“The doctors say ye might.” I tell her everything Dr. Waterstone explained to us. I ask Da to fetch the doctor back and he tells her as well. There is much examination of test results and graphs and in the end, when she’s exhausted, my mother kisses Bella’s cheek and my father squeezes her hand.
“We’ll see ye back at home,” Mum promises, winking at me. “Though I’m sure this one will be hovering over ye like a ghoul.”
“Nice, Mum. Good imagery.”
She laughs, kissing me goodnight and then it’s just us in Bella’s hospital bed. She dinnae let go of me, even though I’m smelling like a dumpster.
Dr. Waterstone is right. By the time I take Bella home the next day, she’s hearing bits and pieces. Not much. But it is something.
Family trickles in, just a couple of people at a time. Surprisingly, the first person Bella demanded to see was Xenia.
“Tell me ye got those feckers.” Her bruised face is set and angry.
Xenia’s face lights up with an unholy joy. “Oh, girl. Yes. Yes, we did. Not only did I divert all the funds the patients paid for the surgery, I found a back way into the rest of Anselm’s board of directors holdings and drained all their money, too. Those fuckers knew exactly what was happening. And if they didn’t, they should have.”
She glances at me, “The family took a good chunk of the money, which is reasonable and you should see the bonus the Chieftain gave me and Georges!”
“Ye deserve every penny,” I assure her, then drop my head in defeat. “And my Maserati.”
“Yes!”Xenia shouted, then slapped her hand over her mouth in horror. “Oh shit I’m sorry, Arabella. Fuck!”
“No worries, aye? It’s nice to hear anything. Tell me the rest, you evil genius.”
“Okay, so after diverting two hundred million pounds into the MacTavish coffers, I re-routed the rest of the money from Anselm’s assholes into variouslegitimateorgan donation programs and set aside fifty million pounds. I thought you might like to decide whether you want it to go to research for hearing loss or a charity for assistive devices.”
“Dinnae worry about the Wallace School,” I say, “the Lady Elspeth is very interested and has taken it on as her pet project and my God have mercy on your Headmaster’s soul.”
Bella’s face is rapturous. “Oh, I have alist.So many places to send that money.”
My wife’s next visit request is for my Da and Uncle Cormac.
“Lass, ye might have won the prize for the toughest of the MacTavishes, but please dinnae feel like ye have to keep that up,” Da says.
“Is there a trophy or a plaque that comes with that?” She looks intrigued.
“I’m sure we can put something together,” Da promises.“Perhaps on one of those giant chains of office.”
“Chieftain, I wanted to ask-”
“Call me Uncle Cormac, please.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I still feel like my Da whenever someone calls me that outside of official duty.”
“Thank ye, Uncle Cormac. I wanted to ask ye about the Costa Cartel. Have ye moved against them yet?”
“No. We’re tracking their ships in the Atlantic. They’ll try storming us at our ports on the coast near Edinburgh, but they dinnae have the manpower. They just dinnae know that yet.” His grin is like a shark’s, too wide and very alarming.
She pulls out a business card from her bedside table drawer. “I know ye sometimes involve law enforcement, aye?”
Uncle Cormac shrugs. “We try to maintain a good relationship with the local constabulary when it’s useful.”
“Detective Christie, she was on my assault case. I know ye had her pulled off, and I understand why. I have to say… she’s one of the good ones. She told me that if I wasn’t here under my own free will, she’d help me get away. She just wanted me to be safe.”
“Sheisa good one,” he agreed.
“I dinnae suppose ye could bring her in on this Costa business? Tip her off, perhaps?” Bella holds out the card hopefully, and with a laugh, Da takes it.
“We could make a phone call or two at the right juncture, brother. Don’t ye think?”
“We could,” Uncle Cormac agrees. He stands to leave, taking Bella’s hand. “Ye have a gift. A superpower, as Logan said. No matter what happens with your hearing, your superpower is very much in place, aye? Ye are important to this family.” Her eyes fill with tears and he backs away. “No lass, no tears! Tears are my Kryptonite!”
