The Girl in White Pajamas (12 page)

The slow moving motorcycles started the procession just as the coffin was placed in the hearse. To speed things along, there would be no marching cops. One hundred motorcycles with lights flashing would lead the hearse and family limo. A line of three hundred police cars with light bars flashing would follow the limousine.

Pedestrians, some on their way to work, some senior citizens, crossed themselves or tipped their hats, as they stopped to witness the sad procession. They remembered Officer Bud and his wit as he shared the local traffic reports with them back in a simpler, gentler time.

After the service, which was too brief for Elizabeth McGruder’s liking, but more than long enough for everyone else’s, the group filed out of the two-hundred-year- old church ready to start the last leg of the journey to Newton and the family mausoleum.

The funeral procession started down Tremont Street on its way to the Mass Turnpike.

As they drove into the cemetery in Newton, Bogie’s body stiffened and Isabella sensed this. She squeezed his hand. “What’s the matter, Da-dee?”

“Nothing,” Bogie said softly before the corner of his mouth moved into his version of a smile.

They approached the white mausoleum with its pitched roof and Roman columns, and Bogie saw that the metal doors were again open to welcome another McGruder. Little Jennifer was the first McGruder placed in that intimidating crypt. Baxter, Olga and baby Barbara followed her. And now Robert ‘Bud’ McGruder would join the family. The coffin was placed outside the mausoleum for the last good-by as the bagpipers played Amazing Grace.

Bogie and Isabella were the last family members to walk to the coffin and touch it. As the child lifted her hand, an ear-piercing scream arose from behind them. Jeannie McGruder moved toward the group with a grotesque, twisted expression on her face before she collapsed.

Cemetery personnel stood off to the side ready to move in after the family departed. They would use a fork lift or any other equipment necessary to get the coffin secured inside the space in a manner that was efficient but not esthetically pleasing to the bereaved.

As the family stood in the parlor eating finger sandwiches washed down with lemonade, coffee or tea, Bogie glanced at his watch while Isabella told the adults about her books. She dazzled them with stories of Winnie-the-Pooh, Eeyore and Piglet. When her audience was warmed up, she told them tales of Cinderella and Snow White. For her finale, Isabella sang:

Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh

Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff

He’s Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh

Willy nilly silly old bear…

Elizabeth McGruder cried unashamedly and reached out to touch the little girl. The doorbell rang and James reluctantly answered it. Matt and Maureen MacDonald entered the parlor and the light and joy left the room. Giving quick nods to the others, Matt glanced at Isabella then walked directly to Elizabeth McGruder. “I am so sorry we couldn’t attend the burial this morning. We had a family emergency.” When Elizabeth made a dismissive gesture, Matt added, “If there’s anything we can do for you.”

“I would have thought that at the very least Christopher would have been at the funeral.”

Without invitation Matt sat down next to Elizabeth and took her hand. He gestured for his wife to sit in the chair next to his. Matt looked at Elizabeth and said in a mournful tone, “If he could, he would be here right now. He sends his condolences to you and appreciation for all your kindness…and Bud’s.” As Matt continued his speech, the doorbell rang again. James eagerly answered it this time.

The enormous black man stood in the doorway smiling. James smiled and shook his hand. “It’s good to see you, Mr. Darryl.”

Darryl Jones nodded. “I understand you have a visitor,” Darryl said expectantly.

James whispered, “Unfortunately, we have others as well.” He thought for a moment then said, “Go to the kitchen, and I’ll have Bogie bring her there.”

When James returned to the parlor, he motioned with his head for Bogie to move over to him. He then whispered, “Mr. Darryl is here. I believe he wants to meet Isabella.”

Bogie nodded, walked to the other side of the room where Isabella had started to tell Amanda and Randy about Fluffy. As they moved into the hallway, Bogie stopped and bent down. “There’s somebody here to meet you. He’s a very special person. He’s like a father to me. I call him Pop, your sister Amanda calls him Pop Pop.”

When Isabella entered the kitchen, she was greeted by the large, bald black man. He grinned at her. She studied him, smiled and put out her hand. “Hello, Pop Pop. I’m Isabella.” Her small hand disappeared between his as he looked into her large blue eyes. “I’ve waited a long time to meet you, Isabella.”

Bogie checked his watch. “Pop, where’s Rose parked?”

Without moving his gaze away from Isabella, Darryl said, “Two blocks down toward Arlington.”

“Thanks, Pop. Isabella, I want you to stay right here in the kitchen with Pop Pop and Trudie and James while I carry some suitcases outside.”

When he saw the frightened look on Isabella’s face, he took off his watch and put it on the table. “I won’t be longer than twenty minutes.” He moved his finger to the ‘4’ position.

Isabella looked from the watch to him and nodded. He kissed the top of her head and walked into the hallway where Randy was already waiting for him. They hurried up the stairs and moved quickly toward Ann’s room. Each grabbed one large and one small suitcase until Randy turned and said, “I could take the two big ones.”

