Flaming Tree

by Phyllis A. Whitney

  Kelsey hung up the few things she’d brought in the big wardrobe, and set her toilet articles in the adjoining bathroom. She already liked what might be a welcome retreat in this house. The scene out the window, curving shoreline, blue water, and green trees, would always hold her. She was already discovering that the time of day and state of weather could paint different scenes. That this was also a house of turmoil and pain could be shut away to some extent up here.

  Since there was time before she returned to Jody, perhaps she could do as Ruth had suggested and explore the hillside below the house. She put on low-heeled shoes and went in search of a lower door.

  One opened near Tyler Hammond’s workroom. Since she had no wish to see him, she walked past quickly and found stone steps that led down to a springy carpet of pine needles. Now she could hear the sound of the stream, and remembering Ruth’s warning about poison oak, she found her way cautiously to its rocky bank. There she stood for a few minutes watching the hypnotic movement of water swirling over wet stones as it plunged toward its goal of the ocean.

  The path was at hand and she started down through the woods, sliding now and then on loose needles, and coming at last to a fallen giant of a tree across her way. When she’d climbed over, she sat for a while on the rough trunk, sensing the hush around her. There were no human sounds, except for a distant car now and then. Birds sang in high branches, seemingly miles away up there against the sky. A squirrel darted out to look at her, and then hid himself behind a pile of wood someone had been chopping. In the distance she could hear the curious barking of sea lions.

  The time for renewing herself had come. She used her favorite method and closed her eyes, let everything turn gray behind her lids, waiting for whatever pictures might come. Almost at once, she was walking on the Carmel beach again, hearing the sound of bagpipes—faint in her mind, and no longer shrill—watching the piper come out of the mist and walk slowly past her. It was healing to experience again that moment on the beach when she’d been able to let all unhappiness flow away from her, and just be.

  High sunlight slanted through the trees in bands of gold, warming the shady portions of the grove. She raised her face to the warmth and felt a stinging spatter on her cheeks. A breeze had touched branches overhead, scattering needles like beads across the brown carpet.

  She was quiet, completely relaxed, waiting for whatever might come. Whatever thought, whatever feeling. The thought that emerged was strange, unexpected, and not of her choosing. Pine needles scattered like beads.… Recent memory flashed a scene before her closed eyes, flashed a picture. And an answer was there—though it wasn’t a question that had seemed urgent. She knew now where she had seen a strand of black beads—only the day before.

  In Marisa Marsh’s studio there had been a portrait of that woman with the large eyes and pointed chin. Francesca Fallon had worn a full chain of black beads in Marisa’s picture—the woman no one seemed to have liked, and whom someone had hated enough to kill. Of course the tiny carved faces hadn’t been visible in the photograph, but Kelsey felt sure they were the same beads. Now new questions replaced the old. When had the strand broken, why had three beads been placed on Denis’s desk, seeming to disturb him so thoroughly? Where was the rest of the strand, and why had Denis thought immediately of Tyler. There were no answers, and she rose from the fallen tree to wander farther down the hillside.

  She came quickly upon the small headstones that marked the enclosure where pet dogs had been buried over the years. This brought another idea. A pet would be good therapy for Jody; and she wondered if he’d ever had a dog. She would ask Tyler.

  Below the small white stones, crudely painted with the names children had given their pets, she found a flight of wooden steps leading to the gate that led nowhere. The sound of the ocean seemed closer now, and if she went clear down the slope, sbe would come eventually to the beach. But then there would be a long climb back to the house. So, instead of going on, she turned and looked up at La Casa de la Sombra crowning its portion of the hill directly above. Across the road that she couldn’t see from here rose the even steeper hills of Carmel Highlands, and higher roofs.

  Red tiles and steel-blue walls stood out among the green of pines. There were many windows across this face that looked toward the ocean, some decorated with little red awnings that matched the tiles. She could locate Ruth’s room, and Tyler’s study on the floor below. She even found her own window along the upper hallway. All the balconies were empty now, but at one of the windows of Ruth’s room Dora Langford once more stood watching. So she had come home and was again giving herself to this strange activity directed at Kelsey. Why this intense interest in everything she did? Kelsey wondered. She must talk to Dora Langford and get behind this watchfulness that began to seem disturbing.

