Eighteen

“Why are you in Ellie’s office?” he asked, glancing at a contract Ellie had signed, the document Miriam had been studying.

“I said, none of your business.”

He reached out and grabbed the hand with the paper in it. She clawed at his face, struggling furiously, but he caught both of her wrists and squeezed until she let the paper drop. He bent to pick it up even as Miriam ran crying from the room.

He sat down at the desk, ignoring the sting of the scratches. The contract was nothing unusual, he noted, as he smoothed the paper out. Ellie’s signature was on the scrap. But as he studied it closer, he realized it was almost Ellie’s signature.

A tearful voice took his attention from the paper. “I caught him trying to forge your signature. I grabbed the paper he was practicing on and he attacked me!”

He looked up to see Ellie staring at him in disbelief.

“Ellie…“he protested, standing up.

“Did you do this to her?”

She held out Miriam’s wrists. There were dark red marks on them.

“Yes, but Ellie…”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

She led Miriam from the room, consoling her.

And so he left the house in the hills. He had no trouble finding a house to rent. He told himself he only rented one because he was too busy finishing his manuscript to do serious house-hunting. Never mind that he was finished before his deadline. While waiting for his editor’s response, he began outlining another work, writing character sketches. He told himself this productivity was a sign that he was readjusting, living a new life.

But he knew that wasn’t the truth. The truth was, he wrote because writing was all he had left. He felt closer to her when he wrote, even as he told himself he didn’t miss her. But that was the biggest lie of all.

When his editor proclaimed the new manuscript Bill’s best work, Bill didn’t feel the sense of elation such praise might have once brought. Ellie wasn’t his link to writing after all. It wasn’t inspiration he missed; it was Ellie herself.

He found himself on Westwood Boulevard at three in the morning, staring at the place where the gas station had been. It was gone, transformed into a parking lot. But as he stared, a gold Rolls-Royce was pulled into the empty lot.

For a moment, his heart leapt. But then he saw that Harry was driving.

Alone.

It wasn’t the first time he had seen Harry. Harry kept tabs on him, he knew. In the begi

“Evening, sir.”

“Hello, Harry.” And then, breaking a promise he had made to himself, he asked, “How is she?”

Harry seemed to perk up a bit. He studied Bill’s face, then seemed to make up his mind about something. “She’s not well, sir.”

“Not well?”

“No, sir.”

“Nothing serious, I hope?”

Harry was silent.

“Harry, did she put you up to this? Is she trying to get me to come back? Because I’m doing just fine on my own now.”

Harry shook his head. “You disappoint me, sir.” He stepped back to the car.

“Harry, wait.”

Harry waited.

“Does she know you watch over me?”

“No, sir. But for some time now she has…I mean to say sir, that whatever has gone before, at present she may be too ill to contact you herself.”

Bill frowned. “I don’t like hearing that she’s ill.”

Harry stayed silent.

“I know she dislikes doctors. Has she been to a doctor about this illness?”

“Miss Miriam has supplied a doctor, sir. He often comes to the house to care for Miss Eleanor.”

“Oh.” He looked away from Harry’s studying gaze for a moment. “Well, I don’t suppose…that is, if Miriam has found a doctor who will make a house call, I don’t suppose Ellie needs me for anything.”

Harry hesitated, then said, “Permit me to say, sir, that I’m not certain Miss Eleanor has done well under this physician’s care.”

“Tell her that you saw me,” Bill said. “Tell her that you saw me here. She’ll know what that means. Tell her to-to let me know if she needs me.”

Bill didn’t sleep at all that night. If she were seriously ill…

He hesitated until late the next afternoon, then called the house. Miriam answered.

“Miriam, this is Bill.”

“Bill the caterer? Terrific. About this evening…”

“No, no. Bill Gray. Let me talk to Ellie, please.”

“Oh, that Bill.” After a long pause, Miriam said, “She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Let me hear her say that herself.”

“Listen, she has a new man in her life. One who doesn’t cause so many problems. We’re having a di

The line went dead.

A new man. He half-believed it. If the wrenching in his gut was any indication, he believed it more than half. But Harry said she was ill, seeing a doctor. Why would she throw a di

Not much later, he heard a car pull into his driveway. Bill looked out the window to see the Rolls. He hurried out the front door when he saw the look of worry on Harry’s face.

“Is she all right?” Bill asked.

“Sir, I’m to give you this.”

Harry pressed a key into Bill’s palm.

“There is a di

“Ellie is selling the house?”

“No, sir. But there now exist documents which say Miss Miriam is given power of attorney over the sale of the house, due to her sister’s ill health. And indeed, her sister is ill.”

Bill looked down at the key.

“She said you could win the game, sir. Do you know what she means?”

“The game? The Hitchcock game. It must be Notorious.”

“The game is notorious, sir?”

“No, Harry. Notorious is a Hitchcock film. Claude Rains plays one of the leaders of a group of Nazi scientists living in Brazil. They’re trying to build an atom bomb. Ingrid Bergman has married him, but as he discovers, she’s an American spy working with Cary Grant.”

“Does the key give you some clue about her health, sir?”

“No,” Bill said absently, “but in a Hitchcock film, the story is always larger than the objects which become the focus of the suspense.”

“I beg your pardon, sir?”

Bill continued to stare at the key, but answered easily. “The key is to a wine cellar, where an important secret is kept. But the film isn’t really about spies and secrets. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are in love, but misunderstandings and mistrust stand between them. It isn’t until the end of the film, when he realizes that…” Bill suddenly looked up at Harry. “Harry, when you said she was ill…oh, no. Get me to the house at once! Drive like a bat out of hell!”

Harry complied. As they drove, Bill asked him questions that made Harry wonder if the young man had somehow spoken to Miss Eleanor, even though Miss Miriam had taken the phone out of Eleanor’s room long ago. Bill asked about Miss Eleanor’s symptoms, and every time Harry said, “Yes, sir. She’s had terrible stomach cramps,” or “Yes, sir, very dizzy,” Bill seemed to grow more frantic.

“Keep the motor ru

Bill burst through the front door, nearly knocking a startled maid off her feet. He could hear voices in the dining room, but he didn’t bother with the di

“Sir!” The maid called. “You can’t go up there!”

He ignored her.

His only moment of hesitation came as he stepped inside Ellie’s bedroom and saw her for the first time in months. He had expected to find Ellie’s bedroom door locked, but quickly realized why it wasn’t.