“What came up?”
“I had to schedule our living room rug to be picked up for a cleaning tomorrow. We want to get the last of Daphne’s dander out of the house for Bob’s allergy. It’s the only date they had open. Our downstairs will be all discombobulated.”
“I can imagine. If you’re sure you don’t need tonight to get ready, I can make it.”
“Oh good! I hated to disrupt everyone’s schedules, but it’s working out. And, no, Bob and I have tomorrow morning to move all the small things. The rug people will handle the heavy stuff. Thank you so much, Lia.”
“Anything to help Bob breathe better.”
After disconnecting, Lia realized her phone battery charge was low, so she hooked it up to the nearest outlet. She’d intended to do an Internet search, but Hayley’s unwelcome news that her server was down canceled using her laptop. She never liked using the phone for extended browsing, so she left it to charge in peace and went to fix herself lunch.
She had finished her sandwich and was reaching into the refrigerator for a bowl of grapes when the phone hanging on her kitchen wall rang. Grumbling that it probably was a robocall, since most of her friends called her cell, she nonetheless reached over to pick it up.
“Mrs. Geiger?” a voice asked.
“Yes?”
“Your daughter is Hayley Geiger?” The brisk, official-sounding tone along with the question started Lia’s nerves jangling.
“Yes. Is something wrong? Who is this?”
“I’m calling from Carter Medical Center, ma’am. There’s been an accident. Your daughter has been brought here.”
Lia’s heart dropped. “What happened? How badly is she hurt?”
“Sorry, ma’am, I don’t have that information. You’ll have to speak with the doctor about that.”
“Yes, of course.” Lia drew a breath to say more, but the caller had disconnected.
Panic threatened, but Lia hurried from the kitchen to grab her cell phone, yanking it from its outlet connection, and immediately called Hayley’s number. She was startled to hear rings coming from upstairs and followed them to the second bedroom. There she found Hayley’s phone sitting on the dresser, where she’d left it.
Lia quickly called her neighbor.
“Sharon! Hayley’s been in an accident. They’ve taken her to a medical center. I think they said Carter. Is that the right name? I have to get there. I can’t think straight to look up directions.”
“Oh no! Yes, it’s Carter. Lia, let me drive you. I know exactly where it is.”
Lia paused. Sharon was right. Lia had never been to that hospital, never had a need to since she’d moved to Crandalsburg. In her present state of mind, even putting an address into her GPS felt beyond her. “All right. Thank you.”
“I’ll be right out,” Sharon said.
Lia thought about her insurance card but remembered Hayley was on her own plan. She ran back upstairs and scrambled through Hayley’s purse, which was sitting on the dresser next to the phone. She found the card and dashed down to meet Sharon.
Sharon ran out of her house at the same time as Lia and waved Lia over to her blue Impala, unlocking the doors with her remote as they closed in on it. Lia hopped into the passenger seat and buckled herself in. How badly was Hayley hurt? At least she was alive! But Lia couldn’t bear the thought of her beautiful daughter being possibly broken and in pain. How could that have happened? Terrible thoughts flooded through her, so much so that she could barely breathe.
Chapter 34
The ride to the hospital took only half an hour but seemed a lifetime to Lia. Sharon drove expertly while making statements intended to be calming, which Lia appreciated hugely, though her heartbeat barely slowed.
Memories came to her of the day she and Tom had rushed four-year-old Hayley to the hospital after their daughter’s failed attempt to imitate Superman by flying off her backyard swing set. Hayley’s wails as Lia held on to her as best she could through the blanket she’d wrapped tightly around her daughter before securing her in the car seat had added to Lia’s distress and feelings of guilt. She couldn’t stop chastising herself for not somehow preventing the accident, even though she’d checked on her daughter regularly and Hayley had never tried anything so foolish before.
Tom had been wonderful, Lia remembered. Though he surely was just as upset and worried, he managed to cover those feelings and project calm and comfort. Having him to hold on to after nurses rushed Hayley into the emergency room had kept Lia from totally falling apart.
