Chapter 28
Dear Natasha,
I love your TV show! You have inspired me to organize and redecorate my house. Per your instructions, I have neatly stashed everything, but I find it annoying to have to browse through my stationery to jot a quick note to someone. How does one handle that?
Love Writing in Paper Mill Village, Vermont
Dear Love Writing,
You need a paper caddy. Don’t stuff it full of receipts and notes. It should show off your beautiful stationery, making it easy to find and write a quick note.
Natasha
“Pierce,” I said.
“He’s Pierce Carver, Bobbie Sue Bodoin’s ex-husband.” It was then that I noticed blisters on his face, near his eyes, and on one elbow. What had happened to him?
In minutes, Pierce was in the ambulance and the siren started as it slowly pulled away leaving Wong, Nina, and me on the sidewalk.
“He smelled of menthol,” I said.
Wong nodded. “I noticed that. Do you think he’s the one who attacked you?”
“I don’t know. What do you suppose happened to him?” I asked.
“I’ve never seen anything quite like that. I’d guess he got into some kind of poison,” said Wong.
Nina gasped. “He was planning to poison someone! What do you bet he killed Tate?”
Wong’s radio squawked at her. She gave us a wave and hurried away. Nina and I walked home somberly. Back in my office, I tried my best to focus on my work, but I kept seeing Pierce in his misery, blistered with his knees pulled up, cramping on the road.
I pulled out the recipe for Japanese Cheesecake that I had been itching to try. The hottest new dessert, it was supposed to be super light and wonderfully delicious. No wonder it was light. It contained much less cream cheese than American cheesecakes. I whisked egg whites to fold into the batter, another reason it would be light. I could hardly wait to try it. After it had baked, I slid it into the refrigerator.
The cake had distracted me for a while but at noon I drove to the hospital. The first person I saw was Jo. She walked out of the cafeteria carefully carrying a tray.
“Hi! Can I help you with that?”
“Hi, Sophie. No, thanks, I’ve got it. Did you come to see Pierce?”
“I did. How’s he doing?”
“Not good. Mommy is really worried about him. We’ve been here all morning. I have a ballet dress rehearsal this afternoon. I hope we can go home soon.”
She led me down a long corridor and into a waiting room where Spencer looked out of a floor-to-ceiling window.
“Spencer!” called Jo. “I brought food.”
He turned around and saw me. “Hi.” Spencer picked up a soda, pulled back the tab, and guzzled it.
I sniffed the air. “Do you smell like menthol?”
“They all do,” said Jo, with a mouthful of French fry. “It stinks!”
Spencer made a face at her. “It’s for runners. For muscle pain.”
“Pierce uses it, too?”
“The old guys, like Pierce, use it for their joints.”
It didn’t mean he was my attacker. Did it? “What did you guys do last night?” I asked cheerily.
Jo poked her fingers in the French fry box. “Mommy and I watched a movie about a girl who was a princess but didn’t know it.”
“That sounds like fun.” I looked to Spencer.
He shrugged. “Hung out with some friends.”
“Mommy said he could because he was supposed to go on vacation today,” said Jo.
I looked to Spencer for clarification.
He shrugged. “Pierce and I were supposed to leave this afternoon on a fishing trip. I guess that’s off.”
“Yes, I would think so. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll peek in on him.”
“Second door on the left,” said Spencer.
“Don’t eat my fries!” Jo yelped as I was walking out.
“You should have gotten more,” her brother groused.
Bobbie Sue sat in a chair beside Pierce’s bed, her head bowed forward.
Pierce breathed regularly and appeared to be sleeping.
I tried to tiptoe in, but Bobbie Sue heard me and lifted her head.
“Sophie!” she said softly. “How nice of you to come.”
“Nina and I were worried about him. Pierce collapsed right in front of us.”
“You’re kidding.”
“He was running and slowed down and then started staggering and fell into the street.”
She raised a hand to her mouth in horror. “Did he say anything?”
“He asked for help. Did you see the blisters?”
“No. They didn’t let us see him until they brought him up here.”
I checked out his hands. They were wrapped in white gauze. A sheet covered him so I couldn’t see his knees. “I guess that’s why his hands are bandaged.”
“Blisters? Why would he have blisters?”
“I have no idea. I’ve never seen anything quite like them.”
“Poor Pierce.”
“I hear he was taking Spencer fishing.”
