“No kidding? Well, I guess that's why you hadn’t called me yet.”
“Yeah.”
“Come on, let's get you inside,” he insisted.
He helped me inside and took me to my bedroom.
“Can you get my phone, man it's—”
“Not yet. I'll get you into bed and get the drip set up, and then I'll bring it to you.”
“I need to pick up my daughter—”
“You have a kid?”
“Yeah, she's at the babysitter's. I was supposed to pick her up between eleven and midnight.”
“I'll do that for you, and I'll bring her back here and get her into bed. You'll be sleeping by then and I’ll hang around just for good measure. Just write down the address, call the babysitter quick, and tell her I'm coming so that she doesn't think that I'm some sort of kidnapper or something when I show up.”
“I'll do that. Oh, man, I owe you big time for this, Jimmy.”
“No, you don't. I'm just doing one of the greatest guys I've ever had the privilege of calling my friend a favor. Buy me a beer sometime, and we're square.”
He helped me to get into bed and then hooked up the drip. He also gave me a shot. After that, he went and fetched my phone for me.
“Here ya go,” he said as he handed it to me.
With dismay, I saw there had been a call from Vivienne, and it was now after nine. I immediately tried to call her, but her phone was off. I sighed, called Maggie to explain that Jimmy would be coming to pick up Jane, and then tried to call Vivienne one more time. Her phone was still off, though.
“Do me a favor, Jimmy,” I said. “Look at the house across the road; are the lights still on?”
“Friends of yours?”
“Kinda.”
“Let me check.”
He moved over to the window and peered out.
“No, man, it's all dark. Guess your friend either had an early night, or they're out.”
“Oh. Man, I'm feeling a bit woozy,” I remarked.
“Yeah, that would be the shot I just gave you. It'll numb the pain and help you sleep.”
“Aw, no, man, I didn't need anything like that,” I protested.
“Yeah, you did,” he said. “Now just relax and get some sleep. I'll take care of everything.”
I felt sleep washing over me, and within seconds of me laying my head on the pillow, I was out.
Chapter Nine
Vivienne
Thankfully, Angie was a bit faster than she had thought she would be and I didn't have to wait too long for her. After sulking inside for a while, and having a glass of wine to calm me down a little, I finally heard the honking of the taxi's horn outside. Well, it was almost nine o' clock now, and there had been no word from Everett, not a peep. No calls, no messages, nothing. I couldn't believe he had done this to me, and it was really hard not to cry when I thought about it. Still, at least Angie had been here for me, and the evening hadn't gone totally to waste.
I got my handbag, walked out and locked the house up, and then headed over to the taxi. Angie was waiting for me inside, looking pretty.