Bronx Requiem(92)

Beck thought about sitting up, but held off.

“How long have I been out?”

Janice looked at her watch. “About ten hours. I finally got you into the bed around midnight.”

Beck pulled aside the blanket.

“I’m making a mess of your sheets. Sorry. Where’d you sleep?”

“I have a guest room upstairs.”

“I feel bad I put you out of your bed.”

Janice waved off the apology. “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t try to clean you up. I put antibiotic cream on your cuts and scrapes, but you should wash up. You think you can stand up and take a shower?”

“Sure.”

“Don’t pass out on me again. I nearly broke my back trying to get you on your feet. How much do you weigh?”

“Couple hundred. I haven’t had anything to eat in a while. Except those peanuts at your bar.”

She smiled at the reference to the peanuts. “Plus four drinks.”

“Three and a half. I didn’t finish the beer.”

Janice extended her hand to Beck. “Come on, see if you can get up. There’s a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in the bathroom. I’d dump a bunch of it on that gash on your forehead, and everywhere else where your skin’s broken.”

“You sound like a nurse.”

“I’m not. But I was raised on a farm. We didn’t run to an emergency room every time someone got a bump. It’s too late for stitches in your forehead, but I can put some butterflies on it and bandage it for you.”

“Thanks.”

“You better wash those clothes. You know how to use a washing machine?”

Beck gave her a look.

“What? I know men who think they’d grow breasts if they did laundry.”

“I know how to use a washing machine.”

“It’s down the hall from the bathroom. Don’t put too much soap in.”

“Yes, that’s a common error amateurs make.”

Beck managed to sit up and get his feet on the floor. He paused to get a breath.

“What’s the worst?” she asked.

“Ribs. Right side in back.”

“I don’t think they’re cracked or broken. Otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to sleep like you did.”

Beck answered with a grunt.

Janice motioned with her outstretched hand. Beck took it. He felt the rough skin on her palm, reminding him of when he’d first met her. She grabbed his elbow with her other hand and helped him onto his feet, impressing Beck with her strength.

Beck grimaced, but felt better now that he was standing. “Thanks. For everything.”

“I couldn’t leave you in the parking lot. And the nearest hospital is a pretty long drive. I didn’t think you wanted to go there anyhow.”

“I’m okay. Hey, what about my truck? Is it still in the lot?”

“Yes, but not where you parked it. Before we left, I drove it out back behind our Dumpsters. Nobody will see it from the road.”

Beck looked at Janice. “You’re…”

“What?”

“You’re doing a hell of a lot for me.”

“And you wonder why.”

Beck tipped his head as if to say yes.

“Two reasons. I feel guilty I didn’t warn you in the bar. But I was afraid Remsen would see me and I didn’t want to face him if he caught me warning you.”

“I understand.”

Beck waited for the second reason.

“But mostly because I hate Oswald Remsen enough to make me sick. So, if you did what I think you…”

Beck held up a hand to stop her.

“Well, I think I owe you.”

“No you don’t.”

“If you say so.” Janice stepped back to give Beck room. “I have to go to the store. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Whatever you’re having, but more.”

“I’ll shop accordingly. By the way, if you start rummaging around in my medicine chest for pain medication, all I have is Tylenol. If you have a concussion, I’m not sure you want to take anything else.”

“I’m all right. I’ve got a hard head.”

“Go clean up, and I’ll be back soon. There’s a robe that might fit you in the back of my closet.”

“Okay. By the way, I remember your first name. Janice. But you didn’t tell me the rest of it.”

“My last name is Elkins. What’s yours?”

“Beck.”

“And you said your first name was Tom?”

“I did. But it’s James.”

“Why’d you tell me Tom?”

“Sort of obvious, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it.”

Janice headed out. Beck followed and went into the bathroom across the hall. The first thing he did was swallow four Tylenol, finishing the glass of water.

The low-ceilinged bathroom was just big enough for one person. There was a small window with white curtains above the toilet. The powder-blue tiles in the tub and shower were too old to ever be matched.

Beck emptied his pockets, finding his cell phone. The battery was dead.

He stripped off all his clothes, walked naked to the bedroom, and found his denim jacket hanging on a chair. He emptied the pockets and found everything he’d taken back from Oswald Remsen. He took the clothes filthy with dirt, grass, bloodstains, and sweat to the laundry room, shivering slightly against the chill. He would have thrown everything away, but he had nothing else to wear so he had to wait for them to be washed.