Fran Rizer - Callie Parrish 06 - A Corpse Under the Christmas Tree

by Fran Rizer

  “Not that we know of. Her skull isn’t fractured anywhere, and the scan shows only one minuscule spot of bleeding. The cuts and abrasions aren’t life-threatening. Some doctors might not even have stitched them, but if I hadn’t, they could heal with scars that keep her hair from growing back in normally.” He glanced at me and grinned. “She’s too pretty to have bald spots.” Everyone smiled as though they agreed, but I had an idea that at that moment I wasn’t anywhere near pretty.

  “I’m going to order neurological checks every two hours,” Dr. Donald guaranteed Daddy. “I promise you the hospital staff will take good care of her.”

  “I’m. Not. Leaving.” Jane spoke emphatically—one word at a time.

  “You need rest, too,” Dr. Donald told her.

  “Then I’ll rest right here in this chair. Callie got hurt trying to help me. Whoever did this was after me. I’m staying with her until she’s better.”

  “I don’t think her condition is as serious as it seems from her appearance,” Dr. Donald assured her.

  Jane was in no mood to be soothed.

  “If you don’t let me stay, I’ll talk Callie’s family into asking the hospital to call in another doctor and get you off her case.”

  “Now, Jane, that’s a bit severe,” Mike interrupted. “Dr. Walters has taken good care of Callie every time she gets hurt.” His words didn’t calm Jane at all.

  “I don’t care. I’m not leaving her.” Jane’s posture stiffened.

  “Now, Michael,” Daddy interjected. “We can all be reasonable. Jane, do you have your cell phone?”

  “Yes, I put it in my pocket when I called 911.”

  “Then we’ll leave Jane with Callie while we close up the front of her apartment. We’ll come back this afternoon after both of them have had some rest. If anything changes, Jane will call me.”

  • • •

  As much as I love my family, I was relieved when everyone except Jane left, leaving me to sleep without hearing their voices. Knowing Roxanne had worked until late in the night and Jane hadn’t been to bed at all, I assumed she was heavy-eyed, too. She was, because soon I heard her snoring.

  “I hate to wake you.”

  He might have hated it, but Wayne Harmon’s voice did jar me from sleep. “I talked to Jane earlier, but as soon as you can, I need a description of who attacked you.”

  “I didn’t see much,” I mumbled. “He was tall and had on a brown coat with the hood pulled up around his face. I assume it was Norman Spires. Why didn’t you keep him in jail after you picked him up from the Turkey Trot?”

  “No way did Spires assault you. He’s been in the county jail since yesterday afternoon.”

  “Oh.”

  That was all I could say. If not Spires, who broke into Jane’s apartment? Who broke her ceramic Christmas tree over my head? Could it have been theft gone bad? That didn’t make sense. What did Jane or I have that anyone would want to steal? Did whoever came there take the Bledsoe baby?

  “So you can’t tell me anything about what the intruder looked like?”

  “Not really. Taller than I am but covered in that brown overcoat.”

  Wayne laughed. “Taller than you are? How tall are you, Callie? About five feet, two inches?”

  “I’ll have you know I’m five feet, four.” I said defensively, and then added, “What about the baby?”

  “I doubt he’s over eighteen or nineteen inches tall.” Wayne tried to sound humorous, but his expression was filled with worry.

  “You know what I mean,” I retorted. “Do you know anything yet?”

  “Nothing yet.” He added, “You girls get some sleep and rest. I’ve gotta get going.”

  Though Jane and I aren’t known for always following directions, we did exactly what the sheriff told us. We went back to sleep. I’m not sure about her, but I slept right through breakfast and lunch. I vaguely remember an attendant telling Jane to eat my lunch and that I’d be okay with the IVs.

  Nurses kept rousing me slightly from sleep, having me follow simple directions that didn’t require much effort or thought. When I finally woke up for real, Jane was sitting by my bed French braiding her hair into one long pigtail on the left side. I remembered she’d said that’s what she was doing when the assailant broke in. She still wore the same clothes from yesterday.

