Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
M aude had two reasons to call Ollie, neither of them good, but one definitely worse than the other. As she waited for him to pick up, she wondered if she should lead with the sort of bad one or the really bad one.
The really bad one she’d prefer to tell him in person, but she knew how busy he was and she didn’t want to wait until she saw him for dinner, which was supposed to be Thursday night. He’d texted to ask, and she’d agreed without thinking, which was the not-so-bad news.
But no, the really bad news was not the kind of thing she wanted to share over their first dinner date. Talk about a real mood-killer.
Also, he’d want to know this as soon as he could.
“This is Dr. Oliver Keen. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m available. If this is a medical emergency, please dial 9-1-1.”
That solved that problem. She wasn’t telling him either one in a message. “Hey, Ollie, it’s Maude. Call me when you can.”
She hung up and went back to the client website she’d been working on.
Pixel was blowing a new bubble nest and Maude was getting hungry.
Maybe she’d order something. Or just microwave a frozen meal.
What she really wanted was a big bowl of pasta salad, but there was none made and she didn’t have the ingredients to whip some up.
She really needed to go to the store. That’s what she ought to do. But if she went grocery shopping hungry, she’d buy everything that looked good.
“Pixel, being an adult is hard. Be glad you’re a fish.”
She got up and stared into her refrigerator to see if anything appealed to her. It didn’t. She made a peanut butter and jam sandwich on wheat bread, then ate it with a diet Snapple iced tea while sitting on her porch.
Ned Ripley, the neighbor diagonally from her house and to the left, was fertilizing his lemon trees. She should go check her veggies and see if anything was ripe and ready. He was a nice man, probably early nineties.
She hoped to be as active as he was when she got to that age.
He even rode a bike. And not one of those three-wheelers, either.
A beach bike with fat tires and a basket on the front he’d had custom-made for his dog, a yippy little Chihuahua that would have driven Maude crazy, but he loved that thing.
Cookie, Maude thought her name was.
Cookie was sleeping in one of the chairs on the porch while Ned worked. What a life.
Maude finished her sandwich and went back inside to make a grocery list. Chores were no fun, but if she didn’t go shopping now she’d be having another PB&J for dinner.
That would be all right, but kind of boring.
She didn’t have anything planned for tonight except she’d promised her enclave she’d spend a solid two hours online with them.
Then she was reading her book club book until she finished it. That jogged something in her brain. She wrote down snacks for book club and thought about getting stuff to make a veggie and dip tray. That would be all right, wouldn’t it? Paige was a healthy eater. She’d at least appreciate it.
Maude looked inside her fridge again and made note of what she needed, which was almost everything. She needed to do better about grocery shopping but it just wasn’t her favorite thing.
Finally, she decided she had enough on her list to sustain her for two weeks or more, and headed out.
At Publix, she grabbed a cart and rolled it into produce, only to remember that she hadn’t checked her containers to see if any of her veggies were ready. She rolled her eyes at herself. When she did things like that, she always wondered if it was age creeping up on her.
Hopefully not. But maybe she should start taking something. Like extra vitamins. Or whatever was all the rage these days.
She found some good-looking peppers, a couple of cucumbers, then added a bag of baby carrots and a pint of cherry tomatoes. She picked up some celery and a tub of the good ranch dip and added those to the cart. That would be her contribution to book club.
Because it was watermelon season, she got one of those, too. That would be a good snack to have while she was gaming.
She walked the rest of the aisles, getting everything on her list and a few things that weren’t. She’d already decided she was making a vat of pasta salad. She could eat that for a week. Or until she ran out.
She also picked up a package of nice dog treats for Cookie. It would give her a reason to visit Ned and see how he was doing.
Finally, cart overflowing, she hit the registers and checked out. She might have enough stuff for three weeks, but that was all right with her. Anything that meant less shopping was a win.
She was loading her bags into her car when her phone went off. She dug it out of her purse. Ollie. “Hey, how are you?”
“Busy. Just got out of surgery and got your voicemail. How are you?”
She was smiling, but that didn’t jive with what she needed to tell him. Still, it was nice to hear his voice. “I’m good. Just putting groceries in my car.”
“Why don’t you call me back when it’s more convenient. I’ll be in my office for a while, so I promise I’ll answer.”
