Second Bloom

by Sally Handley

  “Holly? Is that you?”

  Holly stood up and saw a young man dressed in a suit, standing on the sidewalk, facing her neighbor’s house.

  “Ira? Hello.” Holly smiled and waved. The young man walked over, and she took off her gardening glove, reaching over the fence to shake hands.

  “What brings you here?” she asked.

  “Your neighbors have some work for me,” he replied.

  “They don’t want to sue me, do they?” Holly joked.

  “You know attorney/client privilege,” he replied laughing. “But no, I can tell you they aren’t suing you. So, how have you been?”

  “Pretty well, thanks. You know, I was actually thinking of calling you,” Holly said.

  “Are you planning to sue someone?”

  “No, no.” Holly chuckled, shaking her head. “Are you still on the zoning board?”

  “Yes. We still talk about you, you know.”

  “Don’t tell me that. I can just imagine what’s being said.”

  “It’s all good. Really. Are you planning some work? Do you need a variance?”

  “No, I didn’t want to talk to you about a zoning issue. It was about Mrs. Hagel’s murder.”

  Ira’s expression shifted from a smile to a frown. “Really awful, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, I can’t believe it,” she replied, gripping the fence rail.

  “Why were you going to contact me about that?”

  “The gardener who’s being held for Mrs. Hagel’s murder--I introduced him to Mrs. Hagel.”

  “You certainly have no liability there,” Ira assured her.

  “I’m not worried about that. I know the gardener well, Ira. He’s worked for me for years. He would never kill anyone.”

  “I’m not a criminal lawyer,” Ira demurred.

  “I know that, but the reason I was going to call you was just for some guidance on whom I might talk to in town in order to help this guy. My neighbor two doors down is a retired policemen and he found out for me where Juan--that’s his name--is being held. I visited him and talked to his lawyer.”

  “Sounds like you didn’t need me at all.”

  “I don’t know about that. I feel I need every bit of help I can get.”

  “Who’s the lawyer?”

  “Sheryl Robinson.”

  “Court appointed?”

  “What do you think?”

  “What did she tell you?”

  Holly recounted what transpired at the lawyer’s office, including Ivy’s revelations about Mrs. Hagel’s medication.

  “Wow. Do you and your sister want jobs? I know a few attorneys who could use people to do paralegal work.”

  “Please!” Holly rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Ira. What do you think?”

  “I think you’d run rings around these kids coming out of college and paralegal schools,” Ira teased.

  “You know that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about Juan. Do you have any suggestions about what I could do for him?”

  Ira got quiet and looked down at the rosebush. Holly waited. Having worked on the zoning board for nearly two years, she learned to recognize when a lawyer was internally analyzing the question asked and formulating a prudent response.

  Ira looked up again, all traces of playfulness gone from his face. “If your friend, Juan, didn’t murder Mrs. Hagel, someone else did, and that could be anyone. A family member, a neighbor, a random thief. You may want to think about that before you get involved any further. As a neighbor who lives just a block away from the Hagel house, quite frankly, I’m terrified thinking there is a murderer on the loose.”

  “Gosh,” Holly said as she ran her hand through her hair. “I hadn’t even thought about that. I’ve been so focused on helping Juan, I didn’t give any thought to who might have actually killed Mrs. Hagel.”

  “My advice to you is leave this to the police.”

  “But the police seem to have already made up their minds that Juan is guilty. I don’t think they’re even looking for other suspects. And Juan is such a good man. I know he didn’t do it.”

  “You asked me. I’ve given you my best professional advice, even though I understand your concern.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate what you’ve told me. Right now there really isn’t anything more I can think to do. I just hope the autopsy clears Juan. But listen. If you think of anything that can help, just give me a call. Okay?”

  “Sure. It was good to see you. And let me know if you change your mind about working for lawyers.” Ira smiled.

  “Get out of here before I turn the hose on you.” Holly laughed as she put her gardening gloves back on.

  “See, now that’s the Holly we miss on the Board,” said Ira, laughing as he walked away, heading back to the neighbor’s front path.

