Grace Interrupted

by Julie Hyzy

  “I’m fine. You go ahead.”

  Five minutes after he left, I was trying to make pictures out of the dots scattered across the ceiling tiles. I had just come up with two smileys and a cat’s face complete with whiskers when I heard, “Knock, knock.”

  Jack?

  “Come in,” I said.

  He pushed the curtain aside, looking sheepish. “I didn’t know how else to get your attention. They said you were in here and I thought I should stop by. How’s your arm?”

  “I’ll live,” I said, “and I’m hearing Pierpont will, too.”

  Jack nodded, then stared at the ceiling. I wondered what pictures he saw up there. After a moment he said, “Wow. This is awkward.”

  “Why don’t you sit for a minute?”

  He took the rolling stool Rodriguez had vacated. “I don’t know where to begin.”

  “How’s your dad?”

  He bobbed his head. “Good. Stable. Should make a full recovery.” Jack’s eyes got suddenly shiny. “He’s got a lot ahead of him . . .”

  “How’s Davey?”

  “Okay, considering the rough night he’s had.” Then, as though hearing his own words, Jack amended, “What am I saying? He’s had it rough for a lot longer than that.” He blinked several times. “Calla’s here with her husband. She knows Dad had a heart attack. She doesn’t know the rest. Not yet. She thinks the guards outside his room are because he’s a retired cop.”

  “Your family is strong. You’ll get through this.”

  “I lived with them my whole life and I never suspected,” he said. “How did you know?”

  I had no answer.

  He was silent for a long time. “Thank you for all you did for Davey. I just wish . . .”

  More silence. I couldn’t stand it anymore.

  “I understand,” I said. “Now, why don’t you get back to your dad? I’m sure he needs his family close by.”

  “Yeah.” At the curtain, he turned back. “I know we just went out on one date, but I think it may be a while before I’m ready to go out again.”

  “I get it, Jack. Take your time.”

  “Thanks, Grace.”

  The doctor arrived a few minutes later. She examined my wound, asked me about my last tetanus shot, made small talk, and with crisp efficiency, left me with a neat line of fourteen stitches. “Should heal up nicely,” she said, and handed me a sheet of instructions for at-home care. “You got lucky. It wasn’t deep.”

  When she left, I pondered her words. I had gotten lucky. Again. I hoped this was the last time I’d have to depend on good luck to survive.

  Rodriguez returned with Tank in tow. “They say you’re ready to go,” Tank said.

  “Can’t wait to get out of here.”

  Rodriguez gave me a sorrowful look. “One problem,” he said as I lowered my feet to the floor, “about that ride.”

  My heart sank. “You can’t drive me?”

  “Somebody else muscled me out.”

  I knew he wasn’t talking about Jack. Please don’t let it be Tooney. “Who?” I asked.

  Bennett walked into the curtained area, concern narrowing his eyes. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, enormously cheered to see him. “Good as new.”

  “Terrence briefed me,” he said. “Gracie, you have to be more careful.”

  “I thought I was.”

  Tank cleared her throat. “Not Grace’s fault, Mr. Marshfield. She kept us updated at every step. This shouldn’t have happened. But it did. She’s a tough cookie, this one.”

  I blushed. “Nice to know you don’t think I messed you guys up.”

  Rodriguez held open the curtain for me. “Not this time, kiddo.”

  “ARE YOU ABLE TO WALK?” BENNETT ASKED. “Do you want to hold onto my arm?”

  I was perfectly capable of making my way to the hospital’s front door, but Bennett seemed so earnest, his eyes bright with worry, that I couldn’t refuse. “Thanks,” I said, tucking my hand into his elbow.

  He straightened and smiled. “Good. Nice to see you safe and sound, Gracie. When Terrence came to tell me, I was out of my mind with worry.”

  “I didn’t mean to get into trouble this time. In fact, I believed I was steering clear.”

  “You need to try harder.”

