Snow Blind - Lori G. Armstrong [21]
“Don’t worry, no one else noticed. But I was surprised to see you going into Vernon Sloane’s room.”
“Do you know him?”
“Not really. Like Walter, he kept to himself until Luella took over. She acts like him playing chess with other residents will cure his decline into dementia. It’s surprising he’s still allowed to live by himself, especially since all he ever talks about is his stupid car when he does deign to leave his room.”
“I kinda got that.”
“Did his family hire you?”
“Why?”
“That’s the thing. I didn’t know he had family since I’ve never seen him with anyone.”
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A weird tingle danced up my spine. “Maybe they prefer to meet privately.”
She shook her head. “Trust me, anyone who has family visit makes sure everyone in here knows they have family, because so many of us don’t.”
“You’ve never met his granddaughter?”
“Nope. What’s she look like?”
“Young. Blond. Really pretty.”
“I would’ve remembered her. Did you ask him about her?”
I nodded. “He didn’t know her at all.”
“Shame. If I had grandkids, you can bet I’d be parading them up and down the hallways in a dogand-pony show.”
“You don’t have kids?”
“Nope. My husband and I weren’t particularly upset by it at the time. Kinda lonely now.”
I reached for a cookie and saw Reva squinting at my chest. “What?”
“That’s quite the necklace. Lovely color. Matches your eyes. Did you get that from your sweetie pie?”
Calling Martinez my sweetie pie? Right. My fingers automatically twisted in the thick silver chain. “Yeah.”
“What is that? A sapphire?”
“A star sapphire.” I’d had to look it up online since I’d never seen a stone like it.
She leaned forward and whistled. “That is one big stone. What is it, about fifteen karats?”
“Twenty, I guess.”
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“He must really like you, sweets. Is there a story behind why he gave it to you?”
I squirmed because I didn’t know.
A few weeks ago, a white box with a big blue satin bow had shown up on the coffee table in my living room. No card. I’d opened the package to find the gorgeous necklace nestled in midnight velvet. Later, Martinez called to ask if I liked my birthday present. That’d been the extent of it. I reacted as coolly as he had, because I’d never had a man give me jewelry. Afterward I suspected Martinez had as much experience giving it as I had receiving it so I’d been leery of asking questions.
“Julie?”
“It was a birthday gift from my boyfriend.”
“My late husband was romantic to the core. You’d never know it by looking at him, a big, rough, dirty Wyoming oil rigger.” Her blue eyes were soft, her smile wistful. “He’s been gone ten years and I miss that sweet, gruff man every damn day.”
I didn’t do well with tears. “The librarian and the roughneck? Sounds like the makings of a fine romance novel, Reva.”
A sly wink. “More like an erotic romance novel.”
I lifted my teacup. “Here’s to men who are a little rough around the edges and the edgy, rough sex.”
“Amen.” She chinked her cup against mine.
“Thanks for the tea party. Next time, maybe we should toast with something stronger. Like this.” I set 71
the bottle of Jack Daniels next to the cookies. “Thanks for your help. Don’t drink it all before I come back, okay?”
Reva’s mouth opened and closed. Tears shimmered in her eyes.
Ah, hell, I hadn’t meant to fluster her. Dammit. Apparently I sucked at the gift-giving thing as much as my sweetie pie did. “Consider it a bribe. I’ll be around to pick your brain some more.”
“You’re really planning to come back?”
I said, “Yes,” and meant it.
She watched me closely as I wrapped up in my winter gear. “Be careful out there, Miss PI.”
“I will. You be good. And if you can’t, have fun being bad, spy girl.”
Guilt made me search out Luella before I escaped. As I neared the employee break room, I heard male laughter.
“You’re a fuckin’ pussy, Damon, blowing chunks in the hallway.”
“Yeah? Well, it was fuckin’ gross. Seeing that fat gut-eater in a pile of his own shit and piss. Smelled like bad Indian tacos in there.”
“So? I wouldna puked.”
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“Bullshit. You think you’re so fuckin’ tough, Ricky.”
“No, I’da been happy