The First Ladies Club Box Set

by J B Hawker

  “Are you sure?” Judy asked, patting the bed for Astilbe to sit. “Daddy will be here to help me, remember.”

  “I’m not sacrificing, or anything,” Astilbe said. “I really just don’t want to miss anything. Babies change so fast in those first years. Coming home every few weeks or months just wouldn’t cut it.”

  She kissed Judy’s cheek and patted Ken’s foot before hopping up, saying, “So, that’s settled, then. G’nite!”

  When the door closed, Ken turned to look at his wife.

  “Do you know what this means?” he asked.

  “It means we have the best daughters in the world, of course.”

  “No,” Ken said. “Well, that too, but this means we can borrow from her college fund for a down payment on a house. We can build her fund back up by the time she’s ready to move on for her degree. Now, let’s get off these rental listings pages and start searching the real estate ads.”

  They browsed the ads, noting down possibilities to look at later in the week, then prayed aloud together as they did every night. This night’s prayer included a great many words of thanks.

  Chapter 23

  “Thank you for agreeing to come to my office for this interview, Doctor,” Detective Ransom said when he walked into the interview room at the Sheriff’s Office in Tillamook.

  “Of course,” Haleby said. “But I don’t understand why another meeting is necessary. I’ve told you everything I know, already.”

  “We appreciate your cooperation, but we still need to clear something up.”

  “Well, then, let’s get on with it. I have patients to see and my wife is in the hospital,” Haleby said.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. I sure hope it’s nothing serious,” Ransom said.

  “It is quite serious, I’m afraid, so can you ask your questions as quickly as possible?”

  “Of course. You see, we have information from reliable sources that your cousin Victoria had a major crush on you, so it is very probable you are the man she wrote about in her diary.”

  Haleby stiffened, his face growing pale, before he responded.

  “That’s nonsense! I’d like to know what ‘reliable source’ is giving you this misinformation. There can be no one left who knew my cousin well in those days. She had few friends.”

  “We had heard that, but we were lucky enough to track down her best friend and a couple of her teachers, too.”

  “In that case, these people have faulty memories. My cousin was just a child. If she had, as you say, a crush on me, I assure you I was completely unaware of it,” Haleby said.

  “So, you deny having a romantic relationship with Victoria?”

  “I most certainly do. I find the suggestion offensive.”

  “I’m sorry about that, but you understand we have to ask these questions in a homicide investigation.”

  “How can you be certain Victoria was a victim of foul play, Detective. You haven’t even established a cause of death, have you? She may have died as the result of a tragic accident.”

  Cassius rose from the chair, leaning heavily on his cane.

  “You must excuse me. While we are here talking nonsense, my wife may be awakening from her coma. I should be there.”

  “Okay, but we may need to have you come in again, as more information comes to light.”

  *

  Cassius was furious as he drove back to Bannoch. How dare that detective suggest such things to a man of Haleby’s stature? The car’s speed increased as his anger rose, and he almost missed the curve in the highway north of town. Startled, he slowed down before turning onto the road to the hospital.

  When he entered his wife’s room, it was obvious from the nurse’s face that Inez was no nearer to regaining consciousness, but he asked to see the chart, anyway.

  “Why don’t you wait here, Doctor Haleby? I’ll just go get your wife’s physician. I know he would like to speak with you,” the nurse responded, walking out of the room.

  Cassius approached his wife and read the monitors beside the bed. Her grayish pallor told him as much as the machines did. He sat in the visitor’s chair and waited for what her physician was going to tell him.

  Walking out of the hospital after his wife’s death, Cassius was overcome by a wave of unanticipated grief. He staggered and a sob escaped his lips before he regained control.

  Nothing else could have been done, of course. When her doctor explained that his wife had no brain activity and was not responding to pain stimulus, he agreed it was time to take her off life support. Cassius knew patients often linger after the machines stop breathing for them and was unprepared for the suddenness of Inez’s death. The moment the machines were turned off she was gone. It was as though she couldn’t wait to leave this life behind and he felt a moment of irrational resentment toward her.

