Organized to Death

by Jan Christensen

  “Have you thought of hiring someone?”

  “A bodyguard?” Nicky laughed. “I’m not a rock star or a politician.”

  “Nicky, it doesn’t matter what you are if your or Rachel’s life is in danger.”

  Nicky frowned. “Since we don’t really know who they’re targeting, we’d have to either stay together or get two bodyguards. We can’t afford even one!”

  Hank, Tina thought. He’d be perfect. But would he do it?

  “The police didn’t even post anyone outside his door,” Rachel said, almost choking on the words.

  “Don’t you think they believed you that it was deliberate?”

  “Maybe,” Nicky said. “After the gunshot wound, you’d think they would. And after Crystal.”

  “I’m sorry,” Tina said, “but I need to go now. I have something to do. I’ll try to come back after dinner.”

  “That’s okay.” Rachel threw her tissue in the trash. “I’m glad you came.”

  “I’ll leave my cell phone on now. If you need me, call, okay?”

  Rachel nodded. She didn’t seem to have the strength to get up, so Tina left quickly before she tried.

  Back in her car, Tina called Hank. He answered on the second ring.

  “Tina.”

  “Hank. I know you know about Nicky. The police won’t put a guard on him or Rach. I was wondering if you’d do it. They don’t have the money to pay anyone.”

  He didn’t say anything for what seemed a long time.

  “You there?”

  “Yes, doll. Thinking. I’d have to arrange stuff a bit. Actually, I think it’s a good idea.”

  “Well, thank you. I’m glad you didn’t find it ridiculous.”

  “Not going to let it go, huh? My, aren’t we sensitive.”

  Tina bit her lower lip. He was right. She was making too much of it. Decided to ignore it. “When do you think you can start?”

  “I’ll call you back in a while.”

  Tina drove home. She was tired of the hospital and anxious to see Uncle Bob. And she wanted to confront her mother. She’d think about Hank later.

  CHAPTER 32

  Betsy left Dr. Stevenson’s cottage in Portsmouth and drove toward home. It hadn’t been a good visit. He’d been in one of his combative moods. She knew the Alzheimer’s was getting worse and she worried about him. If they’d gotten married after his wife died, Betsy could be with him all the time now, taking care of him. But he hadn’t wanted that.

  She took her now-routine tour past the homes of Crystal’s relatives and friends. At the Morris house, she saw Nicky and Rachel talking, maybe having an argument, beside their car. It appeared that Rachel wanted to drive, but Nicky wouldn’t let her. His right arm was bandaged tightly against his side, so he couldn’t move it. Not a good idea for him to drive.

  Betsy smiled grimly as they climbed into the car. She might be able to kill two birds with one stone. No gun this time. She grabbed the sunglasses and hat on the passenger’s seat, put them on, and hunkered down.

  They left Newport and headed out to Portsmouth. Nicky was going fifty-one miles an hour, over the speed limit, but not fast enough to get a ticket. Betsy picked her spot with a deep ditch on the side of the road where it curved. Checked her mirror. No one behind her. No one coming their way. As they approached the curve, she gritted her teeth, stomped on the gas, and rear-ended the other car. It headed for the ditch, and she had to fight her own wheel to stay on the road.

  As she sped away, to her horror, the windshield began to crack. Would it fall out? She could barely breathe. Her heart pounded, her hands shook, and sweat popped out on her forehead. The crack running up the windshield stopped, and her thoughts turned to Rachel and Nicky. Were they dead? She needed them dead.

  She was too old for this. How much more could her body take? And her car?

  Well, she didn’t have any choice. If Crystal hadn’t pushed Doctor, none of this would be happening. She couldn’t let them ruin Doctor’s reputation. And hers. It was all they had left.

  When she arrived home, she parked in the driveway and looked over the front of her car. Cracked windshield and busted right headlight, dented fender. Could have been worse. At least it was drivable. She moved the car into the garage and went inside to brew some tea.

  It wasn’t until she put on the news and learned that Rachel hadn’t even been admitted and Nicky was only in for observation that she walked on unsteady legs to the cupboard and took down the bottle of brandy.

