The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(79)

“Unfortunately, that’s not the kind of doctor I need. Let’s put that subject on hold for now.”

“Of course,” Helen said. “But where is your doctor?”

“There’s more than one. Primarily, the Mayo Clinic. Now, when can we get together again?”

“I absolutely must work the next couple of days. How does Tuesday look for you?” Helen asked.

“What on earth do I have to take up my time? Tuesday would be perfect. Same time, same place?”

“Three thirty right here,” Helen said. “See you then.”

They hugged in parting, girlfriends. Helen went to her car. Now Victoria had a couple of days to research Helen. She called Sully from the car.

“I’m on my way. Did you think of anything else you need?”

“Not a thing, my dear. Have you caused any trouble?”

“Not yet, I haven’t,” she said.

  Helen did a lot of writing about heroes and heroines, but she also had to write about the bad guys and gals. Over the years she’d learned a lot about how they played out. She’d studied interrogation techniques and body language. Victoria hadn’t said or done anything obviously suspicious and her body language was appropriate to their discussion, except those few times her eyes strayed, as though looking up or askance in search of the next comment or answer to a question. And it was the weirdest thing—her damn ears got a little red when she lied. Helen was going to have to look that up. When she said her daughter was vicious, pink ears. When she said she would be a wonderful grandmother, she pursed her lips. When she was asking Helen questions that directly related to how much money she could spend, she got a hungry look and crossed one arm over her chest protectively.

Helen didn’t know much, but she knew Victoria was lying and she was after something. She wondered about her work as a counselor for seniors, but Hannah said Cal had learned that. And this business about an oncologist? When a woman of a certain age had a condition that required a cancer doctor, it was usually impossible to shut them up, yet Victoria wanted to save that conversation for later.

When she got home, Sully was marinating some chicken breasts in the kitchen at the store.

“Oh, you sweet man, you couldn’t wait for me. I brought us some broccoli.”

“Why do you have such a satisfied look on your face?” he asked.

“I finally ran into Victoria Addison. Literally. I took her to a pub for a glass of wine and the story of her life. It’s a bit different from the story Hannah told us.”

“If you think she’s not a good person, should you be spending time with her?”

“Someone she doesn’t suspect has to, Sully. Besides, there’s an old saying—keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

“And what is it you hope to gain?”

“Her motivation,” Helen said. “It’s exactly the way you’d construct a novel. The villain can’t just be bad for no reason, they have to be driven to be bad for a very specific reason. Hannah and Owen can’t very well protect Noah from harm if they don’t know what they’re dealing with.”

“Is it not possible she just wants to spend time with her only grandchild?”

“Anything is possible, darling. We’re going to find out.”

“Helen, do you do this sort of thing regularly?” he asked.

“Oh, a time or two I’ve dug around in places I should stay out of, but nothing terrible ever happened. Oh, there was that one time... I called the police department and after explaining who I was and what I did for a living, I asked them how a person would dispose of a lot of heroin. This was before Google, you know. They referred me to the information officer who never returned my call. But I did have an unmarked car in front of my house for a long time. And an excessive number of patrol drive-bys. Why they didn’t just ring the bell and ask me why I wanted to know is beyond me. But see, nothing bad—”

“Jesus,” Sully said. “You’re lucky the SWAT team didn’t kick in your door and cuff you!”

“I don’t think there’s any danger of that here. Do you?”

“No, but you could piss someone off!”

“Somehow, I don’t think so. I think she’s dirty. All I’m lacking are the facts.”







However mean your life is,
meet it and live it.

—Henry David Thoreau



15


Hannah watched as September gently settled over the land just as she settled into her new life. The leaves were just starting to turn and Sully’s campground had fewer campers.

Noah had come a long way since that first day of school when he thought he was too sick to go. Now he was happy each morning and even wanted to see some of his friends outside school. That presented a new challenge to Hannah—she wasn’t sure how to verify that the homes he’d be visiting were safe for him without looking like she was paranoid and overprotective. She decided to admit her doubts and wear them like armor. His first playdate was just after the first week of school at his friend Seth Loughlin’s house. She decided to be up front about everything when she dropped him off.

“Mrs. Loughlin, I don’t know if you know this, but I’m a new mother. In fact, I’m not an official mother, but have been Noah’s guardian for the past few months and we’re a forever team.”