She was still smiling. “Okay. Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you as soon as I’m home.”
“Sounds good.”
She hung up, finished loading her car, returned her cart, and headed for home. Once she was in and her groceries were put away, she took her phone into the living room and called him back.
“There you are,” he answered.
“How was surgery?”
“Textbook perfect. Gotta love that.”
“For sure. So, first of all, and I hate to do this, but I need to reschedule our dinner on Thursday. I forgot I have book club that night.”
“That’s all right. I’ll just sit at home, all alone, feeling lonely, listening to sad music.”
She laughed. That was the Ollie she knew, always teasing. She sighed, wondering if he’d keep that mood when she told him the second piece of news. “Maybe you should get a fish.”
“I might. With a tank big enough that I could swim in it, too. I hear that’s the best way to bond with your fish.”
“Is that right? I can honestly say I don’t think Pixel wants me in his tank.” She chuckled. Then exhaled. Time for the really bad news. “Listen, I’ve been researching Emily…”
A moment of silence passed. “Okay, I’m ready. What did you find?”
“I hate telling you this over the phone.”
“It’s all right. I’m sitting down.”
“Do you know a guy called Derek Nyland?”
“Yes. He works for the same real estate company. He’s in Emily’s office. I’m not going to like what comes next, am I?”
“I guess that depends on what outcome you were hoping for.”
He sighed. “I thought I knew. Now, I’m not so sure. Whatever it is, just tell me.”
“I believe she’s having an affair with him.”
The silence this time was longer. When Ollie spoke again, there was a gruffness to his voice that caught Maude off-guard. “What makes you think that?”
“I did a deep dive into Nyland. Found his Instagram account, which was private, but got him to friend me—not me, Maude, but one of my dummy accounts—and that let me see his content. I found the username EmSells commenting on all of his posts. So I researched that. Her account was private, too, but she accepted another of my dummy accounts, and it was Emily. He was commenting on all of her posts, and some of the comments were borderline explicit.”
Ollie sighed softly in the background.
“I have screenshots and downloads to back this all up but it looks like it started about a year ago.”
“That tracks,” Ollie said quietly.
“Based on the comments that they’ve left for each other and one incriminating photo that I don’t think they realize is online, it’s pretty undeniable evidence that they’re more than co-workers.”
He didn’t say anything.
“Oliver? Are you okay?” She should have done this face to face. She should be there to comfort him.
“Yeah,” came his soft reply. “How could she do this? He’s a kid. He’s probably not much older than Harper.”
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this. I know it’s not good news.”
“No, you did great. I owe you. Is there anything else I should know?”
She exhaled. “I think Emily might have bought Derek a condo.”
“Seriously?” There was anger in his voice now. He inhaled, deeply. “Okay, that’s actually good news.”
She made a face, shocked by that reaction. “It is?”
“Means she lied in her financial disclosures for the divorce. And according to my attorney, if there’s enough evidence, the property division can be reopened.
This could mean…I don’t know what, but something.
Can you email all of this stuff to me? Or to my attorney?
He might want it directly from you, I don’t know. ”
“Sure.” She felt a bit like she’d opened a can of worms, but she’d done what he asked.
“I might at least be able to get Milo back. That’s my dog.”
Now that changed things. “She kept your dog?”
“Made a huge point of it. Said the kids needed him for an emotional support animal. Except he’s always been my dog. I love my kids, but Harper wanted a cat and Nolan wanted a bearded dragon.”
“Golden retriever sounds like a great compromise.”
Ollie snorted. “Listen, I owe you and I mean that. Not just because you found all this stuff but because I know now that I can stop blaming myself for this divorce.”
She smiled. “Good. I’m glad about that.”
“You know, we could go to dinner sooner. Like tomorrow night. Anywhere you want to go. Whatever you want to eat. Lobster, caviar, anything.”
“Sushi?”
“We’ll get the biggest boat they have.”
She laughed. “Sounds good.”
“I’ll text you what my attorney says. And for tomorrow, how about I pick you up around six?”
“Works for me.”
“Thanks, Maudie.”
“You’re welcome, Ollie.”
They hung up and she sat back. Ollie had handled the news well enough. Maude couldn’t believe Emily had insisted on keeping his dog. That was pretty low.
Maude didn’t feel so bad about what she’d uncovered now.