In Sickness and in Death

Danny turned the invitation over in his hands. “Should I go?”

“Sure, why not? Ray and I know Jacob’s parents. They’re very nice. You know Jacob, right?”

“Yeah. We play football at lunch.”

“His dad told me that. He said Jacob thinks you’re pretty good.”

Danny’s face brightened. “He does?”

I pointed to the card. “Maybe you’ll play football at the party.”

“Yeah.” He looked inside the card again. “But it says to bring a sleeping bag.”

“You can use Ray’s.”

“What about a present?”

I felt like I was talking him into feeling as excited as me. “You can pick out something. I’ll pay for it.”

“Okay.” But he sounded doubtful. He set the card on the table and went into the living room to turn on the television.

I pulled ground meat out of the refrigerator to make meatballs. As I rolled the balls, I smiled. Danny was invited to his first birthday party. I couldn’t feel more delighted.

After our mother committed suicide, Erica and I didn’t get many party invitations. Those we did receive were from kids whose parents made them invite us just to be nice. I knew that because the kids made a point of telling us. My mother had never been involved in school activities and she didn’t encourage us to invite friends over. We were all she could handle, and in the end, she couldn’t handle even that. So the invitations had always been few and far between, since people generally invited the kids with the parents they knew best to their birthdays. I didn’t mind being left out, but Erica did. She’d cried many tears over it, which made me both angry and sad. I’d feared Danny’s jailed father would prevent him from blending in with the kids in much the same way. Apparently, it hadn’t.

Then it occurred to me. Bernie might have had a hand in this. It might be another pity invitation. Maybe Jacob invited Danny because Bernie insisted. If Danny found out, he would be hurt, too.

Tears burned my eyes. Why did life have to be so uncertain?

I finished rolling the meatballs and put the frying pan on the burner. There wasn’t much I could do but encourage Danny to go to the party and have a good time. I’d hope for the best.

Danny and I ate dinner. He had two helpings of spaghetti and, after asking me to identify the spinach, chewed and swallowed his serving of that without complaint. I tried to talk to him about school and the work he did with Cory. He gave short answers designed to discourage conversation. He wasn’t a teenager yet, but he’d picked up all the mannerisms.

After he carried his own dish to the sink, I didn’t ask him to clear the table or wash dishes. Ray would have. I preferred to do it myself, alone.

When I heard SpongeBob come on, I hid in our bedroom and tried to read. The pages blurred as I worried first about Danny, then his father, then Erica, and finally even Maury. I glanced at the clock. Seven p.m. and still no Ray.

I thought about calling him on his cell phone, but didn’t want to disturb him. Maybe he’d find out something tonight that would answer some of my concerns.

I must have fallen asleep. I awoke at nine-thirty to find Ray standing next to me.

I sat up. “Is Danny in bed?”

“He is now. He was watching television when I got home. He’s all excited about Jacob’s birthday party.”

“He is?” I filled Ray in on my concerns. “Do you think it will be okay?”

“Sure. You know Bernie. He can’t stand it if everyone isn’t having a good time. Danny will have a blast. It’ll be good for him.” Ray disappeared into the closet.

I got out of bed and followed him. “What did you find out about the flowers?”

He took off his uniform and tossed it in the clothes hamper. “I saw the dish gardens. They look like the one on Jessica James’ kitchen table, but the only other one the florist remembers Maury purchasing besides Erica’s was delivered to a girl in Canandaigua. I called her. She and Maury dated for a while, then she broke it off.”

“So Maury didn’t give one to Jessica James.”

“I don’t think so, unless he paid cash and no one at the florist shop remembers. But they’re pretty fascinated by Maury, so it’s hard to believe they’d forget.” He pulled on a pair of jeans.

“Did you ask them who else bought a dish garden recently?”

“I did. They’re compiling a list of customers. I asked them to fax it to the department. That’s all I can do for now. Remember, I’m not supposed to be investigating Jessica James’ death.”

Ray headed toward the kitchen. “Anything left from dinner?”

“We had spaghetti. I’ll warm some up for you.” I pulled the leftover dishes out and made up a plate for the microwave.

He sat at the breakfast bar and watched me.

After I slid his plate into the microwave, I leaned against the breakfast bar, my face inches from Ray’s. “Did you hear any more about the partial print on the Camry’s remote?”

“It’s not Mr. Phillips’ print.”

Relief washed through me. Danny’s father couldn’t be tied to the killing, at least not yet. “Whose is it?”

“They’re still running matches and gathering prints from the car dealership employees. They ruled out Mr. Phillips immediately.”