  “Why don’t you call Daddy and get one of The Boys to bring us both some clothes?” I asked before adding, “Is Dr. Donald going to let us go home this afternoon?”

  “He left not long ago, said he’s keeping you one more night. I’ll call your father and let him know you’re wide awake. He’s checked on you a couple of times, but I didn’t want to interrupt your nap.”

  “I’d really like something besides the nightgown they brought me in or one of these thingies to wear home.” I smoothed my hand down the flat front of the hospital gown I wore.

  “I’m going to show my tush when I go to the bathroom in this thing, and I need to go now.”

  “If I could see, I’d have seen your butt more times than I care to remember.” She laughed, “Actually, a person doesn’t have to be sighted to see you when you show your ass, and you don’t seem to mind doing that every so often. How are you going to the bathroom with that IV?”

  “I’ll roll it with me.” I managed to get myself off the bed and drag the IV pole behind me, feeling the breeze across my backside. I felt better after using the bathroom—until I looked in the mirror above the sink.

  My eyes looked out at me from darkened eye sockets that were impossible to describe as black, blue, or purple. The color mottled from one shade to another. Above those horrible eyes, my head was a hot mess of shaved spots, bandages, and tufts of blondish hair shooting out in all directions. I felt like crying. Instead I laughed.

  “Are you all right?” Jane called.

  “No, I’m so bad that it’s funny,” I answered.

  I shoved the IV pole in front of me and made it to the bed. Once I’d climbed back in place, I looked around the room. While I slept, someone had left a dozen roses of all different colors arranged beautifully with baby’s breath in a vase. “Who brought the flowers?” I asked Jane.

  “Don’t know. Must have come while we were asleep. I didn’t even know there were any flowers here, but now that you mention it, I smell them.” She coughed. “I called your father and told him Dr. Donald is keeping you another night. He said he’ll get Frankie to bring us some clothes and he’ll be back later. Instead of just nailing plywood over the opening, they’re replacing the door with a metal one. They took Big Boy to your dad’s house, too.”

  A Certified Nursing Assistant came in and assisted me in taking a bed bath while Jane listened to a soap opera on the television. The earphones for the television reached far enough from the bed for her to wear them while sitting in the recliner beside me.

  A knock on the door elicited, “Wait a minute,” from the CNA. When I had on a fresh hospital gown, she tucked the sheet around me and opened the door. Frankie stood there holding a small piece of Jane’s hot pink luggage. He set it on the foot of my bed.

  “Pa sent me to bring each of you fresh clothes—night things and outer clothing to wear home when they let you out of here.” He turned to Jane and asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Of course, I’m okay. It’s Callie who always gets hurt.”

  “I worry about both of you.”

  Jane couldn’t see the expression in my brother’s eyes, but I could. His love for her showed in his concerned, caring expression when he looked at her.

  “Where are Mike and Daddy?” I asked.

  “Finishing up with the doors. They decided to replace all four of them, front and back at both apartments. If Pa has his way, he’ll put bars on the windows, too.”

  “Has he talked to the landlord about all this?” I asked.

  “Certainly not. You know Pa. He’ll do whatever he wants now and clear it later.”

  “Our leases say we have to get permission to make structu
ral changes.”

  “Do you think anyone’s going to argue with Pa making the place safer after you’ve been injured like this?” Frankie waved his hand at me, and I knew he was telling me how bad I looked without spelling it out for Jane. “We’re installing dead bolt locks, too.”

  He looked around. The room had two seats—the recliner Jane sat in and a straight back wooden chair on the other side of the bed. I figured he’d sit in the wooden one, but he remained standing.

  “Would either of you like something to eat or drink?” he asked after a few minutes. “I didn’t have lunch, and I’m going down to the cafeteria and get something.”

  “Chocolate,” Jane said. “Pudding, pie, cookies, or a brownie. Just bring me something chocolate. What about you, Callie? Want Frankie to see if they have any MoonPies?”

  “Actually, I’d like chocolate, too, but I’d rather have something warm to drink—maybe hot chocolate with marshmallows in it.”

  After Frankie left, Jane asked, “Do you want me to help you get dressed?”

