Get Geri

by Woods, Karen

  The detective’s office hadn’t grown any newer or better smelling since her last visit here on Friday night.

  Had it only been a matter of days? It seemed much longer than that.

  Detective Leo Matthews looked as though he hadn’t slept in days. She knew that feeling. “Close the door, Counselor,” he said.

  Josh sat down beside Geri on the bench by the wall. Brad took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

  “We found your engineer, Hilda Greene,” the detective said without preamble. “What was left of her wasn’t pretty.”

  Geri shuddered.

  Josh said, “I didn’t expect it would be.”

  Geri added, “He told me on the phone he was going to make me think I got off easily in San Diego.”

  The detective looked at her for a long time. “The medical examiner says she was raped by two different men before she was beaten to death. Do you know who the second man is?”

  Geri looked at the detective. “No, Detective, I don’t know who the second man is. I have my suspicions, but I don’t know for a fact who he is.”

  “Suspicions are good enough for me at this point. Who do you suspect?”

  “Delgado had a son,” Geri said.

  “A bit melodramatic,” the detective said.

  “You asked for my suspicions,” she answered.

  The detective nodded. “This boy have a name?”

  Brad spoke, “His name is Cliff Clary. Delgado never married the boy’s mother.”

  “Hardly seems to be the sort of situation in which a son would seek revenge,” Detective Matthews remarked.

  “That’s my best guess,” Geri replied.

  “We’ll look into it,” the detective answered.

  “Thank you. Anything else?”

  “There was a note on the body. This is a photocopy,” he said as he handed the document to Brad.

  Brad read the document then stood and brought it over to Geri. “I’d recommend against reading this, Gerianne Evelyn.”

  “You know that I have to, Bradford Edmund,” she replied.

  He gave her the document. Josh read the note with her. “The death of this woman is squarely on the shoulders of Gerianne Erikson. Geri had the chance to save this woman from pain and death, but refused to do so, being a coward. Therefore, she bears the full responsibility for the torment and death of Hilda Greene. A copy of this note and the photo of the corpse are going in the mail to the parents of Hilda Greene as well as the newspapers and television stations, so everyone will know what a heartless, murderous, self-centered bitch Geri Erikson really is. It isn’t the first death that she has caused or contributed to. And if someone doesn’t put an end to her wicked ways it won’t be the last dead body she is connected with.”

  Geri shook her head and sighed heavily, “They would have killed Hilda anyway, even if I had surrendered myself. They couldn’t have let her live. She’d seen them. If I had surrendered myself to them, both Hilda and I would have been dead. And they would have been gone.”

  “When did they make that demand for the exchange?” the detective asked.

  “Yesterday afternoon. My husband spoke with them.”

  “And you didn’t see fit to inform me of this?” the detective demanded.

  “I called it in,” Josh stated.

  “No one told me about it,” Leo Matthews said, his voice tight, as he looked through the file. There was a memo logged in about the call. But, the memo was not where it belonged in the file.

  The detective shook his head. “Okay. You did call in about this. This would have been a terrific chance to put a transmitter on her and find these jerks.”

  “Like that would have really worked,” Geri dismissed. “These people are not stupid. Just how far do you think I would have gotten with a tracker? They would have either jammed the frequencies or shot me on the spot.”

  The detective sighed. “Probably.”

  Geri sighed. “You could have told me about Hilda over the phone. Why did you ask me to come in?”

  “You didn’t tell me you were a demolitions expert,” the detective accused.

  “I worked in demolitions during graduate school. The money was good,” Geri stated. “But that was years ago. I hadn’t had anything to do with explosives in over ten years.”

  “You should have told me about your background in explosives,” the detective said firmly.

  “It wasn’t pertinent,” Geri stated.

  “Let me decide what is pertinent,” Detective Matthews demanded. “Is there anything else you’re withholding?”

  “Why are you making a big deal out of this?” Geri demanded.