Bogie gave him one of his deadly stares. “You wish!”

As they rushed down the stairs, James opened the front door. The two men almost ran down Beacon Street until they spotted the black Escalade with Rose in the driver’s seat. Bogie opened the back and they tossed the luggage in next to Amanda and Randy’s suitcases. Rose called out, “All set?”

Bogie walked to the driver’s door and said, “We were until we got a surprise visit from Matt MacDonald and his wife.”

Rose’s mouth formed into an ‘O’ but she said nothing.

Bogie and Randy quickly moved back to the house. As they were halfway up the stairs, a black limousine pulled up and double parked in front of the McGruder brownstone. They continued up the stairs, and James opened the door as if he’d been expecting them. James lifted an eyebrow and looked at Bogie when he saw the limousine. Bogie moved in close and whispered to him.

James appeared in the parlor holding two black coats. “Mrs. McGruder, Miss Ann, your limousine is here.”

Ann’s hands visibly trembled. Elizabeth McGruder looked up from her conversation with Matt in stunned surprise. Her only word was, “What?!”

James helped the ladies with their coats then turned to Matt. “Sir, if you would please escort Mrs. McGruder.”

Matt only nodded not knowing what to say.

Amanda walked to Ann and took her hand. “We’ll walk out with you, Aunt Annie.”

Maureen MacDonald watched the events in silence.

When the limousine drove away with Elizabeth, Ann, Amanda and Randy as passengers, Matt returned to the house where Bogie and Maureen MacDonald sat and watched as Isabella displayed her father’s black watch on her upper arm.

Without preamble, Bogie stood up and said, “Now that the others are gone, I’m sure you’ll want to be leaving.”

Maureen jumped up and stood next to her husband who hadn’t had a chance to return to his seat. Matt glared at Bogie. “What’s going on here?”

“Nothing’s going on here,” Bogie answered. “Absolutely nothing! The party’s over!”

Matt’s face turned bright red and his nostrils flared. He pointed one of his beefy fingers at Bogie and opened his mouth.

Before Matt could speak, Darryl Jones walked into the room. “Hello, Matt,” he said in his deep baritone voice.

Matt grabbed his wife’s arm and headed for the door without speaking. As James started to close the door behind them, he watched Maureen push Matt’s hand away. She said, “You’ve humiliated me for the last time, you prick! I don’t know what kind of bullshit stories you’ve been feeding that old lady, but my son’s sitting in jail waiting for us to bail him out. She was going to write you a check, wasn’t she!? I’m going to my father!”

When Matt tried to touch her, she gave him a deadly look. “I’ll go to him and eat shit so my son can get out of jail. And if I ever get another call from the bank mentioning the word ‘foreclosure’, I’ll be on the phone with my father so fast you’ll never know what hit you. You can explain to him how a house he paid cash for is mortgaged to the teeth—before he sends you for a swim in the Charles River!”

Although enraged, Matt stood in place as Maureen Donahue MacDonald stomped down the street. He was aware that the police reported there was no longer any crime, no Mafia stronghold in Southie. Whitey Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang were long disbanded, but everyone in the area knew Michael Donahue was the ‘go to’ guy if something needed fixing or breaking. He had never been happy with his daughter Maureen’s marriage and wouldn’t mind flushing that turd of a husband down a toilet. Donahue mentioned that to Matt a few times at family get-togethers.

Bogie walked out the front door, crossed his arms and stood looking down the steps. Matt MacDonald looked up. “What the fuck are you looking at?” Matt spit out.

With all the innocence he could muster, Bogie said, “I was just wondering how the investigation into my brother’s murder is coming along.”

“None of your fuck’n business,” Matt yelled as he rapidly moved down the street.

When Bogie came back in the living room, he watched as Isabella sat next to Darryl talking to him and nodding. He smiled thinking that she looked like a talking doll next to the huge man. James and Trudie sat there watching them. Bogie wondered if they’d ever sat in the parlor before or if this was something they did when the family was gone. Bogie sighed. “Well, she’s gone! After the competency hearing, they’ll be going straight to the airport. I’ll drop off their luggage and see them off, but I’m not expecting Herself to be any too happy.”

James cleared his throat then asked, “Bogie, what about us? What will become of us now?”

“Have you considered retirement? Do they have a retirement plan in place for you?”

James and Trudie stared at Bogie until James said, “We are retired. Miss Ann explained to us how Elizabeth paid into Social Security all those years so we could retire. They’ve let us live here and have us help out around the house.”

Bogie stared at them then said, “
You
paid into Social Security! This is your retirement package after all those years?!”

The old couple nodded.

“And you get to help out around here so you can sleep in that crappy room up on the—”

“Bogie!” Darryl said sharply. He pointed down to the small girl who was staring at her father.