  Holly watched Ira disappear into the neighbor’s house. She looked down the street in the direction of the park. Ira was right. If Juan didn’t kill Mrs. Hagel, someone else did. Who in the world would want to kill that nice old woman? She only had one son. He would inherit everything when she died, and she always bragged about how well her son ran the family printing and stationery business. Why would he kill his mother now?

  “Holly! Holly!”

  Startled, Holly turned to see Ivy standing at the bottom of the front steps, holding a pot of red and white impatiens with vinca gracefully trailing down the front.

  “What were you so deep in thought about? I must have called your name five times.”

  “Oh, nothing,” Holly lied. “That pot looks gorgeous, ” Holly said as she picked up her tool bucket. “I think it’s quitting time. Let’s get cleaned up and have some lunch.”

  ***************

  After her shower Holly returned to the kitchen. Ivy was just finishing a plate of leftover chicken cacciatore.

  “I made you a salad. I figured you would have leftovers, too.”

  “You figured right.” Holly grabbed a plate.

  “You think I can get a bay plant like yours at the herb farm?” Ivy asked.

  “Probably.”

  “Do they have a gift shop?”

  Holly laughed loudly. “Yes, they have a gift shop. It’s in a big barn. You’ll love it. Of course, I do believe you’ve never been to a gift shop you didn’t like.”

  The phone rang. Holly walked over to the counter. The caller ID showed Sheryl Robinson, Esq. She quickly picked up the handset. Ivy put her fork down and waited, exhaling when she saw Holly’s face break into a big smile.

  “Okay,” Holly said. “We’ll be there.”

  “Juan’s being released!” she beamed as she hung up the phone.

  “Really? Tell me what she said,” Ivy demanded.

  “The coroner said the cause of death was cardiac arrest, not stabbing. Mrs. Hagel was dead before the stabbing.” Holly sat down and squeezed Ivy’s hand. “They’re still waiting for the toxicology report to confirm the drugs in her system, but the coroner suspects an error or overdose in medication as the cause of death.”

  “You mean I was right after all?”

  “You were right. Sheryl Robinson said the coroner and police might have reached the right conclusions eventually, but she pushed them based on what you told her, and she thinks that made a difference.”

  “What great news.”

  ”And Juan’s fingerprints were not found on the jewelry, any of the medication or anywhere in the house, so he’s being released today!”

  “Fantastic,” Ivy replied. “We can celebrate at the herb farm.”

  “Well--I sort of agreed to drive over to Paterson and pick Juan up and bring him home.”

  Ivy looked crestfallen.

  “Please don’t be disappointed,” Holly said. “We can go to the herb farm tomorrow. Once we get Juan home, we’re completely free to start our vacation over. Tomorrow we do only what you want to do, and nothing you don’t. I promise.”

  “Another promise?”

  “Yes. I promise, as soon as we drop Juan off at his house, w
e can hit a cosmic reset button. We’ll start immediately by doing a little shopping at the Promenade Shops and then have dinner at Joe’s Crabshack.”

  “Can we order those rum drinks and ask them to dance the Macarena?” Ivy asked.

  “All night long if you want!”

  12 A NURSE IN NEED

  Both Holly and Ivy were feeling content and mellow on the drive home after dinner at Joe’s Crabshack. As Holly turned the corner of her street, she spotted two people on her front doorstep.

  “Who could that be?” Ivy asked.

  “It’s Juan, but I don’t know who the woman is.”

  “She’s in nursing scrubs,” Ivy said.

  Holly parked the car in the driveway and the sisters walked around to the front of the house.

  “Hola, Juan. I thought you’d be home celebrating with your wife and daughter,” Holly said.

  “Gracias, Ms. Donnelly. I so happy. Thank you. My wife, she say to thank you, too.”

  “I already told you, my sister is the one who deserves the thanks. She’s the one who saved you.” Holly laughed, putting her arm around Ivy.

  Juan smiled at Ivy, but then looked to the young woman beside him and the smile left his face. “Esta es Elena Gomez, Ms. Donnelly. Her madre, she work for Mrs. Hagel.”

