Dearly Departed

by Tristi Pinkston

  “Nothing unusual happened on my shift,” George said after being delivered by Alex. “She went about her routine, and I didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary.”

  Hattie and Ida Mae quickly related everything they’d learned, and George furrowed his brow. “‘G.’ Well, it’s not me, I can guarantee you that, but no one leaps to mind. I’ll have to think on that.”

  Lunch was delicious as always. Eloise and the general were a little more talkative than usual, which was good because it covered the fact that Ida Mae, Hattie, and George hardly spoke at all. Ida Mae’s brain whirled with possibilities, and she could tell Hattie and George were also thinking while they ate.

  “I’ll take the first afternoon shift,” Ida Mae said to her cohorts after lunch. “In fact, Andrea promised to help me wash my hair, so she’ll be with me for at least half an hour.”

  “That’s good,” Hattie said. “Maybe Arlette will be back by then.”

  “I hope so.” Ida Mae fingered the controls on her chair. “I’ve just got this nagging feeling that time is of the essence.”

  Andrea held the door open as Ida Mae wheeled herself out onto the spacious back patio. “There’s nothing like sunshine to dry hair,” Andrea said, adjusting the towel around Ida Mae’s shoulders. She took a pick and fluffed the older woman’s white curls. “Soon you’ll be ready for your style.”

  “It does feel good out here,” Ida Mae agreed. Andrea had chosen a spot where the sunlight was warm but filtered through the trees, so it wasn’t too bright. Perfect.

  A door in the fence behind them opened, and Ida Mae realized they were just outside Dr. Greene’s patio. “Andrea, may I speak with you for a second?” he asked. “Hello, Mrs. Babbitt. How are you today?”

  “I’m fine,” she answered with a plastered-on smile.

  “Will you be all right for a few minutes?” Andrea asked.

  “Of course.”

  Andrea stepped through the gate, and Dr. Greene pulled it closed behind him. That’s odd, Ida Mae thought. She nudged the control on her chair back a little, bringing herself closer to the gate. She could hear voices, so she went back a bit more.

  “I don’t know what you were thinking,” Dr. Greene said, his voice muted but his tone still sharp. “That was the most scatterbrained, stupid—”

  “What was I supposed to do?” Andrea returned. “I had reporters snooping around my house. It was only a matter of time before they figured it out. I had to get out of there.”

  Ida Mae’s ears perked.

  “But you left the same day they came. How suspicious is that going to look?”

  “It was a rental house. People move in and out of rentals all the time. For what it’s worth, my new apartment is much closer to work. I can say I was sick of the commute.”

  Dr. Greene didn’t reply for a minute, and Ida Mae wondered what was going on. When he did speak again, his voice was strained.

  “If they try to hunt you down, it could be all over for us. You know that.”

  “They’re just reporters,” Andrea replied, beginning to wheedle. “And reporters always make stuff up to sell papers. Honey, we’re safe. We’re just fine.”

  “I’m not so sure.” The doctor sounded exasperated. “I think you should have kept the house.”

  “It was too big for me anyway. You said you were going to move in, but you never did.”

  “I got . . . sidetracked,” he said. “I was planning on it.”

  “Sidetracked by what? Michelle? Sure, she’s cute, but we’re a team.”

  “Yeah, I thought we were a team too, but you’ve been acting without talking to me first. That’s not teamwork, Andrea.”

  “I don’t need you to approve my every action,” she snapped. This conversation was rapidly turning from an interesting divesting of facts to a lovers’ quarrel, and Ida Mae sensed that one or the other of them would soon be stomping through the gate. She wheeled herself forward again, hoping the raised voices covered the slight whir of the motor on her chair.

  Sure enough, about fifteen seconds later, Andrea charged through the gate, then slowed and closed it gently.

  “How’s your hair?” she asked, no trace of rancor in her voice.

  “I think it’s nearly dry,” Ida Mae said.

  Andrea ran the pick through it again. “Sure enough. Let’s go back inside and make you gorgeous for dinner. I’ve noticed George is spending some extra time with you.”

