Chapter 14
About to leave, the four agents had a quick talk.
They’d decided that Zach and Skye would “hold down the fort,” allowing Skye a chance to use her strange vision, and Zach would move around the house and see what else might have been touched and if that gave them anything at all.
When Grant and Shelly returned, they could then try to find what they might be capable of discovering.
Grant and Shelly left swiftly.
And they arrived at the assisted-living facility within twenty-five minutes.
Lights were low; the only cars they could see were in the employee lot. But when Grant tapped at the door, they heard a buzz, and they were allowed in.
A man in a doctor’s jacket was behind the desk that was just inside the entry.
A security guard stood near him. He didn’t know that much about assisted-living facilities since, luckily, all of the older members of his family were doing just fine, but he thought it interesting that there was a security guard there, watching intently.
Grant walked forward quickly, explaining who they were and who they needed to speak with.
“We’ve been expecting you, and, thankfully, you’ve arrived before our lights-out bed check.
Of course, we are always interested in helping law enforcement in any way possible,” the man behind the receptionist’s desk nodded gravely to them, before adding, “We’re closed to visitors here at this time, even family, but …
well, I received a call, and we understand the need here.
I’m Doctor Donald Grigsby, by the way, and the only thing I can say that will help you …
or won’t help you … is that Natalie Greenway is in a serious stage of dementia, and her periods of being crystal clear haven’t existed now for days.
But she’s not violent or anxious, just …
well, come, I’ll introduce you, and you can see for yourselves. ”
Shelly smiled warmly and thanked him. He gave her a grave nod in return, nodded to the security officer, and led them down a hall.
“More of a hospital than an assisted-living place,” Shelly murmured to him.
Well, of course. There were retirement villages for those doing just fine that offered entertainment, games, pools, and more—popular places.
Some places offered medical personnel on staff.
And then there were places like this, akin to hospice, with medical personnel who specialized in the aged and the diseases that naturally came along with the years.
When Dr. Grigsby led them to Natalie Greenway’s room, it was definitely more “hospital” than domestic. A bed, a dresser, a closet—and monitors attached to the woman. But when they came in, she welcomed them with a friendly smile.
“Dr. Grigsby!” she said. “I told you my people would come!”
She was in her late eighties, perhaps even nineties, Grant thought, but she still had a bountiful headful of silver-white hair, along with dancing blue eyes.
“Yes, Natalie, and here they are,” Grigsby said, nodding to Grant and Shelly.
“You won’t get my patient too riled up, right?” he asked them.
“We wouldn’t dream of it!” Shelly assured him. “We’re just here for a friendly chat.”
“You do so well!” Natalie whispered as they left the room.
“But I knew you were real, and I knew you’d come, you …
or others. I am so near the end of my journey!
But I have read, I have supported those who obey you and know all the truth!
” She smiled at Shelly. “Hathor! Goddess of beauty, and you are that, your highness! And you, Petbe, dealing with all that is fairness—okay, revenge, too—but … they say you knew that man, that George Maynard, to be a voice of chaos and death, and you took care of it all! Oh, no, tell me, please, I’ve done no evil, right? You’re not here—”
“No, no, no, we’re not here for any kind of revenge; you’ve lived a beautiful life!” Shelly assured her.
“A truly beautiful life,” Grant said, frowning slightly as he glanced at Shelly. Was this ethical? “My name is Grant, and this is my friend Shelly,” he told Natalie.
“Well, of course!” Natalie said, laughing. “But … Mary isn’t here, right?”
“Mary?” Shelly asked.
“My granddaughter. Because her daughter must have music lessons. She sings … she sings so beautifully!”
“No, I’m afraid that Mary isn’t here,” Grant said.
“Natalie, we’re just here to wish you well. But we’d like to know, how did you get so into the Egyptian gods? And do you know those on your site who could assure you that a man like George Maynard had been taken care of?”
“Oh, I do need to see Mary. Maybe you could call her for me?” Natalie said.
“Will do,” Shelly promised.
The woman was then playing with her hair.
“Natalie,” Grant tried again, “we’d really like to know—”
“It’s natural, yes! Of course. My hair is naturally a silver-white!” she said.
“And it’s beautiful,” Shelly assured her. “But—”
“My pills—did I take all my pills?” Natalie asked.
