A Sinful Mistake Read online

  “No and no.” She glanced over at me. “I’m guessing you spilled everything to Kase.”

  I gave a noncommittal shrug. I hardly considered sharing ninety percent of what I knew with my boyfriend as ‘spilling everything’. “I conveyed the pertinent information.”

  “Yeah, well, enough chatting about clues, Miss Marple. The less people who know about this the better. In a town this size you can’t afford to tell anyone anything, unless you want everyone in town to know about it within hours. Talk spreads like wildfire.”

  Paranoid much? I left the words unsaid, however. Perhaps it was a part of her training to be so inherently distrustful. “I’ll be discreet.”

  She nodded. “I did tell Carter that we were going to check out the nursing home, and I asked him to check out their complaint record with the state board. But he thinks I’m asking as a concerned friend. Let’s leave it at that.”

  We drove on in silence. I marveled at the way the terrain gave away to swampland as Sinful fell behind us. Who would have thought of building a retirement center way out in the middle of nowhere? “Do you know anything about the Lisieux family?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing. You?”

  “I don’t believe I’ve heard anyone mention them, but then, I haven’t been in town very long.”

  “Sometimes that works for us, sometimes against us,” Fortune said. “Some folks think because we’re Yankees we’re too clueless to understand what they’re saying so they’ll natter on. Others clam up.” She slowed the Jeep as we drove down a rutted dirt road overgrown with low hanging cypress trees. “Let’s hope whoever shows us around is in a chatty mood.”

  They weren’t.

  “So what sort of leisure activities do you offer?” I asked Ramona, the woman who was showing us around. Her expression was dour, her mouth appeared to be drooped into a perpetual tight line, and she made a point of looking everywhere but at me when I spoke. But I soldiered on. “You know, things like square dancing or ceramics?”

  “I thought your aunt had a broken arm? Why would she want to square dance?”

  Why indeed? I glanced back over my shoulder to see if Fortune was still with us. She was in sight but dragging along slowly enough that she didn’t have to participate in the conversation. Lucky her. I’d have an easier time conversing with the giraffes at the Boston Zoo than this woman. “You’re right, of course. What my great-aunt needs is to have a quiet place to heal.”

  Ramona shrugged. “Okay, fine, we’re as good a place as any to sit and recuperate.”

  More like sit and watch the paint dry, if the glazed look on the faces of the other residents we’d glanced earlier were any indication. Aunt Ida Belle was going to hate it here. I almost felt sorry for the staff. They had no idea what they were in for. “Well, Ramona, I need to be very upfront with you. My great-aunt is a feisty sort by nature. Her incapacitation has only made her more—challenging, shall we say?”

  “Are you saying she’s a pain in the ass?”

  I gasped. “No, of course not.”

  “Because we can give her something for that. Something to take the edge off.” She hugged her clipboard to her chest and looked at me with uninterested eyes. “Do you want a room or not?”

  I swallowed hard. “Yes, we do.” I experienced a stab of guilt as I spoke. Essentially, I was sacrificing my great-aunt to save Gertie. Truly, an untenable situation if ever there was one.

  Ramona thrust her clipboard at me. “Here are the monthly costs of being a Bayou Gardens resident.”

  I glanced at the numbers and then back at Ramona. “Those numbers are per month?”

  She studied me. “Yes, per month. Is that a problem?”

  “No, of course not,” I hurried to assure her. No price was too high to pay to save Gertie’s life. Although for the cost of a month’s stay at Bayou Gardens, I could send Aunt Ida Belle on a cruise of the Greek Isles and still have money left over to refurbish the Parthenon. “Am I to assume that this figure includes a private room?”

  Ramona shook her head. “No. No one here has a private room. We’re nearly full to capacity.”

  I glanced up and down the empty corridor. A more lifeless place, I could hardly imagine. Aunt Ida Belle was going to have my head on a platter for sticking her here. Heaven help us all.

  “The security deposit is a full month’s rent due at signing, along with the first month’s rent.” She pulled a pen from her skirt pocket and held it out to me. “Management prefers cash.”