  Where the hill was steep, Kelsey had to pull herself along by means of small bushes, avoiding anything that looked like poison oak. Once undergrowth parted when she pulled at it, and she glimpsed something white almost hidden by small pines growing haphazardly around what must once have stood free. She went around concealing brush and found the little marble statue Ruth had mentioned. It was perhaps a fourth life size—old, weathered marble, with bits broken away, the wounds no longer fresh. Two small children stood together, naked and innocent. The girl was smaller, and frightened. The boy had his arm about her, protecting her from harm. For Kelsey this was an unexpected delight to come upon half-hidden on this hillside. It was too bad that no one cared enough anymore to keep the growth cut away, so it could stand in the open to be enjoyed.

  She went on, and by the time she reached the rear steps of the house, Dora had disappeared from the upper window. Kelsey knew what she wanted to do before she returned to Jody’s room. Too many questions were churning inside her, and there was one place where she might find answers.

  Inside, she made her way to the front hall, where she’d seen a telephone. Marisa’s number was in the notebook in her pocket, and she dialed it quickly. When Marisa answered, Kelsey said, “I need to talk with you again, please. So many things have happened just since breakfast this morning. May I take you to lunch tomorrow? Somewhere quiet where we can talk?”

  “I’d like that, and I know just the place.” Marisa sounded calm and sure. “You haven’t been out in Carmel Valley yet, have you? It’s beautiful, and we can drive a bit, if you’re free.”

  “I’d love that,” Kelsey said. “I can get away when Jody is resting.”

  “Good. Jane Norman has agreed to come tomorrow. I’ll call Tyler and let him know.”

  When she’d hung up, Kelsey went to Jody’s room and found him dressed and in his chair again. Ginnie’s smile told her that all was well for now.

  “Hi, Jody,” she said, and he managed a sound that might have been a greeting. She sat in a chair beside him, while Ginnie made up the bed, and began to talk to him.

  “This morning I saw Marisa Marsh. I wonder if you call her Grandma. We’ll have to work on that. I had breakfast with her, and I know how much she wants to help you and see you get well.”

  Jody made a grunting sound, and she knew he was listening intently. How long his attention span might be was still a question.

  “Marisa has asked a friend who is a doctor to come to see you tomorrow. Dr. Jane Norman has been working in research on the sort of trouble you’re having now, Jody. She’ll have some ideas that will help you. This is something you can look forward to, and I hope you’ll help her when she comes.”

  Jody seemed to listen, and his eyes had begun to follow Kelsey when she moved. Sometimes stimulation, an awakening of interest could make a difference. She went through several exercises with him, and he really tried to cooperate. Eye tests weren’t very successful, since he couldn’t respond clearly as yet. He seemed to look, but who could tell what he saw? The hearing tests were clear enough. Any sudden sound made him jump, and he now turned his head slightly toward whoever spoke to him if that person spoke clearly and strongly. He paid no attentio
n to softer sounds.

  When Kelsey had explained what she and Ginnie would do next, and how Jody could help, she unstrapped him from his chair, and between them they held him on his feet. Jody moaned, since any movement alarmed him, promising pain, but Kelsey soothed and reassured.

  Ginnie had been getting him on his feet once a day, but it was hard to do alone. Now they would try this oftener so they could accustom him to taking a little weight again. This was the only way that his feet could be saved from the terrible dropping that would freeze the whole foot into a position where the toe pointed permanently, and he could never stand.

  When they’d held him for a minute or so, they stretched him out on his bed, and Kelsey went through a more elaborate series of range-of-motion exercises. This was always painful to muscles unused to doing their proper work, so this was a struggle; accompanied by sounds of protest, and sometimes tears. But it had to be done. To help a little, Ginnie worked to distract him, turning on the tape recorder to music Jody had liked, and even dancing a bit so he would watch her as Kelsey moved his arms and legs.