  “According to the officers who responded, you did a job on those bombs this morning,” he replied.

  “Bad news travels fast,” she said, her voice dry. “They were kindergarten level devices. Too simple for words. Almost anyone could have run those circuits and disconnected them. They were dead simple.”

  “Would they have done the job?” the detective asked.

  “Of course, they would have, if the charge had been real. Placed as they were with the kind of charge they packed, it would have leveled the building, if not the entire complex.”

  “Then there is the matter of your having anticipated the car bomb,” the detective offered.

  “Are you accusing me of something? Or is this more of your not committing yourself to any particular theory of the case?”

  “You are entirely too calm about this,” Detective Matthews stated.

  “They want me to fall apart. I’m not going to do that, or at least, I’m not going to do that in public,” Geri said. “There is a quote I read once. It was by a humorist, I think it was Jacob Braude. It goes something like, ‘Always behave like a duck— keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath’. If all you’re seeing is the calm, detective, then you are missing the paddling I’m doing under the water, just to propel myself.”

  Josh squeezed her hand. “You’re too strong to let yourself fall apart.”

  Geri sighed as she looked at her husband. “I don’t know about being too strong. But, I am entirely too stubborn to give them the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart. That’s just the way it is.”

  “I hope you are,” the detective said, his tone laden with meaning.

  Geri looked at the man. Fingers of dread ran up and down her spine. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  The detective grimaced. “I hate to tell you this.”

  Geri mentally braced herself for more bad news.

  “Your mother’s body has disappeared,” he said.

  “What do you mean, disappeared?” she asked, trying to contain her growing panic.

  “The body was there yesterday afternoon at four. The ME got ready to release the body this morning for burial and it was gone,” the detective said.

  Geri closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. The last thing that she could afford to do right now was lose control of herself. “I know she didn’t get up and walk out by herself.”

  “We’re tracing down the people who were in and out of the morgue yesterday evening and last night.”

  “Anyone want to lay odds Albert’s got her again?” Geri asked, her voice full of pain.

  “The body is just a shell, Gee,” Brad said. “Aunt Gina wouldn’t want you to fret over it. She’s been among the Saints for a long time now.”

  Geri nodded and sighed. “I know. But, I need to lay her body to rest, Brad. It’s the last thing I can do for her.”

  Josh put his arm around his wife. “I can’t promise you we’ll find her body. But, they wouldn’t have taken her without having a plan to have her turn up again.”

  “They might have. It’s called psychological warfare. On the other hand, there may be more ghoulish surprises coming. Either way, they want me to fall apart. And they will do whatever they have to do to see that I do fall apart and make myself vulnerable to them.”

  “We
’ll handle whatever comes,” Josh said.

  “You’re too good to me,” Geri answered.

  Then Geri looked at the detective. “What else do I need to know?”

  “Isn’t this enough?” the detective asked in disbelief.

  “Is it everything?” Geri demanded.

  “It’s all I have to tell you right now,” the detective admitted.

  Geri nodded and stood. “Thank you for keeping me informed.”

  “We’ll do what we can to get these guys,” the detective said.

  “I know you will. I’m just not sure that it’ll be enough,” she said before she left the office.

  “Well,” she said as they reached the car. “Brad, what are you up to the rest of the day?”

  “I’m spending the afternoon in court,” her cousin said.

  “Oh, that sounds like fun,” she replied, her voice dry.

  “It will be okay. I think the judge will rule in my favor and dismiss the suit against my client. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to go see Allie,” Geri said, her voice low. “I need to do this.”

  Brad nodded. “Give her my love.”

  “I will. Have a good afternoon, Brad.”

  * * *

  In the car, Josh put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Do you want me to come with you to see Brad’s wife?”

  “Only if you want to come.”

  “After everything we’ve been through today, do you think I’d let you get out of my sight?”

  “Anyone ever tell you that you were a control freak?” she teased.

