Blood Sisters

by Melody Carlson

  “There, that didn’t take long.” said Ellen as she opened the door.

  “Oh!” Judith started. “I didn’t even hear you walk up.”

  “Were you having a little catnap?” teased Ellen.

  “Something like that,” she said as she backed out the car. “It’s already past noon, Ellen. Do you want to go home, or do you think we should just stick around for the ladies’ luncheon?”

  Ellen groaned. “Well, if we go home, we’ll just have to turn around and come back.”

  “But you look tired to me.”

  Ellen nodded grimly and turned the air conditioner up. “No excuse for missing this luncheon. I’ll tell you what. Let’s go early, visit a bit, then we can eat quickly, and just leave a little early. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds brilliant.”

  The luncheon was set up behind the clubhouse. About a dozen card tables and folding chairs were set out where they had full view of the lake. A stocky, rather bossy, woman named Betty was in charge, and Judith offered to help out while Ellen sat down at a table with a middle-aged woman named Karen—a potential recruit, Ellen had whispered in Judith’s ear. The luncheon consisted of a variety of egg, tuna, and chicken salad sandwiches, Waldorf salad, a vast array of homemade desserts, and cold drinks. Judith’s job was to stock the cooler of ice and cold drinks. Once that was done, she joined Ellen, who was furiously fanning herself with a paper plate.

  “Maybe we should move you into the shade,” offered Judith.

  “What shade?” Ellen waved her hand around the tables all set up in the sun. “There is no shade.” She blotted her brow with a handkerchief. “Well, at least the luncheon should be starting any minute now.”

  “How about if I get you a cool drink?” Judith listed the available drinks she had just stocked, all cans of soda.

  “I don’t like any of those fizzy drinks,” said Ellen. “Can’t you just find me a glass of water somewhere.”

  Judith went into the kitchen and filled a large glass with water, then she stopped by the cooler to plunk a few ice cubes in it.

  “Bless you,” said Ellen as she began to drink.

  Soon the luncheon was underway, and Judith went to fill plates for both of them. But when she returned, Ellen looked extremely pale and said she wasn’t hungry.

  “You don’t look well to me, Ellen,” said Judith. “Let’s get you out of the sun.”

  By now there was a thin sliver of shade next to the building, and Judith led Ellen with one arm, carrying a chair with the other, and sat her down in the shade. She handed her the water. “Here, you drink this up.” Then she went back to get her own chair and their plates. But when she returned Ellen still looked bad. The main speaker, the wife of John Wagner, was just getting ready to speak. “Let’s get you inside,” commanded Judith, gently pulling Ellen from her chair and guiding her into the slightly cooler building.

  “I don’t feel so good,” murmured Ellen as Judith eased her into a club chair.

  “I think you’re having heat stroke.” said Judith suddenly. “We need to get you to the clinic as soon as possible.” She ran into the kitchen and grabbed a tea towel, then soaked it with cool water. Then she helped Ellen back to her feet and slowly led her to the car.

  “I feel woozy.” said Ellen as Judith helped her into the car, placing the damp cloth atop her head.

  “Just lean back and relax, Ellen.” said Judith as she quickly drove the car to the clinic.

  By the time they reached the clinic, Ellen’s eyes were closed and her arms hung limply by her sides. Judith dashed inside to get help. Fortunately there was a young man at the front desk, and he and Judith managed to get Ellen to an examining room where they laid her down.

  “Our nurse practitioner is gone right now,” said the young man. “But I’ll get the nurse’s aide. You stay here with Ellen.”

  Soon the man returned with the nurse’s aide in tow. “We’ll handle this now,” she said. “Go ahead and wait out there.”

  Judith stepped out in the hallway, her heart still racing from the scare. Should she contact Burt? But how? Go back to the lodge? But she didn’t want to leave Ellen on her own here either. She paced down to the other end of the hallway, still wondering what to do. And that’s when she noticed an open door leading into a room on the right end of the building. Judith peered in to see Aunt Lenore’s small face looking up from a hospital bed with safety rails raised on either side. Her eyes were open, and she appeared to be fairly alert.

