Chapter Fourteen More Pieces of the Puzzle #4
“Tell my girlfriend, Bonnie.” He laughed.
Yoko sat next to him. A little small talk wouldn’t hurt. They barely spoke while they were working. Between the sound of the motor on the cart, the leaf blower, and the trimming tools, it was always too noisy.
“How long have the two of you been together?”
“About a year. I met her at the courthouse, believe it or not.”
“Don’t tell me she’s your parole officer?” Yoko asked quizzically.
“Ha! No. She was carrying a load of binders and dropped them. I stopped to help her. Our eyes met, and you know the rest of the story.” He actually started to blush.
“Sounds like there’s a little magic going on.” Yoko smiled.
“I’d like to think so. We want to get married next year. I’m taking online courses for business management. To be honest, I’m tired of heaving mulch.”
“I don’t blame you. Not my favorite part of the job, either.”
Danny checked his watch. “Time to get back to the rock pile,” he said, snickering.
Yoko decided she liked Danny. She didn’t want him to be collateral damage.
The Sisters kept a list of people who would need additional assistance after the mission was over.
It didn’t happen all the time, but when there were innocent, unintentional participants, there would be a way out for them.
The recipient would never know who was actually behind these “new opportunities.” They were only told to “Don’t ask, don’t tell. Be happy.”
They hopped in the wagon, and Danny drove along the paths to check the other side of the complex. Once again, Yoko took copious notes. It would be first on their agenda the following day.
Myra returned to Sunnydale with her suitcase. The security guard immediately opened the gate, waved, and smiled.
She pulled up to the main entrance and sent a quick text to Izzie. Here.
The valet darted over. “Welcome back, Ms. Regan.” Raymond opened her car door.
“Thank you, Raymond. I’m not staying. Mrs. Clayton said she was going to recommend some activities for me for the weekend. Do you suppose you could ring her?” Myra was buying time for Izzie to surreptitiously snoop on her way to the ladies’ room while Clayton was busy accommodating her new client.
When Clayton bounded in Myra’s direction, Myra sent another text: Now.
“Myra! That didn’t take long at all!” Clayton handed a flyer to Myra. “I know a lot of people like to use their phones to look things up, but I also know people like to look at a handy sheet of paper.” That was probably the only thing Myra and Edith had in common.
“Thank you, Edith.” Myra slowed down her words. “Is there anything in particular you would recommend? I’m accustomed to a very active social life, when I’m not cuddling with my poochie, Nelson,” she said with a gentle laugh. “Nothing too raucous, mind you.”
Clayton chortled. “We don’t do raucous here.” She pointed to the line that read Royal Casino Night. “That’s a lot of fun. Real roulette tables, blackjack, craps. Unfortunately, no slots. We are able to do this because we donate money to a local children’s center.”
“Sounds like a good cause.” Myra smiled casually. I wonder where the money really goes, she thought to herself. “And what about dinner? Where do you recommend I go?”
“You must go to Dominique’s. Fabulous French food. It’s off-campus, but worth it. We do have a shuttle that could drive you. We know some of our residents enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, and we want to provide safe transportation.”
“That is most accommodating.” Myra took a long inhale. “And what about something on campus? Something casual. I want to get a feel for the place.”
“You are quite right. Then I would suggest The Grill. It’s casual, but has a very fine selection of beef, pork, chicken, and seafood. I’ll make a reservation for you. What time would you like to go?”
“Six?” Myra asked. “I almost forgot. A golf cart? Can someone fetch one for me?”
“Absolutely.” Crabby was bending over backwards to impress the woman.
“Splendid. Shall I meet them at my villa?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Thank you, Edith. You have been most helpful. And kind.” She almost choked on the words.
“My pleasure. And remember, if you need anything, please let me know. By the way, I just wanted to confirm that you will be staying longer than the two complimentary days?”
“Perhaps a week. I don’t want to rush into anything.”
“That’s wonderful,” Clayton gushed. A few extra bucks in her pocket.
On the one hand, she was grateful for her job.
On the other hand, her nephew was a cheapskate when it came to rewarding her.
Sure, she made a good salary, but she was doing double time as office manager and sales representative.
The pressure had been on, and she was looking for more ways to keep up the profit margins.
The pharmacy thing could have easily blown up in her face.
Myra shook Edith’s hand. “Thank you again, Edith. I’ll speak to you tomorrow.” Then she slipped her hand in her pocket and hit the send button for the text she typed into her phone earlier: Done.
“Or any time.” Edith waved.
While the two had been chatting outside, Izzie walked to the printer in the open area of the offices.
Clayton’s was on the opposite end of the hall, away from Izzie’s and Regina’s, and the ladies’ room.
She had to think of a reason why she would be on the other side of the office space, should anyone ask.
“Sorry, I got turned around. Second day here,” was going to be her answer.
Thankfully, it hadn’t come to that. The only thing she could glean from her trip around the cubicles was a photo on a shelf on the far wall of Clayton’s office.
It was in a gold frame. There were three smiling faces: a man with a woman on each side of him.
Izzie recognized two of them. One was Edith Clayton, and the other, Senator Spencer Gerber.
