Second Shot

“What nasty men, honey?” Rosalind said, frowning.

“They came to our house and banged on the windows and shouted and took pictures,” Ella said solemnly.

“And you cut your neck during all this, Charlie?” Rosalind asked, getting hold of the wrong end of the stick-deliberately, I’m sure.

“No,” I said, twisting in my seat so I could answer her directly. “It’s an old scar-from years ago. That just happened to be the first time Ella had seen it.”

“But-”

“How about a milk shake?” Simone interrupted quickly “Would you like that, Ella?”

Ella nodded vigorously and treated her mother to a dazzling smile, all mention of scars and paparazzi instantly forgotten.

“OK, sweetie. And what flavor would you like?”

Ella gave her a cunning little sideways look.

“Goo’berry” she said.

In the end, in the absence of gooseberry, Ella settled for a strawberry milk shake at the Friendly’s on the main street. It arrived in a huge glass, with at least as much again still in the stainless-steel mixer. I had visions of her being heartily sick, but Simone helped her out, and we carried at least half of it away with us for later. I could see Rosalind eyeing the lidded container with concern for the Range Rover’s immaculate upholstery.

Lucas gave us the guided tour of the town, which was much larger than I’d suspected when we’d driven in the day before. We ended up with a visit to his surplus store in Intervale, about five miles west of North Conway on Route 302. Mind you, sometimes it was hard to tell where one town stopped and another began. New construction was happening all the way along. I think the way buildings were spread out was the most surprising thing to me. There was none of the crammed-in feeling of home. Every business had a huge car park with the snow hunched up at the edges of it. I’d already seen half a dozen pickup trucks with snow-plows attached to the front, and Lucas told us that you weren’t allowed to park overnight on the streets so they could keep them clear.

The surplus business was housed in a long blockwork building, timbered along the front with a covered veranda and a railing for tying up your horse. A World War II military Jeep was parked on the snow-covered pitched roof at a jaunty angle, just in case you missed the signs. By the double entrance doors was an ashtray made out of a hollowed-out artillery shell and a full-size mannequin dressed as a World War II paratrooper.

Lucas drove round to the side of the building, past great piles of dirty snow, where I assumed the staff normally parked. There were a couple of hulking full-size pickups there, but they were dwarfed by a Hummer Hi, the civilian version of the U.S. military vehicle, in metallic sand like it had just been transported there from the deserts of the Middle East. Loaded with extras, the Hi must have cost at least a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. I didn’t need to hear the hiss of Lucas’s indrawn breath to guess who the vehicle belonged to.

“Damn,” he muttered, braking to a halt in the middle of the cracked concrete. “I didn’t think Felix would be here today” He glanced at Si-mone’s white face in the rearview mirror. “Sorry, honey I know you and he didn’t hit it off yesterday. We can come back another time or-”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Simone said quickly ‘And I’d like to see the store.”

I twisted in my seat. “Are you sure about this?”

She nodded. “I can’t keep running away from the guy, can I?” she said. “Not while he’s a sort of partner. We’ve got to see him again sometime.”

Lucas stretched a hand out behind him and Simone reached for it, giving his fingers a quick squeeze. I checked Rosalind’s face, but she was determinedly fussing with the collar of Ella’s coat.

“OK,” I said, “but if he makes any threatening moves towards you, or Ella, we’re leaving. OK?” I stared at Rosalind until she shifted uncomfortably and was forced to meet my eyes. “I know he’s involved in your business, and I don’t want to interfere with that. Don’t put me in a position where I might have to.”

“Felix isn’t a bad guy once you get to know him,” Lucas said.

“Yes, I was telling Charlie earlier that he can be a little abrupt,” Rosalind said quickly, “but we owe him because he helped us out by making such an investment in the store.”

For a moment Lucas was silent before he smiled to Simone’s reflection in the rearview mirror again and nodded. “That’s right,” he said. “But hopefully not for much longer.”

Despite the Lucases’ attempts at reassurance, I went through the little entrance lobby and into the store as though it was a semihostile environment, keeping close to Simone, who was carrying Ella.

Inside, the building-like North Conway itself-was far bigger than the exterior suggested. It was laid out like a small department store, with equipment round the outside edges and clothing on long racks in the center. I’ve spent some time around army kit, at one time or another, and even I had to admit Lucas’s stock looked good-quality gear, the whole place smart and well organized.