A Mrs. Miracle Christmas(34)

In the same helpful tone, the receptionist didn’t hesitate. “Ms. Jones isn’t available right now, but I’m familiar with your name, Mrs. McCullough.”

    “Oh…I’d hoped to speak with Ms. Jones.” Feeling uncomfortable, Laurel nibbled on her lower lip.

“Although I’m fairly new to Caring Angels, I’m sure I’ll be able to answer any questions you might have,” the receptionist responded with confidence. “I have all the information at my fingertips.”

Laurel started to explain the reason for her call, but the overly competent receptionist interrupted.

“I do believe it was Mrs. Merkel we placed with your grandmother. Helen Fischer is your grandmother’s name, correct? Yes, I see that indeed, it was Mrs. Merkel that we placed with Helen. Mrs. Merkel became available and we dispatched her right away. Is there a problem?”

“No…not a problem. That’s not the word I’d use.”

“A concern, perhaps?”

“Something like that.” Laurel wasn’t exactly sure where to start. “My nana believes Mrs. Miracle—she asked us to call her Mrs. Miracle, not Merkel—my grandmother believes that her home companion is…is…well, she believes that Mrs. Miracle is an angel.” Might as well mention that as an opener and get it out of the way.

Shirley made a soft sighing sound. “We hear that often, Mrs. McCullough. Many of our elderly patients feel that those employed by our agency are earthly angels, as we do our utmost to provide the best care in the industry.”

“I’m not talking about a human angel, as in someone who is kind and caring,” Laurel rushed to explain. “My grandmother believes Mrs. Merkel is a real angel. A heavenly angel sent by God. You know…an angel angel.”

    A short silence followed. “I see. Yes, well…there are times when the two can easily be confused, especially with one who is experiencing a decline in memory and reality.”

Laurel decided she was handling this all wrong and determined that she’d need to switch her approach to a more direct one. “Would you be able to share any background information you have on Mrs. Merkel? I’m embarrassed to admit we were so relieved when she showed up at our door that evening that, quite frankly, we overlooked checking her references.” Knowing the agency had such an excellent reputation in the area, Laurel and Zach had justified their oversight.

“Certainly. Let me pull up the HR files on her.”

Laurel heard the click of the computer keys. Shirley seemed to be reading to herself, as several seconds of silence followed.

“All right, I have it here in front of me. Ask me what you’d like to know.”

“How long has Mrs. Merkel been with the agency?” Laurel asked, seeing that this was probably a good place to start.

“Well, that should be easy enough to answer.” This was followed by another short pause. “It appears,” Shirley said, sighing, “that Mrs. Merkel is relatively new to us, although I see here that she came with glowing reports and recommendations from previous clients at other agencies where she’s worked.”

    This didn’t surprise Laurel.

“What were her previous positions before she came to work for Caring Angels?”

“Let me check. I’ll need to scroll down to her work history, so give me a minute,” Shirley said, sounding efficient and helpful. “I’m not as familiar as I should be with this computer yet. They are terribly out-of-date compared to what we’re accustomed to in”—she stumbled over her words—“well, compared to where I was last employed.”

Laurel thought it peculiar that the agency would use antiquated equipment, but she kept the comment to herself.

“All right. Here it is. Prior to her assignment at your home, Mrs. Merkel was employed as a nanny. For a single father. He gave her a glowing recommendation.”

There was that word again: glowing.

“So, she was a nanny,” Laurel repeated. That made sense, because Mrs. Miracle was a nurturing woman.

“I see here that she’s been working as a caregiver for some time now. Her files show that she’s had plenty of experience working with the elderly. If there’s a problem, please let us know, as it’s important that we provide care that’s above and beyond our customers’ expectations.”

    “That’s just it,” Laurel said. The woman had found the words she hadn’t been able to say.

“What do you mean?”

“She has met our expectations far beyond what we planned. But…” Laurel struggled to find the right words. “It’s a bit hard to explain. She seems to know things…things she shouldn’t know. Things about my grandmother, about my husband and me…It’s all rather, well, uncanny is the word I’d use.”

“?‘Know things’?” Shirley repeated thoughtfully. “Do you think any of this information might actually be coming from your grandmother? You know how it is with the elderly…They’ve often lost that filter when it comes to sharing family issues.”

That was something to consider, although it wouldn’t explain what had happened with the Christmas tree and the unusual reappearance of the Christmas decorations that had once been considered long lost or long gone.