The Shadow Wife - Diane Chamberlain [64]
Until Mara’s aneurysm, she had rarely, if ever, seen Liam angry. She’d certainly witnessed his frustration over some of the cases in the hospital, when he was helpless in the face of whatever fate had planned for a particular patient, or when he felt he could help someone but the policies of the hospital or some other bureaucracy got in his way. He felt the plight of his patients deeply, much as she did. They had learned together over the years how to walk the line between distance and overinvolvement with their patients, how to maintain enough objectivity to be able to help, without losing their humanity in the process. It was something they used to talk about often—the broad philosophical aspects of their work. She’d loved those talks, and their relationship had been strong enough to allow them to disagree with one another without breaking down. That, she knew, was no longer true.
They reached the Pacific Grove gate to the Seventeen Mile Drive. The man at the tollbooth waved them through, and once on the Drive, Carlynn finally spoke.
“I think I can help Mara,” she said. “There is still a great deal of energy and grace left in your friend. I think I can tap into that, but it will take time.”
Joelle thought back to what she had witnessed in the nursing home. “She was massaging your hand, wasn’t she?” she asked.
“It seemed that way to me.” Carlynn smiled.
Joelle knew she would never be able to bring Carlynn back to the nursing home now that Liam had seen her there and had reacted the way he did. But she didn’t want to address that with Carlynn just then.
“I honestly thought she looked better by the time we were ready to leave,” Joelle said.
“Well, of course, we’d both like to think that. Only time will tell if we’re fooling ourselves or not. It doesn’t always work, Joelle. You must understand that.”
Joelle laughed. “It’s harder for me to accept that it sometimes does work,” she said. She glanced at Carlynn. “Do I pay you per visit or…?”
“You don’t pay me at all,” she said. “I’m retired. I only work when I truly want to. And from what you’ve told me, Mara is worth my time and energy.”
“Thank you,” Joelle said.
They fell silent again as they drove past the entrance to the Spyglass Hill Golf Course. After another minute or two, Joelle pulled into the driveway of the Kling Mansion and started to press the buzzer on the stone pillar.
“3273,” Carlynn said.
“What?” Joelle asked.
“That’s the code. Just press 3273.”
Joelle did so, and the gate slid open. She pulled all the way up the driveway and stopped the car near the house.
Carlynn made no move to get out of the car. Instead, she looked at Joelle. She was no longer wearing her sunglasses, and her gaze was steady and, somehow, disquieting. “There’s much you haven’t told me, isn’t there?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” Joelle put the car in park and took her foot off the brake pedal.
“I mean, with Liam. With you and Liam, perhaps?”
Joelle thought back to the scene in Mara’s room, wondering what Carlynn had gathered in those few awkward moments. She was about to tell the older woman she was imagining things, but found herself nodding, instead.
“Yes,” she said.
“Come in.” Carlynn nodded toward the house. “Turn off your car, come inside, and let’s talk.”
Obediently, Joelle turned off the ignition, stepped out of the car and walked with Carlynn up to the front door of the mansion.
Mrs. McGowan, the housekeeper with the Irish accent, greeted them at the door and took Carlynn’s handbag from her.
“Have you two met?” Carlynn looked from the housekeeper to Joelle.
“Yes, indeed.” The housekeeper smiled. “She thought I was you at first.”
Carlynn laughed at that, and Joelle blushed.
“We’re going in the library for a little chat,” Carlynn said to Mrs.