  “No, it will be difficult with this IV in my arm. I’m clean and all covered up. I’ll just wait.”

  Frankie returned with what must have been one of everything chocolate the hospital cafeteria carried along with a cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke for himself.

  “Wow!” I said. “What’d you do, rob a bank?”

  He grinned. “Pa gave me some money to buy you whatever you want.”

  My brother didn’t seem to notice the slightly annoyed look that flickered across Jane’s face. One of their problems from the beginning has been that Frankie won’t hold a job and sometimes lives hand to mouth. That’s why he stays with Daddy. Jane didn’t like hearing Frankie, a full-grown man, had to get money from his father to buy snacks.

  We settled in, watching afternoon television, which isn’t really fascinating, and eating. The only thing better than chocolate is chocolate with chocolate, which is what I had with my hot cocoa and devil’s food Swiss Miss rolls.

  I fully expected Mike to return with Daddy, but he didn’t. When my dad announced, “Look who I brought to see you,” he had Miss Lettie and Miss Ellen with him. He did the gentlemanly thing and helped both with their coats.

  Since there were only two chairs in the room, Frankie saw this as an excuse to tell us he was going home to take Big Boy for a walk. Jane got up and sat on the edge of my bed, and Daddy stood at my foot, leaving both seats for the two elderly ladies. Miss Lettie set her big crocheted tote bag on the floor beside the recliner and sat there.

  To be honest, I would have been happier if everyone had just left me alone. Since I couldn’t go home until the next day, I would have been contented if someone found me a book and let me read it in silence. I can block out radio or television while I read but not people talking. Daddy and the ladies went on and on about how horrible it was that I’d been hurt. Daddy raved about everything he’d eaten at Miss Lettie’s the night before, and then went into detail about the wonderful doors he and The Boys had installed.

  “But I’d still prefer you girls come live with me until Sheriff Harmon has this situation solved,” he suggested. “I’m taking these lovely ladies over to Rizzie’s for dinner. That banana nut bread with pineapple in it was so delicious that I invited them both out tonight. Jane, you come with us and then spend the night at my house.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Jane answered. “It’s my fault Callie was injured, and I’m st-st-staying with her. I don’t know why anyone would think I have anything worth st-st-stealing, but Callie got hurt when she came to rescue me from the burglar. I’m going to sit up with her tonight and every night until whoever attacked her is in jail.” She stuttered on the st sounds, which she’d done a lot when we were teenagers, but hardly ever in the years since.

  Just then Dr. Donald walked in. He looked at Jane, who was slumped across my bed, gave his head a negative shake, and said to Daddy, “I’ll order up a cot for Jane. One night in that chair is too much, but she’s not going to be satisfied anywhere except right here with Callie. I suggest the rest of you go home. Callie should be able to check out of here in the morning, but I want someone to be with her for a few days.” He turned toward me. “Callie,” he added, “it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you and Jane both to stay with your dad.”

  “An even better idea is for them to move in with me for good,” Daddy insisted.

  “It’s a three-bedroom house and three of you already live there,” I said, though that wasn’t my real reason for not wanting to occupy my dad’s house. Not only would staying there mean Mike and Frankie had to share a room, Jane and I would, too. We’re the best of friends, but every time we’ve lived together, it’s brought chaos. Besides, Daddy would treat us both like we were ten years old.

  “I raised six kids in that house,” he said. “Three bedrooms should be enough for any family—a room for parents, one for the boys, and another for the girls.”

  I couldn’t help giggling. “That’s Daddy’s idea about bedrooms. It’s why I always had my own room and The Boys were all piled up on bunk beds together. He also believes that one bathroom is enough for a family of any size.”

  “A family of seven?” Miss Ellen asked.

  “All of us,” Daddy said and nodded. “I was one of nine children, and we grew up with just one bathroom. When the children wanted me to add another, I didn’t see the need for it with just me and my kids.” He winked at me. “You’d better be glad you’re your age, not mine. When I was growing up, my grandmother still had an outhouse instead of indoor toilets.”