  Ida Mae didn’t have to fake her embarrassment. “Yes, he has been very attentive.”

  “He’s a sweet man, Ida Mae. You could do a lot worse.”

  “Oh, I don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship,” Ida Mae said.

  “I’m not really talking about a relationship, just someone to spend time with,” Andrea explained. “Relationships grow when they’re ready.”

  Ida Mae thought about that as Andrea fixed her hair. It was true—George was the perfect gentleman in every way, and she couldn’t ask for a more thoughtful, interesting dinner companion. Maybe she would take him up on his offers of moonlight strolls—or rather, moonlight wheelchair rides—around the property. It had been a long time since someone looked at her the way he did.

  Thinking about George made her feel uncomfortable, but it did keep her mind off the fact that a murderer was styling her hair, and that “G” surely had to mean Dr. Greene.

  Before Ida Mae had a chance to call Arlette with her newest information, she got a phone message. She decided she’d better return the call from the privacy of her own room. Once there, she dialed and asked to speak with Dr. Farmer.

  “Ida Mae, I’m glad you called,” he said. “I just wanted to double-check some things with you.”

  “What do you need to know?” she asked.

  “Your insurance called me this morning. It seems Dr. Greene at Shady Aspens prescribed a motorized wheelchair for you.”

  “Well, not really. One of the nurses found one in the storage room and I’ve been using it.”

  “Hmm. Your insurance company says Dr. Greene prescribed it, but as he’s a therapist and not a medical doctor, they wanted to check it out with me, as your primary-care physician. I think the chair’s a good idea, personally.”

  “Did they say how much they had been billed for the chair?”

  She heard the rustling of papers in the background. “Yes, they said it came to eight thousand dollars.”

  “Oh, my.” Ida Mae nearly dropped the phone. “And the insurance company was all right with paying that?”

  “They seemed to be, as long as I verified the need. Sounds like it’s a go.”

  “No, wait a minute.” Alex had gotten the wheelchair from the storage room, and it had some definite signs of wear on it, although it was in good condition. If Dr. Greene billed the insurance for a new, full-price wheelchair, when she was using a loaner . . .

  “Is that the normal cost for a wheelchair?” she asked Dr. Farmer.

  “Seems to be. My mother paid about that for hers.”

  “Brand new?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have the paperwork for the claim?”

  “No, they just called me on the phone. I wrote down what they said, but I don’t have copies of the actual claim here.”

  “Do you think you could get copies?”

  Dr. Farmer paused. “You sound a little worked up, Ida Mae. Is everything all right?”

  “I’m—I’m not sure,” she answered honestly. “If you could tell the insurance you need more information before you can verify the claim, I’d really appreciate it.”

  “Okay, I’ll see what I can do.”

  Ida Mae sat in silence after hanging up the phone. She needed a meeting, and she needed it now.

  Ida Mae was quiet as she watched the group assemble in her room. Tansy and Arlette sat in the two chairs by the window. Eden and Kevin sat on the bed, Kevin having been brought in under the guise of being Arlette’s grandson. “Not my brother, my cousin,” Eden clarified. “We don’t
look anything alike.”

  Arlette had asked for and received permission to bring pizza so they could stay in Ida Mae’s room for hours if necessary without calling attention to themselves. George and Hattie were in the dining room, making sure no one followed through on any thoughts to come check on Ida Mae. She needed time to sort through everything she’d learned.

  “I overheard a very interesting conversation this afternoon,” she said, then told the group what Dr. Greene and Andrea had been so urgently discussing.

  “So Dr. Greene and Andrea both know a whole lot more about the murder than they’re letting on.” Eden leaned forward. Her hair was a little rumpled—she’d pulled off her blonde wig as soon as she’d taken her seat—but she still looked adorable. She always looked adorable. Ida Mae thought she’d make a beautiful bride, too, and just hoped she could hold off long enough for Ren to come home.

  “That’s right, and Dr. Greene is mad at Andrea for moving,” Ida Mae replied. “He thinks she aroused your suspicions.”

  “Well, she did,” Eden said. “She made herself look very suspicious.”