  “Aunt Lenore!” exclaimed Judith. “Is it really you?”

  “Come here, child.” Her voice sounded old and tired. “Come here where I can see you.”

  Judith stepped over to her bedside. “I’m so glad to see you, Aunt Lenore!”

  “Is that you, Jasmine?”

  “No, it’s Judith. Remember me?”

  She nodded. “Yes, yes.. Judith, of course. I thought you were Jasmine at first. But Jasmine’s not with us anymore, is she?”

  “No, Aunt Lenore, she died. Do you remember that?”

  “Yes. And I think I shall join her soon.”

  “Are you terribly ill, Aunt Lenore?”

  “They say that I am. But I’m afraid they’re giving me medicine that makes me ill. I think they want to shut me up.”

  “But why, Aunt Lenore?”

  “Because I know too much.”

  “About Jasmine?”

  “About many things. Many things they want dead and buried. Including me.”

  Judith reached for her hand. “Maybe I can help you, Aunt Lenore. Maybe I can get you out of here.”

  Her old eyes lit up a little. “Oh, I do want to go back to my little house again.”

  “Yes!” said Judith. “You must come back. I’ve been keeping everything watered for you. And your garden is unbelievable. Please don’t give up, Aunt Lenore.” Judith looked over her shoulder, worried that she’d be discovered any minute.

  “Now, Aunt Lenore, what do you know about Jasmine? Can you tell me?”

  “Did you find her box?”

  “No, I’ve looked everywhere. But I couldn’t find it.”

  Aunt Lenore closed her eyes as if trying to remember. “In my bedroom,” she said. “On my dresser, inlaid mother-of—”

  “What are you doing in here?” demanded the nurse’s aide.

  “Oh!” Judith jumped. “I heard a voice calling for help in here and I came to see—”

  “This room is off limits.”

  “Water.” said Aunt Lenore, as if playing along. “Thirsty.. .need water...”

  “She only wanted a drink,” said Judith innocently.

  “Well, thanks.” said the nurse’s aide. “But I’ll take care of it. Anyway, Ellen’s recovering and wants to see you now.”

  “Ellen?” said Aunt Lenore.

  “You go on now,” said the nurse’s aide. “I’ll take good care of Miss Barker.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  JUDITH FOUND THE NURSE practitioner at Ellen’s bedside, checking an IV while Ellen seemed to sleep soundly. “I’m Nurse Bryant.” the tall, thin woman said. “And you must be Judith. Ellen said you brought her here.”

  “Is she okay then?”

  “Yes. But it’s good that you got her in here when you did.”

  “Was it heat stroke?”

  “Probably more like heat exhaustion about to become heat stroke. But she’s stabilized now. And I gave her a little something to calm her. She’ll probably sleep for a couple of hours.”

  “But everything’s okay?”

  “Yes, her vital signs are stable.”

  “I wanted to tell Burt, but I wasn’t sure how to reach him, and there wasn’t anyone around to ask.”

  “Yeah, I got Tim, the guy who helped you get her in here, and he’s letting Burt know what’s up. I expect he’ll be by any minute now.”

  “Oh, good. Should I just wait around here then?”

  “Sure, have a seat.”

  Judith sat in a chair next to Ellen’s
bed. She studied Ellen’s features as she slept. Suddenly, she looked very old. Not as old as Aunt Lenore, perhaps, yet in some ways even older. Was it because she was so stuck in her ways, because she let Burt control her, because she’d compromised her childhood teachings to accommodate a man who was ruled by hatred and bigotry? Somewhere in her life, Ellen had given up on her own life and simply surrendered to the lies. It’s as if she had almost ceased to exist, or had gone into some sort of emotional coma where she functioned like a wind-up robot, without thinking or discerning, just putt-putting along while Burt tossed out the commands. And perhaps that had made Ellen old long, long ago.