She imagined the other woman might be Janet Turner.
She was too old to be Gerber’s wife. She didn’t dare take a photo of the photo for fear Big Brother was watching.
But now there was surefire evidence of a connection.
Izzie slipped back into her office just as Clayton returned through the security door.
Izzie still wasn’t sure why there was so much surveillance and security for an administrative office.
Arizona
Kathryn was ready for her second first day of work.
She arrived before seven. When she got to the gate, the security guard phoned the long-term care unit.
“Kathryn Lucas reporting for work.” He nodded, then pushed the button that lifted the gate.
“Take your first right. When you get to a T-intersection, make a left. It’s the last building on the right. ”
“Thanks.” Kathryn gave him a salute and drove away. When she made the left turn, she noticed a large grove of trees on the right, just before the building. That’s where the trio must have crawled. Can’t wait to meet them. She chuckled to herself. It was a gutsy move, no doubt.
She pressed the buzzer. A few seconds passed before a voice responded. “Yes?”
“Kathryn Lucas reporting for work,” she said, then muttered under her breath, “again.”
The buzzer sounded, and she pulled the frosted glass door open. She stepped into the small vestibule with the Cheshire Cat waiting behind a plexiglass window. “Hello. You must be Kathryn.”
“Hello. Yes.” Who else would I be? I just told you twenty seconds ago. Kathryn had already formed an opinion. She. Did. Not. Like. This. Place.
Smiley slid a clipboard through the small slot at the bottom. “Please fill this out.”
Kathryn looked around. No chairs. Swell. She leaned her back against the wall and began the paperwork. When she finished, she slid it back to the Cheshire Cat. “Someone will be with you shortly.”
Kathryn noticed how eerily quiet the place was.
No visitors? She suspected the rest of the staff was behind the large steel door with the security lock.
She heard a buzz, and the door opened. She tried not to laugh.
Images of Louise Fletcher, who played the character in the movie, ran through her mind until the brusque, burly, brute-faced woman appeared.
At least she was attractive in the movie!
“You Lucas?”
She refrained from actually saying, “Who else would I be?” Instead, she replied, “Yes, I’m Kathryn Lucas.”
“I’m Turner. Follow me.”
When they got past the first door, she unlocked another, which took them to a small work area.
A short hallway led to an empty nurse’s station on the left and what appeared to be a ward on the right.
A dozen beds were lined up on one side, with a long curtain that separated them from cubicles with windows that faced a hallway.
Almost like small viewing rooms. Kathryn noticed less than half the beds were empty.
With the exception of two people in wheelchairs, the others were hooked up to machines.
It was like a scene from a horror or dystopian movie.
Turner stopped in front of the desk. “You’ll sit here for your shift. You’re to give meals according to the roster. Change out bedpans and check fluid lines.”
Kathryn knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to interrupt the woman, but she had to ask, “Check the lines?”
“Just make sure they’re not clogged,” she sneered.
It was getting creepier by the minute. “And the two in the wheelchairs?”
“I’ll give them their meds,” she replied.
Kathryn craned her neck to get a better look at the woman in the wheelchair. The one with the ring. The woman’s eyes were closed, and her head was slumped to one side. Kathryn wanted to say something but decided against it. She’d wait until she was alone with the patients.
Turner brought Kathryn into the supply room.
“Based on your qualifications, I assume you know what everything is and how to use it. Your shift runs until four. I’ll be back in two hours to check on you.
” She handed Kathryn a key card. “This will get you in and out these two doors. Bathroom is over there.” She jerked her head toward the far wall, turned, and walked past the patients to the far end to another secure door.
That one had a red light above it, and a sign that said:
DO NOT ENTER. ALARM WILL SOUND.
Kathryn watched the woman buzz herself through the ominous doors.
She suspected they led to the lower level.
The level that Kathryn had to figure out a way to get to.
She pulled out what looked like a cell phone.
It was a bug or surveillance detector. She didn’t look up when the device signaled there were two cameras in the room.
She decided to walk down the aisle where the patients were lined up. It was just a matter of time for most of them, with the exception of the woman in the wheelchair and the gentleman in the other. He, too, looked like he could fall over. She smiled at any face that could look back at her.
“Hello. I’m Kathryn.”
She jumped when the woman in the wheelchair feebly clutched Kathryn’s pant leg.
Kathryn bent over to hear what the woman was trying to tell her.
The woman’s voice was less than a whisper.
Kathryn thought the woman said, “Make them stop.” When she asked her to repeat it, the rear, secret door flew open.
“What are you doing?” Turner demanded.
Kathryn bolted upright. “Nothing. I mean, I was just checking the patients. Their lines, like you asked.”
“Does that woman look like she is attached to anything?”
“No, but …” Kathryn was immediately cut off.
“Do what you’re told. I don’t know why they felt the need to hire someone,” she muttered, turned, and went back to the clandestine door.
Kathryn realized Turner had been watching her. Careful, she told herself. At least she got a good look at the ring. It matched Theresa’s photo. This woman had to be Aunt Dottie. At the moment, there was little she could do. But it wouldn’t be long.