Whispers of Refuge Box Set

CHAPTER 38

CHAPTER 38

Juliette’s nose reminded her it was Saturday even before she opened her eyes. Saturday brunch. The family tradition began before the Sterns moved to Yanji and continued after nearly everyone left. Eve usually spent an hour or more getting everything ready. Roger would join them before putting in a half day at the office. Juliette breathed in the scent of garlic and onions, imagined the warmth from the oven steaming all the way up the stairs, and thought she heard bacon sizzling.

She took her time getting dressed, enjoying the slow, lazy feel of the day. She couldn’t remember the last time she slept in so late. She thought of her friends back in the States who held subscription boxes at the opera and pitied Juliette and her “backward” existence overseas. Did any of them wake up to homemade feasts like these? Juliette’s smug smile reversed into a frown, and she remembered Eve. What had she been doing last night in Kennedy’s clothes? Juliette suspected some of her housekeeper’s erratic behavior lately was because of Mee-Kyong. Was Eve jealous she didn’t have Juliette’s full attention anymore? Or did having Mee-Kyong here remind Eve too much about working in the hotel district? Whatever it was, Juliette knew she’d have to bring it up.

Today.

After a quick make-up job, Juliette headed downstairs toward the yeasty smell of hot rolls and the fresh-roast coffee Roger loved. The house was surprisingly quiet for this late in the morning. Juliette walked into the kitchen and stopped. Roger stood over the stove, a spatula carefully poised over bubbling batter. “Good morning, Baby Cakes.”

Juliette immediately noticed the way Roger focused on her forehead, not her eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Making breakfast.” He turned back to the stovetop and flipped over a perfectly golden pancake.

She couldn’t remember the last time she saw her husband cook. “Where’s Eve?”

“Gone.”

Juliette didn’t say anything. Roger passed her a scribbled note. “She left this downstairs.”

She reached out for the paper tentatively, skimming Eve’s scrawled message before placing it on the counter. “Why would she do something so rash?” Juliette asked.

“I have a pretty good idea.” He told her about his conversation with Benjamin.

“And so she just left?”

Roger shrugged. “Would you want to keep on living here after something like that?”

Juliette didn’t say anything. She thought about her own past, the lengths she went to after she met Roger to erase all those reminders. “Does Benjamin know?”

Roger poured more batter onto the griddle. “I haven’t seen him yet. He was up pretty late, I’m guessing.”

“Sounds like we all were.” Juliette took out a pitcher and mixed some lemonade. “Mee-Kyong hasn’t come downstairs yet, either?”

Roger sampled a bit of bacon. “Nope. Looks like it’s just the two of us.”

Juliette laid her head on her husband’s shoulder. “I can think of worse ways to start the weekend.” She sensed her husband’s body tense and looked to the hallway. Mee-Kyong was standing in the entryway, eyeing them both with a small smirk. “Good morning,” Juliette squeaked. She and Roger bounced away from each other, like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Mee-Kyong furrowed her brow. “What’s going on?”

Juliette and Roger shared a quick glance. “We’ll be doing the cooking for the next few days,” Roger answered. Mee-Kyong raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask any more questions.

“Would you like some lemonade?” Juliette reached to the cupboard to pull down a glass. “Breakfast is just about ready.”

***

Benjamin woke up to a tight spasm in his back. He groaned to himself and reached for his pillow. Where was it? He sat up, hunched over to ease the tension in his lumbar region, and realized he wasn’t in his own bed. What had happened?

Eve. He groaned once. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have let himself ... No. He shook his head. Nothing happened. He was tempted, but he remembered sending her away. He had sent her away, hadn’t he? His heart caught somewhere near his throat. He looked around. No, this definitely wasn’t Eve’s room. Benjamin let out his breath.

Glancing around the den, he recalled his conversation with Mee-Kyong. How late had they stayed up? He was relieved to note she wasn’t still in here. He got up to stretch his back some more. Judging by the amount of sunlight, he had overslept by several hours. He smelled bacon coming from the kitchen downstairs, and his mouth watered. Still, he hesitated. He didn’t want to go down and face Eve. He couldn’t be sure, but he had a pretty good feeling he had used more force than necessary when he sent her away. Was she injured? Bruised? He squeezed his eyes tight as an unwelcome heaviness seeped into the empty space in his stomach.

