Chapter Thirty-Two
Addie awoke to a text alert on her cell phone. She fumbled to grasp it from her bedside table. Who would be messaging her at six-fifteen a.m.? She pulled her phone close to her eyes and bolted straight up, her hand against her chest. “Thank God, Jeremy.”
She continued to read the message. Initially, she was disappointed to see he was still away, but then he went on to say that he hoped to be back in Boston this week and would come and visit her for a few days before he had to return to work. He would explain it all when they got together and wanted her to know that he hadn’t forgotten about her book appraisals. They were almost finished. “What a relief.” She bounded out of bed, wrapped her robe tightly around her, and headed down the hall to the bathroom.
She basked in the calming effects of the steamy shower and vanilla body wash cascading over her skin and hugged herself. Jeremy’s coming back soon!
She hadn’t realized until she read those words this morning just how worried she’d been about him. Her heart feeling lighter than it had in weeks, she stepped out onto the bath mat and dried off, snuggling her face into the soft cotton towel and inhaling the heavenly aroma of fabric softener mingled with the fragrance of her body wash and peppermint shampoo. She smiled, humming to herself, and wrapped the towel around her wet hair.
A scuffling sound came from the corridor, and her chest constricted. She stood motionless and held her breath, gritting her teeth as her lungs burned for oxygen. Then there was a rap at the door, and she gasped.
“Addie, it’s me. Sorry to disturb your shower.”
“Marc.” She heaved a sigh of relief.
“I don’t mean to rush you, but . . .”
“Sorry, I’m on my way out.” She pulled her robe around her and opened the door.
His eyes scanned her robed figure. “Good morning.” He thumbed a piece of towel lint from her cheek. “Sorry to interrupt you, but—”
“I should have told you there’s a bathroom off my aunt’s room and a half bath—”
“No, no, I don’t need to use the facilities. I’m heading out and need to talk to you before I leave.”
If he could be nonchalant about her being in nothing but a flimsy robe, so could she. “I had forgotten you were here.”
He leaned against the doorframe, crossing one leg over the other, and lazily reached out to finger the ties of her robe. “Really?” His brow rose. “You forgot there was a man in the house?”
“Yes.” She stepped back and slapped his hand away. She unwrapped the towel from her head and hung it over the rack. “What’s up?” She began combing out her hair.
“I told you I’d call the station and have them check out the car at the top of your drive last night, and it paid off.”
“Fantastic, whose is it?”
“Well, we don’t know yet, but they ran the plates, and it’s registered to a car rental company in Boston. I’m heading in to request a warrant for their client records.”
“So your officers didn’t catch the driver or talk to him, or her, whatever?”
“Afraid not.” He shook his head. “Andy came up the hill just as the car was heading down. He did get the plate number, but by the time he turned around and headed after it, they were gone.”
She blew out a sigh. “I guess that’s the best clue we’ve had so far. How long will it take to get the client records?”
“Probably a few days, but I’m going to put it in as vital to a murder case and see if that will hurry the process along.”
“Good. Are you hungry? Did you get anything to eat, any coffee?” She stepped toward him to pass.
He didn’t step back. For a full second, time stopped. The old grandfather clock even quit ticking. All she could smell was her vanilla body wash and his day-old cologne. The scents, merged together, took her breath away. His eyes held fast with hers. She wanted nothing more than to dive into their depths and lose herself. He broke the spell when he stepped back, and she sucked air into her burning lungs, only aware then that she had forgotten to breathe.
“No, I’ll grab something later, thanks. I have to be in court for another case by nine. Busy morning.” He turned to go. “I also forgot to tell you—the nursing station called, and it looks like Catherine will be discharged this morning after doctor’s rounds. I had said I’d pick her up, because I need to ask her a few questions but—”
“I will, and I’ll tell her you’ll drop by later. I planned on being there anyway. I need to get my hands on that envelope, and soon.”
“I don’t like the idea of you and her being alone in her house.”
“Why not?” Addie spun around from her bedroom doorway, the fine hairs on the back of her neck bristling. “Don’t you trust her?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that her house was ransacked, and she was knocked out. The culprits still haven’t found what they’re looking for, and I’m afraid they may be back. Especially if they know the two of you are there alone.”
Her hand clung to her doorframe. “I thought you were worried about her attacking me.”
He stepped toward her and began twirling her robe ties around his index finger. “I am worried about you, but not about you coming to harm at the hands of Catherine.”
“How worried?” Again, her lungs rebelled and refused to breathe.
He tugged slightly at the ties. “Don’t ask.” His voice turned husky, and she swallowed hard. “But be careful and watchful, promise?”
“I will, and I’ll call the station at the first sign of trouble.”
“No, I’d rather you call 911.” He tapped her nose with the end of her robe tie. “Don’t forget to lock the door behind me.”
She heard the door click shut and went down to secure the dead bolt. Then she headed for the kitchen to make coffee.
By eight-thirty, she was already exhausted. One more hour of sleep would have made all the difference, but this way she arrived on time to open for Paige and get her set up for the day, then race to be at the hospital by nine.
Catherine’s face lit up when Addie walked through the door. She was up and dressed and sitting in a chair by the window, waiting for the discharge order from the doctor.