“Is the investigation focusing on him?”

“They’re pushing him hard to talk. His lawyer wants a deal, but the prosecutor isn’t offering one. They think they have a motive.”

“What?”

“Jessica James’ will. She left everything to her closest relative—Danny.”

The microwave dinged as if on cue. I pulled Ray’s steaming plate out and set it in front of him. “I don’t understand how that gives his father a motive.”

“Think, Darlin’. Danny is a minor, so his legal guardian, Mr. Phillips, is probably in charge of the inheritance until Danny reaches eighteen. He might have killed her for the money, house, and possessions.”

“He did get caught in her Cadillac Escalade. Maybe he thought he was entitled to it.”

Ray shoved a forkful of spaghetti in his mouth and chewed for a minute. “That’s the part that bothers me. I can’t believe he’d let himself be found in the car after he killed her. He doesn’t strike me as stupid.”

“All criminals make mistakes eventually, don’t they? Isn’t that how you catch them?”

“This guy’s been caring for Danny for ten years, Jolene. He hasn’t been arrested in all that time, although he has a very spotty work record. It doesn’t fit.”

I let Ray eat the rest of his dinner in peace. I could tell his mind was churning through the events of the last few days, looking for the missing link, just as I had been earlier. With any luck, when he found it, it would not lead to Danny’s father.

Did that mean I was willing to sacrifice Maury Boor, my sister’s husband? I guessed so. But I wished I could talk to Erica about him first. She might have some answers, too.

____


The next three days passed quietly, except for the sound of Sponge-Bob’s laugh. If Danny was going to live with us for an extended period, I would need to find a better way for him to pass the time when he wasn’t in school or at the shop. Either that, or he would have to watch television wearing earphones.

Ray passed his time working from dawn to dusk. From his silence, I knew the department wasn’t making much progress in finding Jessica James’ killer.

Sunday night Danny asked to visit his father. Ray took him after dinner. I tried to watch television while they were gone, wondering what more, if anything, Mr. Phillips would share with Danny about the stolen car, his dead aunt, and his inheritance and how Danny would react to the information. I didn’t have to wait long to find out.

Ray called me at seven-thirty. “Can you pick up Danny?”

“Sure. What’s wrong?”

“Danny’s father has agreed to talk. His lawyer and the prosecution are on the way. The sheriff wants me here.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.”

I grabbed my coat and raced out the door. Snow had begun to fall heavily and an inch or so had accumulated on the roads. I had to drive the speed limit, and when I got behind more nervous drivers, even less. I arrived at the county safety building full of pent-up frustration. I found Danny alone in the squad room, slouching in a chair with an open soda can next to him.

“Where’s Ray?”

Danny pointed toward the interview rooms. “In there with my dad.”

I sat on a metal chair next to him. “Do you know what’s going on?”

Concern flickered across his face. “My dad’s telling the truth.”

“Do you know what he’s saying?”

“Yeah.” Danny cast a final desperate glance back toward the room where his father was. “I know everything. He never left me at Chuck E. Cheese’s. I was with him the whole time.”

I desperately wanted to know what happened but refrained from asking. It didn’t seem right to pump Danny when his father was in there laying it all on the line. Ray could tell me later.

I stood. “Are you ready to go home?”

He looked at me like I was crazy. “Don’t you want to know?”

I dropped back into my seat, feeling relieved that I wouldn’t have to wait but apprehensive about what Danny might say. “Sure.”

He scratched his neck, leaving a dark red mark. “My dad picked up the Camry at the dealership outside Geneseo. We went to my dad’s friend’s house and loaded all our stuff in it. My dad said we were going to move to New York City. A friend of his had a job for him there.”

Danny glanced at me out of the side of his eyes, and I knew it wasn’t a legitimate job. Although Danny hadn’t admitted it, I figured he knew his dad had stolen the Camry, too. I let it go and nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“We went to see my aunt. I didn’t know she was my aunt. My dad said she was going to give him her Cadillac Escalade to sell. She was going to report it stolen to the insurance company.”

Insurance fraud. A great way to make money, as long as no one got caught.

“We went to The Cat’s Meow. Everything happened there like I said, except when I came back to the car, it was different. My soda and my backpack weren’t in the back seat. My dad’s baseball hat was gone, too. I thought somebody took them. My dad came out. He thought he’d lost his remote. He looked all over the car. He noticed our stuff was gone. He wanted to know what I did with it. I told him nothing. I told him I got out of the car and when I came back, our stuff was gone. He opened the trunk. It was empty. That’s when he figured out it wasn’t our car, because the trunk had dirt and stuff in it. He went back inside and came out again. He said we couldn’t wait for the person who took our car to come back. He said if it was a mistake, they might call the police and when the police checked, they would know it was stolen. He said if they took it on purpose, then one stolen car was as good as another. He said we’d get new stuff. My backpack had all my school stuff in it, but he said I’d be starting a new school anyway. So we left.”