  Fortune’s arrival saved me from my spluttering. She took the clipboard from me, slipped the papers out of it, and handed it back to Ramona. “We’ll be back tomorrow to finalize things.” She propelled me toward the front door. “Have to run, we’ve got a family emergency,” she called back over her shoulder.

  As we burst out of Bayou Gardens, she gave me a gentle shove toward her Jeep. “Hurry up and get in.”

  I did as she bid, not at all certain she’d wait for me if I didn’t. I clicked my seat belt into place as she peeled out of the parking lot. “Isn’t this all bit of overkill?” I asked. “I mean, I didn’t like it in there any more than you did but—”

  “Gertie’s been hurt,” she interrupted me. “Carter just texted me.”

  A wave of dread washed over me. “Hurt how?”

  She glanced at me, her expression skeptical. “Allegedly, she fell and hit her head.”

  “Allegedly,” I repeated. “You think Bull hurt her?”

  She nodded. “I know he did.”

  “It couldn’t have been an accident?” I asked, hoping against hope.

  She gripped the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. “Accident my ass.”

  While that was hardly language I’d have chosen, we both knew she was right. Bull had made his first attempt to kill Gertie.

  WE MET CARTER IN THE hallway outside of Gertie’s hospital room.

  “How is she?” Fortune asked before I could. “Wait, she isn’t alone in there, is she?”

  Carter shook his head. “No. A nurse is in with her.” He glanced at his watch. “You two made it back here in record time. Doubt you could have done that by driving the speed limit.”

  Fortune shrugged. “We were worried.”

  “Has Bull been in to see her?” I asked.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Carter answered. “I haven’t seen him since he dropped Gertie off a couple of hours ago. I don’t know if he’s still hanging around.”

  Oh, he was, I had no doubt.

  “How bad is her head injury?” Fortune asked. “Can we see her?”

  “From what I understand, she got lucky. If she’d fallen an inch to the right, according to the doctor, she’d have hit her temple and done some serious damage.” He shook his head. “It’s rare to see both Gertie and Ida Belle down and out.”

  Fortune and I exchanged a quick look. Better Gertie be down and out rather than six feet under.

  “Where did Gertie fall?” I asked. “Was she alone?”

  He nodded. “She was visiting with Ida Belle until your aunt needed to go down to radiology. A short while later, a nurse found her on the floor.” He leaned in and kissed Fortune’s cheek. “I’m going to take off now that you too are here. Let me know if Gertie needs anything.”

  Fortune reached out and tugged on his sleeve as he moved away. “Did you happen to learn anything about Bayou Gardens while we were gone?”

  “Yeah, I had Myrtle look into it. According to her, there’s been a ton of complaints filed about the food, the lack of air conditioning, and things of that nature. Nothing the state finds actionable though.” He looked between us both. “Any particular reason that you’re not taking Ida Belle home to recover? She’s not exactly the nursing home type.”

  “You’re right, she’s not.” I said, “But I might have to go to Boston next week and I want to make sure she’ll be looked after.”

  Carter’s expression was skeptical. “Why doesn’t she come stay with you, Fortune?”
/>   When she didn’t answer right away, I jumped in. “Fortune might be coming with me. To a White Glove Convention.”

  Carter’s eyebrows shot up but we were saved from further questioning by his cell phone. He glanced at the caller id, told us that it was urgent, and took off at a jog down the corridor.

  Once he was out of sight, Fortune threw up her hands. “Really, Stephanie? A White Glove Convention? I don’t even know what that is, but Carter’s smart enough to know that it’s no place I’m likely to be.”

  “Honestly, Fortune, I don’t know what you want from me. When you didn’t answer, I jumped in to help you. After all, we’re partners now.”

  “If you two are done bickering now, we can go in and see Gertie.”

  We whirled around in unison to find Aunt Ida Belle standing in front of Gertie’s door. “Oh, Aunt Ida Belle, I didn’t hear you approach. Why aren’t you in a wheelchair?”

  She made a face that looked like she’d just drank curdled milk. “My legs aren’t broken, my arm is.” She jerked her head in the direction of Gertie’s door. “We got lucky this time but we can’t afford to lose focus. Now, let’s get in there and find out what Gertie remembers.”

