Marcy left shortly after her therapy session with Anna Blake since her calendar was empty until later in the day. Dr. Dick remained in session with a patient and had two more lined up back-to-back who insisted on seeing him today. Other than that, it had been a quiet afternoon. After the crazy morning, I appreciated the peace and quiet.
All day, I’d fixated on Ryder.
I wanted to believe that the mystery woman was only his client. But I had a suspicious nature. Besides, what could be so clandestine about seeing an accountant? Unless the accountant wasn’t really an accountant.
And if not, then who was R. J. Ryder and what did he really do for a living?
The jangling telephone snapped me out of my thoughts and back to the present. “Daley & Palmer. This is Becca. How may I help you?”
“Becca. It’s Edna O’Malley. Is Dick there?” Her voice sounded almost giddy.
“He’s with a patient. I mean, a client.” Damn, I had to work harder to get the whole client/patient thing right.
“Oh, I see.” I could hear the disappointment in her voice.
“Is there something I can do?”
“I’ve been released from jail, and I hoped Dick could scoot over here and drive me home. I told my attorney to leave before I realized I’d need transportation.”
“Jack left you alone?”
“No, dear. Not Jack. One of his friends. A criminal defense attorney. A brilliant man. He was able to convince the authorities to drop all charges. Don’t ask me the particulars. All I know is that I’m free.” Her voice practically sang the last word. “But I need a ride home.”
I checked the time. I could go get her, drop her at her place and still be back here before the next patient, damn, the next client, arrived. “Dr. Daley is going to be busy for several hours, but I can come get you,” I volunteered.
“Oh, Becca, that would be marvelous. I’ll watch for your vehicle.”
I gulped. Damn, my Honda was still in the shop. “About that…” Before I could tell her that I didn’t have transportation, she rushed on.
“I don’t think I can stand to stay here another minute. Forget waiting inside. I’m going to go sit outside in the sunlight. Hurry, dear.”
The phone went dead in my ear before I could explain about my car.
I could have called Granddad to come and take me to the jail, but too much time would have elapsed by then.
I could ask to borrow Ryder’s car. No, that wasn’t a good idea either. For many reasons. And that left one choice.
I rapped on the door with more force than I’d intended. The sound reverberated through the empty reception area of the suite.
The door opened a crack.
“What is it, Miss Reynolds?” I swear he hissed the words at me.
“Dr. D., I wouldn’t bother you unless it was an emergency.”
His face paled, and he said something to his client I couldn’t make out. Then he opened the door and slipped out to where I stood. He was careful to shut the door quietly behind him.
“What is it?” He looked around the waiting room like he half-expected to see another client, casters up.
“Oh no, it’s nothing like that,” I hurried to allay his unspoken fears.
“Didn’t I tell you not to interrupt me in session unless something urgent cropped up? This better be good,” he whispered.
“You did, and I think this qualifies. Edna O’Malley just called for you.”
His face displayed a range of emotions in quick succession and his face drained of what little color it had left. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. The police have dropped all charges, and she’s free to go.” I found myself whispering right along with him, although I’m not sure why we were keeping our voices so low.
“That’s wonderful news. But you shouldn’t have brought me out of session for that.” He started to retreat into his office.
I put my hand on his arm and felt it stiffen. Sensing I’d do better without personal contact, I whipped my hand back and said, “Here’s the thing. She’s stuck at the jail and not too happy about it. I kind of promised her that I’d go get her when she found out you were unavailable.” His expression softened when he realized that she had called for him to pick her up.
“You could have just left me a note, Miss Reynolds. And listed it on your timesheet. Something like this is a reasonable excuse for leaving the office. Even though it isn’t Daley & Palmer's business in the strictest sense, Mrs. O’Malley is a friend of the firm. Carry on.”
“I’d love to, Dr. D.” He winced at the nickname, but I suspected he’d given up correcting me. Smart man, since I’m not sure I’d ever remember to call him Dr. Daley. “There’s only one tiny problem though. My car is in the shop.”
He stood there for several seconds doing that rapid eye-blinking thing that drove me crazy.
“So, you offered to pick Edna up but have no method of doing so.”
I nodded yes.
He rubbed his hand over his face. And reached into his pocket and held out his car keys to me. “Please be careful. No speeding. No reckless driving. And bring it back in one piece. I’ve seen the dents in your car.”
I didn’t wait for further orders. Instead, I snagged his keys, grabbed my purse from the drawer and hightailed it out of there.
After a quick and uneventful drive to the jail, Edna and I were on the way to her house.
“I can’t believe Dick loaned you his car. He’s always had a thing for his vehicles. I remember back in college, he had this beautiful metallic blue Mustang. One weekend we drove up to the mountains. It was a beautiful day. On the way home, Dickie looked so sleepy, I offered to drive.” She giggled like a schoolgirl at the memory. “The next thing I know he pulls over at a roadside diner. Dickie got out and came back with a huge Styrofoam cup of black coffee. Even then he’d rather have been wired on caffeine than let me behind the wheel. He must think the world of you, Becca, to let you drive his ‘baby.’”