  Cassius reminded himself that one never knew how one would react to such a loss until it happened. Mixed feelings were perfectly natural and, even though he had stopped feeling anything except annoyance toward Inez long ago, it seemed he was grieving.

  He sat in the car for almost twenty minutes, not thinking of anything at all, until a State Trooper pulling into the emergency entrance reminded him of his earlier trip to the Tillamook Sheriff’s Office and his rekindled anger roused him to action.

  *

  Judy was just leaving the hospital after her volunteer time in the NICU and she saw Dr. Haleby sitting in his car. She was wondering why he seemed so upset when he suddenly drove off, peeling out of the parking lot like a teenager.

  *

  Haleby decided to call his children from the office, because he needed to let his staff know the office would be closed for a suitable period of mourning. He wondered if a week would be long enough, or if he would be expected to take a whole month.

  Haleby was in complete control of his emotions by the time he walked into his practice.

  “Hello, Doctor. I’m glad you’re back. How did it go in Tillamook?” Gwennie asked when she saw him.

  “Doctor, Mrs. Wilson called about her blood pressure medicine. She wants you to call her,” Bitsy said before Haleby could reply to Gwennie.

  Doctor Haleby waited until he had the attention of his staff before announcing in somber tones, “I have some sad news, ladies. I stopped by the hospital upon my return from Tillamook, and Inez, Mrs. Haleby, my wife, has passed away.”

  Astilbe came out of the restroom with a wastebasket liner in her hand.

  “I’m so sorry, Doctor!” she exclaimed in time with the shocked condolences of Gwennie and Bitsy.

  “Thank you. The office will be closed for a few days, at least until after the funeral. Gwennie, please reschedule or refer all my appointments for the next two weeks. You girls can take some time off while the office is closed.”

  “Shall we work the rest of the day?” Gwennie asked, wondering if she was going to be paid for this unexpected time off.

  “I’ll be in my office. I need to call the children. You can finish up whatever you have to do out here. I’d like you to remain until I’ve made my calls, if you don’t mind,” Cassius said and went into his office.

  “Astilbe, you better do a real good job cleaning up the exam rooms, since they will be sitting empty,” Bitsy said.

  “Can you get the rest of this filing done before you go, too?” Gwennie said. “I don’t want to leave things undone while we’re closed.”

  Astilbe carried the trash outside to the dumpster and Gwennie began calling patients, but Bitsy settled on the edge of Gwennie’s desk, letting her conflicting emotions play across her doughy face.

  “He’s a widower, now, poor man,” she mumbled. “He’s going to need looking after, I’ll bet.”

  Gwennie disconnected a call and turned to the nurse, saying, “Get off my desk. If you don’t have anything to do, why don’t you leave? Doc needs me to stay, in case anyone calls or drops in, but you aren’t needed, unless you want to give Astilbe a hand.”

  “I think I will go,�
�� Bitsy said, pushing her bulk off the desk. “I’ve been wanting to get my hair done and I’ll need to look nice for the funeral. Doctor may want me to serve as hostess for the reception,” she continued as she walked out.

  More than an hour later, Haleby walked out of his office.

  “You still here?” he said to Astilbe, who was just finishing the last of the filing.

  “Gwennie, you can go, now,” he said. “I didn’t mean to take so long. I had some difficulty reaching all the children. They are devastated, naturally.”

  “I’m so sorry for your loss, you and your kids,” Gwennie said, grabbing her purse from under her desk.

  “Can I get a ride with you, Mrs. Barthlett?” Astilbe asked.

  “Oh, sorry, hon, I’m heading to Tillamook. I’m late meeting my sister.”

  “Okay. Thanks, anyway. I can walk,” Astilbe said.

  “I’ll be happy to take you home, Astilbe,” Haleby said. “There’s no one expecting me.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “Well, thanks!”