  “Wait, there’s a nurse in there,” I told her.

  “We’ll make short work of her,” she assured me, in a tone that was decidedly cantankerous.

  She pushed open the door and hastened to do just that. Not a full minute later, a nurse charged out of Gertie’s room and headed down toward the nurse’s station, all the while mumbling under her breath. We slipped in the room.

  Gertie lay back against the pillows, her head bandaged, but she was awake and her smile was bright. I experienced a wave of affection mingled with relief. I sat in the chair beside her, while Fortune sat at the foot of the bed.

  “You scared us, Gertie.” I covered her hand with mine. “How are you feeling?”

  Her lips lifted in a half smile, half grimace. “I don’t remember. One minute I was standing there talking to myself, and the next minute, I was on the floor.”

  “You were trying to show me up,” Aunt Ida Belle said from her chair by the window. “You just couldn’t let me have my fall without trying to one up me, could you?”

  Gertie grinned. “At least I didn’t break anything.”

  My great-aunt harrumphed. “That’s because your head is hard as a rock.”

  This good-natured banter between them, full of genuine affection, was proof that Gertie and Aunt Ida Belle were the best of friends. Listening to them softened my heart, but also hardened my resolve to eliminate Bull Dozer from the picture. “Were you alone when you fell?” I asked.

  Gertie nodded.

  “Bull wasn’t with you?” Fortune asked.

  “No.” She shifted, clearly uncomfortable. “He dropped me off after Carter told us that Ida Belle had been hurt. I was in here alone waiting for her to come back when I fell. Why?”

  “Hold up,” Aunt Ida Belle said. “Didn’t he bring you a fancy-schmancy coffee latte thing just before I left?”

  Gertie’s face brightened. “That’s right. I forgot. What a sweetheart. Maybe I should see if he’s got a friend for you, Ida Belle. We could double date.”

  A quick glance at my great-aunt confirmed what I thought. She was about to blow louder than the noon whistle.

  “I doubt Walter would appreciate that,” I said.

  “Where’s your coffee cup?” Fortune got to her feet and began to look around the room. “Were you holding it when you fell?”

  Gertie shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t remember. Why?” She looked between us. “What’s going on? You’re all acting strange.”

  I stood and straightened her blanket. “We’re worried about you, Gertie. It’s been quite a day. Would you like me to fluff your pillows?” When she nodded, I did so, making sure to keep up a stream of chatter to give Fortune time to search for the coffee cup. But she didn’t find one, and soon excused herself from the room. I imagined she was going to talk to someone in housekeeping but I doubted Bull had left any evidence lying around.

  “When can we go home?” Gertie’s words were followed by a yawn. “I want to sleep in my own bed.”

  I pulled the blanket up and tucked it around her shoulders as her eyelids grew heavy. “We’ll wait to see what the doctor says when she comes in.” I turned to Aunt Ida Belle. “You should go get some rest too. I’ll stay here with Gertie.”

  Reluctantly, she got to her feet. “I hate to admit it, but I could use a few winks. Just promise that you’ll stay here until Fortune comes to spell you.”

  “You have my word.” I opened the door for her but jumped back in surprise when I saw Bull standing just in the doorway. “Oh, mercy.”

  He grinned. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  I quickly stepped in front of Aunt Ida Belle as she advanced toward Bull. “Gertie’s just drifted off. Let’s you and I have a little talk in the corridor.”

  Once the door to her room closed behind us, I stood in front of it. Bull wasn’t getting anywhere near Gertie on my watch. I linked my arm through Aunt Ida Belle’s good arm.

  “How’s my Gertie-girl?” he asked, with a grin that would have better suited a leprechaun than a grown man.

  “Don’t call her that,” Aunt Ida Belle snapped.

  Bull’s jaw tightened. “She’s okay, though, right?”

  “Gertie will be fine,” I assured him. The sooner he went away the better. Even with only one working arm, I knew Aunt Ida Belle could hog-tie him in seconds flat. “We’ll take excellent care of her, don’t you worry.” When he didn’t respond, I added, “I’ll call you tomorrow morning with an update.”

