny said defensively.
“You didn’t have to,” Marah replied tightly.
“Listen, I’m just looking out for you, here,” Danny said. “You’re a good friend of my wife, and you’ve been an amazing help throughout this whole thing. You don’t need to be dirtying your hands on this kind of business.”
“God, you sound just like Andy!” Marah exclaimed. “Please, everyone, understand that I can make decisions for myself!”
“Well, I know one thing,” Drew began. “You should decide to avoid picking fights with whatever concrete floor you tripped onto this time.”
Marah’s eyes blazed with a frightening combination of anger and worry. “I have to get out of here,” she said quickly, gathering up her cell phone and her briefcase and storming out the door.
Danny’s head fell back into his hands, and Drew was glad when her mind came to fetch her from her past and transported her to the calm, soft night that she’d grown so accustomed to.