“I will make sure with Dr. Grigsby,” Shelly told her solemnly. “But—”
“It’s so much fun! The TV, yes, it offers all kinds of programs. But the internet?
I love it! Thankfully, Mary taught me about the internet.
I can see all kinds of things, talk to all kinds of people.
And I learn! I learned about the truth. The ancient truth that no one wants to admit to because everyone has their own agenda, and only those who are the keepers of the true gods know the truth!
But you know that. You came to visit me! ”
“We’d love to have your computer,” Grant told her.
“But then—”
“We’ll bring you a brand-new one in the morning!” Shelly promised.
“With a bigger screen?” Natalie asked.
“Much bigger!” Grant told her.
“Then please, take the thing! And thank you, thank you! I knew I was right, that you existed—”
“Natalie, we can’t lie. I’m Grant, and this is Shelly,” he told her gently.
She wasn’t going to buy it. In her mind, she had met her gods.
Her computer was on the top of the dresser, and he picked it up. When he turned around, he saw that Shelly had gone for Dr. Grigsby so he’d know they weren’t just stealing the elderly woman’s property.
“They’re getting me a better computer!” Natalie informed him happily.
Grigsby arched a brow to them, smiling. “I guess she wants a new computer. Are you sure that you’ll return? I mean, you can’t—”
“We will see that she receives a new computer tomorrow, I promise,” Grant assured him.
“We will be back,” Shelly agreed, “with a new computer for her.”
They left, and when they were in the car and on the way back, Grant said, “One hell of a day.”
“Well, we weren’t bored,” Shelly said dryly.
“At the house, maybe …” he began.
“Maybe Skye and Zach will have found something?”
He glanced over at her. “And maybe we will. Let’s hope. Because I’m afraid our dear Natalie is also a nutcase.”
“She believes!” Shelly said. “I mean … maybe her mind is going, and therefore she easily accepts a different pantheon of gods. I believe she feels that she is heading toward the end of her life, maybe something she knows instinctively. And because of that …”
“She needs something. I just wish—”
Shelly smiled and reminded him, “All religion is built on faith. Hers is just a little off the deep end.”
“But we have the computer. And I believe we’ll be able to pull up any and all of her recent emails, searches—”
“She probably has a password for her correspondence—if she corresponded with others via email. She’d been on a site regarding ancient Egyptian gods. We know that from Angela. What we need to know is who she’s on that site with and …”
“And they may be harmless nerds. But let’s hope what we get off the computer can lead us somewhere.”
“I’m going to have faith!”
They reached the house easily, and as they arrived, they saw Zach was coming around the side of the house.
“Good news!” Zach said.
“Well, we’d love to hear it,” Grant said.
“Skye saw the room at the right time, saw that Alan Barker came in from the back. So, I took a walk around while she made calls. We found the entry Alan Barker used to get in here,” he said.
“He climbed the wall in back; our cameras cover the front and the sides. There’s a laundry room in the rear that none of us has used.
I’m pretty sure he crawled and shimmied across the grass and hacked into the system protecting the house, got the rear window open, and managed to get in. ”
“A weakness found,” Grant said. “And yes, he was in the forensics department; he’d have a way to hack into what he needed. But that means—”
“They’ve already recoded everything here,” Zach told them.
“When your Jackson Crow speaks, things happen. I also added an old-fashioned bolt back there—cutting off the back room entirely from the rest of the house. We can still use the room when needed. And just for fun, I added one to the front. I hope—”
“We don’t mind at all; we’re grateful!” Shelly assured him.
“And you have a computer!” Zach noted, looking at Grant.
“We have a crazy lady’s computer. But it just might give us something,” Grant agreed. “So, we’ll get in there and first …”
“Séance?” Zach asked, looking at Shelly.
She shook her head. “No candles in a dark room, mood music, or the like. I’ll just hold still for a few minutes and see … though the way Alan thought, and the way he died …”
“You never know!” Zach said.
Inside, he locked the door, keying in his new number. And smiled as he slid the bolt.
Grant lowered his head with a slight smile, acknowledging his fellow agent’s addition of old-school safety to the codes and cameras and computer controls that were in place.
When he turned, he saw that Shelly was standing very still in the living area near the worktable.
Skye was at her side quietly waiting, watching.
She was already in action, eyes closed as she concentrated on the man who had taken his own life that day rather than succumb to arrest and incarceration.