Nearly Departed
Page 36
After a round of borderline-suspicious questions and a firm admonition to keep things quiet, the group was admitted to Elspeth’s room in the hospital. Her dainty form, which had always been very petite, looked even more frail and delicate beneath the thin bedsheets. At first, Dennis thought that she was asleep, but her eyes opened as the group drew near.
The first word through her lips was a name, somewhere between a question and a whisper of recognition. “Malcolm?” she asked. “What are you doing here?”
“Just... just here to check on you, Ellie,” Spinner replied. He sniffed once and blinked, obviously struggling to maintain his composure. “How’re you feeling?”
“Well enough.” Elspeth lifted herself up slightly. “I see you’ve met Dennis and Barnaby,” she said, nodding to each of them.
“Yeah, we’re old friends by now,” said Bobo. “Are they treating you alright, ma’am? I could see to getting you an extra biscuit or two.” He winked, and a smile warmed Elspeth’s sallow face.
“I’ll be quite alright, dear, thank you.” She rolled her head against her pillow. “And you, Dennis? Did you find what you were looking for?”
“I think so.” Dennis pulled the key out and held it out for her to see. “We went back to your house for it... I hope you don’t mind.”
“I do hope you tidied up after yourself,” Elspeth murmured. Dennis winced as he thought of the state in which they’d left the living room. “You haven’t shown it to her yet, I take it?”
“Not yet, no. There’s something else we need to ask you first.”
Elspeth’s face contorted as if to cough, but nothing further happened. “Let’s have it, then,” she said, relaxing.
Dennis didn’t see a need to concern the woman with the full details of his encounter with Spinner. “We looked through those pictures that you found,” he said. “One of them showed your father –”
“Here, I’ve got it,” Bobo interjected. He pulled the photograph from his pocket. “Is that bloke your father’s mate, then?”
“That’s him,” Elspeth confirmed. “Uncle Sam, I called him.” She smiled weakly. “It took me years before I understood the joke.”
Dennis’ teeth dug into his lower lip. “And you really haven’t had any contact with him since before Evy died?” Too many things were hinging on Elspeth’s answer, and Dennis waited impatiently as she considered.
“No,” she answered finally. “None at all. As I said, I’m not even certain that he’s still alive.”
“Oh, he is,” growled Spinner. “He’s that shady psychiatrist I keep telling you about.”
“Malcolm, really, we’ve been over this. Samuel is hardly an uncommon name.”
“Be that as it may,” Dennis motioned towards the photograph, “that’s him with your father.”
“Oh.” Elspeth sank into her pillow. “That is peculiar.” She turned to Dennis and Bobo. “Boys, would you give the two of us a moment alone?”
“We’ll be right outside, ma’am,” said Bobo.
There was a bench in the hallway, but it was hardly large enough to accommodate the both of them. Anyway, Dennis didn’t feel like sitting down. He paced along the length of the corridor, still fighting his disbelief over how thoroughly Harding had tricked him. If he had done even one thing differently, he wouldn’t be in this mess.
“Dennis?”
A voice from one of the other rooms interrupted his thoughts. Dennis turned to see Alena standing behind him, looking as surprised as he felt. “Hey,” he greeted her. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m visiting Antonio,” she replied. “I left you a voicemail about it.” She looked at Dennis quizzically. “You look nice.”
He had forgotten that he was still in his clothes from the date, minus the discarded blazer. “It’s a long story,” Dennis said. “Anyway, how is he?”
Alena breathed a long sigh of relief. “He’s awake. Sleeping now, but the doctors say that he’ll be fine.”
“Up and dancing again any day now, huh?”
“After he finishes the movie.” Alena’s expression grew concerned. “Why are you here, Dennis? Is everything alright?”
“No.” Dennis’ shoulders sagged. “No, everything is decidedly not alright.”
“What happened? Are you hurt?”
Dennis shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“What is it, then?”
He didn’t have the energy left to even think about what he said. “Remember that lady with the haunted chair? She’s not doing so well. I don’t know how bad it is. That detective is in there with her now. It turns out that they’re friends.” He spilled out his words with reckless abandon, not even looking at his wife. “And Sam was using me all along, and now I’m stuck as a surrogate guardian in the middle of a decades-old feud over a fortune in ill-gotten gains.”