  When he was in his chair again, Kelsey fed him a spoonful of water, and he swallowed it without difficulty. Even though nourishment was being given through a nose tube, he must learn to take food and liquid in his mouth, learn how to chew and swallow solid food again. First, they would start with baby food.

  Ginnie brought a dish of apple sauce from the adjacent kitchen, and Kelsey put a little in his mouth. He promptly spit it out and made a face. Anything would taste awful to him at first, but Kelsey coaxed him and tried again.

  “You do want to eat properly, Jody, and get rid of that tube. It’s not comfortable, and it’s a nuisance, but until you start eating, it has to stay in. So you’ll just have to put up with the bad taste. After you’ve tried for a little while, everything will taste right again, and you’ll be hungry. Remember how much you liked to eat, Jody? Now see if you can try this apple sauce again. Chew it a little and swallow it. Don’t spit it out.”

  He wanted to please her, and though he made a face, he kept the bit of apple sauce in his mouth and actually swallowed it. That called for enthusiasm from Ginnie and Kelsey. They didn’t push him any further, but stopped for lunch and gave him a rest. Then, for the rest of the afternoon, Kelsey tried alternating exercises and distractions, with times of rest, and the day passed with a reasonable feeling of progress, however slow.

  Near dinner time, Hana came with word from Tyler. “Mr. Hammond would like you both to have dinner with him tonight. When the night nurse comes, please join him in the small dining room. In about half an hour.”

  Kelsey hurried upstairs to change. Just as she reached the door of her room, she heard a telephone ringing. The phone sat on a small table down the hall, where she hadn’t noticed it before. No one seemed to be answering so she picked it up and said, “Hello?” No one spoke on the line.

  The silence had the sound of someone waiting. A crank call here? She spoke again, and this time a voice that had been deliberately lowered to a hoarsened level answered, “Don’t ask so many questions. It’s bad for the health.”

  The caller hung up, and Kelsey put the phone down with a thump. That hadn’t sounded like some unknown crank caller. It had come from someone who had recognized her voice. This was unsettling, and she would ask Tyler about it at dinner. There’d been no telling whether a man or woman had been on the phone. It was difficult to imagine the person who would do this. Not Tyler, or Ruth, or Denis, if he were still in the house. Certainly not Ginnie. Dora seemed unlikely, in spite of her watchfulness.

  As she dressed, Kelsey tried to throw off her uneasiness. The one dress she’d brought was a wheat-colored silk with a rose suede belt. A string of rose and white onyx beads that she clasped about her neck made her think again of the three black beads she’d seen on Denis’s desk. But that particular question would have to wait until tomorrow when she saw Marisa Marsh.

  Of course those unexpected words on the phone might mean that she was getting too close for someone’s comfort. But comfort for what? If she knew anything dangerous, or was about to find out anything, she had no idea what it could be. Or what questions she was supposed to stop asking.

  XI

  When Kelsey went downstairs to Jody’s room, the night nurse had arrived, and Ginnie was ready. She hadn’t changed from her uniform since she kept no other clothes here.

  “Jody just threw up the water and apple sauce,” she said. “Though that little bit shouldn’t have upset him.”

  “Maybe it didn’t. I think he’s worried about something.” Kelsey sat beside Jody’s chair and took his hand. His eyes seemed to widen, and the spastic stiffness increased. There was something he wanted very much to put into words.

  “I know you want to talk, Jody,” Kelsey said. “And you will. Just give yourself time.”

  He blinked rapidly.

  “Is it about the accident? Nobody blames you, Jody. Everything’s all right.”

  He merely stared at her fixedly, and she couldn’t tell whether she had comforted him or not.

  “Did Ginnie tell you that we’re invited to have dinner with your father tonight? I put on the only dress I brought with me. How do I look? Do you approve?”

  At least he was easily distracted, and he managed his quivery smile. Then he opened his mouth, drew in a breath, and blew out a word. It sounded like “Hi,” and Ginnie laughed.

  “That’s good, Jody,” she told him. “You remembered what Hana taught you. Kelsey, he isn’t saying ‘hi’ in a greeting. The Japanese word for ‘yes’ is ‘hai.’ It’s an easier word for him than saying yes.”