  “That’s one of the nicer things I’ve ever been called,” Josh admitted.

  Geri gave the driver the address for the nursing home. “But, stop at the florist a block from the home first. I always take her a bouquet of her favorite flowers.”

  “Tell me about the changes you are making to the P100 project,” Josh demanded.

  So, they talked engineering specifications until they got to the florist shop.

  Geri went in and a few minutes later came out with three dozen roses and a box of chocolates.

  “You buy chocolates for a woman in a coma?” Josh asked in disbelief.

  “These are her favorites. It’s something of a routine that I take her chocolates and roses. She can’t eat them. But, the nursing staff enjoys a treat. Are you sure that you want to come in?”

  “This is part of your life.”

  “It is. Come on, if you’re coming.”

  * * *

  The first thing that Josh noticed was the institutional smell of disinfectants. The second was that Geri seemed to know everyone by name, and they knew her. His wife had smiles for everyone.

  They stopped at a dutch door. Geri knocked at the top door. It swung open. “Hi, Gracie. How’s our girl doing today?” Geri asked the uniformed woman who answered the door.

  The nurse named Gracie sighed. “She’s the same as she always is, Geri.”

  “Well, then, we’ll go and see her.”

  * * *

  Josh stood at the door of the private room. It was a small room. There was commercial vinyl tile on the floor. But the walls were papered with a rose design. The room’s furniture was all antique oak. The bed was covered with a handmade quilt.

  Under the quilt, there was a very small figure, curled up on herself in a fetal position. Josh hadn’t seen anyone so pathetic looking since Mandy had lay dying. He didn’t know how Geri had managed for ten years to come here and visit this woman. It was another piece to the puzzle of just who the woman he had married was.

  “Allie, Sweetie, hello. I’ve brought you roses and chocolates like I always do,” she said, her voice gentle, as she walked over to the bed. “Allie, honey, I’m just going to arrange your flowers for you. They’ll be right here beside your bed. All you have to do is open your eyes and look at them. I’ve brought you another visitor. There’s someone I want you to meet. He’s a very special man. His name is Josh Sutherland. I married him on Sunday evening. Come here, Josh and meet Allie.”

  Josh crossed the room to stand beside Allie’s bed. “Hello, Allie. I’m happy to meet you. I’ve known your husband for many years. By the way, he said to tell you that he loves you.”

  Josh looked at Geri. She smiled at him and mouthed, “Go on.”

  “Geri has told me a good deal about you,” Josh said as Geri was arranging the flowers. “You should have been at the wedding Sunday night. Geri was just beautiful. She wore a wreath of orchids and roses in her hair. Brad and my sister Carol both read lessons from the Bible. It was a small ceremony at my house.”

  She poured water into the vase after she had arranged the flowers. “There. These roses are beautiful, Allie. They are a combination of red, white, and yellow long stemmed rose buds. Just like the flowers on the altar at your wedding. You remember how beautiful they were. Over the next few days, sweetie, they will open up slowly and will fill the room with their sweet fragrance. You will enjoy them, I know. Should I read to you for a while? Okay. Here’s the volume of the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Shall I read you an adventure of Sherlock Holmes?”

  Half an hour later, Geri closed the book and said, “Well, Allie, dear. I’ll be going now. Shall I share your chocolates with the nurses? Or will you wake up and eat one?…Okay, sweetie, I’ll be back to see you soon. Enjoy the sweet smell of the roses.”

  Geri rose from her chair and left the room, taking the box of chocolates with her.

  Josh followed her. He closed the door behind himself.

  Geri stopped at the “dutch” doors. She knocked again. The top door opened.

  “Leaving?” the nurse named Gracie asked.

  “Yes. Share these with the nursing staff, will you? They’re from Allie.”

  Gracie smiled sadly. “You know, she isn’t going to get any better. If she was going to come back, she would have by now. You need to talk with Mr. Bennet. There is no hope here, Geri. You have to know that.”