  There was no going back, so she couldn’t give up now. There would be other opportunities. She would prevail. She raised her teacup in a toast to herself.

  The thought crossed her mind that she might be crazy, but she dismissed it. If she thought it, then she wasn’t. Crazy people never thought they were insane.

  But a small voice in her head said, “You’re no good. Never were, never will be.”

  Betsy poured more brandy into her empty cup. The hell with the tea. She needed to blot out the voice, and only brandy could ever do that. It had been silent for so long. What had awakened it? She couldn’t quite remember.

  Good.

  CHAPTER 33

  Tina found Uncle Bob in the living room watching television with the captions on. Some TV judge who could apparently immediately tell who was lying glared at one of the people in front of her. Tina wondered briefly if they could import the judge to Newport to find out who killed Crystal.

  After kissing Uncle Bob on the cheek, she sat down. “How do you feel?”

  “Good, Kumquat. How’s everything with you?”

  “Confusing.” Tina laughed.

  “Life can be that way. Don’t get yourself in a dither.”

  “I already have. You heard about Nicky and Rach?”

  “Yes. Did you go see them at the hospital? He shouldn’t have been driving.”

  “I know. And it was a silly reason—to get some evergreens for Mrs. Morris.”

  “Always thought Nicky was a twit.”

  “You have?” Tina asked, surprised.

  “Doesn’t have really good judgment.”

  “How do you know? I didn’t know you knew him that well.”

  “He’s assistant head librarian now, but I’ve known him since he started working there. We talk a bit. Head in the clouds. Wants to be a writer, but I don’t think he writes much. Just talks about it. I was surprised when I found out that Rachel didn’t keep a neat house. It seemed to me that Nicky was the neat sort.”

  “He is. He keeps his side of the bedroom and a room they call his office neat. I think he does the yard, too.”

  Uncle Bob leaned down to pat Princess. Her tail rapped the floor rhythmically.

  “But being neat doesn’t make someone a twit, Uncle Bob,” Tina said.

  “Of course not. We’re all pretty neat in this house, and none of us are twits. But none of us would drive with a bum arm, would we? Would you stay married to a person who cluttered as much as Rachel does?”

  Tina shuddered. “No, I couldn’t stand it.”

  “Right. Nicky strikes me as a guy who goes with the flow. No gumption. Thus a twit.”

  “I see,” Tina said, grinning.

  Her cell rang, and Hank spoke before she said hello. “I’m sitting outside Nicky’s room right now. Why don’t you come keep me company? Guard duty can get lonely.”

  “What? No pretty nurses to talk to?”

  “No, just a harridan at the desk and a male nurse on evening duty. Only a couple of patients on the floor today.”

  Tina glanced at her watch and couldn’t believe it was after four. “I’m pretty tired, so I think you’ll have to manage by yourself.” She realized she was still upset with him. “Is Rachel there?”

  “No, she went to her mother’s. She looked beat and Nicky sent her home. Sure you won’t join me? What about after dinner? You could bring me dinner.”

  “Hank! What if they’re really after Rachel and you’re guarding Nicky?”

  “Don’t worr
y about it. A friend’s got Rachel covered.”

  She should have known. “Oh.”

  “So, you gonna bring me dinner?”

  “Maybe later. I’m staying home now to eat with Uncle Bob and my mother. I have something to discuss with Mother.”

  Laura entered the room just then, raised her eyebrows and went to put her hand on Uncle Bob’s shoulder.

  “I’ll talk to you later,” Tina said to Hank and hung up. “What’s for dinner?” she asked her mother.

  “I ordered pizza.”

  “What?” Tina asked, distracted. “You never order pizza.”

  “I rarely order pizza,” Laura corrected her. “But I did today. Doctors said Uncle Bob could eat whatever he wanted now. What’s going on with Nicky and Rachel?”

  Tina explained. Both Uncle Bob and Laura looked shocked. They were even more surprised when she told them Hank was watching Nicky and a friend of his guarded Rachel.

  “I don’t understand it,” Laura said. “Why would anyone murder Crystal and attack Nicky and Rachel?”

