“I’m up for it.”
“Good to know. When you’re first date?”
“Friday night with Gil next Saturday with Roger.”
“Which one do you like best right now?”
“I don’t know either of them well enough to decide. They’re both cute, though.”
“You’re right about that. What are they planning for the dates?”
“Gil said he’d take me to Christi’s. Haven’t been there in ages.”
“Kind of expensive for a cop.”
“I know. But he suggested it.”
“He must really want to impress you.”
“I guess.”
Tina pulled into the hospital parking lot. When they got out of the VW, they waited for Hank. Tina heard a car door slam a ways down and glanced to see who it was. She held back a gasp. It looked like the same man she’d seen before. She wanted to run over to him and demand to know why he was following them. Or was it just her? She got a better look at him tonight, as he stood under a lamp post. He had angular features and cold eyes. He even wore a trench coat and a gray fedora. Like he was one of Uncle Bob’s clichés.
Tina, determined not to be scared, led the way to the hospital entrance, and Hank took Leslie’s arm. He always did the right thing. When they walked into Brandon’s room, he was dozing. He woke up immediately when Leslie touched his arm and smiled at her. She bent down to give him a kiss on the cheek.
Tina noticed how pale he looked. “Any news?”
“Not yet. Since the x-rays didn’t show a concussion, they’re not sure what’s going on. I threw up.”
“Ugh.” Leslie pulled up a chair. “How did they explain that?”
“They didn’t. Could have been from the Chinese food I ordered. Thinking about it, it did taste a bit odd. I was too distracted to pay much attention.”
Hank shifted his weight and frowned. “They doing any tox tests?”
Tina gasped. “You don’t think—”
Hank shot her a warning glance.
But Brandon got it right away. “Someone put something in the food?” He dry-washed his face, his expression bleak when he finished.
Tina wanted to sit down, but Leslie sat in the only chair.
A man in a white lab coat entered, looking harried. “Mr. Young, you didn’t tell us you had taken quite a lot of Hydrocodone. That would make you dizzy and vomit.” He glanced around the room and scowled at everyone. Tina thought he probably realized he shouldn’t have said anything with them there. Her idea was confirmed when he waved everyone out.
The doctor shut the door, and they stood in the hall, trying to hear the conversation, but it was too faint.
“He thinks Brandon did it to himself,” Leslie said. “Of course, he wouldn’t think someone else would try to—oh, oh.” Her knees gave way. Hank caught her by the arm and looked around for a place for her to sit.
“This way,” Tina said when she saw the waiting room sign.
Hank helped Leslie into a chair, and Tina and Hank sat on either side of her. She burst into tears. Tina and Hank exchanged glances over her head.
The Youngs entered the room and looked at Leslie.
“What’s wrong?” Mr. Young asked. “There was a doctor’s in Brandon’s room, and he wouldn’t let us in. Is Brandon all right?”
“We’re pretty sure he’ll be fine,” Hank said.
Mrs. Young sat down next to Tina. “What does that mean, you’re pretty sure?”
“They don’t think he has a concussion. But he had some drugs in his body—”
“What?” The word exploded out of Mr. Young’ mouth. “What kind of drugs? Brandon has never abused drugs in his life.”
“We don’t think he did now, either.” Hank’s voice was firm with conviction.
“Then how…” Mrs. Young looked at Hank, her mouth slightly agape.
Hank’s eyes pleaded with Tina to help. She nodded, swallowed hard, and took Mrs. Young’s hand in her own. “He ordered some food out. We think it may have been tampered with.”
Mrs. Young looked even more shocked than before. Her husband shifted in his chair, shaking his head. “Why would anyone do such a thing to Brandon?”
“We’ll be checking into that, Mr. Young,” Hank said. “For any connection between what happened to both Brandon and Joshua. We’ll also check into Brandon’s practice to see if anyone might be holding a grudge, although that seems more remote. Quite a coincidence if that’s the case.”