No, I thought, he must really love you. Because if I’d needed the car for a rush kidney transplant, Dr. Dick would have told me to call a cab. My boss loved Edna O’Malley so much that he’d violate his rules for her. I wondered if that extended to eliminating Robert O’Malley, the man who had neither loved her nor treated her the way a husband should.
We pulled up to Edna’s home and I carefully parked at the curb. I heard sounds coming from behind the house. Voices. An argument.
“That’s my Granddad’s voice!” I yanked open the car door and raced across the lawn with Edna not far behind.
As I rounded the back of the house, there was my not-as-spry-as-he-thought-he-was grandfather dangling from a two-story ladder that leaned against the house.
Dear God!
“Granddad! What are you doing?”
He stopped thrashing long enough to glower down at me. “What does it look like I’m doing?” His voice held a trace of agitation and yes, anger.
Then I noticed Louisa Mae Alcott Smith, Edna’s mother, at the window just above Granddad’s ladder. She had a dust mop in her hands. Strange.
“Mother, what are you doing?” Edna asked as she shielded her eyes against the late afternoon sunlight. “Marty, are you all right?”
Both spoke at once, and Edna and I exchanged glances, neither of us catching what they’d said.
“One at a time, please. Marty, you first.” Edna had taken control of the senior citizen situation.
“I came over here to clean your gutters and this dingbat woman ups this window and starts beating me with a mop and yelling ‘pervert’ and ‘Peeping Tom.’” Granddad managed to regain a foothold on a ladder rung much to my relief.
“Dingbat? You silly old man. You scared the life out of me with all of that racket. Richmond has had its fair share of murders and rapes. I read the papers. I thought you were breaking in. Either that or you were getting an eyeful while I reclined for my afternoon nap.”
Edna and I exchanged glances.
“Granddad, get down here this minute,” I ordered.
“I’d love to. But someone has to call off the mop brigade.” He glared at Louisa Mae and blew dust bunnies off his shirt.
“It’s okay, Mrs. Smith. My granddad won’t hurt you. I’m sorry he frightened you. Please don’t hit him again. If he falls from there, he’ll break every bone in his body,” I pleaded.
Much to my relief, Mrs. Smith withdrew the mop.
“C’mon down Granddad.”
“I can’t,” he protested.
“Yes, you can. Now.” I definitely used my outside voice this time.
“I’ve got a case of vertigo going here, Bec. It isn’t safe for me to move.”
I struggled against an overwhelming terror. From time to time Granddad got benign positional vertigo and spent the day reeling around the house like a drunk on a bender. It was more than a little scary to think of him on a ladder in that condition.
I had to stay calm and focused.
Even more, I had to keep him calm and focused. Not my strong suit. Fortunately, I had an unexpected stroke of brilliance. Hey, it happens. “Just put one foot behind the other and hold on tight. Mrs. O. and I will steady the ladder for you. It’s either that or I call the Fire Department and have them come help you down.” I used the threat deliberately, knowing that was the last thing my proud grandfather would want. Somehow my words spurred him into movement. I’d never been so grateful for anything in my life.
Tentatively, he clung to the sides of the aluminum ladder and lowered one foot after the other making baby step progress, but progress nonetheless.
I held my breath the entire time he made his way down to the ground, scared spit-less that he’d fall.
As he got close enough for me to touch him, I reached out to steady his body and give him support, even if it wasn’t much more than moral support.
“Becca, for goodness sake! I’m having a hard enough time with this without you goosing me,” he shouted, his reaction indicating he’d been every bit as scared as me.
“I did not goose you.” I looked at Edna and she smiled in complete understanding. I guess she knew all about grandparents and the strange things that came out of their mouths.
When Granddad finally put both feet on the thick lawn, I could see his body visibly relax. Even though he tried to conceal it, I caught the slight tremble of his hands. It was hard for me to think of my grandfather scared of anything. He had been my hero my whole life, a man who had served his country with distinction, a man who lived his life without fear, at least as far as I knew. This ladder episode proved that he was as human as the rest of us.
Edna and I gave him a big hug.
To be honest, I didn’t want to let go.
It took him a few moments of being back on terra firma to realize that Edna was here and not in the county jail. The instant he did, he set me aside, no doubt embarrassed by my fussing.
“Edna, you’re out.” His brows drew together. “Becca, did you have something to do with this? Are you in trouble with the authorities? You know, a jailbreak is not a good idea. They’ll catch you. Both of you.” Worry lines creased his forehead.
“We didn’t break Edna out. Her lawyer got her released.”
“Well, as much as I dislike Jack, I’m happy to see that he finally did something right.” Granddad gave Mrs. O. a fatherly pat on the shoulder.
“Not Jack, Granddad. Mrs. O’s new attorney got her released.” I clarified.
“That explains it. I knew that idiot couldn’t do anything right. You probably spent more time than you should have inside that place, Edna, thanks to Jack’s incompetence.”
“No, Marty, Jack did all that he could. There was a lot going on behind the scenes. I’m grateful for all his help. I am. I just want to put this whole sorry incident behind me. Way behind me. It’s good to be home.” Edna stared at her house with a mixture of longing and peace. At least, that’s how I interpreted her expression.
