Death In Duplicate
Valerie Wolzien
DOUBLE THE LOVE, DOUBLE THE DEATH
Susan Henshaw and her husband, Jeb, are the proud grandparents of beautiful twins, and their daughter and son-in-law are temporarily moving into the Henshaws' Connecticut home with their tiny bundles of joy. Added to the mix are two giant bullmastiffs and a nanny. Though a bit overwhelmed, Susan and Jeb are delighted to be a part of the chaos.
But a neighbor, Nadine Baines, soon starts to rain on their parade. She recognizes the nanny as a suspect in several recent shady deaths at a nursing home. The day after this troubling revelation, Nadine is found in her kitchen with a knife protruding from her chest. Is the nanny the culprit? Are Susan's grandchildren at risk? With murder so close to home and another possibly following, Susan must investigate-and she uncovers a tangled conspiracy beyond her wildest imagination.
Valerie Wolzien
Death In Duplicate
Book 16 in the Susan Henshaw series, 2005
PROLOGUE
Hartford Daily News
July 14, 2003
Perry Island, Connecticut
This small community was shaken over the weekend by the news that three residents of the Perry Island Care Center, the only nursing facility located on the island, have died “in a suspicious manner” over the past few months.
When questioned, a spokesman for the local police department admitted that there has been official interest in the deaths, but declined to discuss further details until their investigation is complete.
The owners of the facility were unwilling to comment other than to say that their family had provided the best care anywhere for almost nine decades and they planned to continue doing so to the best of their abilities.
TWO PEOPLE STARED AT THE FRONT-PAGE STORY. THEY WERE both frowning. The young woman whose red braids were wrapped around her head in an attractive but decidedly unfashionable style spoke first. “This is terrible.”
She had spoken quietly, but her companion didn’t follow her lead.
“Yeah. More for me than you though.” His hair, spiky and black, contrasted dramatically with his pale skin and light azure eyes.
Her eyes flicked to his face. “Why? Why should this affect you more than anyone else in the family?”
“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t kill anybody. Not that anyone is going to believe me.”
“Why not?” Her voice rose and her anxiety was unmistakable. “You’re clean. You’re going to meetings. You’ve gotten your life together. Why should anyone suspect you of anything?”
He brushed his hair off his forehead with a tattooed hand. “Yeah. Right. Reformed junkie-just what the police are looking for. You’re nuts if you think I’m hanging around to take the rap for this crap-”
“But you can’t leave! They’ll think you’re running away, that you’re guilty.”
He shrugged his thin shoulders. “They’ll think it anyway.”
“But where are you going to go? How are you going to earn a living?”
“Who knows? I’ll manage.” A smile appeared on his face, transforming his dour expression, and his companion couldn’t help but smile in return. “You know me. Babe magnet. There’s lots of babes out there and one of them is gonna be lucky enough to take care of me. Maybe I’ll find a rich old woman looking for a thrill.”
“But you’ll keep in touch? You’ll let me know you’re okay?”
“Let you know I’m clean, you mean.”
“That’s not what I said.” But her denial came too quickly and they both knew it was exactly what she meant.
ONE
THE DAY SUSAN HENSHAW BECAME A GRANDMOTHER STARTED out badly.
“My cell phone is broken,” she announced, giving the little silver disk one last shake.
“Susan, it’s barely six AM. It’s much, much too early to be calling anyone. Besides, there’s a perfectly good phone on your nightstand. What do you need your cell phone for?” Her husband rolled over and pulled his head out from under a large down pillow.
“Jed, it’s April eighth! The baby is due! Any minute now Stephen could be calling to tell us that Chrissy is in the hospital giving birth!” Susan jumped out of bed. Her long cotton nightgown billowed behind her as she stalked across the Aubusson carpet, smacking her phone with the palm of her hand and frowning.
“Aren’t you the attractive woman who was telling me just last night that first babies are rarely born on time so we shouldn’t get excited too early?”
“Rarely born on time does not mean never born on time! And I don’t want to miss the call!” Susan yelled from the large walk-in closet she and her husband shared.
“You’re not going to miss anything. There’s a phone right by the bed!” he pointed out again, abandoning the idea of getting any more sleep and sitting up.
Susan reappeared wearing a navy sweat suit, a huge stuffed dog clasped in her arms. “Do you think this might be a mistake? Is it scary? Do you think the baby will like it?” she asked, ignoring his statement.
“Clue certainly doesn’t.” The Henshaws’ golden retriever had climbed into bed the second Susan left, settling down into a warm spot. One of the mildest of dogs, Clue was staring at the toy and growling softly. “And to be honest, I don’t understand why a baby who is going to live with two huge, breathing bullmastiffs would want a dog made of fake fur.”
Susan sighed. “I’m hoping Chrissy and Stephen will decide that a baby is more than enough work and find new homes for Rock and Roll,” she explained, referring to the humongous dogs that had been a wedding present from her daughter’s in-laws.
“Chrissy and Stephen love those dogs.”
“I know. But they’re a lot of work. And Chrissy is going to be so busy with the baby and Stephen’s going to have a new job soon and they’re really going to have to find a bigger apartment once the baby begins crawling around, and…”
“And you and Clue would prefer those dogs to vanish.”