“You mean,” Mrs. Young sputtered, “that Brandon might be in danger because of Leslie’s house? That’s preposterous.”
“Has she told you about the secret room?”
Mrs. Young slumped in her chair. “Yes. What could it all mean?”
“We don’t know. We’re investigating.”
“Is Leslie in more danger now, too?” Mrs. Young asked.
Hank met Tina’s eyes. “As long as everyone stays out of the house now, I think they’ll be all right.”
“But Brandon wasn’t in the house when…when…”
“I know. But it doesn’t appear they meant to kill him.”
Tina read the unspoken thought in his eyes. Or they would have. She shuddered.
“Then why?” Mrs. Young was squeezing her hands together so hard, they had turned white.
“A warning, I think.” Hank stood up abruptly. “I wonder. Anyone have a key to the condo handy? I want to go check it out.”
“But why?” Mrs. Young asked.
“We took some papers from the attic. Maybe that’s what they were after.”
“So, they poisoned our son to get him out of the condo?” Mr. Young looked almost as shocked as his wife.
“Possibly. Leslie, tell Brandon we’re going to check out his place. Tell him to be careful—no more takeout.”
Leslie nodded, fished in her purse for the key, and handed it to him. “Be careful yourself.”
“I will. Tina, I’d like you to come with me.”
“What? Oh.” She stood up, murmured good-bye to the Youngs, and left with Hank. “Why do you want me to go? Oh, I’m your backup. This keeps up, I’ll need to get to the range for more practice.” She gave a shaky laugh.
He grabbed her hand and hustled her along. “I don’t want your going around town alone anymore. We’re going to drive to your house, drop off your car, and I’ll bring you home after we check out Brandon’s condo.”
“You’ll bring me home after you feed me, you mean.”
“You’re hungry after all this?”
“I’m starving.”
Hank laughed. “That’s good. Very good.”
They arrived at her car, and he bent down to kiss her on the forehead. “Drive carefully.”
She nodded and looked around for Michele and the strange man, but didn’t see either of them. It was dark now, though, so they could be there and she wouldn’t know.
After dropping off her car, they arrived at Brandon’s. They hurried to the front door. Hank went to put the key in the lock, hesitated, then pushed on the door. It opened at his touch.
CHAPTER 41
Hank pulled out his gun, and Tina retrieved hers from her purse. They stepped into Brandon’s condo, then stopped when they saw the box, which had been next to the coffee table, was gone. Hank hurried to Brandon’s office. His computer was missing, and there were no papers on the desk.
Gun still in hand, Hank walked through the condo, checking the closets and bathroom thoroughly. Then he went back to close and lock the front door. He lowered himself into a chair in the living room and called Lisbeth.
Tina put her gun away in her purse and sat opposite Hank, feeling totally drained and overwhelmed. She wondered if Brandon would remember any of the names on the lists they’d found. She wondered what else might have been in the box they didn’t get to.
After Hank explained everything to Lisbeth, he called Brandon and put him on speaker so Tina could hear.
“Hey, good news and bad news. Someone got into your co
ndo and took the box and your computer. That’s the bad news. The good news is someone came into your condo and took the box and your computer. That’s good because Lisbeth will tell your doctor what happened and they won’t be able to toss you into the psych ward for attempting suicide anytime soon. No guarantee about the future at the psych ward, though, if you don’t straighten up.”
“They trash the place?”
“No. They were surprisingly neat. You don’t seem too worried about your computer.”
“I back up everything on the cloud. First thing I did was input the lists into a spreadsheet and backed them up. So at least we still have those. Of course, don’t know what else was in the box.”
Hank looked relieved. “That is good news. How’re you feeling now?”
“Better since I threw up, actually. I expect to go home tomorrow. I’m shooing my parents and Leslie out soon. Did you happen to check to see if the Chinese food container was still in the trash?”
Hank stood up quickly. “No, we didn’t. I’ll check now.”
They both walked into the kitchen. Hank pushed the pedal on the trash can. It was empty.