“Edna, my baby.” Mrs. Smith had changed out of her lounging outfit and dressed to kill, so to speak, in a pale blue linen dress and navy pumps. She ran to her daughter. “I’m so glad you’re out of that horrible, horrible place. I would have come back to see you, but those corrections people were so tacky, darling. And I just couldn’t bear to see you in that hideous shade of gray.” As Edna’s mother fussed over her daughter, I pulled granddad off to the side.
“I leave you alone and the next thing I know you’re the west end Peeping Tom.” I tried to lighten the mood.
“Not funny, Becca. That woman swings a mean mop. I swear I’ll be coughing up dust bunnies the way Higgins coughs up fur balls.” To prove his point, he stuck his tongue out and used his handkerchief to wipe out his mouth. He jerked his head in Louisa’s direction. “Remind me to steer clear of Baby Ruth over there.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell Granddad that Baby Ruth was the candy bar and that Babe Ruth was the sultan of swat. So I let it pass. We both knew what he meant.
Louisa Mae continued to fuss over her daughter. “Come inside, Edna. A cup of tea will settle you down.” She led the way to the front of the house, then stopped and turned to face us. “Well, what are you waiting for? That’s an open invitation, y’all. This calls for a celebration. We’ll have a dinner party. I’ll work on the guest list right away.” Before any of us could say anything, she disappeared back into the house.
“I do apologize for Mother. She gets a tad wound up,” Edna smiled wanly at Granddad and me.
“A tad! Tornadoes cause less destruction than she does.” Granddad brushed more dust balls off the front of his shirt.
“Granddad, Mrs. Smith thought you were a burglar or something. Cut her some slack.”
Edna placed a hand on my granddad’s arm as he harrumphed at my statement. “Marty, Mother is high-strung. I’m so sorry. That was very sweet of you to even think of cleaning the gutters. Please come inside. Both of you.”
“No. You should be with your family, Edna. Becca and I will see you some other time. I’m really happy they released you. Darn fool prosecutor. I knew they had the wrong person all the time.”
He tugged the ladder back to where he’d found it, while I spoke with Edna. “Granddad’s right. I’m sure you’re exhausted. I’ll let Dr. D. know you’re home safe and sound.” At the mention of my boss’s name, Edna’s cheeks flushed pink.
“Please thank Dickie for letting you use the car to pick me up.” She leaned over and kissed me lightly on the cheek. It reminded me of the kisses my mother used to give me and filled me with a bittersweet yearning.
“C’mon, Granddad. I’ve got to get back to work. See you later, Mrs. O.”
The two of us walked to the curb together. He looked around for the Honda before remembering that it was in the shop. I pressed the keyless entry for the doctor’s car and explained how I’d come to have it in my possession. His eyebrows shot upward in reaction. “Becca, you know you don’t exactly have the greatest driving record. Please be careful. I don’t think we could afford the repairs to this beauty.” He rubbed his hand along the back fender with something akin to reverence. Must be a guy thing. Even so, I’d have to make sure I got any smudges off the car before I returned it to Dr. Dick.
Granddad waved as he marched down the street, showing no lingering signs of his vertigo. He’d parked his truck at the end of the block.
He has this thing about getting exercise wherever you can and gets very disturbed with me for taking the closest parking space I can get.
I waited until he reached his truck before starting up Dr. Dick’s car. Minding my grandfather’s warning and remembering Edna’s mountain trip story, I drove back to the office, paranoid about scratching or denting my ride.
By the time I reached the office complex, another vehicle occupied Dr. Dick’s favorite parking spot, but I managed to find an alternate place nearby. I made sure I had plenty of room to open the door, careful not to ding the paint. I’d never been so self-conscious about driving in my entire life. Which just proved that I wasn’t ready for a spiffy car like this.
I entered the D & P suite and found Dr. Daley sitting at my desk, waiting for me. Uh-oh. I checked my watch, relieved to discover he was merely in-between patients – clients. I’d never get it right.
“What took you so long? How’s Edna?” Dr. Dick practically pounced on me as I approached my desk. I hoped he hadn’t gone through the drawers and found my secret stash of snacks behind the claim forms.
“Mrs. O. is at home and doing fine. It took me a little longer than I anticipated.” I didn’t want to volunteer why, so I left it at that, hoping he wouldn’t pursue the subject any further. I could tell by his tense expression that he planned to do just that.
Hoping to sidestep that conversation so I didn’t have to get into the whole dust mop/ladder story, I extended his keys. “And your car is safe and sound and tucked in for the rest of the day.”
He started to say something but the next patient chose that moment to enter the suite.
“Oh, hi. Dr. Daley is ready for you, aren’t you Dr. D.?” He glared at me and stood. Okay, I guess that meant I should have asked first, or let him state when he was ready for his appointment.
The instant the two disappeared behind closed doors, I collapsed into my chair. It had been a hairy afternoon, but I had a lot to be thankful for. Edna was home. Granddad managed to get off the ladder in one piece. I’d returned Dr. Dick’s car to the lot smudge-free and as pristine as when I’d borrowed it. Life was good. Or so I thought.