  Jody blew out another “hai” in agreement, and Kelsey hugged him.

  The night nurse, Mabel Smith, was pleasant and middle aged, and she seemed fond of Jody. When Ginnie had reported his latest successes—and failures—she led the way to the living room and its adjacent dining area.

  “There’s another dining room that’s practically baronial,” Ginnie said, “but it isn’t used these days since there are no dinner parties. I remember Ruth told me once that this was a house that loved people. But I expect that depends on who is living in it. I don’t think it’s true anymore. I don’t think there are many lovable people left here now.”

  She was probably right, though this was the first time Ginnie had made a critical comment.

  An oval table had been set before big arched windows that looked out above pine trees toward the sunset. The reflected light brightened linen tablecloth and napkins. The silverware and dinner china gave a formal touch, and there were silver candlesticks and a crystal bowl of chrysanthemums.

  Tyler hadn’t appeared, but Hana hovered anxiously. “I made it look special,” she said.

  “It’s lovely,” Ginnie approved, and went on to tell her that Jody had produced the word she’d taught him. When Hana went off, pleased and happy, Kelsey and Ginnie stepped outside on the white balcony where Ruth had sat earlier. They watched the sky and waited for Tyler.

  “Except for the cook, is Hana all the staff there is?” Kelsey asked. “How can she do it all?”

  “She doesn’t. Outside help comes in a couple of times a week and takes care of scrubbing and cleaning. Hardly anyone has big staffs these days. Help is too hard to find, and there are companies whose services can be hired. Besides, Tyler hates to have extra people around. Dora usually eats upstairs with Ruth, since Ruth doesn’t come down for meals. Whoever happens to be free carries trays up and brings them down again. Sometimes Dora, sometimes Hana, or even Tyler. Denis took their lunch up today, and I expect he’ll take up dinner, since he’s still here. It would be a lot easier if Ruth would let herself be brought downstairs.”

  Out on the water, a yacht in full sail was gliding past, white against rosy orange and the delft blue of low clouds. But Kelsey’s thoughts were far from the sunset sky, and she couldn’t stop asking questions.

  “Ginnie, I keep feeling that so much more than the accident is troubling everyone
in this house. What is it?”

  Ginnie was plainly upset by the question. “Please leave it alone, Kelsey. Just concentrate on Jody. That’s all you’re here for.”

  “Why am I always put off—told to leave everything alone? Maybe this albatross, whatever it is, makes for so unhappy an atmosphere that Jody can’t mend. If that’s it, he’ll keep slipping back.”

  Tyler joined them on the balcony to stand between the two women, looking out toward Point Lobos, where the rocky headland thrust into the water. The very existence of that “Point of the Sea Wolves” must be a constant reminder to everyone in the house.

  “I walked down through the woods this afternoon,” Kelsey told him. “I found the green gate and steps your wife mentioned to me, and the little marble statue. What a shame that it’s hidden in brush where no one can see it.”

  Tyler wore his usual repressive manner. The statue didn’t interest him, and he gestured them inside to the table. This probably wouldn’t be a cheerful meal. She must wait for the right moment to bring up the matter of the phone call. Hana turned herself into the perfect, unobtrusive waitress, serving them with a grace that was practically an art form. Once when she caught Kelsey watching her, she lowered one eyelid in a wink that no one else saw. She would do fine with her restaurant.

  Shrimp and sea scallops were fresh and perfectly broiled. The salad greens were also California fresh, and the Roquefort dressing homemade. Vegetables, lightly steamed, had been seasoned with herbs. Mrs. Preston, the cook, had a talent, and was apparently enjoying a company meal for a change. The guests, however, ate with very little enjoyment because the man at the head of the table seemed so far away, so uninterested in either the food on his plate or his two guests. Why in the world had he invited them to dinner in the first place? Kelsey wondered.

  Since no one else was going to talk, she broke the silence rebelliously. “Would you like to hear the latest report I can make on Jody, Mr. Hammond?”