Chapter 7

A few quick, light, steps to his left brought Gavin to a point opposite the door that Rose had entered that afternoon. He had already decided to bypass the ground-floor level, sure that if there was an alarm system then it would be most concentrated there. He scanned the balcony that ran around the upper level of the house and was confident he could scale one of the many Greek style pillars that were a feature of the building.

"Is it likely that the French windows will be alarmed if there's someone in the room? Surely that would be unlikely?"

Crouching slightly, he took one last look all around himself to make sure there were no obvious threats then launched himself forward in a sprint. At the last minute he had changed his mind and now used his powerful legs to drive him forward and then spring upwards so that he was hanging from the lip of the upper balcony. With the strength honed from years of swimming and martial arts, he easily hoisted himself upwards until he could swing his right leg up onto the ledge and then pull up the rest of his body. Gavin was delighted to find he wasn't even breathing heavily, and he slipped over the decorative balcony and dropped close to the wall by the side of the curtained French windows.

The light from inside was a potential problem. as he wasn't completely hidden now, but he thought it unlikely he would be discovered. Searching for any chink in the curtains, he found one and peered through it into the room beyond. This was clearly Rose's bedroom and he saw that she had already changed into her nightwear. She was sitting in front of an ornate dressing table, brushing out her long black hair with a silver brush.

Gavin waited a few more minutes to try to make sure that Rose was alone. Satisfied, he rose and tested the handle on the French windows. Finding the handle turned noiselessly, he slipped inside and quickly scanned the room. Good, Rose was alone.

There was only an instant to decide how he was going to approach Rose without alarming her and having her scream for assistance. Gavin knew he couldn't creep up behind her, as she would immediately see him in the mirror of the dressing table. He chose instead to walk silently over to a comfortable looking chair and pulled his bag from his back before sitting down.

His reasoning was that a sitting figure would perhaps be seen as less threatening than a standing one. Trying to appear relaxed, he was nonetheless coiled, ready to escape back the way he had come if Rose reacted badly. Gavin found it somehow relaxing watching her pull the silver brush through her hair time and time again and forced himself to remain alert. At last she put the brush down and stood, before turning.

It seemed to take her a few moments to realise that there was someone sitting in her chair and when she did, she gasped.

"Don't be afraid," Gavin tried to re-assure her. It was important for him to cut through any panic, he knew and the next words he used were calculated to grab her attention. "I've brought a message from Johnny."

The use of Johnny's name was possibly the only thing that could have cut off the scream that had been gathering in Rose's throat. She had actually gathered in the breath to do just that and her shoulders and upper body had risen upwards with the breath — in preparation for the explosive scream that now died before it began.

"Who are you?" Rose asked, fear still evident in her voice.

"I promise you I mean you no harm. Like I said, I've brought a message from Johnny."

Rose had calmed down enough to realise that the intruder was remaining seated in a non-threatening way. There was something about him, something about the relaxed posture he had that, incredibly, began to make her feel more comfortable.

"There are armed guards outside. One scream from me and they'll come running," she said, watching his reaction to the threat.

"Yes, I had to pass them on the way in so I know you're telling the truth. I must admit I'm a little puzzled at such a show of force though — even for a house of this size. What are you protecting?" Gavin asked.

To his surprise, Rose grunted in what he could only describe as anger.

"It's not so much what they are keeping out as what they are keeping in," Rose said cryptically. "I don't know who you are, but I do know that Johnny is dead, so it's unlikely that you have any message from him. Is this another of Osvaldo's cruel tricks?" she added.

"Oh, so you know that he's dead. Can I just say that I'm sorry for your loss," Gavin said quietly, trying to convey respect.

"For a thief who comes in the night you're extremely polite, I'll give you that," Rose said, relaxing yet further and finding herself actually enjoying the exchange.

"My apologies ma'am. I am in rather a hurry and had to take a direct route to make sure I was able to see you. Normally I'd take this ski-mask off in the presence of a lady, but there is a good reason to keep it on," Gavin replied.

"Oh spare me such gallantry — a lady no less! You sound like one of those damned Knights and I've about had my fill of them for this lifetime," Rose snorted. "What reason have you got for hiding your face from me? If your reason for breaking in here is simply to pass on a message, why is your identity so important?"

"You already know that your husband is dead. I was kneeling by his side when he drew his last breath and the police may think that I killed him," Gavin admitted candidly. "It wouldn't be a good idea for you to be able to identify me at a later date."

"And why should I believe that you aren't the one who killed Johnny?" Rose asked. Her question was half-hearted, as she was already sure who was responsible for her husband's death.

Gavin read her body language and intuitively came to the conclusion that Rose knew more than she had let on so far.