  Elena dabbed at the corners of her swollen eyes with a shredded, crumpled tissue. She wore a white, fleece hoody over blue nursing scrubs. Too young to be a nurse. Holly’s eyes widened as she realized this girl’s mother was the woman she’d seen walking with Mrs. Hagel in front of her house.

  “Hello, Elena,” Holly said.

  “Hello,” the tearful brunette replied, her eyes darting from Holly to Ivy, then to Juan who put his hand on her shoulder and nodded in the direction of the sisters. She hesitated, looked down at the tissue in her hands, then finally at Holly. “My mother was arrested today. They say she killed Mrs. Hagel.” At that Elena burst into tears. Juan squeezed her shoulder and reached in his pocket, pulling out a clean tissue.

  Holly and Ivy exchanged expressionless glances. “Let’s go inside,” Holly said, unlocking the door and leading the way. “Sit down. Please,” Holly pointed to the couch, left the room and returned with a box of tissues she placed on the coffee table in front of Elena.

  “Thank you,” the girl sniffed.

  “Elena, why do the police think your mother killed Mrs. Hagel?” Holly asked.

  The girl took a deep breath and began, “Because her fingerprints are on the pill bottles. And the jewelry. They say she drugged Mrs. Hagel. They say she put some jewelry in the garden tool bucket and stabbed Mrs. Hagel to frame Juan. The Hagel family now say other jewelry is missing.” Elena sat forward clenching and unclenching her hands. “The police came and searched our apartment, but they didn’t find anything because my mother, she didn’t steal anything and she didn’t kill Mrs. Hagel.”

  “I’m so sorry, Elena. I’m certain your mother didn’t do this, but I’m not sure why you’re here,” Holly said.

  “Juan said you helped him.” Elena ran the tissue across her cheeks. “Please. Please. My mother--she’s working to put me through nursing school. I’m only eighteen. I don’t know what to do.”

  Holly looked from Juan to Ivy. “Don’t you have any other family?”

  “No. My father died when I was ten. There’s only me and my little brother and sister.” Elena again leaned forward moving to the edge of her seat, lightly drumming her fisted hands in her lap. “My mother didn’t do this. She couldn’t do this.” Elena began sobbing this time, burying her face in her hands.

  “I’d like to help, but I don’t know what I can do,” Holly said. “I spoke to the police and the lawyer because I knew Juan personally and thought I could be a character witness, but I don’t know your mother…” she trailed off as the young woman sobbed even louder.

  “Holly.” Ivy tipped her head in the direction of the kitchen.

  “Excuse us a minute,” Holly replied. Juan took Elena’s hand, trying to comfort her as the sisters left the room

  “Oh, boy!” Holly stood with her back against the kitchen counter. “What am I going to do?”

  “You’re going to tell her we’ll help her,” Ivy said calmly.

  “What?” Holly exclaimed. “Aren’t you the one who told me to let the police handle it when I said I wanted to help Juan?”

  “Ssh! Keep your voice down.” Ivy covered her mouth with her index finger. “I know what I said, but she’s so alone and she needs help.”

  Holly stood silently staring at her sister. After a moment, she let out a deep breath and said, “Oh, I get it. It’s because she’s studying to be a nurse, isn’t it?”

  “Okay. Partly. But I just can’t believe a home health care aide who’s sending a daughter to nursing school would kill her employer and frame somebody else. She’d have to be a monster, and I don’t think a monster could have raised that young woman out there.”

  “But what can we do? At least with Juan, I felt I could be a legitimate character witness.”

  “You can talk to Elena’s mother, can’t you? You can talk to her lawyer, too. Elena won’t know what to ask. Believe me. I know what that feels like. That’s what you’re good at. Maybe you could learn something that could help Mrs. Gomez.”

  “Me or we?” Holly raised both eyebrows.

  “Okay, we could talk to the lawyer, but you know you’re better at talking than I am.”

  “I can talk all right, but remember? You were the one who helped Juan. I was actually quite useless.”