She paused for a moment before responding. “We thought it would be good for Spencer to get away with Pierce. A change of scenery. It’s hard to adjust. Everyone tells me we’ll find a new normal. But nothing is normal. I feel like we’re stumbling through every day without a clue where we’re going. And now this. What on earth has happened to us?”
A doctor appeared in the doorway. “May I speak to you for a moment, please? We found the medical power of attorney Mr. Carver signed when he had surgery. It names you and appears to cover any eventuality.”
Bobbie Sue stepped out into the hallway with him, but I could hear what they were saying.
“In layman’s terms, please?” she asked.
“Sure. His heart rate slowed down dangerously. We thought we were losing him, but that seems to be stabilizing. The blisters on his hands and knees are a complete mystery. Has he been using any chemicals?”
“Not that I know of. He’s a band director at a community college. I wouldn’t think he would come into contact with any chemicals.”
“How about hiking or gardening?”
“Definitely not gardening! But he’s very big on running. It wouldn’t surprise me if he ran on paths or trails.”
“Good to know. It seems unlikely but there’s a possibility that he came into contact with a poisonous plant. We’ll keep testing.”
Bobbie Sue returned to the room. “I guess you heard that.”
Before I could respond, Jo sidled into the room with us. “Mommy, it’s already one o’clock.”
“Honey, I think we’re going to have to skip ballet today. I’m sorry, but Uncle Pierce is very sick, and no one knows why.”
“I could take her,” I said.
Bobbie Sue looked at me in surprise. “You are going that way. Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? I feel obligated to stay here because he doesn’t have anyone else. His mom isn’t able to travel, and his sister died a year ago.”
Jo tugged at her mom’s dress. “Excuse me, but we’re going now. I don’t want to be late.”
For a split second I saw hesitation in Bobbie Sue’s eyes. But she forced a smile and hugged her daughter. “Behave and I’ll see if you can spend the night with Esme. Okay?”
Jo nodded and fled the room.
“Don’t worry. She’ll be fine. Keep me posted about Pierce?”
“You bet.”
Jo was an angel as we left the hospital. The minute we were in the car she turned into a nonstop gossip. “I’m sorry that Pierce is sick, but I wish he would go away and leave us alone. I don’t like him hanging around all the time. All he cares about is Spencer and running. And he’s not even my uncle. I don’t know why I’m supposed to call him that. Did you know he’s Spencer’s father? My real uncles that are my father’s brothers said Pierce is a gold-digger. Do you know what that is? It’s someone who marries somebody for money. He is not marrying my mommy no matter what. Oh no! I don’t have my costume. It’s a dress rehearsal. I’m supposed to come in my costume. ”
I tried to sound super calm. She was agitated enough as it was. “We can stop by your house. Do you have a key?”
“No. But I know where we hide one outside. My dad was always worried that my mom would lose her keys. She has so many other things to think about. So he hid one outside and showed us where it was.”
“Great!” We were already back in Old Town. I turned down the street to the Bodoin’s house.
When I parked, Jo scrambled out of the car. I could barely keep up with her. That child had energy! She ran to a birdhouse, pulled down the bottom and slid a key out of it. Thankfully it fit the door and we were inside in a flash. If it hadn’t worked, there’s no telling what she might have done.
She ran up the stairs faster than the speed of light. “I’m going to put it on here.”
“Okay. But bring your other clothes and a toothbrush along in case Esme’s mom takes you to their house.”
I didn’t hear a response and reminded myself that she was just a kid. I walked upstairs to her room and knocked on the open door. I had expected a princess theme and was surprised to find white walls and white furniture with pink touches in the linens and accessories. It was simple and chic and still screamed a little girl lives here.
“Sophie? Could you help me pin up my hair?”
She was in the bathroom, wearing a glitzy white leotard with a blue tutu. After some instructions on what not to do, we had her hair pinned back, coiled into a bun, and sprayed so that a typhoon wouldn’t move it.
“Jo, I think you should take a change of clothes and a toothbrush in case you stay over at Esme’s tonight.”
“Okay. I’d better hurry, though.”
While she ran around her room throwing clothes and other items into a cream-colored backpack made of canvas and leather straps, I gazed around and that was when I saw it. On her desk, neatly standing in a stationery caddy, was lavender stationery and matching envelopes, exactly like the ones used by Worried in Old Town.