  “Hope is like concrete, Gracie. It’s strong, but it breaks easily unless it’s reinforced. Brad needs to have the hope of her coming back to him. It’s just that simple,” Geri replied, her voice weary. “Take care of her. I want to give you my new number, just in case. The mobile and the office numbers are the same, but my home number has changed.”

  The nurse took the pen from behind her ear. “Okay. Shoot.”

  Geri gave the other woman the telephone number. “I’ve gotten married. The last name is now Sutherland.”

  Gracie smiled. “Congratulations, Geri. Is this your husband?”

  “Josh, meet Gracie Evans. Gracie, Josh Sutherland, my husband. Gracie has helped to take care of Allie since we brought her here.”

  After a few short minutes of pleasantries being exchanged, Josh touched his wife’s arm. “We have to get going, Geri.”

  Geri nodded. “You’re right. Bye, Gracie.”

  “How do you stand this?” Josh asked Geri as they drove away from the nursing home.

  “You do what you have to do. My tolerating this is less than the hell Allie’s gone through in the last ten years,” she said wearily as she snuggled up next to her husband in the back seat of the big car. “If she’s awake in there, she has to be so incredibly lonely, shut off as she is. I just want to cry every time I see her like this. She was always so alive, so vital, so busy. If she knew what she’d become, she’d be mortified.”

  “You are an exceptional woman, Gerianne Evelyn!”

  “Just hold me. Just hold me. This has been a terrible day so far.”

  “Rest, sweetheart.”

  “I don’t think I can.”

  “Just close your eyes and try to relax.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Geri was asleep within a mile of leaving the nursing home. She continued to sleep all the way home. And Josh didn’t want to wake her once they arrived at the ranch. Instead, he carefully carried her inside and carried her up to their bedroom. She continued to sleep after he put her i
nto bed.

  Then he went back downstairs. Spider was out on the patio talking on his encrypted satellite phone. Josh dismissed his bodyguards and went out to stand beside the other man.

  Spider rang off without ceremony. He looked up from the patio table at Josh. “You need something?”

  “Tell me about Delgado,” Josh demanded.

  “I did.”

  “No, you gave Geri a song and dance about a boy. Tell me about Delgado.”

  Spider sighed. “Delgado is dead.”

  “The hell he is.”

  “Your wife beat him to death.”

  “Tell me another fairy tale,” Josh dismissed. “You called the boy Delgado. Bennet said the boy’s name is Clary. That isn’t a mistake you’d make.”

  “Does she know?”

  “I don’t think she’s made the connection yet,” Josh replied. “She’s believed she had killed him, for so many years, that it isn’t even a possibility for her he could be behind this.”

  “I’m here to help.”

  “No. You’re here to bag Delgado. Geri’s right about that. Helping us is a matter of baiting the trap.”

  “I’ll do what I can to protect you and your wife. I owe you that much.”

  “Just tell me how in the world you pulled this one off.”

  Spider shook his head negatively. “I wasn’t in on it.”

  “Sounds like another fairy tale to me.”

  “If I had been in on this, I would have vetoed the op. There were other ways of doing this that were less costly.”

  “Let me get this straight? Someone actually approved of his assaulting my wife?”

  “Delgado’s attack on Geri was not part of the original plan, but the recruiter was able to incorporate it into the scenario.”

  “There was a body found identified as Delgado.”

  “That couldn’t have been pulled off today with today’s DNA testing. But fifteen years ago, no one questioned it because the decomposed body was wearing Delgado’s uniform and dog tags and the dental records matched.”

  Josh rubbed the back of his neck.

  “The body was discovered ten days after the attack on her, as it was scheduled to be found. The body was in Delgado’s car, fit his general height/weight description, and was wearing his clothes and dogtags. By then, of course, there was no way of knowing just by looking at him that he wasn’t Delgado. And the recruiter made certain that no one—including the medical examiner—asked too many questions.”