Part 29 (2/2)
”I'm going to call Debby and see if she wants any of Walter's things,” I said Meghan nodded. ”Good idea.”
After we ate pizza and Erin had gone up to do her homework, I asked Meghan, ”Do you really think Walter knew she was his granddaughter?”
”You know, thinking back on how he was with her, I really do.”
”You're from Seattle.”
”Yeah”
”And Richard's from California.”
She nodded.
”Then how the heck did you two end up in Cadyville, where Richard was born? Unless he's known about Walter all along?”
Meghan stared off into s.p.a.ce for a few moments. Then she looked at me and shook her head. ”I could be wrong, but I don't think he knew. At least, not that Walter was his father. He would have acted differently around him. Richard might have known he'd been born here though. I don't know. It was his idea to move here. I didn't want to, thought living in a small town would be too boring. But he talked me into it.”
”Did he want to move to any small town, or just to Cadyville?”
”Just Cadyville. See, he went to the University of Was.h.i.+ngton, at least he did for a year before he quit to sell office machinery, because his mother told him that was the one school she didn't want him to attend”
”He rebelled.”
”Uh huh. And he told me she used to talk about Cadyvilleshe hated it-so one day we came up here, and it turned out to be this cool little town. He decided then and there this was where he wanted to live.”
”The best way for his mother to keep him away from Cadyville would have been to tell him how great it was.”
Meghan laughed. ”Right. She might as well have bought him a plane ticket and a map for all her insistence that he stay away.”
”When you were married, did he ever go visit his mother in California? Or suggest that you all go?”
”Never. I only met her one time, when we drove down the coast before we were married.” ”
”She treats him like c.r.a.p,” I said. ”Or she did the other night.”
I noticed that. And he takes it. No wonder he wanted to live someplace she wouldn't want to visit.”
Debby wasn't home when I called, but she had an answering machine, and I left a message about Walter's things. I went downstairs, put molds for the lotion bars in the dishwasher to sterilize, and gathered the ingredients for the next day. I had just finished rubbing arnica oil into my bruises again and putting on my pajamas, when she called me back.
”Yes, I want anything you have of Walter's. When can I come over?”
”I'm making an early night of it,” I said. ”Can you come over in the morning?”
”Um, not until about eleven. Is that okay?”
”Sure. Come around to the back door. I'll see you then.”
Meghan had taken off for her infant ma.s.sage cla.s.s, so Erin and I flopped on the sofa together to read. Erin seemed restless, which at first I put down to too much excitement. But she didn't settle down, and she had a peculiar look on her face. Finally, I put my book down.
”What's up?”
”I feel kind of funny,” she said.
”Sick funny?” I put my hand on her forehead. Felt a little hot.
”I don't know.”
I went into the bathroom and hunted up a thermometer. She had a temperature of one hundred point two. Not too bad, but she was coming down with something. I gave her some Tylenol and bundled her into bed. She was asleep by the time I went to bed at nine.
I was still reading Margery Allingham when I heard the front door open downstairs. Brodie didn't bark, so I knew it was Meghan, and minutes later she stood in my doorway saying good night.
”Erin's got a fever,” I said, and filled her in.
”Poor kid,” she said. ”The stress of the past week has probably weakened her immune system. I'll keep her home tomorrow. Can you watch her after two?”
”Sure. How'd the cla.s.s go?”
”It went well. Eight couples showed up. Three heard about me through word of mouth.”
”The best advertising. Oh, hey, I forgot to tell you. Ann over at Caladia Acres asked me to tell you that you 'got the ma.s.sage gig.' And something about the board needing to approve the cla.s.ses you wanted to offer the staff?”
Meghan looked pleased. ”Oh, good. I was hoping they'd let me work on the residents.”
”So, you're going to be around tomorrow morning?”
”Uh huh. I have two clients in the early afternoon, but I'm open in the morning. Why?”
”Debby Silverman's coming over around eleven.” And I related what Ambrose had told me about Debby's manic-depression and past violence.
Meghan looked unhappy. ”That poor woman. No wonder her brother's so anxious about her. But I'm surprised Ambrose told you her diagnosis. He must really be worried about you.”
”I think he was more worried about her criminal record. But frankly, I'm more concerned about Grace.”
”So am L”
I was out by ten. And awake again at midnight. After listening to the quiet and staring at the ceiling in the dark for almost an hour, I got up and padded downstairs. I thought I'd seen some melatonin in the kitchen cupboard, and if I had to, I'd suffer through a cup of valerian tea, even though the stuff tasted like sour dirt. I needed to sleep.
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