  “Were you ever able to get hold of her old landlord?” Ida Mae asked.

  “He called about an hour ago. He said she always paid on time, except for that last month, when she was a little late, but she sent him the money right after she moved out, and she paid him a little extra, so he wasn’t mad. She was a good tenant, never caused any trouble. The damages Little Bit O’ Fluff’s owner mentioned weren’t caused by Andrea, but a previous tenant.”

  Ida Mae thought for a minute. “All right, now. There’s something else you need to know.”

  After she finished relaying the story of the wheelchair, Kevin’s eyes grew hard. “They’re trying to scam you,” he said. “That chair was a castoff, and they’re trying to pocket the insurance money for a new one.”

  “That’s what I think, too,” Ida Mae said. “And how odd that Dr. Greene was the one to prescribe it, since I got the chair from Michelle and Alex.”

  “So, they get you the chair out of storage, but Dr. Greene charges the insurance for it,” Kevin said.

  “Correct.” Ida Mae nodded.

  Kevin stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Let’s go on the supposition that this insurance fraud has been going on for a long time. I seriously doubt your chair is the first time this has happened.”

  “I agree,” Ida Mae said.

  “Dr. Brent must have found out,” Tansy put in, “and they killed her for it!”

  Ida Mae looked over at Tansy, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet up until then. “Why do you think that, Tansy?”

  “Why else would they kill her? Unless they’re doing something else wrong, too.”

  “I think Tansy’s right,” Arlette said.

  “So, if they killed Dr. Brent because she found out, what happened to Beverly?” Kevin asked.

  Ida Mae pulled Beverly’s notebook out of her pocket. “‘G’ has to stand for Greene, don’t you think?” she asked. “And Beverly saw something that made her gape.”

  “What?” Eden asked.

  Ida Mae held out the notebook, and Eden read the scribble.

  “That just sounds odd,” Eden said. “I’ve never heard anyone say they gaped. I’ve only read it in books.”

  “Well, that’s what it says.”

  “But what did she see?” Eden pressed her fingers into her eyes. “Okay, let’s say she was looking out her window, and she saw something. The note says ‘G’ saw her. That means it was dark outside and her light was on.”

  “That makes sense,” Kevin agreed.

  “We’ve got to get into Beverly’s room one more time and see what she can see from her window when it’s dark.” Eden reached for her wig. “Kevin, are you with me?”

  “You bet,” he said.

  Tansy came to her feet. “Me too.”

  “I’ll stay here with Ida Mae,” Arlette said.

  After the others left, Ida Mae said, “I’ve got goose bumps down both arms, Arlette. We’re so close to figuring this out, I just know it.”

  A gentle tap at her door a moment later made her think Eden had returned. But it was Hattie, being wheeled by Nichole.

  “I’m fine for a little while, Nichole.” Hattie dismissed her helper with a smile. As soon as the door closed, Hattie said, “Eloise is acting very strange downstairs. I think something’s up with her.”

  “Isn’t something nearly always up with her?” Ida Mae asked.

  “Well, that’s true, but this was a little something more,” Hattie said. “She asked me to tell you that she’d like to talk with you down in the common area.”

  “But we’re right in the middle of something.”

  Hattie lowered her voice. “Eloise says she can help you.”

  22

  Tansy stood lookout while Eden and Kevin crept to Beverly’s old room. “Still not occupied,” Eden whispered, looking at the blank nameplate by the door. “Thank goodness.” She used the lock cheater, and within seconds they stood inside the room.

  “Okay, pretend we’re Beverly.” She crossed the room to the window and lifted the blinds. “I see a parking lot.”

  “Not very picturesque.” Kevin stood next to her. “Lots of asphalt.”

  “In order for someone in the parking lot to see us, we’d need to have a light on.”

  “True.” Kevin reached for the light switch, but then he stopped. “It can’t be the overhead light—that would cause too much of a shadow on Beverly’s face.”

  “How about this lamp?” Eden flicked the switch on the lamp near the window. “That would illuminate her face, wouldn’t it?”

  “I think so, because it’s off to the side.”