  “No, no. If it was up to me we would never have gone to see the lawyer, so don’t say that. Look, I’m completely on board. Elena has no one to turn to. If, after we talk to her mother and the lawyer, you think there’s nothing we can do, then we’ll just have to tell her that.”

  “Are you sure? You really want to get involved in this?”

  “I do. Elena and her mother are in the business of nursing people and nurses are not likely killers. Let’s just do what we can.”

  “You realize this means those fabulous plans we made for the herb farm and a Broadway show are on hold again?”

  “What’s another day or two?” Ivy shrugged.

  With a weary sigh, Holly nodded and the two returned to the living room.

  “Elena, is your mother in the Pineland Park Jail or the County Jail?

  “Pineland Park.”

  “Okay. Tomorrow Ivy and I will go downtown and talk to your mother.”

  “Thank you. Thank you so much.” For the first time, Elena’s face brightened.

  Holly shook her head. “You must understand that we are not lawyers or investigators, and we’re not even sure we can help your mother.”

  “I understand. I understand. If you could just talk to my mother. See if there is anything I could do to help her.”

  “Okay. We just don’t want you to think we can do something we can’t.”

  “No. No. I understand.” She nodded her head, reminding Holly of a puppy, excited and eager to please.

  “Vamanos,” said Juan, getting up to go.

  Holly and Ivy walked them to the front door. As Elena descended the front steps, Juan turned to Holly.

  ”Muchas Gracias. God bless you, Ms. Donnelly.”

  “Juan,” Holly began quietly, “I’m not sure…”

  Juan squeezed her hand. “Rezaré a Dios. Esta en Su manos. Buenas Noches.”

  Holly closed the door and she and Ivy watched as Elena and Juan got inside a beat-up Honda that had to be more than ten years old.

  “What did he say to you?” Ivy asked.

  “He said he would pray to God. It’s in his hands.”

  “Prayers can’t hurt, can they?”

  “No, but Juan may have just used up all his spiritual mojo cashing in his own heavenly get-out-of-jail-free card. Let’s hope Mrs. Gomez has some of her own celestial credits.”

  13 SLEEPLESS IN PINELAND PARK

  Holly crawled into bed, exhausted, hoping she
would fall asleep immediately, but as soon as she closed her eyes, her mind kicked into overdrive. Who killed Mrs. Hagel? From the moment she’d seen Juan in handcuffs, her total focus had been on helping him. Not trying to find a murderer.

  Against her better judgment, she agreed to talk to Elena’s mother. For all she knew, the woman may have actually committed the murder. But Juan brought Elena to her because he clearly did not believe Mrs. Gomez was guilty. That had to count for something, especially since the charges included trying to frame him.

  Holly dreaded going back down to the police station the next day. Tossing and turning for half an hour, she finally jumped up and turned on the light, muttering, “What the hell?” She reached for the phone and hit Speed Dial 2.

  “Kate?”

  “Hi. You know, I was just thinking about you. How’s it going down there?”

  “You want the good news or bad news first?”

  “Good news, of course.”

  “Juan was released.”

  “That’s wonderful news. How’d you manage that?”

  “I had very little to do with it. Ivy saved him.” Holly recounted the visit to Sheryl Robinson’s office.

  “Amazing!” Kate said. “Kudos to Ivy, huh?”

  “Really. You know I’ve always felt guilty because growing up I usually got credited with being the smart one, but that’s only because I was more assertive. Ivy’s way smarter than me.”

  “You also like being the center of attention, and the few times I’ve been in Ivy’s company, I can tell she doesn’t. She seems more content to follow.”

  “Yeah,” Holly paused. “But every now and then, she can surprise you, like when she up and joined the Army on her twentieth birthday.”

  “I forgot that. I still can’t imagine that 95-pound blonde in the army.”

  “We used to call her Private Benjamin.” Holly laughed. “One of these days we’ll have to get together so she can tell you some of her army stories.”

  “So what’s the bad news?”

  Holly threw her head back onto the pillows. “Ugh! For a moment there I almost forgot.”