“They took that, too, Brandon.”
“Thorough bastards.”
Tina could hear the disgust in his voice.
“That they are.” Hank said. “This has become way too dangerous to continue to allow civilians to help with the investigation. As of right now, you, Leslie and Tina are off the case. You are to go back to your lives and let the police handle it.”
“No,” Tina whispered. Her first thought was of little Sophie. Then Leslie, in limbo, having to live with her parents again for who knew how long.
Brandon remained quiet for a few beats. “You’re right, of course. I’ll back off.”
Hank frowned. “That was too easy, my friend. I’m serious. Lisbeth is quite worried about all of you. So am I. It’s obvious we are dealing with some smart people. Dangerous people.”
“I agree with that.” Brandon sighed. “And I do need to get back to work. I have several cases pending.”
Hank did not look convinced. “Think of your parents and Leslie. If anything happened to you…”
“Okay, Hank, pile on the guilt. I get the point. I’ll back off.”
Hank looked at Tina. She shrugged. Had no idea what Brandon might do. Hank rolled his eyes and mouthed, “You’re next.” She rolled her eyes back at him.
“All right. I’ll take your word for it. Get some rest. We’ll be in touch.”
After Hank ended the call, he said, “Same goes for you, double.”
She tried to smile. “I knew that was coming.”
“I know how you are, Tina. Back off.”
“I know you’re right. Really, I do. I’ll be good.”
He took a step toward her, waited. She closed her eyes and walked into his arms. It felt so good to be there again. She melted. He kissed her hair, ran his hands down her back. She snuggled against him, trying to get closer. Lifted her face to him so he could kiss her eyes, her lips.
She lost all sense of time as they stood, kissing, touching. But when Hank started to raise her shirt, she stiffened, and pulled away. “Not here,” she murmured. Not where she and Brandon had made love so many times.
His hands stilled, then fell to his sides. “Don’t know what I was thinking.”
She laughed softly. “Who was thinking? We were only feeling.”
He took a step backward. “You were thinking.”
“Not until you…” She swallowed a huge lump in her throat.
Hank bent his head, gazed at the floor. Then he met her eyes, smiled. “You’re female.”
She laughed. “You finally noticed.”
He laughed, too. “Let’s go eat.”
She grabbed her purse. “All right. It’s about time you decided to feed me.”
“Where do you want to go?” Hank opened the door for her, then locked it, double-checking to be sure it was secure.
“The Creamery would be perfect. Fast, but delicious.”
“Sounds good to me.” He looked at his watch. “The one in Middletown stays open until ten.”
“I never paid attention to their hours. When does the one in Newport close?”
“At nine every day except Friday and Saturday, when they also stay open until ten.” Hank opened the passenger door for her, and she slipped into his Jaguar, put her head back on the rest, and closed her eyes. The exhaustion was back, worse than ever. She hoped she’d be able to stay awake long enough to eat.
“You know their hours?”
“I eat there quite a bit when I’m in a hurry. Or grab an Awful Awful.”
“How many of those can you drink in one sitting?”
“When I was younger, I sometimes had four to get one free. Not any longer. It was a point of honor to go after Thanksgiving dinner and have one. Sally always challenged me to it. Of course, she just sat and watched me drink it.”
Tina was glad to hear him able to mention his sister’s name without a catch in his voice. Now that he and his mother were communicating better, he’d loosened up some.
Tina’s eyelids drooped the whole time she ate her hamburger and drank her milkshake. She was aware Hank watched her. “What?” she finally asked him.
“Just being sure you don’t go face first into your burger.” He smiled at her.
“Funny. Funny Hank.” She took the last bite and the last sip and stood up. “Need to get home, for sure.”
Hank left a tip and followed her to the door. She barely remembered the drive home, his goodnight kiss, and climbing into bed.
***
Tina woke the next morning, glanced at the clock, rolled over and went back to sleep for another hour. After showering and getting dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved green t-shirt, she clambered down the back stairs into the kitchen.