“This is a wonderful surprise, Addie. The nurse said I had a ride home, but I never expected it to be you.”
“Marc was supposed to come, and I was only going to tag along to make sure you got settled just fine, but he got called to court, so here I am. I hope that’s all right with you?” She smiled and moved closer to Catherine. “He asked me to tell you that he’d drop in on you later to talk about what happened, if that’s okay?”
“Yes, of course it is and this is wonderful. It gives us more time to get reacquainted, and I can give you that envelope that seems to have caused so many problems lately.”
“Yes, the envelope.” Addie breathed a sigh of relief at having dodged her burning question. She sat back and studied Catherine. Maybe she should give this woman a chance. At the very least, she could glean more information about her father. “Has the doctor come by yet?”
“Yes, and he explained that I also received a bump on the back of my head? Honestly, I have no idea how that happened.” Addie glanced down at the floor. That was something she’d better leave for Marc to explain later. “Now, I just have to wait for the doctor to write the discharge order and the nurse to give me the go-ahead. Then we can leave.” Catherine placed her hand over Addie’s and smiled.
Addie squeezed her fingers and smiled back. The nurse came in and gave Catherine papers to sign and information about what to watch for after she went home and told her that if she had any of the symptoms, she should go directly to the emergency room. Other than that, she was to follow up with her own doctor in a few days.
The drive to Catherine’s was quiet, for the most part. Addie glanced sideways at her passenger, thinking how tired she looked. Visiting could wait. Catherine needed rest. She checked her rearview mirror and sucked in a breath. A black sedan was stalking them. She made a quick left turn.
“This isn’t my street.” Catherine pointed out her window.
“Isn’t it? I must have gotten confused, sorry. I’ll turn right up here and go around.”
Addie kept checking her mirrors and was relieved. The black Honda didn’t reappear. She pulled up in front of Catherine’s house and got out. Her heart started thudding against her chest wall. Parked at the far end of the street was a black sedan. She fished her cell phone out of her purse and put it in her front pocket and went around to help Catherine into the house.
Catherine collapsed on the sofa, her forehead covered in beads of perspiration. “I had no idea I was this weak.” She closed her eyes. “I’ll just catch my breath and then get the envelope for you.”
“I can get it if you like.”
“No, you’d never find it. It’s well hidden.” Catherine heaved herself up. “I’ll be right back, and then I think I’m going to have to lie down. Sorry to cut our visit short today.” She disappeared down the hallway.
“I understand,” called Addie after her.
She went to the window and peeked through the curtains. She couldn’t see the end of the road from her vantage point, so she had no idea if the sedan was still there. She listened for any unusual sounds outside or at the doors. A scraping noise came from the direction Catherine had disappeared in. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled. Then Catherine came around the corner, holding a small brown envelope in her hand, a wide grin across her face.
“See, I told you no one would find it.” She held it out to Addie.
With trembling fingers, Addie took it from her and turned it over in her hands. “I can’t believe such a small parcel could cause so much trouble. Thank you for keeping it safe for me.” She looked at Catherine, tears burning behind her eyes.
“It’s all in the floorboards, my dear.” She tapped her foot on the hardwood floor under them. “An old trick my mother taught me that she learned from your aunt. It seems your aunt had a number of very valuable items over the years and didn’t trust their safekeeping to anyone else, so she developed her own safe security system.”
Addie laughed. “It sounds like my aunt was a real character. I only wish I could remember her.”
Catherine squeezed her hand gently, her eyes filling with tears. “She was. After my own mother passed, she took me on as her daughter. I’ll always be ever so grateful to her.”
“Well, she sounds like an amazing woman.”
“Yes, and she would be so proud of you. It was her dying wish that you would continue her legacy.”
“Her dying wish? You were with her when she passed?”
“Yes—myself, old Doc Smith, and Raymond. I held her hand as she took her last breath.”
“So there was no reason to believe any foul play was involved?”
“Heavens, no. Your aunt was very old and had been suffering from a heart condition for years. Doc Smith was surprised that she lasted as long as she did, considering the extent of her heart damage.” Catherine smiled, sucking in a deep breath. “But she was a fighter and wouldn’t give up.” She tucked a wayward strand of Addie’s hair behind her ear. “You’ve very much like her, you know.”
Addie bit her bottom lip, studying the wistful look in Catherine’s eyes, and wished she could remember meeting her aunt, just once, as she seemed to be a dynamic person who had a great impact on the lives of all who knew her. Addie squeezed Catherine’s hand, thanked her again, and quickened her pace to her car.
She started her engine and pulled out onto the road. At the same time, the black car pulled out from the far end of the street and made a quick right turn at the corner. Addie stepped on the gas, hoping to be able to catch a glimpse of the plate number, but when she got to the intersection and checked the road to the right, the car had vanished. She made her way home, keeping a close eye on her rearview mirror, reassuring herself that the envelope was tucked safely in her handbag.
The closer she got to home, the more anxious she became to open the package and discover its secret. She was certain it must be the key for the jeweled box, but was it the box that had created such murder and mayhem? If so, then why was the key so important—or was it? The box itself was worth a fortune. She shook her head. None of it made sense.