  Dr. Donald looked a little irritated by the continuing bathroom discussion. Surely he wasn’t offended. After all, don’t doctors deal with all kinds of bodily functions? He interrupted, “You can figure out where everyone’s sleeping tomorrow, but I don’t want Callie staying by herself for a few more days.” He gestured toward the top of the IV pole. “I’ll tell the nurse to remove that when this bag of fluid is empty.”

  After he left, Miss Lettie looked at me and almost purred, “He’s certainly a nice young man. You should try to get a date with him.”

  “She’s already dated him several times,” Daddy informed her.

  “What was wrong? Too busy with his career?” Miss Ellen asked, but she was smiling.

  “No, he’s a womanizer,” Jane said in a matter-of-fact tone. She slid off the bed and found her way to our chocolate stash. “Anybody want something?” she asked as the felt the cellophane-wrapped goodies and settled on a brownie. She stood there and ate it.

  “Maybe you could tame that doctor,” Miss Lettie suggested.

  “Like Sheriff Harmon says, ‘If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.’ Dr. Donald says he’s ready to settle down, but he can’t take his eyes off any good-looking woman he sees, and he’s got that smooth-talking charm that comes with lots of practice,” I responded.

  Miss Ellen laughed. “They don’t cheat with their eyes, honey. If all he does is look, he might be a good catch anyway.”

  I lay back, trying to give Daddy and the ladies the idea that I wanted to rest. They took the hint and remained silent for a while. Jane gathered several more chocolate treats, put them on the bed, and then sat and examined them with her fingers.

  “I believe you’re right not to try to change that doctor,” Miss Lettie commented as though she’d been seriously thinking about it the whole time. I peeked through the bottoms of my almost closed eyes and noticed she was staring at Jane. “People who run around don’t ever change. I was lucky that my Jeffrey Senior was a faithful husband and never stepped out on me. Some of those girls that Jeffrey Junior fooled around with in high school cheated and lied all the time.”

  Personally, I couldn’t think of any response to that, but Miss Ellen objected, “All of that’s water under the bridge, Lettie. Most people don’t settle down with their high school sweethearts like you and Jeffrey did. Junior got a rough start what with his daddy dying befo
re he was born, but he was a good boy. You were blessed to have him. I’d give anything if my Leland and I could have had children, but the good Lord didn’t see fit to send any to us.”

  Bored. It was obvious to me that we were all bored out of our minds sitting there. I couldn’t understand why Daddy had brought Miss Lettie and Miss Ellen to see me. I didn’t know them that well, and I certainly didn’t look nor feel like receiving visitors. Apparently, Miss Ellen picked up on my thoughts because she stood, patted my hand, and said, “Is there anything we can get you before we go—maybe some munchies or something?”

  I waved my arm toward the top of the cabinet where Frankie had left all the chocolate snacks and pointed toward Jane and her pile of food. “We have plenty to eat,” I answered, “but before you leave, I’d really like for someone to go down to the gift shop and buy me a paperback book.” Maybe my headache would ease up enough for me to escape into the world of fiction.

  “What do you read?” Miss Ellen said.

  “Mysteries,” I answered. “Sometimes I read Stephen King or sci fi, but what I really like are mysteries.”

  “I don’t know how to pick a book for a girl,” Daddy grumbled.

  “I’ll go with you.” Miss Ellen continued patting my hand, but her words were for Daddy. “I read mysteries, too. We’ll buy the newest one they have and hope Callie hasn’t already seen it.” She looked at Miss Lettie. “Do you want to come with us, Lettie?”

  “No, I’d rather wait here. I certainly don’t want to pick out a mystery book, something about a homicide, when my own dear boy Jeffrey Junior was murdered.”

  “Lettie, I’ve told you over and over. Junior’s death was an accident. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.” For the first time, I detected a bit of irritation in Miss Ellen’s voice.

  “It was so that woman’s fault. If she’d kept dating Jeffrey Junior, they could have settled down right here in St. Mary and made me grandbabies.”

  “That was years ago, Lettie. You’ve gotta let it go.”

  Daddy looked uncomfortable, which isn’t normal for him. Most of the time, he ignores things that would be embarrassing to other folks.