Family dinner? I thought fast. Trip out of town? Frostbite? Amnesia? “But.”
“No buts. Stan will pick you up.” Edwina hung up before I could think of twelve unassailable reasons why I couldn't attend. Trounced again.
Alvin paced in front of my desk. The parrots on his shirt flapped.
“Is it necessary to hound me when I'm on the phone?”
“It's Lindsay Grace,” he said. “She says it's an emergency.”
I grabbed the receiver.
“Lindsay?”
Nothing.
“Lindsay? It's Camilla. Are you all right?”
Dead air.
“Lindsay!” Shouting didn't help. The dial tone was the last sound I wanted to hear. I sank into my chair. To do Alvin credit, he didn't think it was funny.
“Did she say where she was calling from?”
He shook his head.
“Did she say what happened?”
“No. She said it was urgent, and she needed to talk to you.”
“That was it?”
“She kept saying Benning was out.”
“Hardly.”
“That's what she said. She was practically hysterical.”
“Well, she's often hysterical. And he can't be out. That's absurd.”
“But what if he is?”
I couldn't bring myself to think about it.
“Not possible. Ralph Benning is a guest of the Regional Detention Centre, and he's not going anywhere.”
“But it's Benning. Anything could happen. He is going somewhere. They have to move him to the Courthouse.” Behind the fake tan, Alvin was pale. Who wouldn't be?
“Look, Alvin. He is behind Plexiglas and bars. When they move him, he'll be shackled and surrounded by big guys with Glocks and nervous twitches.”
He turned toward the wall and bit his lip. “He'll murder her. Remember? He's threatened to.”
I remembered all right. If anyone could escape, he could. And if Ralph Benning was out, he would find a way to kill Lindsay. No doubt about it. But how could he be out? My hands were shaking as I dialed her number.
But Lindsay Grace didn't answer.
Three
“Stop hyperventilating, Alvin.”
“Well, do something. If he's cunning enough to slip out of jail, he can find her too.”
“It's obviously some kind of mistake, but if she's upset, she needs help. I'll head right over and see what I can do to reassure her. It's probably the stress of knowing the sentencing hearing's today. She's been overwrought.”
“I'll call 911,” Alvin said. “She needs help.”
I yanked the receiver from his hand. “No. Remember the last time he was on the loose so long? People figured he has some kind of inside contact. Even Lindsay thought so. We don't want some dispatcher blasting out Lindsay's address and the wrong person hearing it and passing the information on to Benning. He could use some of his connections to harass her.”
“Lord thundering Jesus.”
“Exactly.” I stuck my feet into the depths of the icy boots.
“I'm coming with you.” Alvin grabbed his studded black leather jacket from the coat rack. I knew his jacket had no winter lining, although it was accessorized with an extensive Mickey Mouse scarf. Oh sure, that was all I needed. To have to explain to my father and Alvin's sainted mother how I'd encouraged him to die of exposure while under my tutelage.
“You must be kidding.”
“I'm not kidding.” Alvin's black eyes flashed behind the cat's eye glasses.
“You are not coming.”
“Yes, I am.” Alvin was already zipping up the jacket.
“Get this straight, Alvin. You are staying here.”
“Wrong.”
I hate that manic glitter in his eyes. Time to change tactics. No point in discussing his lack of suitable winter clothing. I didn't want to bring on another bout of mind over matter. “Your newfound interest in social justice is touching, but it's important for you to be in the office.”
“That's quite a change in policy.”
He had a point. I spend my energy devising ways to remove him from the office on a permanent basis. He raised one eyebrow over the rim of the cat's eye glasses. It was an effect my sisters would have envied. But I was ready for him. “Lindsay may call here, and if you don't answer, she could panic and put herself at risk. She could go into hiding, and we wouldn't be able to contact her at all. That's why.”
Alvin's hand paused on the zipper.
I said, “So, if she does call, keep her calm, find out what happened and call me on my cellphone.”
Alvin removed the jacket and slumped back in his seat.
“Okay,” he said.
I busied myself with my parka and gloves. I was still wearing the hat, socks and long silk underwear. Alvin busied himself staring at the phone. Jimmy Buffett busied himself singing “Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season”.
I snatched the cellphone. “And turn the music off and put the radio on CBC. This is not a holiday camp.”
Alvin plunked his feet on the desk and watched me slantily. “Aloha,” he called as I headed for the parking garage.
* * *
I'd been parked long enough for my recently acquired, pre-enjoyed Honda Civic to chill. The engine turned over on the third try. By that time, the vinyl seats had frozen my behind. Despite the red socks, my feet felt ready for amputation. I sat shivering and prayed the car would warm up before the engine flooded or the battery died. It wouldn't help Lindsay Grace if I joined the long list of people praying to be rescued by the CAA. A one-hour wait on sub-zero vinyl.
Therefore, I wasn't going anywhere until the heat gauge crept from the red into the black zone. The air in the garage was full of exhaust fumes. I gobbled some mints to get the taste out of my mouth. Winter in the nation's capital. No end to the fun.
I kept trying Lindsay's line, but the phone rang on and on. I was about to dial for the tenth time, when my own phone rang. “Hello, Alvin. Did Lindsay call back?”
“Not yet.”
“Then why are you tying up the line?”
“Don't you have your radio on?”
“No, I'm warming the car, and I don't want to drain the battery. I also don't want to chat. Hang up.”
“It's on the radio. It's confirmed. Benning's escaped.”
“What? I can't believe it!”
“Believe it. He was supposed to have had a dental emergency, and when they were moving him somewhere, he overpowered his guard somehow and disappeared.”
“Not even possible.”
“Possible, and that's not all. The guard who was escorting him? Benning bit off his nose.”
“What?”
“Bit the guards nose off.” Alvin s voice rose.
“Oh, how