33. Virginia Bluebells

33

VIRGINIA BLUEBELLS

DARREN

A s we drive through the gates of the cemetery, the overwhelming feeling of loss washes over me. Evangeline grabs my hand and squeezes while I stare out the window, watching the headstones and the mausoleums go by until we pull alongside the curb. Bailey opens the car door, and still, I’m hesitant to get out.

“It’s going to be okay. You can do this,” she urges, and I give her a wan smile. Can and want are as far apart from each other as the North and South Poles.

As we walk across the soft grass, Evangeline’s heels leave divots in her wake. We seem to be the only ones here, and maybe that’s a good thing.

“I clipped this from the garden.” She hands me a single white rose.

“The last time I was here was for my parents’ funeral.”

“This must be hard for you,” she offers.

“Harder than I thought.” I sigh as I spot the gravesite ahead.

She loops her arm through mine. I twirl the rose between my fingers, thinking about my mother and the last rose Evangeline gave me at my parents’ funeral.

I stop her before we reach the grave. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you at your grandmother’s funeral.”

“You would have been there if I had let you.”

“Still, I hated thinking of you there to deal with that alone. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here with me.”

“I don’t want to think about the past. After everything that’s happened, none of that matters anymore.” She pulls me into a hug and over her shoulder I see someone approaching. She feels me tense and pulls away to track my gaze.

“Nice of you to join us,” I comment once he approaches.

“I thought you’d want some time alone.” Rausch shrugs and then notices the rose in my hand. “Your mother loved her roses,” he smiles.

“Are you sure you’re supposed be out of bed?” Evangeline inquires, a worried look on her face.

“If I spend one more minute watching reruns of The Great British Bake Off, I’m going to have a British accent.”

“That or you’ll be bringing in muffins for the staff,” I tease.

“I think he’s back to his old self.”

“I don’t know what you find so funny.” He smoothes down his suit jacket.

I turn back to my parents’ headstones and point to the bouquet of flowers in the memorial vase. “Are those from you?” I inquire.

He places his hands in his pockets and clears his throat. “Virginia bluebells,” he replies. “They used to grow wild in his front yard. He told me he gave Merrill a bouquet of them on their first date,” he smiles. “I thought they would like them.”

“They’re beautiful.”

“Have you heard any news about the shooter?” Rausch asks.

“He’s in custody thanks to Angie and some of the other witnesses.” I glance over at Evangeline. “He’s some fanatic who didn’t like my threat to family values ,” I explain.

“I see.” He rocks back on his heels and looks at Evangeline with regret. “I’d like to say that the world has evolved and the people with it, but I’m afraid that hasn’t happened yet,” he offers.

“It scares me,” she admits.

“Security has been added to the events,” I offer but I know it doesn’t make Evangeline feel any better.

“That’s the least they can do,” she scoffs.

“There’s a fight for another time.” I turn back to the grave, still holding the rose in my hand.

“Do you want us to give you a minute?” Evangeline asks, squeezing my hand.

I nod and then kneel in front of the grave. Placing the rose on top of the headstone I say, “I’m going to be okay. You don’t need to worry about me anymore.”

That wasn’t so bad , I say to myself, and hopefully I won’t wait so long before I come back. I take a moment before I stand.

“Do you have something for me?” Rausch asks as soon as I join them.

Evangeline pulls the envelope from her purse. “Rebecca gave this to me,” she explains, and the crease in Rausch’s forehead deepens. “She said it was everything we needed to take down Jonathan.”

“The public doesn’t care how many escorts he’s slept with, nor the madame that supplies them,” he responds.

“It’s not that,” I explain.

“Oh?”

“Do you still have a contact at the Securities and Exchange Commission?” I ask.

Rausch’s eyes widen. “Yes.”

“I think he’d be very interested in this,” I smile. “There are phone records and bank transfers among other things that implicate him in fraud with the family’s hotel chain.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “Rebecca is a very clever woman,” he compliments. “How long have you had this?”

“She gave it to me after the charity gala,” Evangeline explains.

“Jesus, why didn’t you give this to me sooner?”

“Well, I was a little preoccupied with you being shot and all. I didn’t even know what was in it until yesterday.”

Rausch shakes his head. “You understand how this can negatively impact Rebecca,” he reasons. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“She understands what it means, and she’s prepared,” Evangeline responds.

Rausch takes the envelope and tucks it into his suit jacket as he looks around the cemetery.

“This could get very ugly,” he advises. “Jonathan knows a lot.”

I place my hands in my pocket and look at the ground. “I’m guessing you haven’t seen the news or read the paper either?” I ask, skeptically.

Rausch narrows his eyes. “No, I was recovering from a gunshot wound,” he exclaims, pulling his phone from his pocket.

“Didn’t the doctors say you needed to keep your blood pressure down?” I speculate. “The news is never good for the heart.” I try to grab the phone from him but he holds it out of reach.

I know the minute he sees the clips from my rant at the Capitol Building when his eyes grow big and the vein at his temple starts to throb. Evangeline and I are almost halfway to the car when he bellows. “Jesus Christ, Darren!”