The Gilded Madonna, Garrick Jones [best fiction novels txt] 📗

to spontaneity when it came to business, so I guessed he’d been thinking of it for a long while.

“All right, I’ll call him tomorrow.”

“What about today?”

“Today, after I’ve spoken to Vince, you, Tom, and me are going to Stones to see what Liesl and Gerd have on the menu and then, after that, you’re going to drag me home, get in the bath with me under the shower and hold me in your arms while I vomit out all the anger and fear I felt about nearly dying, and then we’re going to spend the rest of the afternoon making love.”

“We are?”

“We are.”

“Are you sure, Clyde? I’ve been very careful not to go too far with you after what Kemeny tried to do …”

“I’ve had worse than having my bits fondled against my wishes and a few attempted prods at my bum by some loser. Besides, Dennis Kemeny wasn’t going to rape me.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because of his ritual. The oral sex bit. There’s no way, no matter what he threatened me or Mark with, he’d risk making me do that. He actually said to me that he normally gave his men a bit of tongue, but somehow, he thought I’d bite his off—he’d hardly trust his penis between my pearly whites.”

“He was deranged, Clyde—he still could have violated you, ritual or no ritual. Everything he did came from a warped place in his mind.”

“And what caused that? A whole lot of evil bastards who abused children and destroyed their ability to trust. Now, about your ‘unwanted advances’, Harry Jones. Those two words should never be linked one after the other when it comes to us.”

“Well, if you change your mind, we can just cuddle.”

“That’s what I thought of when he had the razor at my throat, you know.”

“What, cuddling?”

“They say your life flashes before your eyes just before you’re about to die. That didn’t happen to me. I was immensely sad and angry at the same time.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I couldn’t bear to leave you alone, Harry. The thought of you missing me was more distressing than my own possible death. But the thing that terrified me was that I might never hold you in my arms again.”

“Clyde …”

“Come on, let’s go. I’m famished—for food, and for you.”

“Clyde Smith, what did I ever do before I met you?”

“Wasted your life, that’s what, Harry Jones.”

I grabbed his arm and pulled him down the corridor towards the exit that led out into the car park and then pushed him into a recess near the door. I kissed him deeply.

“You know what, Clyde,” he said, coming up for air. “Maybe my life wasn’t wasted, but it sure was empty.”

“Yours and mine both, my love,” I said.

“You used that word, Clyde.”

“I promised you I’d only ever use it when it really counted. Remember?”

“I suppose this is one of those times, then.”

“I think it every day of my life since I realised it was true. I love you, Harry Jones.”

“And I love you too, Clyde Smith.”

The sun had never looked brighter nor the sky bluer as we walked out into the car park, heading towards Harry’s car. I glanced around, no one could see, so I took his hand in mine, squeezing it for a moment before letting it drop at his side.

“What was that sound?” he asked.

“My stomach. Now let’s get moving, Harry. Vince better not spend too much time on the phone, otherwise I’ll end up eating the receiver.”

Harry laughed and the sound of his laughter shone through my mind and my heart.

Oh, damn! It was good to be alive.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

EPILOGUE

Twelve days after Dennis Kemeny had killed himself, Harry and I sat in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. I’d insisted we arrive early so I could calm down, and he’d come to keep me company.

“Stop jiggling your leg, Clyde,” he said. “You’ll be fine.”

“Have you packed everything?”

He smiled and patted my knee. The receptionist threw us a kindly look. I was sure she’d seen plenty of nervous patients before.

“Yes, I haven’t forgotten anything, I promise you—” Harry said.

“I’m concerned about—”

“Tom will be fine, don’t worry. Steve already knows how to work the switchboard and there’s only one training course on Wednesday night. I ran through the exercises with him on the weekend and it was a breeze. There’ll always be someone at the desk in my office. Mother has put her hand up to relieve them if they both need to go out. Now will you stop worrying.”

“But your mother—”

“Could run the country given half the chance, Clyde. You told me yourself that most of the cases in the backlog were those that could be done either on the telephone or using Clarrie’s son as a gofer. Steve still has currency at central records, and Tom has a reader’s card for the city library. Everything is covered.”

I glanced nervously at the clock on the wall. It was ten minutes to the hour.

“We’re meeting Luka where again?”

Harry laughed. “I’ve never seen you so nervous, Mr. Nerves of Steel. There’s nothing to worry about. Luka will be waiting at Railway Square. He’s catching the tram into town and will be standing outside the signal tower. He’s looking forward to it, even if you aren’t.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Who wouldn’t? Ten days at Howard’s being spoiled rotten. It will be great to see how Mark is getting on, even though I’ve spoken to him nearly every day on the phone, and Augusto is due back with Howard’s new horses on Friday.”

“You won’t be sad to miss your Australia Day picnic at Parsley Bay this year?”

“We’ll go by ourselves when we get back, Harry. I fancy some underwater work at the shark net.”

He grinned. I’d never forgotten the sight of him, one arm threaded through the net, his swimmers over the elbow of the other, smiling at me as I swam underwater and into his arms. It was the day he’d said he couldn’t ever kiss me again, for if