  Outside, the night was crisp and breezy. “Beautiful,” I said as I drew in a deep breath of damp, cool air.

  “Only because you’re still with us.” Bennett placed a hand over mine and said, “I was very concerned about you.”

  I didn’t know what to say, but Bennett didn’t seem to need an answer. “Grant will be here any moment,” he said.

  He wasn’t kidding. Less than a minute later, Grant drove up. That in itself wasn’t surprising, as Bennett rarely drove himself anymore. What was surprising was what he was driving.

  “The Packard?” I asked.

  Bennett was grinning, clearly pleased to have surprised me. “Nothing but the best to take you home in style.”

  Grant stopped the car in front of us, got out, and handed us into the huge vehicle’s rear seat. “Would you like the top up, miss?” Grant asked.

  I looked up at the moon. “No, this is perfect, thank you.”

  Bennett sat next to me. I was on the driver’s side with Bennett to my right. I wanted to put my left arm out to catch the wind as we drove, but after getting fourteen stitches, that wasn’t a viable plan. Even though I knew Grant wouldn’t be able to hear a word we said if we talked, Bennett and I were silent for the first mile or so. His mention of taking me “home” made me wonder if he planned to take me to my house, or if he hoped I’d spend some time at Marshfield under his watchful eye and that of his staff. I’d spent one night there once before and although it was glorious being waited on hand and foot, I really wanted to be in my own house tonight.

  Bennett must have read my mind because he cleared his throat and said, “About you moving into Abe’s cottage . . .”

  I took a deep breath, but he continued before I could say anything.

  “I was thinking about rescinding my offer. Temporarily, that is.”

  I looked at him. The wind lifted his white hair as he stared out, straight ahead.

  “Rescind?” I repeated.

  “Only temporarily.” He turned to face me. “I can’t advocate what that Embers boy did protecting his father all these years, but I do understand it. What a burden that boy placed on himself. No wonder he’s been in trouble for so long.”

  “He needs a fresh start.”

  “Exactly my thought. Seems to me that living with Jack hasn’t been the right answer. And I can’t see how going back to the family home—full of all those memories—is going to do him much good, but the boy needs a place to live if he’s going to make anything of himself.”

  “And you want to offer him Abe’s cottage?”

  Bennett nodded. “If that’s all right with you.”

  Not for the first time did it occur to me that Bennett was one of the most thoughtful, generous people I’d ever met.

  “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

  He nodded. “One more thing,” he said. “I still want to help you with your repairs. Your house needs work, Gracie. And you haven’t been able to keep up.”

  “That wouldn’t be fair,” I said. “You were only going to do that if I took the cottage.”

  “This is a condition of our agreement—our new agreement. Davey comes to live at the cottage, and you allow me to help out from time to time. Beyond that, no strings attached.”

  I tucked my right hand in the crook of Bennett’s elbow again. “You’re a good man,” I said. “Thank you.”

  Chapter 26

  SUNDAY MORNING WAS SO RAINY AND OVERCAST that I barely knew that it had dawned. I was up early having coffee in the kitchen, sneezing from having had Bootsie sleep with me all night when Bruce bounded downstairs. “Did you see the weather? Good thing your re-enactors finished up last night.” He stopped and stared. �
��What happened?”

  I glanced around, then realized he was talking about my arm. “Oh, this,” I said. “Long story.”

  “That’s a pretty professional bandage job,” he said, taking a closer look at my arm. “Who did it?”

  “Emergency room.”

  “What?” Bruce said. “Talk to me.” He turned to Scott who had just ambled in. “Did you hear that? Our Grace was in the emergency room last night.” To me, “Why didn’t you call us?”

  “I got a ride home. It was no big deal.”

  Bruce looked unconvinced. “Spill it. Or no more chocolate-covered strawberries for you.”

  I took a deep breath. “Okay . . .”