  “Morning?” He shook his head and made a tsking sound. “I can’t be without my girl that long. I’m here to take her home.”

  I tightened my hold on my great-aunt’s arm and forced myself to smile. “No need for you to go to the trouble when we’re heading that way anyhow.” I forced myself to smile. “Gertie will understand if you need to head back to work. I’m sure she won’t want you missing too many hours on her account.”

  He opened his mouth to protest but Fortune and the attending doctor joined us. I made the introductions and then asked the doctor about Gertie’s release.

  “She’ll need watching,” the doctor warned us.

  “Doesn’t she always?” Aunt Ida Belle muttered under her breath.

  Fortune smiled, Bull frowned, and the doctor raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

  “Just an inside family joke,” I assured her. “We’ll provide Gertie with around the clock care.”

  “Excellent.” She consulted Gertie’s chart. “The tests don’t give us any indication that your friend had a seizure or stroke. She avoided a serious injury this time but she may not be so lucky next time. Until we know why she fell, someone needs to be with her constantly in case she gets dizzy again.”

  “We will, no worries there.” I shook the doctor’s hand. “I know she’ll be happy that she can go home.”

  Aunt Ida Belle shook her head. “She’s not going home.”

  “She’s not?” Bull and I asked simultaneously.

  “Nope. She’s going to be staying at the old folk’s home with me.”

  “What old folk’s home?” Bull demanded.

  Aunt Ida Belle met his gaze straight on. “Bayou Gardens.”

  Bull’s face flushed red. “Ah, hell no. I can’t have my girl in a place like that.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Over my dead body.”

  Chapter Six

  FORTUNATELY FOR BULL, it didn’t come to that. Not only was he alive, he was swarming around us like a fly at a picnic as we settled Gertie into her room at Bayou Gardens. Talking her into staying had been no easy task. However, after far too much back and forth, Fortune and I agreed to play the Ida Belle card. Our call turned out to be a good one too, because as soon as we led Gertie to water, she drank.

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” she said, as she looked between us
. She nodded sagely. “But you’re right. Ida Belle would be embarrassed at the idea of moving into an old folk’s home.”

  Fortune, who sat at the end of Gertie’s bed, quickly agreed. “You know how people talk. She’d hate what they would say about her being old and infirm.”

  I felt guilty for misleading Gertie but it was for her own good. Wasn’t it? I glanced at Fortune. What if she’d been wrong about Bull? What if what she thought she’d seen in his room hadn’t been a life insurance policy but something else? Something innocent?

  She met my gaze and I was struck by the worry in her eyes. Suddenly, my doubts vaporized. Whatever threat Fortune perceived, it was real. “I’ll run home and get some things for you, Gertie. Carter said he’d keep an eye on your place, so there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

  “I’ve got a couple of casseroles in the fridge that need to be eaten.”

  Fortune waved away her concern. “We’ll eat some and take the rest to Marie’s house. If I’m not mistaken, it’s her turn to host bridge tomorrow night.” She got to her feet. “Looks like we’re all set. I’ll help you get dressed and you can sign your discharge papers while Stephanie gathers your things.”

  Gertie nodded thoughtfully but stayed uncharacteristically silent.

  “What is it?” I asked. Doubtless she was tired, and I imagined her heart hurt, but something else was clearly troubling her. Maybe she was having doubts about her choice in boyfriends. Better yet, maybe she’d remembered something about Bull that was incriminating. “Tell us what’s got you looking so worried.”

  She clutched the blanket to her chest in a move that made her appear vulnerable. “This isn’t it, is it? I mean, Ida Belle and I aren’t going to spend forever sitting in rocking chairs at Bayou Gardens, are we?” Her eyes watered. “I thought we had decades yet before that would happen.”

  I leaned in and hugged her. “Of course not. It’s only temporary while Aunt Ida Belle’s arm heals. I promise.”

  Fortune laid a gentle hand on Gertie’s shoulder. “Don’t be crazy, Gertie. What would Sinful be like without you and Ida Belle keeping everyone in check? Oh, Lord, think of what havoc Celia would wreck if she thought you two were out of the picture. Yeah, not gonna happen.”