Chapter 38. Jade
Jade
Sunset is almost here.
I’ve been camped out near the garage for hours since I left work at five o’clock.
I made a big to-do, loudly saying goodbye to Sid to make sure Conrad heard me leave.
I walked all the way to the gate and then carefully stalked back, ducking for cover along the way.
Thank God I remembered to store an apple and a soda in my bag.
This sleuthing business is not glamorous.
Even after five, the sun is strong, and the air thick and oppressive.
That’s summer for you, even by the ocean.
I’m hidden behind three trash barrels that are set out for the waste company to pick up in the morning.
All I can say is, ewwww. But I do have a clear view of the main house, so I hang tight, waiting and waiting … but for what?
I’m stiff, achy, and have to pee like a motherfucker, but I’m not about to give up.
Just when I think my bladder is going to burst, I hear it: music.
It’s faint, far away, but I’m sure I’m not imagining it.
A side door to the house opens, and Sid emerges.
He holds the door open, and what I see next nearly makes me gasp in shock.
Conrad pushes a fragile woman in a wheelchair outside. She’s wrapped in a soft blanket and supported by pillows. It’s difficult to tell her age—she’s so thin it looks like she’s wasting away. However, I can see she’s much younger than Maeve. Who is this stranger? Where did she come from?
Sid closes the door with a quick nod to Conrad, who continues toward the path that hugs the ocean along the bluff. I do my best to creep behind at a safe distance, using the shrubbery to stay out of sight.
The sun hovers above the horizon, turning the sky into deep purples with brushstrokes of orange and red. The image of Conrad and this very sick woman in front of a dramatic backdrop is jarring.
He finally stops, locking the wheelchair in place.
He gently—tenderly?—wraps the woman in his arms and lifts her out of the chair.
He tries to set her on her feet, allowing her to lean on him for support, but she’s unsteady and too weak to stand.
So he cradles her as if she were a child, and together they watch the last drops of daylight seep into the earth, saying a sad farewell.