Danny took a swig of his soda before continuing. “My dad dropped me off at his friend’s house so he could go get Aunt Jessica’s car. He drove me to school the next morning in it. It was awesome. Then he got caught. Aunt Jessica reported it stolen too soon.”

Timing was everything. I could imagine Danny’s father’s surprise when the sheriff’s department cruiser pulled him over. I wondered if she had done it on purpose to spite him for some old wound or if it had been an honest mistake. Jessica wouldn’t be able to tell us now.

“Jolene?”

I snapped out of my reverie. “Yes, Danny?”

“My dad didn’t kill Aunt Jessica. He doesn’t know who did.”

“Where’s the Camry your father took from The Cat’s Meow?”

“In a parking lot.” Danny jerked his head in the direction of the interrogation rooms. “He’s going to tell them where to find it. Do you think they’ll go get it?”

“I hope so, Danny.”

“My dad said he would tell them who he sold all the stolen cars to. He thought they might let him go, but then we found out about Aunt Jessica.” Danny’s eyes filled with tears. “Do you think they’ll believe him?”

I put my arm around Danny and hugged his shoulders. “I hope so.”

The pressure on this poor little boy proved to be too much. He dissolved into heaving sobs.

I held him tighter and rubbed his back. He was asking the right questions. Would they believe his father? Would they want to talk to Danny, too? Maybe I shouldn’t take him home yet. Maybe we should wait until they were through. But it could take hours. Then they might not want to talk to Danny. His father had had enough time with him now to coach him on this story. It did sound a little too good to be true, but then truth is stranger than fiction. Could the mix-up at The Cat’s Meow be an innocent but ironic mistake? Or had the killer taken the opportunity to tie someone else to the victim?

The fact remained that someone with the initial P like Danny’s father had most likely switched his car for the one Danny’s father stole from the used car lot. It could have been managed by sitting next to Danny’s father at the bar and laying the two sets of keys side by side. Did he do it on purpose or was it a mistake? Did the P stand for the man’s first name or his last? Was it P for Peter Flynn, Leslie’s brother? Had he been in The Cat’s Meow Saturday night, the last night anyone remembered seeing Jessica James? Could he be the killer?

Hard to believe. The man didn’t even have a driver’s license, and Ray had said the DMV records didn’t show a Toyota Camry registered to anyone at Leslie and Peter’s home address.

Besides, Ray said the sheriff’s department interviewed all the regulars. Surely Peter was on the list. I wondered who else might be on the list with the initial P. Maybe Ray worked with the lead investigators to check those names out.

The only positive spin I could put on the whole story was that this killer with the initial P who took Danny’s father’s car couldn’t be my sister’s new husband, Emerson Maurice Boor. He drove a Prelude and didn’t have an initial P. Unless, of course, the P stood for Prelude. Wouldn’t that be a pip? Maury might just be weird enough to think that way, but I hoped not.

Danny pulled away and wiped at his face with his fists. I dug in my purse and handed him a couple of tissues. He blew his nose loud and long like a foghorn.

The interrogation room door opened. Ray stepped out.

He crossed the room to us. “Take Danny home, Darlin’. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Danny stepped away from us. “What about my dad?”

Ray reached for Danny’s shoulder. “Your dad is talking. He’s got a lot to say, and we’ve got a lot of questions. Don’t worry. We’ll get it all straightened out.”

Danny frowned, clearly doubtful.

I had doubts myself. “Why don’t you go splash some water on your face in the men’s room, Danny? Then we’ll go home.”

He shuffled off, his shoulders drooping. It was so unfair that a twelve-year-old should have to bear such a burden. Danny seemed so much older than his years.

I turned to Ray. “He told me the whole story. What’s going to happen now?”

“We’re going to send a patrol car to find the Camry. We’ll see if we can figure out who it belongs to and we’ll round him or her up for questioning.”

“What about Danny’s father?”

Ray shrugged. “He’s definitely guilty of auto theft, but if he helps bust up a ring, he might be able to avoid a jail sentence. And if what he says is true about the Escalade, I’m not sure the D.A. will prosecute since his aunt left all her property, including the car, to Danny.”

“So he might be released?”