  “Okay, so she’s standing at her window, and she’s looking out at the parking lot, and . . . ”

  “And what?” Kevin asked.

  Eden reached out and grabbed Kevin’s hand as chills ran down her spine. “Look at that little green car, parked straight down there.”

  When Kevin looked, a grin spread across his face. “Well, I’ll be. I think we know who that car belongs to.”

  “Dr. Greene,” Eden responded.

  “I’ll wait here for the others to come back,” Hattie said.

  “All right. Arlette, are you coming with me?” Ida Mae asked.

  “I’m certainly not letting you go by yourself,” Arlette replied. “Who knows what you’re going to walk right into without even thinking about it.”

  “I have thought about it,” Ida Mae said. “I’ve been thinking furiously for the last five minutes. We have to talk to Eloise and see what she knows.”

  Arlette shrugged. “I suppose you’re right.”

  Hattie settled herself a little more comfortably in her wheelchair. “You go ahead, then. I’ll be fine right here.”

  Ida Mae and Arlette made their way to the meeting place. Ida Mae couldn’t imagine what Eloise could possibly want, but the woman obviously knew something, or she wouldn’t have sent Hattie with the message. Ida Mae couldn’t discount the possibility that Eloise was being used as a pawn in a much bigger game and she could be walking—er, rolling—into a trap, but she had to know for sure.

  Eloise was waiting right where she said she’d be, twisting a handkerchief between her fingers. “Thank you for coming,” she blurted. “I just can’t go on this way. I have to talk to someone.”

  “What’s the matter, Eloise?” Ida Mae asked, concerned at the look of terror on the woman’s face. “You can tell us.”

  “There are things you need to know. Things I think you already know, but . . . you need to hear them from me.”

  “I’m not really sure what you mean.”

  “I think you’ve been spying on Andrea,” Eloise said, then held up a hand as Ida Mae rushed in with a story at the ready. “No, it’s okay. I have some explaining of my own to do, and even if I’m wrong, even if you aren’t here investigating, you’ll have the information you need to take to the police. Things have gotten out o
f control and I should have spoken sooner. I think I can trust you.” She raised her head and met Ida Mae’s gaze squarely. “Can I trust you?”

  “Yes, you can.” Ida Mae returned the straightforward look.

  Eloise took a deep, shuddering breath, and then began. “It all started out innocently enough. They just wanted a little extra money to pay off their student loans. Medical school is expensive, you know, and with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt between them, there was no way they could start fresh.”

  Ida Mae wanted to leap in with questions, but she sensed Eloise needed time to get into the story.

  “So when they had the idea, it seemed all right. The insurance companies have so much money, and it just didn’t seem like it would hurt anything, so . . .”

  She paused, and this time the wait was too long for Arlette. “What happened then?”

  “Dr. Greene and Andrea started billing the insurance companies for services not rendered to the patients. When the payment came through, they pocketed it.”

  This confirmed Ida Mae’s suspicions about the wheelchair. As much as she wanted to burst forth with, “Aha! I knew it!” she bit her tongue.

  “Beverly came to me the night before she died. She’d been disturbed by an argument in the parking lot and looked out her window. She saw Dr. Brent and Dr. Greene standing by his car. He was yelling at her and waving his arms around, and at one point, he reached out and struck her. Andrea was there too, and she tried to intervene, but Dr. Greene pushed her away. Beverly told me he yelled something like, ‘You’d better not tell anyone.’ I can only imagine that Dr. Brent had figured out what was going on with the insurance money and confronted them about it. Then, Dr. Greene looked up at the window and saw Beverly watching them. She came to find me, hoping I could do something about it.”

  “Why would you be able to do something about it?” Ida Mae asked. “And how do you know all this?”

  Eloise dipped her head and studied her hands, clasped in her lap. “I’m Andrea’s mother.” She was silent for a moment, and a thousand thoughts raced through Ida Mae’s head. “I can’t afford to live here, so Andrea and Dr. Greene have been fixing the books for me in exchange for my silence. You see, I know everything they’ve done to cover their tracks. I know they killed Beverly, and I know they killed Dr. Brent.”