Tales of the City 03 - Further Tales of the City

great. I can’t imagine anyone doing what you’ve done.”
    “That’s O.K.,” said Mary Ann.
    “I hope they aren’t mad at you.”
    “Who?”
    “The station. For missing your show.”
    “Oh.” She hadn’t told DeDe about Bambi Kanetaka, and this was no time to start. “I think I can patch things up.”
    “I hope so.” DeDe climbed out of the car and closed the door. “Sleep tight. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
    “DeDe?”
    “Yeah?”
    “I think it’s time to call the police.”
    DeDe remained surprisingly calm. “Yeah. So do I.”
    “Thank God.”
    “Well … it’s come to that, I guess. We’ll map it out tomorrow.”
    Mary Ann peered up at the house. “You’re sure your mother is here?”
    “Her car’s here,” said DeDe.
    “Shall I wait for you to see?”
    “No. I’m fine. Go home, Mary Ann. Climb in bed with Brian.”
    Mary Ann checked her watch. 7:57 A.M . “It might not be too late,” she smiled.
    DeDe winked at her. “It’s never too late for that.”
Pulling away from the house, Mary Ann watched DeDe in the rear-view mirror until she saw Emma appear at the front door. With that question resolved, she settled herself behind the wheel and began composing her explanation to Bambi.
    This was the anchorwoman’s third day of captivity, she realized.
    Unless, of course, Mrs. Madrigal had been unable—or unwilling—to hold her that long.
    She hadn’t checked the newspapers at the airport. It was entirely possible that Bambi had already released the story. And what if Bambi had brought criminal action against Mrs. Madrigal and the others …?
    She had almost reached the gates to Halcyon Hill when she heard the commotion behind her. She looked in the mirror again to see DeDe running down the driveway, screaming at the top of her lungs.
    “STOP! COME BACK, MARY ANN! COME BACK! …”

Corpus Delicti
    T HE MAID SAT IN A STRAIGHT-BACK CHAIR, HER HANDS folded regally in her lap, while DeDe and Mary Ann encircled her frantically.
    “Where is he?” asked DeDe.
    “Out back,” answered Emma. “I drug him behind the garage.” Seeing Mary Ann frown, she added: “He creeped right up in the dark, Miss DeDe. Miz Giroux … she called and said he was on the way, and your mama, she already tol’ me he was Jim Jones … and I couldn’t wake her up for nothin’”
    “The children weren’t …?”
    “Miz Giroux has ‘em.”
    “They’re …?”
    “He didn’t harm a hair, Miss DeDe!”
    DeDe closed her eyes and swallowed. She reached out and took Mary Ann’s hand, sharing the moment with her. Emma looked at both of them with tears in her eyes. “The Lord looks out for us,” she said.
    DeDe rushed forward and knelt next to the old woman, embracing her vigorously. “It wasn’t the Lord, Emma; it was you. God bless you, Emma. God bless my wonderful Emma!”
    The maid pressed her hand against DeDe’s cheek. “He was messin’ with my family,” she said.
    DeDe laughed and hugged her again. “Is Mother all right?”
    Emma shrugged. “She ain’t woke up yet.”
    “You mean … she doesn’t know?”
    “Not a blessed thing,” said Emma. “She took three more o’ them pills last night.”
    “Jesus,” muttered DeDe. “I told her to take one.”
    “I tried to wake her,” said Emma. “When Miz Giroux called, I …”
    “Does she know?”
    Emma shook her head. “She never called back.”
    “And you didn’t call the police?”
    “No’m. I knew you was comin’ back. I reckoned you’d want to call ‘em yourself … after you knew the babies was safe.”
    “Exactly right.” DeDe turned to Mary Ann. “I’m going out to the garage. Why don’t you stay here and keep Emma company?”
    Mary Ann was relieved, but she felt a nominal protest was in order. “You don’t want me to go with you?”
    “Actually,” replied DeDe, “I’d rather you didn’t.”
She was gone for ten minutes. When she returned, her face was virtually expressionless. “Can I talk to you?” she asked quietly.
    They conferred in the library, leaving Emma in the living room.
    “I have to know something,” said DeDe.
    Mary Ann felt horribly uneasy. “Yeah?”
    “What do you plan to do with this?”
    “You mean … the story?”
    DeDe nodded.
    “Well … I hadn’t really … DeDe, is it him?”
    “Put that aside for a minute. We’ve got some fast decisions to make. She shot him in cold blood, Mary Ann—he wasn’t even in the house, and he was unarmed. There’s bound to be a murder