"I think you know who was responsible for his death," he said. "Now, I'm sorry to appear rude, but I've travelled quite a way to carry out Mr Sinclair's last wishes. If you don't mind, I'd like to pass on his message and then I can leave you in peace."

Rose sank to sit on the edge of her bed, perhaps having an insight that she didn't want to be standing on her feet for what she was about to hear.

Gavin paused for a moment to dredge up the exact words that Johnny Sinclair had said as he used up his last few breaths.

"There was nothing I could do for him by the time I stumbled across him. I'm sorry about that. He literally used up the last ounce of strength he had to give me this message — he knew he was dying, knew that I was his last chance of getting a message to you. I'm going to try to remember the exact words, I'm sorry but this is going to be painful for you.

"He said they'd let him out of prison down in 'Frisco. For ten long years he'd paid for what he'd done. He was trying to get back to Louisiana, to see you and to get to know his son.

"His exact words to me were: 'Give my love to Rose please won't you mister. Give her all my money; tell her to buy some pretty clothes. Tell my boy that daddy's so proud of him and don't forget to give my love to Rose."

Gavin's words seemed almost like a physical blow to the woman. He saw her jerk as if struck in the chest and her hands shot to her mouth as if to stifle a gasp of pain.

"If you could have seen the look in his eyes when he said those words, those final words, you'd be in no doubt about how much he loved you both," Gavin now added. "Even that close to death there was a light burning fiercely in his eyes, unmistakably the light of love."

A single tear escaped from Rose's eye and rolled down her cheek. Gavin got the impression that his words had somehow given her strength though and she held the tears back with considerable effort.

"Thank you, that means more to me than you can imagine," she managed to get out. "The way you describe it is almost poetic, romantic even, worthy of Johnny at his best, even in death."

"There's more," Gavin said. He reached into his bag and brought out the money, placing it on the dainty little table that sat beside his chair. "This is the money he asked me to give to you. From what I can gather, he got the money from a pawn shop ten years ago, before he ended up in prison."

Rose couldn't stop the tears this time and Gavin had to pause until she had recovered herself a little.

"This is what he pawned to get the money," he said next, reaching into the bag to pull out the jewel case. He went to lay the case down next to the money, but Rose was suddenly on her feet and standing in front of him. She held out her hands, clearly indicating that Gavin should hand the case over. He could see that she was shaking, as he laid the case gently down in her open palms.

Rose returned to the bed and then flicked the catches on the case open before lifting the lid. Her breath caught in her throat again as she stared at the necklace for several long minutes before raising her eyes to meet Gavin's again.

"He left to try to sell this so we would have money to buy food. He knew we were being watched and that he wouldn't be able to sell it in Louisiana. We thought it would be okay if he could get out of the state, but I never expected him to have to go all the way to California."

She stopped and looked at the necklace again and then across at the stacks of dollar bills. A puzzled expression appeared on her face as she belatedly realised that Gavin's story didn't add up.

"You said he pawned the necklace to get the money, so how is it that you have both?" she asked.

Gavin blushed behind the ski-mask.

"I used the money he have me to redeem the necklace. This money is mine, but I promised him I'd give you the money, not the necklace," he replied.

"Ah, a man of real honour. I apologise for putting you in the same bracket as the Knights earlier, you are clearly far above them in terms of your actions. Johnny was lucky to have found you when he needed someone most," Rose said.

Gavin blushed again.

"There's one last thing that I've got that you should have. In the course of trying to find you, I met up with Sherry Gibbs in Monroe. She told me a little of your story and told me that letters had arrived for you after you left the apartment there."

Gavin saw that Sherry's name had sparked another look of surprise from Rose, as he reached into the bag one last time to withdraw the little bundle of letters.

"Sherry asked me to make sure that you got these too."

Rose placed the jewel case down on the bed and crossed to take the letters from him.

"They're from Johnny," she whispered. All of her attention was suddenly on the scraps of paper in her hands, as if Gavin no longer existed. "This is Johnny's handwriting."

"Sherry said they arrived about six months after you left the apartment. I think he must have written them from prison," Gavin explained.

As he watched, she tentatively opened the first letter and read through the tears that were streaming down her face. She held the letter briefly to her chest and then set it aside so she could open the next.

By now Gavin was becoming uncomfortable with the silence that had descended on the room. He could feel something heavy in the air, something desolate and depressing, as he watched this beautiful woman all but disintegrate before his eyes. At last she had read them all and she set the last one aside.

"All these years I wondered what had happened to him. I knew that he loved me, that he would never abandon Donald and I, but I had no idea what he was going through," she said sadly.

Rose gestured towards the letters and it was clear that she was indicating that Gavin could read them. He shook his head, feeling that they were probably too personal.