Being a surgical nurse hadn’t helped her at all. It had only pulled up all the horrible possibilities that the average person wouldn’t think of and added to her agitation. Such feelings had never intruded when she was doing her job. Then, her training always kicked in, no matter what the seriousness of the case at hand. That training largely went out the window, it turned out, when it was your own child. Lia had clung tightly to Tom until they were informed that Hayley’s injuries were limited to a broken arm and bruises. Bad, but so much better than what it might have been.
Lia never missed Tom as much as she did right then, though Sharon was wonderful to take her in hand. Lia wasn’t sure how she would have managed without her. But she dearly wished she had Tom beside her once again to assure her everything would be all right.
The medical center loomed ahead. Thank God! Sharon drove into the campus and wove expertly through the maze of curving roads and buildings, following signs that Lia was sure she would have overlooked.
“I learned my way around when my mom had her cancer treatments here,” Sharon explained. “The staff is top-notch. Hayley’s in good hands.” She pulled up to an entrance marked emergency. “Go on in,” she told Lia. “I’ll park and come find you.”
Lia unbuckled and scrambled out, barely remembering to thank Sharon, and hurried through the automatic doors. She quickly spotted an information desk and rushed over to it, only to have to wait behind an elderly man speaking to the woman handling the desk. The gentleman apparently had a hearing problem, which prolonged the interaction, probably not more than a minute or two, but it felt like an eternity to Lia, who struggled to keep her composure. Finally they were done, and Lia stepped forward.
“My daughter, Hayley Geiger, was taken here. How do I find her?”
“One moment.” The young black woman efficiently typed in Hayley’s name, double-checking the spelling. She clicked several time with her mouse, frowning. After more clicks and a deeper frown, she turned to Lia. “G-e-i-g-e-r?”
“Yes! And Hayley, H-a-y-l-e-y.”
The woman tried again. After several grueling moments she finally said, “I’m sorry, I’m not finding her. Are you sure she was brought to us?”
Was she sure? After hearing accident and your daughter, had she listened properly to the rest?
“The person on the phone said Carter, I’m pretty sure. Is there another hospital with a name close to Carter?”
“No, ma’am, not if we’re talking about Pennsylvania, as far as I’m aware. Your daughter is in Pennsylvania?”
“Yes! She was in an accident in Crandalsburg. She has to be here. Please check again.”
The young woman nodded, compassion on her face, but Lia also read certainty that she hadn’t made a mistake, that she hadn’t missed anything. But she must have! Others had begun lining up behind Lia, waiting as impatiently as she herself had. She didn’t care. She needed to locate her daughter. But something was wrong!
“I’m sorry, ma’am. Hayley Geiger is not in our system. You might check with other hospitals. She could be at one of them.”
Lia nodded numbly and stepped aside. She looked around blankly, unsure what to do next. It was some minutes before Sharon appeared, stepping through the doors. Lia raised a hand and Sharon veered over.
“Did you find her?”
Lia shook her head. “They say she
’s not here. I don’t understand.”
“Not here! That doesn’t make any sense. She must be here. They don’t take accident victims anywhere else.” Sharon made a move toward the desk, but Lia stopped her. She’d been thinking.
“Wait. Let me try something.” She pulled out her phone and made a call, listening to the rings. On the fourth ring it was answered.
“Hi, Mom!”
“Hayley! Where are you?”
“I just got home. Why? What’s wrong? Where are you?”
Lia could have cried with relief. Hayley was fine. It had all been a terrible hoax.
“She’s okay,” she said to Sharon. She told Hayley about the call and why she was currently at a medical center half an hour away from home.
“That’s bizarre, Mom! Who would do such a thing?”
“I don’t know. But I’m going to think about it very carefully on the way home. Please stay there for now.”
“Absolutely. And tell Sharon to drive carefully!”