Bogie looked at her and winked. She smiled. He lowered his voice then said, “You do know that Lincoln freed the slaves, don’t you?”

Trudie and James smiled at him and shook their heads. “You were always such a card!” James said.

Glancing at Isabella, Bogie said, “We’ll discuss this another time. But for now, you stay here. You have the run of the house. She’s not coming back. When bills come in, just put them aside, and I’ll get them to Ann. What about groceries and expenses?”

“They’re delivered,” James offered. “Everything’s delivered, even—medications. Bills get paid at the end of the month.”

Bogie nodded. “Order whatever you want or need. I’ll make sure Ann gets the bills and pays them. I don’t know what she’s going to do about this house, but we’ll make sure you have a decent place to live, better than,” he said pointing at the ceiling. Bogie reached out his hand, palm up, in front of Isabella and she took the large black watch off her arm and handed it him. He checked the time as he put it back on his wrist. “Time to move out!”

“Where are we going, Da-dee?” she asked then yawned.

“To the airport.” He turned to the old couple. “I’ll be back in a few days. If you need anything before then, you have my number.”

As Darryl and Bogie walked toward the Escalade, Bogie turned to the older man. “I can carry her.”

Darryl laughed. “She’s light as a feather, like a baby doll.” He looked at Isabella as she fought to keep her eyes open. “I always knew her eyes were the same color as yours, but I never realized she had the same way of looking at people. That stare! Like she’s analyzing them! You’ll never need a DNA test with this one,” Darryl said referring to the DNA test Bogie had done when Amanda was five years old. It didn’t matter at that point, but he just wanted to know. Bogie was relieved to learn that even though his ex-wife, Madeline, had slept with scores of men, he was Amanda’s biological father.

When Darryl unlocked the Escalade, he opened the back door and placed Isabella in her new booster seat. She smiled as he strapped her in. “Thank you, Pop Pop,” she said softly as her head moved to the side to fall asleep.

Darryl grinned. “Are you driving or am I?”

“You! I’ll have to help Randy get all those suitcases checked in. I noticed Mandie and Randy’s luggage was already here.”

Darryl nodded.

“Who got to carry Amanda’s two hundred pound suitcase to the car?”

Darryl glanced over at him. “Randy put the suitcases in the back. He didn’t seem to have any problem with them.”

Bogie’s mouth tightened as he considered this. “Either he’s much stronger than I thought, or she’s up to something!”

Rather than commenting, Darryl glanced back at the sleeping child as he turned onto New Chardon Street. As they merged onto Route 1A North, Darryl asked, “Have you spoken to Rose about MacDonald?”

“Are you kidding? Do you know how many times I’ve tried? She gets nastier every time I bring it up. He’s married and an asshole! She sure knows how to pick ‘em!”

“Rose does what Rose does best, whatever the hell she wants to. It’s too bad. A long time ago, I almost thought the two of you…well, you were buddies.”

“We still are. She’s my best friend.”

“But you never got, you know, involved. Is it the race thing?”

“You’re getting soft in the head in your old age. I love Rose, she’s like my sister. I think of Rose the same way as I do Annie. If we never got involved it’s your fault. You always treated me like a son…more than
he
ever did.”

“And the fight continues. The fighting McGruders. You two were like a cat and dog tied in a sack. He was a horse’s ass sometimes, but, Bogie, you really knew how to push his buttons.” Darryl shook his head and laughed. “You really showed
him
your ass when you joined the Army and quit school on your eighteenth birthday. I truly thought Baxter was going to have a coronary. He bragged all the time about his kid being in Boston Latin and what a scholar he was, and then you pulled that.”

“When I went to him and told him I needed money to apply to colleges, he told me I’d better get a full scholarship because he wasn’t paying a dime for my education; and that when I turned eighteen, I was on my own. I was just following his directive.”

Darryl laughed. “Yeah, and the Army. He was a Navy man, hated the Army. You know I would have—”

“Don’t even go there, Pop! You had a kid of your own and had just buried your wife. Hey, the Army was good enough for you, it was good enough for me. They made sure I finished high school and a lot more. They educated me and extracted many pounds of flesh for the honor. You know, Pop, I never could figure that out—the two of you as partners. You were like night and day.”

Darryl laughed. “Salt and pepper, that’s what they called us. Don’t forget ‘back in the day’ the job was for white men. When the government forced the police department to hire minorities, some of the good old boys would have none of it. Three times in a row I got partnered up with a white guy. I’d show up, they’d put in their papers and pull the pin. It was embarrassing. Some of the brothers started calling me ‘Tin and Gun’. They claimed that when I partnered up with a white guy, he’d go to the chief and say, ‘Here’s your tin and gun, I’m all done!’ They thought the brass was pairing me up with guys they wanted to get rid of, and it worked. They retired years earlier than they would have rather than work with me. Baxter and I had a marriage of convenience. He was
persona non grata
with many of the guys, so we got together by default.”