  Judith considered Aunt Lenore. Although, she was quite elderly, she still had spirit and a bit of fire left in her faded eyes. Judith could tell she wanted out of that bed, and even though she was literally a prisoner here, she had never given up. Not completely anyway. And she had information to share. Something that was important enough to worry Burt. Perhaps something about Jasmine. If only Judith could think of a way to get back in there and ask more questions. She reached down to her midsection. The transmitter. Adam had been privy to every word spoken today. Suddenly she remembered that Aunt Lenore had said something about Jasmine’s box. On her dresser. And then something about a mother of someone. What had she meant? Of course! The jewelry box! All along Judith had been looking for a larger sort of box, perhaps something made of cardboard. As a result she had just assumed that pretty jewelry box belonged to Aunt Lenore. And of course, it had inlaid mother-of-pearl on top. That’s what she meant. Judith glanced over to Ellen, still resting peacefully.

  She stepped out into the hallway, spotting the nurse’s aide. “Excuse me? Is there a restroom I can use?”

  “It’s the door to the left of the front desk.”

  Judith went into the restroom. She turned on the fan and then bowed down her head, cupped her hands, and spoke quietly. “The box on Aunt Lenore’s dresser that’s inlaid with mother-of-pearl. That’s Jasmine’s box.” Then she flushed the toilet. She had no way of knowing if he’d heard her above the noise of the fan, but she didn’t want anyone else to hear her either.

  Then she returned to Ellen’s bedside to wait for Burt. After about thirty minutes Nurse Bryant came back to check Ellen’s vital signs again. “She’s looking good.” she said as she released the air from the blood pressure band.

  “Yes, her color’s much better now.” agreed Judith. She glanced at her watch. “Shouldn’t Burt be here by now?”

  “Oh, it’s hard to say. These guys can get pretty wrapped up in their meetings.”

  Judith frowned. “Are you suggesting that he’s more concerned with his meetings than his wife’s health?”

  Nurse Bryant’s face remained blank. “You didn’t hear me say that.”

  “How long have you been part of this group?”

  The woman studied her for a moment. “I’m just an employee. They pay me good money to live out here 24-7, always on call. I keep my politics to myself. And I don’t ask questions.”

  Judith nodded. “I see.” She wanted to inquire about Aunt Lenore, and how Nurse Bryant could justify keeping an old woman here against her will, but thought better of it. No need to stir up undue suspicion right now. It was plain this woman’s motivation was the bottom line—as she said, they paid her well.

  Burt arrived at the clinic just after two. He seemed only mildly concerned, telling Judith that young Tim had assured him it was nothing to be concerned about, just a little overheating.

  “Actually, the nurse practitioner said Ellen was on the verge of heat stroke,” said Judith, her irritation showing. “And heat stroke can be deadly, especially to older folks.”

  Burt looked at her curiously. “Well, then, I should thank you for getting her in here like this. I didn’t realize it was so serious. Maybe I should go have a word with Bryant.”

  “Yes, she might have some recommendations for Ellen. I would think she might need to take it easy. I’ll be glad to help out while I’m here.”

  While Burt was speaking with the nurse, Ellen awoke and looked all around the room in surprise. “My goodness, where in the world am I?”

  “It’s okay,” said Judith. “You had a little heat exhaustion, but you are going to be just fine now.”

  Ellen stretched a bit. “Well, I feel fit as a fiddle. That was a nice little nap I had. Did we miss the ladies’ luncheon?”

  Judith laughed. “Yes, but that’s okay by me.”

  “And by me. Good grief, it was hotter than—”

  “Hey, old girl,” said Burt in the kindest voice Judith could ever recall hearing him use. “Feeling better?”

  “Yes, I had a nice little nap.”

  He leaned over the bed. “Nurse Bryant says you were in a bad way, Ellen. I’m sure glad Judith thought to bring you in.”

  “Yes, our little Judith is a real godsend.”

  Burt smiled over to Judith. “Well, do you think you could get Ellen safely home whenever she’s ready?”

  “Of course.”

  “And don’t worry about dinner tonight. You girls just take it easy. Hal and I will eat with the other boys.”

  Ellen smiled. “The night off, Judith. Imagine that.”