“Without a doubt. Anyway,” Susan said, “Rock and Roll aren’t what’s worrying me right now. I’m worried that Stephen won’t be able to get through to my cell. I suppose I could stay home by the phone all day, but I did have plans.”
“So take my cell phone and do what you have to do. I’ll be at the office and Stephen can call there and then I can call you.”
But Susan was still involved in her own thoughts. “Or maybe he could e-mail me on my Clié,” she muttered, picking a small rectangle off her dresser and flipping it open. “Do you think he’ll have access to an online computer in the maternity ward?”
“It’s always possible, but-”
“And he could certainly leave a voice mail message.” Susan sat down in a window seat and pulled on her running shoes.
“Yes, but-”
“I suppose I shouldn’t worry so much. The baby probably won’t be born today anyway. I’ll buy a new cell phone at the mall this afternoon.”
“You might just remember to plug your old one in tonight.” Jed was staring at the small screen on Susan’s phone.
“I plugged it in!”
“Yes, you did.” Now Jed was kneeling on the floor beside their king-size bed. “You plugged your phone into the charger. But tonight you might try plugging the charger into the wall outlet.” He waved her unconnected charger in the air.
“Oh, I thought I had. Well, at least I won’t have to buy another phone. I have enough to do today.”
“What are you planning?’
“Well, I’m going to walk Clue and then meet Kathleen for breakfast after she drops her kids off at school. Then we’re going shopping. We have a long list of things to buy. We’re going to the bookstore first because it’s really never too early to be
gin caring about reading. And I’m dying to buy some books for the baby. And I might pick up a few mysteries for myself at the same time. Then we’re heading to Born Yesterday to look at their baby quilts. I just wish I knew whether to buy blue or pink.” She stopped talking and looked up at her husband.
“Don’t you think it’s a little odd that Chrissy and Stephen don’t want to know the sex of their baby? I mean, they’re usually such a modern couple and the technology is available and it would be much easier to shop for the baby if we knew its sex. Besides picking out names-”
“I can’t say I disagree with you, but it’s their decision, not ours.”
“Well, because we don’t know what sex the baby is, Kathleen and I are going to pick out two quilts-one blue, one pink. Then we can call the store when the baby is born and they’ll have the appropriate one personalized once we know the baby’s name. And they have the sweetest mobiles. I was thinking of picking out two… to match the quilts, of course. And the dry cleaner is just around the corner from there and I have to pick up the baby afghan that I made for Chrissy-it’s being cleaned so that I can take it down for her to use for her own baby-it’s yellow so it’s fine for a girl or a boy. And the jewelry store is a few blocks away from the cleaners. I’ll pick up the earrings I ordered for Chrissy and talk to the owners about a charm to add to Mother’s bracelet-although we’ll have to know the baby’s name to finalize that, too…” She took a deep breath. “And then we’re going to go to Healthy Home, that new ecological housewares store that everyone has been talking about, and see what sort of cleansers they have for the baby’s room. And for our rugs. They need cleaning soon, Jed, and I don’t want the rug cleaner using anything that might make the baby ill when he-or she-starts to crawl. And then-”
“By the time you finish telling me what you’re going to do, I’ll be late for work. Why don’t we meet at the inn for dinner tonight and you can tell me over a glass of wine all that you accomplished.”
“I guess. I’ll come home and pick up my cell phone before meeting you there. That way I’ll be sure to have a fully charged phone with me at all times.” Susan carefully plugged both ends of the charger into the correct outlets.
“Good thinking.”
“See you tonight then,” Susan said, starting for the door.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“No. I have your cell phone and my Clié. Turn the answering machine on when you leave and I’ll check when I come home. I think I’m fine.”
“I thought you were going to walk Clue first thing.” Jed was grinning.
Susan stopped and looked at the dog, now lying in the middle of the bed, eyes closed. “I almost forgot!” She laughed. “Come on, Clue. Let’s hit the road.”
The restaurant was out of her favorite orange popovers. “I guess I’ll have the buckwheat waffle with fresh fruit,” Susan told the waiter.
“And I’ll have the feta and spinach omelet with grapefruit juice,” Kathleen said. As soon as they were alone again, she leaned across the table to continue their discussion. “So, why do you think the baby is a girl?”
“I was talking with Chrissy on the phone recently… a few days ago… well, yesterday afternoon actually-”
“I know. Jed told Jerry that you were calling daily… and I would too, if I was about to become a grandmother at any minute,” Kathleen assured her friend. “Did you have some sort of premonition or did Chrissy say something that convinced you she knows the sex of her baby?”
“It was something Chrissy said. I was talking about the blanket that I knit for her when she was born-you know, telling her that I was having it cleaned and would bring it along when we went down there-and she asked if it was pink.”
“And?”
“That’s it. She asked if it was pink. Now why would she do that if she didn’t want a pink blanket for a baby girl?”
“Because she didn’t want pink for a baby boy?” Kathleen suggested.
Susan frowned. “I suppose that could be it.”
“Are you going to be terribly disappointed if it’s a boy?’