  “Maybe that’s it,” Tina said. “Maybe they’re trying to attack both Nicky and Rach. We all thought it would be one or the other, probably Rachel, because of Crystal. And several of us think it has something to do with the Lunch Bunch.”

  “What?” Laura said.

  “You heard me. Sally and possibly Brenda with cancer, and Crystal murdered. Very strange.”

  Laura sank into a chair. “You can’t think they’re connected.” Her voice was weak.

  “Why not?” Tina sat down opposite her mother. Uncle Bob stirred in his chair and reached down to pet Princess. “Everything is so secretive. You have to tell me what the secret is about the Lunch Bunch.”

  “No.” Laura shook her head. “It’s better if you don’t know.”

  “Then you admit there is one.”

  Laura blinked. Straightened her back. “Tina, I refuse to discuss it with you.”

  “I think I have a right to know.”

  “Doesn’t matter what you think, does it?” Laura’s tone was sharp, her eyes blazing.

  The doorbell rang, breaking the tension. “That must be the pizza,” Laura said and stood up. “Please go set the table.”

  Feeling wooden, Tina walked to the dining room, put out plates, napkins, and knives and forks. Laura and Uncle Bob ate pizza as if they were at a five-star restaurant. Usually that amused Tina. Right now she didn’t think anything would ever amuse her again.

  Several times while they ate, she almost pushed her mother about the Lunch Bunch. But she’d see her mother’s stubborn expression, glance at Uncle Bob who looked pale, and couldn’t bring herself to broach the subject again.

  “I’ll take care of the dishes,” she said after they finished.

  “Thank you, Tina,” Laura said. She and Uncle Bob went to the living room. Tina could hear the TV.

  Sighing, she took the few dishes to the kitchen and cleaned up.

  After she finished, she grabbed her coat from the hall closet and stuck her head into the living room. “I’m going for a walk,” she said.

  Laura frowned. “Be careful.”

  “I will,” Tina said and went outside into the cold night air. It was clear and the moon and stars lit up the sky. She breathed in deeply and started down the front walk.

  A shadow emerged from the tree trunk, and Tina realized a man stood there. Grasping her pepper spray tightly in her pocket, she approached warily.

  “Hello, Tina,” Ted said.

  Tina took a deep breath. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or not. Ted still creeped her out. She said hello and he fell in step with her.

  She remembered the first night they’d walked together. It had appeared to her he’d been waiting for her then, and she had that feeling again. She kept her hand in her pocket, firmly holding the spray.

  “I looked around some more for those files,” Ted said. “Couldn’t find them.”

  “Odd. Maybe Dr. Stevenson took them and has them at home. Maybe you could ask him about them?”

  “Next time I see him. Sure. You find out anything else on your own?”

  “No. Mother won’t talk about it. I asked one of the other mothers, and she said it’s up to each mother to tell each daughter, that they promised not to tell.”

  “It could be something totally unrelated to Sally and Brenda, Tina.”

  “I suppose so, but doubt it. Too much of a coincidence. And that insistence over the years about yearly exams.”

  “Wish I could help,” Ted said. “I’ve come to care about you. Maybe you guessed.”

  Tina felt as if her heart quit beating. It seemed her feet couldn’t carry her any further, and she stopped. Ted didn’t realize it at first and walked a couple more steps before he stopped, too, turned back and took her arm.

  He bent his head down, and because she was looking up at him, his lips covered hers in one smooth motion. Tina couldn’t breathe, and after a moment or so, struggled against him, pushing his chest with her fists, one hand still holding the pepper spray.

  He grabbed her wrists and stepped back. He saw she was holding something in her hand. “What’s this?” he asked, taking it from her easily. “Pepper spray? You were going to spray me?”

  “No, of course not. I just always carry it in my pocket, had my hand on it, and when you … “She trailed off, confused, upset.

  He gave it back to her. “I apologize. I guess I took you by surprise.” He wouldn’t look at her.

  “Yes. Yes, you did.”

