Snow Blind - Lori G. Armstrong [20]
“How much are they paying you?”
Not nearly enough. And while I hurt for Amery, having to deal with a deranged grandfather, I figured she was money ahead if someone like Luella shared the emotional burden. Whatever Luella was making wasn’t nearly enough. Sounded callous but I didn’t care.
“Mr. Sloane. It was nice meeting you.” If I hadn’t been wearing clunky boots I would’ve sprinted for the door.
He called out, “Don’t hurt her. Please. I’ll do anything to keep my Susie safe. Take my car. Wait. I’ll find the keys. They’re here someplace.”
Made my ears burn with shame to hear his pleading tone. “Susie is safe, remember? I don’t need your car.”
He didn’t respond. I was afraid if I stuck around I’d hear him crying. Making an old man cry. What a fucking great thing to add to my day after seeing a dead guy.
I stepped into the hallway and pressed my back to 65
the wall to slow my guilty breathing.
Screw this. Since Kevin wanted to take this case so fucking bad he could finish it. I had no reason to stick around and talk to Luella. I’d gotten more than I came for: proof anyone could take advantage of Vernon Sloane. Proof he needed acute care.
One thing left to do. I peered around the corner. Rubberneckers filled the hallway, mesmerized by the workings of the ambulance crew. Probably some kind of morbid entertainment for the residents. No one paid attention to me as I headed down hallway four and knocked on door 407.
66
First thing I noticed when Reva opened her
apartment door were all the bookcases. The second thing I noticed was the way her eyes lit up when she saw me.
“Julie! Was your nose itching? I was just thinking about you.”
“Am I in trouble?”
“Pooh. Don’t stand there; come in. Would you like a cup of tea? I just made a fresh pot.”
My mouth opened to refuse. But would it kill me to stick around for more than two minutes? No. I wasn’t in a big hurry to go outside into the cold and snow anyway. “That’d be great.”
“Sit.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Be witty and entertaining because Lord knows 67
I’ve been bored out of my skull lately.”
Everything in her kitchen was proportioned for her wheelchair. She took two dainty gold-rimmed teacups from a drawer and placed them on matching saucers. Then she lifted a crocheted tea cozy from the teapot and poured the steaming liquid into the cups.
“Carry those to the table and I’ll rustle up some cookies.”
While she fussed, I peeked in the sugar bowl. Yep. Sugar cubes. I snatched one with the fancy small silver tongs and thought of Martinez. He loved the damn things.
Reva rolled up to the side of the table without a chair and slid a plate of Walkers butter cookies in the center. “There. So tell me, Miss PI, what brings you here on such a nasty day?”
I sipped my tea, hoping the sugar would mask the flowery taste. “I had an appointment with Luella. But right after I got here she had to deal with . . .” Hell. I didn’t know if Reva had heard about the dead guy yet.
“Walter Jumps High’s bloated body.”
“You knew about him?”
“I was making my morning rounds when that redheaded punk puked in the hallway.” She blew on her tea. “I wasn’t surprised. Walter was severely diabetic, severely overweight, and had heart attack written all over him. Not that he did anything to change his bad habits, so no one wanted anything to do with him. Like those of us who don’t have family, he mostly kept 68
to himself.”
That was a little unsympathetic. Because he was Indian?
“Besides, this is an old folks’ home. Someone is always found dead. It’ll be old news by noon.”
“Well, it was a shock to me first thing, especially when Luella was the first one called. Shouldn’t that responsibility fall to a nurse or someone qualified?”
“Usually it does, so I think they’re short-staffed today. Used to be one of the nurses from Acute Care would do rounds with Security. Now those minimumwage idiots do the checks. If they feel like it. I told you what happened to my friend.” Reva chomped on a cookie. “Why were you going in room 208?”
Talk about an eagle eye. “I thought I was discreet.