  “I’ll just get a few things from my desk and I’ll meet you at the car,” he said.

  Gwennie turned off the lights and walked out with Astilbe. In the parking lot she got into her car and drove off with a wave.

  Astilbe waited beside Dr. Haleby’s Lexus. When he came out, they both climbed into the car.

  *

  After seeing Dr. Haleby leave the parking lot that afternoon, Judy had gone back into the hospital to learn how Inez was doing and was told of her death.

  Throughout the rest of the afternoon at home the image of poor Dr. Haleby sitting in his car kept coming back to her.

  Finally, although he wasn’t a member of her church, she decided to take him a casserole.

  She didn’t know much about Episcopalian customs and couldn’t be sure his own church would look after him, so she whipped up one of her favorite mushroom, lentil, and pine nut concoctions, popped it into a quilted carrier to keep warm, and headed out.

  *

  As he drove, Cassius’s mind filled with thoughts of his annoying interview with the disrespectful Detective Ransom, and the equally unpleasant conversations with his children, who seemed to blame him for their mother’s death. Visions of Inez in her last moments joined his swirling thoughts and these unhappy memories distracted him so much he forgot Astilbe was in his car. Rather than head toward her home, he took the road leading up the hillside, pushing the accelerator harder as his thoughts became more chaotic. When the face of his dead cousin joined the maddening carousel in his mind, he almost lost control of the car.

  “Dr. Haleby? Aren’t you going to take me home?” Astilbe asked in a small, shaky voice.

  Her question failed to register as it mingled with the accusing voices in his mind, driving him to desperation.

  Fifty yards of wasteland stood between the road and the rocky cliffs overhanging the ocean below. Haleby swung the car off the pavement and was heading toward peaceful oblivion when Astilbe screamed.

  The car bumped into a gully and the engine stalled.

  “Get out!” Haleby shouted at Astilbe, aware of her presence at last.

  “Are you okay, Doctor?” she asked.

  “Just get out!” he shouted again, attempting to restart the engine.

  Astilbe groped for the door handle. When the door opened, she tumbled out and ran, tripping and stumbling back to the road.

  The engine started. He managed to rock the car free from the shallow ditch and backed wildly onto the road, narrowly missing Astilbe, before speeding away.

  Astilbe stood on the roadside watching the car’s taillights disappear in the twilight, amazed at what had just happened and wondering what she should do. Her phone was in her backpack in the doctor’s car, so she had no option, but to begin the trek back to town.

  She’d walked for about fifteen minutes when Hannah drove by in her dad’s pickup. Astilbe waved her down and climbed in.

  “Tilly! What are you doing walking up here all alone?” Hannah asked.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Can you drop me at my house?”

  Astilbe wasn’t prepared to share the doctor’s erratic actions until she understood what had happened. She thought losing his wife must have given the grieving old man some sort of fit.

  Chapter 24

  On the road to Dr. Haleby’s in the failing light Judy didn’t notice her daughter pass by in the pickup.

  When she pulled in beside the doctor’s car, her headlights shone on a bulky shape at the foot of the veranda steps. Fearing it might be a bear, Judy watched it before getting out of her car. When it didn’t move, she walked over, leaving her casserole in the car until she determined what the object was.

  When the motion-activated security light came on, she saw it was Doctor Haleby lying on the pavement and rushed over.

  “Doctor are you okay?” she asked, kneeling beside his head. She recoiled at the strong smell of whiskey and wondered if the doctor had passed out.

  “Help me up,” he whispered, trying to raise his head.

  “I think it might be better if you don’t move. Have you been drinking?”

  “Nonsense. I slipped on the steps, that’s all. Just poured my evening drink to sip on the veranda like always. Blasted pavers were slippery. Spilled my drink...” He coughed and his voice trailed off.

  “Doctor?”

  When he didn’t respond, Judy ran into the house. She grabbed a pale blue cashmere throw off the sofa and hurried back to Haleby’s side, snatching a cushion from one of the lounge chairs as she passed. She propped his head on the pillow and covered him with the blanket before going back to the car for her phone and reporting the accident.

