Betrayed (Rosato & DiNunzio, #2)(57)

“We’re in the middle of a conversation!”

“It’s that emergency you couldn’t let me postpone for. I’m sorry, please hold, and I’ll be right back.” Judy pressed the screen to hold his call, then picked up on her mother. “Mom, how is she?”

“Judy, this is your mother.”

Judy felt like her head was going to explode. “Yes I know, I can tell from the phone screen. How’s Aunt Barb?”

“The nurse just came out to say she’s still in surgery, but that everything is going well.”

“Thank God.” Judy exhaled with relief. “Okay, Mom, let me call you right back, I’m on the other line.”

“The nurse said it’s going to take longer, but not to worry.”

“Why longer?” Judy was about to swap calls but stopped herself.

“I don’t know, dear.”

“Does it mean something went wrong?” Judy felt a tremor of fear for her aunt.

“She told me not to worry.”

“Did you ask what she meant?” Judy asked, her tone sharper than she intended.

“Don’t be so critical.”

“I wasn’t being critical. I just asked a question.”

“It’s your tone, dear. Your tone is very critical.”

“Mom, really?”

“What, ‘Mom, really?’” Her mother imitated her, which was something Judy hated, but she let it go. She glanced at the phone screen, but Rick had hung up.

“I’m sorry, I’m trying to get as much information as I possibly can, because if the surgery takes longer—”

“Please stop. You’re giving me a headache. This has been such a difficult morning. I’ve been updating your aunt’s friends. Colleen keeps calling. They mean well, but it’s a chore.” Her mother sighed. “Between you and your aunt, I’m caught in the middle, pulled in both directions.”

“No you’re not, Mom.” Judy exchanged a look with Mary, who got the message and let herself out of her office, which showed excellent judgment. “Look, I’m going to leave for the hospital. My deposition is over, so I’m going to pack some work and—”

“Why? There’s no reason for you to come yet. She’s still in surgery.”

“I want to be there. I can work from there.”

“Why go to the trouble?”

“It’s no trouble, and I can be there when she gets out of surgery.” Judy tried not to notice that her mother didn’t say they could keep each other company.

“By the way, your aunt keeps talking about Iris. She even started crying about her, right before she left for the operating room.”

“That’s understandable, isn’t it? They were friends.” Judy remembered it was a touchy subject, so she dialed it back. “And any loss is traumatic, especially coming after Uncle Steve.”

“Anyway, she wanted me to remind you to find out about the autopsy. She said the results were supposed to be in today.”

“Okay, I’ll follow up.” Judy realized that her mother wasn’t up to speed on Iris news. “Also I found out that Iris’s apartment was broken into last night and searched. Her roommates weren’t home, so nobody was hurt, but this confirms that the guy who hit me last night wasn’t random.”

“You keep saying that, dear, but I’m not sure you’re right. There’s a lot of crime in their neighborhoods.”

Judy shuddered. “Mom, that sounds racist.”

“No it’s not. It’s the truth. You told me that yourself. The police said robbery is rampant with the illegals.”

Judy let that go, too. She didn’t want to get into a political discussion. “Mom, I should hang up, okay? I’ll make a call about the autopsy and pack up.”

“Judy, there’s one last thing. I don’t think we should tell your aunt about this robbery business.”

“You mean the fact that Iris’s apartment was broken into?”

“Yes. I don’t think there’s any reason for her to know that right now.”

“Why not?”

“She has much too much going on. I’d like her to focus on herself. Why stress her more?”

Judy hesitated. “I don’t like keeping things from her.”

“It’s for her own good. I want her to take her mind off these morbid subjects, take care of herself, and get well. Trust me on this.”

“Okay,” Judy said, hearing the finality in her mother’s tone. “We can tell her another time.”

“That’s right, when she’s feeling better. Timing is everything.”

“See you soon.”

“Fine.”

“And text me if there’s anything—” Judy said, but her mother had already hung up.





Chapter Twenty-six

Judy hustled around her office, grabbing case files and packing her messenger bag, worried about her aunt. She wanted to get to the hospital right away, though she’d have to stop to drop off the fifty grand with the estates lawyer. Meanwhile, she was also on her cell phone, her white earwire jumping around as she moved, waiting for the call to Rick Kelin to connect.

“Richard Kelin’s office,” said a female voice, picking up.