“Anything’s possible, but one thing’s for sure. We’re one step closer to finding our killer.”





Ray hadn’t come home by the time Danny and I needed to leave for school the next morning. Danny begged me to let him take the day off. I tried to call Ray at the department and on his cell phone, but he didn’t answer. I left a message, wondering what was so pressing that he’d been up all night. But I insisted Danny go to school, telling him it would only make the time pass that much faster. Besides, he had a spelling test and a geography test to take, and I didn’t want him kicked out of school.

When I pulled into the school turnaround, I shut off the ignition and looked over my shoulder at Danny. He made no move to get out of the car.

“Danny, I’ll pick you up today same as always. By then, we should know what’s going on. Just do your best in school, and don’t worry. Your dad will be fine.”

He met my gaze with anguish in his eyes. “I told my dad about my suspension and about taking Erica’s car. He didn’t get mad. He was too worried about Aunt Jessica.”

“Well, now that he’s told the truth, he shouldn’t have to worry about that anymore. When they find the other Camry, it should lead them to the person who killed her. And that’s not your dad, right?”

Danny nodded then his lips turned up in a rueful grin. “I told my dad what you said.”

Surprised, I tried to recall what it might have been. “What’d I say?”

“You know.”

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to. I say a lot of things, Danny.”

“When you said, ‘What were ya thinkin’?’ You know, when I took Erica’s car and when I got in the fight.”

“Oh.” I smiled. “What did he say?”

“He said that was a good question. He wanted to know the answer.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him I wasn’t thinking.”

An honest answer. How often do we all do things without thinking them through? At twelve, Danny was entitled to a few more mistakes than we adults. “Okay, well, listen, think hard when you’re taking your tests today, so you can tell your dad all about your good grades later. I’m sure Ray will take you to see him tonight.”

Danny’s face brightened considerably. He hopped out of the car without another word. Two boys approached him and greeted him. They headed toward the building together, scuffing their feet and talking.

As I watched Danny walk into the building, my cell phone rang. I thought it might be Ray, but when I checked the display, I didn’t recognize the number.

“Hello?”

I waited, straining my ears and thinking it must be a wrong number. “Hello?”

I heard a sigh. I knew that sigh. “Erica?”

More silence. “Erica, if it’s you, say something. Otherwise, I’m going to hang up and I won’t answer again.”

“It’s me. Who else do you know in the tower?”

“I didn’t recognize the number.”

“You should have it memorized by now.”

I tried not to respond in the same combative manner she was addressing me. It was hard, because I was the one with the right to be pissed. Erica had stopped taking her medicine, failed to show up for her doctor’s appointments, lost her job, and run away to marry a geek. I swallowed hard and tried to be congenial. “I take it you’re feeling better.”

“I hate it here.”

“What does Dr. Albert say? How long do you have to stay?” I left off the words “this time.”

“He might let me come home in a couple days, if someone stays with me to monitor my medication.”

For the last fifteen years, that would have been me or Ray. Now Maury was in the picture. “Did you marry Maury?”

Another sigh, this time heavy enough to make the line crackle. “Yes.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“You sound like Dr. Albert. You know, I don’t like Dr. Albert anymore. He’s really not even that good-looking.”

He was, but again, I didn’t want to argue. “What about Maury, Erica? Are you planning on living with him?”

“Of course. He’s my husband.”

“So, you love him?”

She heaved another sigh. “Of course.”

Her response didn’t make me feel any better. It was the same response I would have gotten if I asked her if she wanted me to bake chocolate chip cookies. “You’re going to live in the apartment where I found you?”

This time she hesitated. “Can we live in the apartment on Wells Street?”

“Sure, if you can afford it.” I hated to start trouble, but I wasn’t going to pay Maury’s bills. He would have to step up.

Erica caught my less than subtle implication. “Maury got a new job.”

“Where?”

“He’s going to be a delivery man for a florist shop.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “That sounds like a great job for him.”

I doubted it would pay the rent, but Erica could get another job, too. She never had trouble getting jobs, just keeping them. She and Maury had that in common.

Erica continued, “I have to see Dr. Albert once a week. He has an opening on Thursdays starting next week.”

“Do you want me to drive you?”

“I can drive myself.”

“All right. Cory’s fixing the Porsche for you. I’ll tell him to hurry.”

Erica remained silent so long that I thought she’d hung up. Then she asked, “Do you still have Danny?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure for how much longer.” I told Erica the whole story about the stolen cars, Jessica James’ death, the possible suspects, and the news from last night. “Ray still hasn’t called me. I’m not sure if Danny’s father will be released or not. Even if he is, he doesn’t have a home or a job, unless he can move into the aunt’s house. It seems like he should be required to have both before he can take Danny, but that’s up to Social Services, I guess.”