“No! Of course not! I’d just like to know. It was impossible to find out the sex of the baby when I was pregnant, but now things are different. You knew the sex of both your kids before they were born. It didn’t make the birth one bit less important, did it?”
“No, but I really wanted to know. If Chrissy and Stephen don’t-”
“I know. I know. I’m just obsessing about all this because… well, I’m not really sure why in fact.”
“Are you concerned about being a grandmother? You know, getting old?”
“Hey, are you a grandmother?” their waiter asked, reappearing with their juice.
“Almost. Do I look like one?” Susan asked modestly.
He shrugged. “You don’t look like my grandmother. She’s really young. Do you ladies want more coffee?”
“I think we’re fine. But perhaps you could check on our meals? We have a lot to do today,” Kathleen said.
“And some of us don’t get around as quickly as we did when we were younger,” Susan added.
Despite Susan’s comment, she and Kathleen got around just fine. Susan arrived home with the back of her Cherokee completely filled with various items for the baby. The two pairs of shoes and six mystery novels she had bought for herself were lying on the seat beside her purse. As she pulled into the driveway, Jed appeared at the front door, a wide smile on his face. She slammed on the brake and, heart beating rapidly, ran up the walkway to her house.
TWO
THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL.
“They’re the most beautiful babies in the nursery.” The speaker was male.
“They’re the most beautiful babies in the world,” replied a female voice.
Susan and Jed pulled themselves away from their enchanting view into the newborn nursery and turned to see who was reading their minds. They found themselves face-to-face with their daughter’s in-laws.
“Blues!”
“Susan!”
“Rhythm!”
“Jed!”
The four grandparents hugged, turned back to admire their gorgeous grandchildren, and then, laughing, hugged again.
“Isn’t it amazing how much more alert they seem than the other babies?” Susan said.
“And they have much more hair,” Robert Canfield said. Better known as Rhythm, he had not quite recovered from growing up in the Sixties and was, Susan thought, inordinately proud of his own shoulder-length hair.
“Look at those pretty pink cheeks!” Susan said.
“Yes, their color is excellent,” Blues (also known as Barbara) agreed. “I sent Chrissy some of my special compounded vitamins. They’re entirely herbal-nothing unnatural and not yet available commercially-and they do seem to have made such a difference. The other babies are absolutely peaked.”
Susan, who knew that Chrissy had tossed Blues’s vitamins into the garbage and continued to take what her obstetrician had prescribed, didn’t argue about the twins’ appearance. “They certainly seem to be healthy.”
“And Chrissy looks wonderful!” Blues added.
“Oh, when did you see her?” Susan asked immediately.
“This morning,” Rhythm answered. “One thing about the red-eye from California -you get in early. We made it to the hospital by seven. Chrissy was still asleep-”
“And we were careful not to wake her up. We left a small present and a note on the table beside her bed and tiptoed right out of the room,” Blues added. “But she did look wonderful. Stephen says she came through the birth like a real trouper. I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine having two babies at once.”
“How did you get in? We tried to see her and the nurse at the front desk in the maternity ward said visiting hours didn’t start until eleven,” Susan said, ignoring Blues’s comment.
“Oh, Rhythm and I didn’t stop at the desk. We just walked in as though we knew what we were doing and no one bothered us. We find th
at usually works in hospitals,” Stephen’s mother replied.
Susan turned to her husband. “We should have tried that.”
But Jed wasn’t paying attention. He was tapping on the glass and wiggling his fingers at his grandson. “Look, he’s waving back at me.”
“And he’s smiling,” Rhythm added, imitating Jed’s moves.
Susan and Blues exchanged amused glances. “Gas,” Susan whispered.
Blues nodded, grinning. “Not that he’s not a remarkable child. You know, he looks just like Stephen when he was born. He was so happy. We called him our little beam of sunshine.”
Susan, who had been about to express her belief that this baby was the spitting image of her own son when he was a newborn, smiled.
“Susan’s been looking at old baby photos for the past few months and it seems to me that the girl looks like Chrissy when she was a baby,” Jed said, still waving and tapping.
“Excuse me. Are you incapable of reading the sign, sir? It is printed in clear English. But perhaps you need someone to interpret it for you.” A short, overweight woman wearing flowery scrubs stood behind them, her hands on her ample hips and an angry expression on her florid face.
“I’m sorry. Are you speaking to me?” Jed asked, apparently stunned by being addressed in this manner.
“If you are the person banging loudly on the glass and upsetting our babies, then, yes, I am speaking to you! Can’t you read?” This time she pointed to a sign taped to the wall nearby.
BABIES SLEEPING!! DO NOT BANG ON THE GLASS!!
“I’m sorry but I didn’t see the sign and I thought I was tapping gently,” Jed said. “I had no intention of disturbing anyone.”
Susan, glancing through the glass and observing that her grandson was the only baby not sleeping soundly, was about to protest when she noticed the clock on the wall. “It’s eleven o’clock! We can go see Chrissy! Come on, Jed,” she urged. Her husband was still trying to apologize to the woman who was standing in front of the quartet as though prepared to fling herself between them and the window if they displayed any more antisocial inclinations.
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