Sharon did drive carefully, and she brushed away Lia’s apologies for her wasted time. She also declined Lia’s offer of coffee when she dropped her off, as well as some of Carolyn Hanson’s carrot cake, saying she needed to get her slow-cooker dinner going. “After you called, I thought we’d be eating pizza tonight instead. But I’m so glad Hayley is okay and all is well.” Lia wasn’t so sure about the “all is well” part, but she gave Sharon a final hug and went indoors to find her daughter.
The sight of Hayley coming down the stairs was wonderful despite the raggedy robe she’d thrown on after a shower and the damp hair straggling over half her face. Lia held on to her, only releasing her when Hayley hinted softly with, “Mom?”
“Sorry,” Lia said, stepping back. “It’s just that less than an hour ago I was expecting to find you unconscious in a hospital bed.”
“I know, and whoever played that trick on you is an awful human being. I called Brady and told him what happened. You said the call came to the landline, right?”
“Right.”
“He’ll have someone check with the phone company. Maybe they can track down the creep. I’m sorry I didn’t have my phone with me. I usually take it when I run, especially in Philly, but the pants I wore today only have one of those small credit card pockets. I remember thinking there was nothing to worry about here in Crandalsburg.”
“Accidents can happen anywhere,” Lia said. “But I understand. Just please wear large-pocket clothes from now on, okay? Well! I’m bushed, and my head is aching. I need to lie down for a bit before the Ninth Street Knitters meeting. Jen Beasley moved it to tonight.”
“You’re going?”
“Why not?” Lia asked, surprised at Hayley’s shocked reaction.
“Then I’m going with you. I don’t think you should drive all the way to York on your own.”
“Hayley . . . ,” Lia began, ready to protest, but quickly realized her daughter had been more shaken up by what had happened than she’d let on. “It might be a little boring, but if you’re sure you want to.”
“It’ll be nice to see everyone,” Hayley insisted. Then she grinned. “And they bring great food, don’t they?”
“That they do,” Lia agreed. “Which reminds me, I was going to bake a batch of cheesy spinach balls to take along. Would you like to do that for me?”
Hayley readily agreed, and Lia went up to her room, knowing her daughter would have something calming to occupy her mind, while she herself took a badly needed break. As she lay down, Daphne surprised her by hopping up on the bed. Lia pulled the cat closer, greatly appreciating the added warmth and comfort as she closed her eyes.
Chapter 35
The Ninth Street Knitters helped themselves to the nibbles that were laid out in Jen’s kitchen, including Hayley’s nicely done spinach balls, and started to settle down. A couple of the women asked Hayley about her job. She gave polite but noninformative answers, and they didn’t press further. Once everyone had taken out their knitting, Lia cleared her throat.
“I had a rather distressing experience today.” She described what she’d gone through, beginning with the heart-stopping phone call and the anxiety-filled ride to the hospital with the full expectation of finding Hayley badly hurt in the ER. “Once I got there I learned I’d been set up. The phone call was totally fake,” she said, producing shrieks of horror from the group.
“What an awful prank!” Diana cried.
“More than a prank,” Maureen said. “It’s criminal!”
“I agree and have reported it.” Hayley took a bite of her cheese-topped cracker.
“Good,” Jen said. “I hope they catch that awful person.”
Tracy, who’d remained quiet until then, said, “You know it might have been the murderer you’ve been tracking, Lia.”
“Oh my gosh, she’s right!” Diana said.
Lia nodded. “I’ve considered that possibility, too.”
“What did the voice sound like?” Jen asked. “A man or a woman?”
“I wish I could say, but it could have been either—not pitched particularly high or low. I was so shocked that all I could think about was Hayley.”
“Exactly what that creep planned on,” Jen said.
“If you can’t identify the caller as either male or female, that means it could be any of the suspects you’ve come up with so far: Adam Mathis, Annie Bradburn, or Martin Brewer,” Maureen said. She settled back in her chair, continuing to work on the blue baby cap she’d started the week before, which was taking shape nicely.