Erica wasn’t interested in Danny. “That redheaded guy, Peter, he used to visit another psychiatrist in the building on Wednesdays. I talked to him in the elevator sometimes.”

“He told you his name was Peter?”

“He told me when I saw him in The Cat’s Meow.”

The night she asked him if he was big all over. “Are you sure it was the same guy? Leslie was a patient of Dr. Albert’s. She saw him once a week. A lot of people get the two of them confused. They’re identical twins.”

“He recognized me. He said ‘Hello’ first.”

I didn’t know what to make of that. Could both Leslie and her brother be in treatment? If so, what was Peter being treated for? I started to ask Erica if she knew, but she said the orderly wanted her to hang up.

I tried Ray again. Still no answer at either number. I dialed again and connected with the operator, who said Ray was on patrol. Was he working a back-to-back shift? He was too tired to drive safely. Maybe he’d slept at the office or in his car. Maybe they were so close to solving Jessica James’ case that he didn’t want to miss it.

I drove home, stopping at the corner store to purchase a newspaper. I wanted to know what, if anything, had been reported about Jessica James’ death.

I found no reference to her murder in the local paper. I did spot advertisements for two damaged cars, a Mercedes and a BMW, that I would have loved to purchase and have Cory repair for resale in my showroom. Too bad all my inventory dollars were tied up in a very pricey Ferrari with its own ghost riding eternal shotgun.

At home, I tried to watch Regis and Kelly, but even with all their charms, they couldn’t hold my attention. Reading a book was out of the question. All my housework had been completed over the weekend.

After checking my cell phone for the tenth time to make sure I hadn’t missed Ray’s call, I had to get out of the house. I decided to take back the sweaters Celeste had forced on me the other day. After the superior way she’d behaved in my office, I figured I didn’t owe her anymore.

I walked into Talbots twenty minutes later with my shopping bag full of sweaters. The assistant manager, a woman old enough to be my mother, was behind the counter. She greeted me warmly. I could tell she thought she should know my name but it wasn’t coming to her.

She found it on the sales receipt. “Oh, you’re Jolene Asdale. I’m sorry, Jolene Parker. Someone was just here looking for you.”

“Really?” I couldn’t imagine why anyone would look for me here. I came in here once a season, if that.

She began entering information in the register and scanning the tags on the sweaters. “She was looking for Celeste, too. She wanted to give you both fresh chickens to thank you for helping her pick out clothes or something like that. I can’t remember her name, but she had red hair.”

“Was her name Leslie Flynn?”

The assistant manager nodded. “That’s it. Seemed like a nice woman. I told her today was Celeste’s day off and that your shop was always closed on Mondays. She said she’d come back tomorrow.”

I signed for my return. The woman sealed my old and new receipt in an envelope. She thanked me, as though returning clothes was as helpful to the store as purchasing them. I knew Celeste wouldn’t feel that way, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

In my car, I debated between heading home, driving to the county safety building to look for Ray, or calling Leslie Flynn. At home, I’d have nothing to do but look at the walls. Chasing after Ray was not appropriate. He was busy. I needed to respect that. Besides, if the sheriff found out I was following Ray on the job, Ray might get in trouble again. We didn’t need that.

I decided to call Leslie. I didn’t know what all was implied by “fresh chicken,” but it was thoughtful of her to think of us. Ray and Danny had enjoyed the eggs.

I checked my cell phone log and found her phone number. She answered on the fourth ring.

“Leslie, it’s Jolene. I was just in Talbots. The assistant manager said you were looking for me.”

“Hey, Jolene. I’ve got fresh chickens in a cooler for you. I realized the other day that I hadn’t done enough to thank you and Celeste. I knew you were interested in the eggs, so I figured most of your chickens had come from the grocery store in the past, too. I know the store labels often say ‘fresh’ but fresh really means killed and plucked today.”

“Killed” brought all sorts of undesirable pictures to mind. I liked the sound of “plucked,” though. I wondered about all the chicken’s innards, but was too afraid to ask.

Leslie continued, “I have two whole roasters for you and Ray and one for Celeste. I can bring them back into town tomorrow, or you and Ray can stop by today and pick yours up if you have time.”

I didn’t want to admit that I had nothing but time, or that Ray wasn’t allowed to visit her farm anymore. “Ray’s working, but I can stop by this morning, if that works for you.”

“Good. I’ll put a pot of coffee on.”