  “I’d never hurt you. This won’t happen again, unless you want it to.” Ted turned and began to walk quickly back the way they’d come.

  Tina followed more slowly. Soon, Ted was quite a ways ahead, and she let him go. She was confused. The kiss hadn’t been bad. But he unsettled her.

  They didn’t speak again, and Tina dragged herself into the house in a state of confusion.

  “I’m back,” she said when she entered the living room. “But I’m going over to the hospital to see how Nicky and Hank are doing.”

  Laura looked up, then stared. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”

  Laura stood and walked over to Tina. “Yes, there is. You look to be in a state of shock. And why are you holding your pepper spray?”

  Tina had forgotten she had it in her hand.

  Laura grabbed her shoulders. “What happened?” she cried. “Tell me.”

  Uncle Bob stood up, alarmed.

  “Nothing,” Tina insisted. “I just met Ted outside, and I didn’t know who he was at first, so I took out the pepper spray.”

  “There’s more to it than that,” Laura said. “I can tell.”

  Tina shrugged. “Maybe I’ll tell you if you tell me what the Lunch Bunch is really all about.”

  Laura glared at Tina, then turned on her heel and walked up the front stairs without a backward glance.

  CHAPTER 34

  “What a kerfuffle,” Uncle Bob said, shaking his head. “You really should withdraw like a good little soldier. You’re not going to extract anything from your mother.”

  “You’re right, Uncle Bob, and I’m sorry if all this has upset you on your first night home from the hospital.”

  “Not to worry, Kumquat. But I do think I’ll head to bed. Droopy eyelids are not at all becoming, are they?”

  Tina smiled. “Ah, they look sexy on you, Uncle Bob.”

  Uncle Bob hooted. Patted her arm. “Go see Hank. That should get the blood pumping.”

  “No comment,” Tina said. “But I’m going. I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well.”

  “I intend to. And you have fun.”

  “I’ll try.” Tina turned toward the door, smiling. Uncle Bob always made her feel better.

  She drove to Anthony’s Seafood and picked up some clam fritters and French fries for Hank. At the hospital she found him sitting just where he said, right outside Nicky’s door. He stood up as she approached.

  �
��Why aren’t you in the room with him?” she whispered. “You guys are friendly enough.” She handed him the bag from Anthony’s.

  He took the bag, looked inside. “I’m guarding, not being a friend. If I’m inside, I can’t prevent anyone questionable from entering. Identification, miss?”

  “Oh, I don’t want to show you my driver’s license. The picture is horrible. You wouldn’t recognize me. Anyway, I won’t disturb Nicky. I’ll just stand here and watch you eat.”

  “You had dinner?”

  “Pizza.”

  He looked surprised.

  “Yes, my mother ordered it.”

  “Uncle Bob must be doing pretty good, then?” Hank sat down, opened the bag and took a bite of a fritter. He never used sauce.

  “Yes. He seems tired, but his color is back and the doctor cleared him to go home, so I guess he’ll be okay. I hope so.”

  Hank offered her a French fry. Tina shook her head. “I saw Mitzi today. She told me she goes to a spa to shape up every once in a while. But she wouldn’t tell me why the Lunch Bunch meets.”

  Hank grinned. “She’s embarrassed about going to a spa. I’m surprised she told you.”

  “I think she did it so I wouldn’t press her about the other secret. At least I now know there is one. Both she and my mother admitted it.”

  Hank ate another fritter without comment.

  Tina studied him. He seemed relaxed, but also alert. He glanced down the hall in both directions at regular intervals. Tonight he wore black jeans, white tee under a black wool blazer, and chukka boots. Black, of course. She admitted to herself he was sexy as hell. His sensuous lips moved seductively as he chewed a French fry.

  He caught her watching him. “You all over your tiff?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Someday you’ll tell me why you left Virginia. I’ll bet you’ve never told Laura.”

  She closed her eyes, swayed a bit. When she opened them, Hank was standing next to her. He grabbed her arm to steady her. Then he held her close.

  She melted into him. It felt safe to be with him right now. She knew that feeling wouldn’t last. Most of the time she felt off-center when he was around.