  “Doctor? Can you hear me?” she asked, patting his cheek when she returned to his side.

  “Hear you...I hear you, Vicky. Why don’t you leave me alone?” he muttered, his voice slurred and raspy.

  “It’s Judy, Doctor. I’ve called for help.”

  “I couldn’t call for help, you know that. I tried to stop the blood, but something went wrong. It wasn’t like in the books, at all. It’s not my fault,” Haleby moaned.

  The doctor’s delirious rambling frightened Judy. She feared the old man had suffered a brain injury. He’d been more alert, but he seemed to be sinking rapidly.

  “Just hang on, rest easy,” she urged.

  “Can’t rest. Must get away. That blasted detective!” Cassius tried to get up, groping for his cane lying nearby on the path, but fell back, exhausted.

  “Lie still, doctor, please, you might be badly hurt.”

  “Inez! She hurt me. Let me down. Noel blamed me! All of them blame me. Not my fault. Never my fault.”

  “I’m Judy Falls, Doctor. Remember me?”

  “Judy! You’ve got to tell them...not my fault, it…not my fault,” he slurred with rising agitation.

  “Yes, I’ll tell everyone. What’s not your fault? I’m sure no one blames you for your wife’s death.”

  “Children think I didn’t take good care of her. Not my fault. I did my best.”

  “That’s right, you did your best. You are a very good doctor.”

  “Not good enough for Vicky. So much blood. Nothing I could do. Not my fault.”

  The doctor’s ramblings were beginning to make a sort of frightening sense to Judy, but she refused to accept what his words implied.

  “You mean your cousin, Victoria, Doctor?” she asked. “Are you talking about your cousin?”

  “Little idiot thought I’d marry her. Who knew she could get pregnant? She was just a stupid kid...I did it like the books said, just like they said. So much blood everywhere.”

  Judy heard the ambulance approach and went to the driveway to direct the rescue workers. She felt sick, not from pregnancy, but from what she’d just pieced together from Haleby’s words.

  While the medics got Haleby into the ambulance, Judy made a call to Lyle Williams and told him what the doctor had said.

 
; “Are you sure, Mrs. Falls? Folks say a lot of stuff when they are hurt or in shock. Could be something he dreamed or a book he read,” Lyle said.

  “I hope you’re right, Lyle, but I think you need to tell the officers on the case. They can determine how important it is,” Judy said, then ended the call, got into her car and followed the ambulance back down the hill.

  When she arrived at the hospital, Judy called home to let her family know where she was and what had happened.

  Astilbe answered the phone.

  “Hi. Please let your dad know I’m at the hospital and I’m going to be a little late,” Judy said.

  “The hospital? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. But Doctor Haleby had a bad fall. When I got to his place, I found him at the bottom of the steps and called an ambulance. I want to stay until we know how he is.”

  “What were you doing at the doctor’s house, Mom?”

  “His wife died today, dear, so I took him a casserole for his dinner. It’s still in my car, but I don’t suppose he’ll need it, now.”

  “Mom, Doctor Haleby offered to drive me home today, but he started acting weird on the way and made me get out when we were on the road to his place. I was sorta scared,” Astilbe said.

  “That’s awful!” Judy exclaimed. “But I suppose he was just upset at losing Inez. He was not himself when I found him, either, just kind of rambling. Perhaps he’s had a small stroke. Anyway, I’m just going to check on him, then I’ll be right home...did you have to walk all that way?”

  “Nah, Hannah picked me up. See you later.”

  Judy wasn’t convinced the doctor’s strange behavior with Astilbe was the result of either grief or a medical condition. After what she’d heard him say, she thought he might be having a breakdown from a long-carried burden of guilt.

  Judy leafed through an old issue of Parents Magazine while she waited for news of the doctor’s condition. She was reading an article on baby name trends when Ken entered the waiting room, closely followed by Detective Ransom.