He squatted down on the ground and started his morning push-ups — a habit from his special military training he had never outgrown. He focused on his breathing and wondered what would have happened to him if he hadn’t met the Sterns. Would he have tried to go back to see his family? He thought about the toothless old man who hired him to track down an illegal immigrant and wondered if he would have supported himself by turning in his own countrymen. Twenty minutes later, his muscles amply warmed up, Benjamin gave his body one final stretch and headed downstairs. He had hidden in the den long enough.

***

It was one of the quietest meals Mee-Kyong could remember having at the Sterns’. Benjamin kept his face to his plate and was so bent over he looked like he was impersonating a boulder. Mr. Stern munched one bacon strip after another, while Mrs. Stern poked her plate with her fork. She would look around every now and then to steal a glance at Benjamin, her eyes full of questions and compassion, and open her mouth only to fill it with another small bite of eggs.

“Well.” Mrs. Stern punctuated the word as if it were a sentence in and of itself. “I guess we’ve had enough pancakes. I’ll go see if the rolls are ready.”

While she was out, Mee-Kyong glanced over at Benjamin. Their late-night conversation in the den was by far the longest they had shared together, but if that meant anything to him, he only showed it by shoveling more pancakes into his mouth.

Mrs. Stern returned and dumped a bun on each of their plates. “I’m sorry we don’t have any extra butter. I’ll go get some from the market later today.” She sat and exchanged a quick glance with her husband. “So.” Mrs. Stern wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin embroidered with tiny purple flowers and looked directly at Mee-Kyong. “Tomorrow’s a big day.”

Mee-Kyong smiled and took a sip of lemonade. She reminded herself that if she went through the initiation tomorrow, she could enjoy hot brunches like this every Saturday for at least the next year.

Mrs. Stern leaned forward in her chair. “Are you nervous?”

Benjamin coughed from his corner of the table, the first sound Mee-Kyong heard him make all morning. “Just a little,” she answered and returned Benjamin’s raised eyebrows with a defiant tilt of her chin.

Mrs. Stern cleared her throat. “Well, after we eat, we’ll go upstairs together and make sure Kennedy’s old bathing suit fits you. Sound all right?”

Mee-Kyong fabricated an enthusiastic nod.

Benjamin scooted his chair back noisily. “Thank you for breakfast,” he mumbled, his mouth still stuffed with hot roll. All their gazes followed him as he sulked away from the table, turned down the hallway, and slammed the door to his room.

***

Eve thought she heard a woman’s voice on the other side of the door. “Come on, Tiger,” she yelled. “Open up.” She heard a series of rustles, accompanied by a suppressed giggle. Eve had been out all night getting everything ready. She didn’t have time for games. The door swung open just as she was about to throw her shoulder against it.

Tiger stood there in shorts and an undershirt, his hair disheveled and his cheeks flushed. Eve regained her balance. Had he been drinking already? She peeked around the corner. “Is someone else in here?”

He leaned against the doorframe and smirked. “What are you talking about, sugar?”

She walked in and looked around. “I thought I heard someone.”

He grabbed her wrist and brushed her cheek with the back of one finger. “You might need to get your ears checked. Let me give you an examination.”

“That’s not why I’m here.” She clutched her handbag, shoved him aside, and then strode to the small closet door.

He jumped in front of her and put both hands on her shoulders. “You look tense, baby. You tired? I wasn’t expecting you today.”

She glanced at the closet and crossed her arms. “Yeah, I can see that.”

His face grew red, and his eyes widened imploringly. “Come on, sugar. Let me ...”

Eve kicked the door in. A woman shrieked and covered her face. “Just a friend?” Eve asked with one eyebrow raised. Before Tiger could answer, Eve pulled her revolver from her handbag and fired a single round into the woman’s skull.

Tiger gawked, his arms frozen in front of his body. “You ... She was ... What ...?”

Eve didn’t have time for his babbling. She raised the revolver to his chest and pulled the trigger. Then she grabbed her cell phone from her purse and punched in Ryuk’s number.

“This is Agent Ko. I’m ready.”