Tales of the City 03 - Further Tales of the City

Michael.”
    Michael rolled his eyes. “Do I look uncomfortable?”
    “It’s a family thing, though …”
    “You are family, Jon. Mary Ann would be crushed if you were in town and didn’t come to the wedding. How long are you here for?”
    “A week or ten days.”
    “Great. Which hotel?”
    The doctor pointed out the window to the bay. “You can see it from here, actually.”
    “You’re on the water?” asked Michael.
    “In it,” said Jon. “I’m a ship’s doctor now.”
    “You mean like … in the Navy?”
    “God, no. A cruise ship … Norwegian.”
    Michael’s mouth fell open. “Which one?”
    “The Sagafjord.”
    “I don’t believe this!” Michael spun around and peered down at the great white ship. “That’s it? It’s back. This is really unbelievable!”
    “It’s a job,” said Jon, obviously unsettled by Michael’s reaction.
    “Does Mrs. Madrigal know this?”
    “Should she?” asked Jon.
    “Yeah,” said Michael. “I think she should.”

Shipmates
    M ICHAEL LEFT JON IN HIS APARTMENT AND HURRIED downstairs to Mrs. Madrigal’s under the pretext of bumming a joint.
    “Look,” he said. “How much did you tell him, anyway?”
    “About what?”
    “For starters, that media geisha we’ve got locked in the basement.”
    “We didn’t discuss any of that,” said the landlady.
    “Does he know where Mary Ann is? Does he know about DeDe and the twins? He was on the Sagafjord, Mrs. Madrigal! He’s the ship’s doctor!”
    “What?”
    “I can’t believe it either. Jesus … what are we gonna do?” Mrs. Madrigal studied him for a moment. “That’s up to you, dear.”
    “Me?”
    “Well … if he’s no longer a member of the family, I don’t think it’s fair to implicate him in our shenanigans. I think you should ask him to leave as soon as possible.”
    Silence.
    “Unless, of course, you want him to stay.”
    Michael glowered at her. “He says you invited him to the wedding.”
    “I did. I think Mary Ann and Brian would like that. Where is Brian, anyway? Has Jon talked to him?”
    “He’s working,” said Michael.
    “I could put Jon in Burke’s old room,” offered Mrs. Madrigal. “If you don’t mind, that is?”
    “What makes you think he’d want to stay in a house with a kidnapped anchorwoman in the basement?”
    “We could ask and find out.”
    Michael sighed resignedly. “Do what you want, O.K.?”
    “Well,” said the landlady, “I think we owe him an explanation. He brought those children into the world, remember?”
The explanation was a monumental task. When Michael had finished, Jon’s confusion was obvious.
    “Now, wait a minute! This makes no sense at all.”
    “Tell me, ” said Michael.
    “You mean … those four-year-olds were DeDe’s children?”
    Michael and the landlady nodded in unison.
    “But … I thought they were Mrs. Halcyon’s foster grandchildren … Vietnamese orphans.”
    “That’s what DeDe told her to say,” said Michael. “They were trying to avoid publicity until Mary Ann could release the story properly.”
    “But they weren’t kidnapped,” said Jon.
    Mrs. Madrigal blinked at him. “What on earth are you talking about, Jon?”
    “They weren’t kidnapped,” the doctor repeated. “I watched a movie with them yesterday.”
    “Where?” asked Michael.
    “On the ship. And Sean Starr was with them. They were getting along famously, too.”
    Mrs. Madrigal leaned closer to the doctor. “Jon, dear … are you sure we’re talking about the same children?”
    “We must be. I didn’t even see them on the trip up … I suppose Mrs. Halcyon didn’t want me to … but I saw them several times on the trip back. There can’t be that many Oriental four-year-olds on a cruise ship. Besides, Sean told me they were Mrs. Halcyon’s foster grandchildren.”
    “Jesus,” murmured Michael.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well … didn’t you think it was strange that Mrs. Halcyon wasn’t there?”
    “A little,” said Jon, “but Sean said that she and Prue Giroux had decided to spend more time in Sitka. He also said he was an old friend of the family, so I figured … well, I figured he was. He was a nice enough guy.”
    “Did he say where he was taking the children?” asked Michael.
    Jon shook his head. “I assumed he was delivering them to Halcyon Hill.”
    Michael shook his head, groaning softly. Mrs. Madrigal looked deathly ill. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” asked Michael.
    The landlady nodded.