  “Yes,” said Judith. “And you’re going to take it easy and let me wait on you.”

  “Looks like everything’s under control then.” said Burt. Then he frowned. “But I guess this means you’ll miss hearing John Wagner.”

  She feigned disappointment. “Do they make tapes of the meetings?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. It’s not allowed. But I’ll see if he’s brought some of his newsletters for you to look at.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You ladies have a nice relaxing evening.” He nodded and left.

  “Well, now wasn’t he just the sweetest old thing.” said Ellen. “Guess I ought to get sick more often.”

  Judith got Ellen home later in the afternoon and settled her down on the couch with a couple of magazines and a tall glass of lemonade. Then she puttered around in the kitchen, putting together a light dinner using the leftovers from the evening before.

  “You really are a godsend, Judith,” said Ellen as she set her now-empty plate aside. “I just don’t ever want you to leave.”

  Judith smiled as she picked up the dishes. “Well, it’s been a treat for me to spend time with you, Ellen. I appreciate your hospitality.”

  “Hospitality!” Ellen shook her head. “Look at you waiting on me. You call that hospitality?”

  Judith laughed. “As a matter of fact, I do. See, you’re making me feel right at home.”

  Ellen yawned. “Well, good. I don’t know what Nurse Bryant put in that IV, but I can barely keep my eyes open.”

  “Why not just close them and have another little rest? She said you needed to keep resting and drinking fluids.”

  “Yes, that sounds like good advice. Just a little catnap.”

  By the time Judith had loaded the dishwasher, Ellen was snoring soundly from the couch. Judith walked over to the closed door that led into Burt’s office. She suspected it might be locked, but was surprised to find it wasn’t. She turned the knob and looked in. Was there any surveillance equipment going? She had seen nothing to make her think so, just the same she decided to be careful. She would enter on the pretense of looking for stationery to write a letter.

  First she just stood and studied his office. Very organized, almost military like with two five-drawer file cabinets standing at attention on either side of a bulky metal desk. A mounted elk bull head looked sightlessly from one wall and a large buck from the other. She walked over to the desk. The only items on top were a desk pad, a pencil cup, a tray for correspondence with only one newsletter in it—The Aryan National, of course. No personal items of any kind and no computer. Maybe Burt felt he was too old to learn new tricks, or maybe he left such things to Hal and the other computer whiz kid that Ellen had mentioned. She was relieved to find his desk so sparse, now at lea
st she had an excuse to open a drawer.

  She took a deep breath and listened. Just the rhythmic sound of Ellen’s snore and the hum of the air conditioner. She opened the top desk drawer, There she found normal things like paper clips, rubber bands, and spare pens, as well as a roll of stamps. She tore off one. Next she opened a side drawer. There she found a stack of paper and business envelopes. She took one of each. She opened the next drawer. There she saw an address book and lying next to it was a small black revolver, almost as if to threaten anyone who dared trespass.

  She was tempted to simply close the drawer and retreat, but instead, she carefully removed the address book without touching the revolver. She set it on the desk and began to flip through until she reached the M section and there she stopped at the name Con M lightly penciled onto the last space in that section. Had this been Constance Morrison’s phone number? She picked up a pen and wrote the number on the inside of the envelope flap then folded it back down. Of course, she knew Constance was dead, but perhaps someone else was still at this number.

  She continued to flip through the book. And whenever she found a lightly penciled number, usually in the back part of the section, she would pencil it down, also on the inside of the envelope. Finally, she felt her nerve fading and she returned the address book to its place by the gun, then took her letter writing items upstairs to her room. There she wrote a quick note to her mother saying that if she actually received this letter she was to save the envelope and that Judith would explain everything later. Then she put the letter inside, sealed, addressed, and stamped it. This, she tucked into her purse.

  She went back downstairs to find Ellen still snoring. Judith decided to go outside, hoping she could talk quietly to herself as she walked and this way share some discoveries with Adam. She had made herself memorize the phone number with Constance’s name, just in case her envelope was lost. This she would repeat to Adam along with any other thoughts that occurred to her.