Uncle Bob sat at the table reading the newspaper. Princess’s tail thumped the floor, and she stood up to greet Tina.
When Uncle Bob looked up, Tina said. “’Morning. Coffee.”
He grinned at her and went back to the paper.
As she poured a mugful of java, she wondered if there was anything in the paper about what had happened to Brandon. She hoped not. She put an English muffin in the toaster and poured cereal into a bowl. Obviously, Uncle Bob wasn’t making breakfast this morning.
When she’d fixed everything the way she liked it, she joined her uncle at the table. He put the paper aside and looked at her. “What have you been up to? Your mother and I hardly ever see you anymore.”
She guessed there was nothing about Brandon in the paper, or her uncle would be a lot more agitated. She wished she’d had the presence of mind to think about what to tell him and her mother. They’d worry.
Tina heard her mother coming down the stairs. When Princess stood up again, Uncle Bob turned his attention in the direction both the dog and Tina looked.
“You’re up,” Laura said when she came down the last step. “Where have you been?”
Where had she been? Leslie’s, Brandon’s, Sophie’s, the hospital, the Creamery. Where hadn’t she been? Home.
She laughed a little. “Everywhere. I don’t know where to start.”
“Yesterday morning would be good.” Laura poured herself some coffee and sat down at the table.
“Well, Brandon, Hank, and I went to Leslie’s yesterday morning to see if we could find papers or diaries or anything about the house. We were taking a break in the kitchen when I saw a little girl run across the yard. We went out to see her, and she was crying, saying she hated the house and didn’t want to go inside anymore. Then someone called her, and she took off. The woman drove away in her car with the child, and we went back to the attic for a while.”
She decided not to mention the threatening phone call. “After we gathered up a bunch of papers, we went to Brandon’s condo. He wasn’t looking too good, and I thought he should rest. I also thought he’d be more comfortable at home.”
“Is
he okay?” Laura asked.
How to answer that question? “I think so.”
Laura frowned. “What does that mean?”
“I’ll get back to that. We found some papers with lists of names on them—women and children. We were wondering what they could be for. Maybe a birthday party for Leslie? Did we ever go to one at Aunt Margaret’s house? I don’t remember doing that, and none of us recognized any of the names.”
Laura shook her head. “No, and I’m sure you and I would have been invited.”
“You don’t know of any reason Aunt Margaret would have lists like that? We thought they were in her handwriting.”
“Not a clue.”
Tina turned to Uncle Bob. “You understanding me okay?”
“Just fine. You’re easy to lipread, you know.”
She smiled. “Okay. So, while we were looking for more papers, Hank got a call from Lisbeth and he left.” She wasn’t going to tell the about the rift between her and Hank.
But her mother must have seen something in her expression. “Something’s not right between you two?” She put her hand over Tina’s and squeezed.
Tina looked up at the ceiling. “You don’t miss a thing, do you?”
“I’m your mother.”
“I totally realize that.”
Uncle Bob laughed. “You gotta stop fighting it, kumquat. Go with the flow.” Then his look turned serious. “Be happy and grateful that you have such a wonderful mother.”
Tina couldn’t help smiling. “And wonderful great-uncle.”
“Yes, it was a great day when I stopped being a mere uncle to your mother and became a great one to you.”
They all laughed. “Hank and I are working it out. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”
Laura sighed heavily. “You better. Mitzi and I are counting on it.”
“Oh, boy. The pressure.”
Laura squeezed her hand again, then pulled it away to take a sip of coffee. “It’s destiny. Had to be either Brandon or Hank.”
“You were rooting for Brandon before, though.”
“Safer. I didn’t think he was apt to be in any danger. Until now.”
Tina cleared her throat and gazed up out the window over the sink, thinking. She realized Brandon had been attacked once and apparently poisoned, too. Was it because he was Brandon, or just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Cluttered Attic Secrets (Tina Tales) Page 17