“Assuming you haven’t missed someone,” Diana pointed out.
“Oh lordy,” Jen said. “I hope not. But are we looking for one person who committed both murders? Darren Peebles and the artist Joan Fowler?”
They looked toward Lia for an answer, all except Hayley, who had gone to the kitchen for more nibbles. But all Lia could say was, “I just don’t know at this point. All three of those people had both motive and opportunity to kill Darren, and all three had an opportunity for Joan’s murder. Unfortunately, Annie is the only one who I know might have something like a motive against Joan.”
“Unfortunately?’” Jen asked.
“Mom feels the same way I do,” Hayley said as she returned to her seat, munching on one of Maureen’s mini-meatballs. “That Annie’s family is already going through so much. She’d hate to see it get worse.”
“But that wouldn’t be your fault, Lia,” Tracy said. “You’d only be exposing it. If Annie is responsible for this madness, she’ll have brought it on herself and her family. She’ll have to be stopped.”
“You’re right, of course,” Lia agreed. “And I’m not scratching her off the list out of sympathy by any means. But I’d still regret to find anything that incriminates her.”
“But I don’t see Annie playing such a mean trick on you, Mom,” Hayley said. “I mean, sending you running to the hospital like that? Getting you worried to death?”
“Annie hasn’t been herself lately,” Lia said. “Olivia, who’s been blocked from setting up playdates for their sons, has noticed it. The entire craft fair has noticed it.” She told the others about Annie’s unusually bitter-sounding argument with Joan the day of Joan’s murder.
After they’d mulled that over, Diana said, “I heard about how the body was left.” Knitting needles paused motionless as the others waited to hear. “One of her paintings was pushed over her head.”
“Oh,” Maureen breathed. “Symbolic! Like the way Darren’s body was left in the craft barn.”
“But symbolic of what?” Jen asked.
“I don’t know,” Maureen said. “What was it a painting of?”
“A farm scene,” Lia told her. “Barnyard animals.” The women looked at each other, puzzled. “It could mean something to the murderer or nothing. The only thing it seems to indicate, at least to me, is pe
rsonal anger on the part of the murderer. It wasn’t enough to kill Joan. She had to be left looking ridiculous.”
“Something a woman like Joan would have hated,” Hayley put in. “Maybe more than being murdered. Well,” she backtracked, “at least she would have hated it as much.”
“Definitely personal,” Tracy agreed. “I’d say that leaves out the professor, wouldn’t you? He’s all about preserving local history. You haven’t discovered, oh, I don’t know, that George Washington once stayed at Joan’s house, and that she planned to let it be torn down and replaced by a McDonald’s?”
“Wow!” Hayley said. “I didn’t think of that angle.”
“Hayley’s been doing Internet searches for a way to connect Joan to Martin,” Lia explained.
“But I’ve been focusing on their pasts. I need to check on current stuff.”
“Actually,” Lia said, “Adam Mathis owns a property that Martin considers historic enough to be preserved. Nothing that George Washington ever visited, but people such as the Vanderbilts might have stayed there during the late 1800s. Belinda and I came across plans for it to be demolished.”
“But Joan, not Adam, was murdered,” Jen pointed out.
“And let’s hope Adam won’t be next,” Tracy said half seriously as she held up her knitting. “I’ve just started on this sweater for his wife’s dog, and I don’t want it canceled halfway through. Or would she do that?” she asked Lia. “I mean, would losing her husband upset Eva’s world enough to draw her attention away from her pet?”
“Hard to say,” Lia said dryly. “Particularly if she had been having an affair with Darren, something I’m not yet sure of. But if she was, and if Adam murdered Darren because of it—more for Eva’s money than out of jealousy—then, no, her world wouldn’t be any more upset than it had been after Darren’s murder. By that I mean very little.”
“Strange woman,” Tracy said. “I’ll have to keep in mind that I’m knitting for the dog and not for her. The dog is nice, right, Lia?”
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