  When I was done, the two had their mouths open. They’d peppered me with questions throughout my recitation, but now they hit me with the big one. “Why didn’t you tell us that Bennett offered you a home on his property?”

  “Because I didn’t plan to ever take him up on it.”

  The two exchanged a look. Bruce asked, “Because you felt responsible for us?”

  “No,” I said, “because I didn’t want to leave you two.”

  Scott reached for my right hand and squeezed. Bruce knew better than to grab my left, but he laid his hand across the top of my fingers. “I’m glad,” he said.

  Bootsie jumped into my lap and gave a tiny yowl.

  “I think she’s glad, too,” Scott said.

  FOUR HOURS LATER, THE DOORBELL RANG and Bootsie scurried out of the room. We both knew who it was before I looked. My heart sank as I plodded to the front door and opened it.

  “Tooney,” I said.

  He stood there hat in hand. A cat carrier sat on the stoop next to him.

  “Hi there, Grace. It’s okay if I call you Grace, right?”

  I sighed and stepped aside to let him in. “After all we’ve been through lately, yeah. Sure.” Right now I didn’t care. He was here to claim Bootsie and that was all I could think about. We went into the parlor, where I offered him a seat and looked for her. She usually came to see what the humans were doing. But she was not in the room.

  “I screwed up,” he said as he sat, placing the cat carrier on the floor next to his chair. “On that Florian-Pierpont thing.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You mad?”

  “How can I be? Turned out we should have been investigating Pierpont all along. I told the police what you found out and they’re launching an investigation into that Sutherland’s death now, too. So the guy’s family should be happy about that, at least.”

  “Grace,” he said, leaning forward, “I know I’m not exactly your favorite person, but I have to say I’m a little concerned.”

  I’d been staring at the cat carrier. Thinking about Bootsie’s future life in Westville with those cute kids. I should be happy for her. But I was too sad for me.

  “What about?”

  “You just solved a thirteen-year-old murder as well as the one that happened last week. You took down the bad guys and came out smelling like a rose.”

  “Your point?”

  “Shouldn’t you be a little happier today? Feeling you did some good in this world?”

  Tooney giving me life advice? “Maybe,” I said, “but not today.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” He stood, and picked up the cat carrier. “Because I have more bad news for you.”

  I remained seated. If he was such an amazing PI, let him figure out where Bootsie was. I didn’t want to be Dorothy handing Toto over to Miss Gulch. “Yeah?” I asked not even looking at him. “What’s that?”

  “I screwed up again.”

  “How so, Tooney?”

  “That cat, Mittens? The one with the reward?”

  “Yeah?”

  “She found her way home while I was checking out Pierpont.”

  Now I glanced up. Tooney was grinning, looking particularly proud of himself. “Yep. The real Mittens is back safe home with her family.” He pointed under my seat. “Looks like that one—Bootsie, is it?—is all yours.”

  “You’re not just saying that, are you, Tooney?”

  He shook his head. “Turns out there were a couple of extra markings not visible in the photos. When they got their cat back they noticed. They thought Bootsie was theirs. But she isn’t.”

  I was confused. I pointed at the cat carrier. “But . . . but . . . you brought that.”

  He handed it to me. “A gift,” he said, “for having faith in me.”

  Bootsie poked her nose out from under my chair, as though she’d understood exactly what was going on. She stood next to my leg and cried up at me.

  I felt my throat grow warm as I bent down to pick her up. “Thanks, Tooney,” I whispered. “You’re okay.”

  “I’ll see myself out.” He placed his hat on his head and winked. “You take care.”

  “You, too,” I said. And sneezed.

  Berkley Prime Crime titles by Julie Hyzy

  White House Chef Mysteries

  STATE OF THE ONION

  HAIL TO THE CHEF

  EGGSECUTIVE ORDERS

  BUFFALO WEST WING

  Manor House Mysteries

  GRACE UNDER PRESSURE

  GRACE INTERRUPTED