To her credit, Alena remained remarkably calm. She didn’t say anything immediately, and when the tension was finally broken, it was by a subtle gesture over Dennis’ shoulder.
“There’s a man watching us,” Alena said.
“That’s just Bobo. He’s been helping me out.”
“He looks nice.”
Dennis nodded. “He is nice. A bit weird, maybe.”
“You’re one to talk.”
“Yeah...” Dennis stepped forward and took Alena’s hands. “I know you don’t believe me, but please, just try to accept that there are some seriously bizarre things going on. I could really use your support, Alena.”
Alena stiffened, but she didn’t pull away. Her gaze met his after a few seconds, and Dennis saw a glimmer of hope for himself in those brilliant hazel eyes. “The haunted chair lady is here?”
“In the room behind Bobo, yeah.”
“Would you mind introducing me?”
Dennis’ face broke into a hesitant smile. “No, not at all. Come on.” They walked past Bobo, who watched curiously, and into Elspeth’s room. Both she and Spinner looked up, and the detective drew away from holding Elspeth’s hand.
“Who’s this?” he asked suspiciously.
“This is my wife, Alena,” answered Dennis. “Alena, this is Malcolm Spinner and Elspeth Palin.”
“What a pretty girl,” Elspeth said approvingly. “You didn’t tell me you were married, Dennis. I might have suggested a different approach with Evy.”
Alena arched an eyebrow. “Evy?”
“The girl in the chair,” Dennis clarified.
“Ah.” Alena’s face was expressionless. “Well, it’s nice to meet both of you.”
Elspeth chuckled quietly. “The girl’s a skeptic, Dennis. I presume you told her about Evy’s... condition?”
“He did,” replied Alena, “but I’m sure you’ll forgive me if I don’t believe it.”
“Of course, dear. I wouldn’t believe it myself, were I in your position.” She looked at Spinner, who made an uncomfortable noise. “Of course, you could be like Malcolm and be horribly afraid.”
“Not afraid,” Spinner mumbled. “Just don’t like her.”
Alena looked around the room, her face still unreadable. “Well,” she said, “Dennis and I will give you some space. I’ll have him back to you in a minute.” She took Dennis’ hand and led him from the room. Again, Bobo watched them pass, flashing a surreptitious thumbs-up sign when Alena wasn’t looking. She kept walking until she came to another door, through which Dennis saw the prone figure of her friend Antonio. The young man’s usually expressive face was a mess of dark bruises, but he appeared to be sleeping soundly.
“Dennis,” Alena began, “I’m really not sure what to think. I haven’t believed in ghosts since I was a kid, but it looks like I’m the only one here who doesn’t.”
“It’s just the one ghost, actually,” said Dennis. “Let’s not make assumptions.”
“God, Dennis, it would just kill you to be serious, wouldn’t it?” Her laughter did more for Dennis’ spirits than anything else in recent memory.
“If you think that I’m bad
, you should try talking to Bobo.” He shuffled his feet. “Honestly, though... are we okay?”
Alena looked up at him with just a hint of a smile on her face. Her eyes moved back and forth a few times, shifting focus between each of Dennis’ own. “Yeah,” she said. It was a warm wash of soothing relief. “Yeah, we’re okay.” She put a hand on Dennis’ chest. “Wait here for a minute, I have something for you.” With that, she was gone, into the room where Antonio slept. She returned a minute later, digging through a blue suede purse. “Here.” She held out her hand and let a band of silver metal fall into Dennis’ palm.
“My ring?” he asked. He hadn’t realized that he wasn’t wearing it.
“You must have taken it off when you went to see Elspeth for the first time. I found it by the bathroom sink.” She helped Dennis slide the ring onto his finger, and then stood on her toes to give him a quick kiss. “Go help your friends. You can tell me everything when you get home.” She started to pull away, but then fell forward into a tight embrace. “Be careful, Dennis.”
“I will,” he promised.