Chapter 23 #2
“No, it sure doesn’t.” He smiled, looked over at the painting, and added, “The good news is, I had nothing to do with it. I can’t even get out of the wheelchair for very long,” he told her. “I have home care come in and help me three times a week—something else that my wife can’t stand.”
“It sounds as if a divorce would make you happier.”
“It would make her happier. I don’t have a whole lot to do with her anyway,” he noted.
“So why don’t you give her a divorce? Why don’t you offer it to her? You can just let her off the hook,” Doreen suggested, studying him. “Just think of how much painting you can do without all that interference.”
He burst out laughing. “I’ll consider it, though I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m ready to be on my own.”
“Nobody said you had to be on your own,” Doreen pointed out. “And maybe you want to be part of the restaurant world again.”
“No, I do not want to be part of the restaurant world,” he stated. “I was part of the restaurant world before. How do you think I wound up in his wheelchair?”
She frowned at him and said, “Maybe you should tell me how you had that accident.”
“It was Alice. We had an argument, and, as I turned to stride away, I swear to God, she pushed me, but I don’t have any way to prove it,” he admitted. “One minute I was walking away from her, and the next I was headed down the stairs to the storeroom and fell. Broke my back. Such a simple thing.”
She stared at him for a long moment.
Danny nodded. “So, yeah, do I think she could have been involved in killing someone? Heck yeah, but, since she’s the one who was killed, maybe not.”
“Oh Lord,” Doreen muttered. “The tangled webs we weave.”
“I know,” he acknowledged. “Believe me that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it, wondering if she did it on purpose. Nobody else was around, so it was her or no one,” he shared. “I just don’t have any way to prove it.”
“I’m so sorry. That’s not how we want life to be.”
He laughed. “No, you may not want it to be that way, but it seems to be the way life always is.”
“No, not always,” she countered. “Did Alice suggest to your wife that she marry you?”
“Yes, she did, but I think that was because Alice convinced my wife that she was also supposed to get some of the restaurant money, or maybe Alice was just trying to lock me up with somebody.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s just old family stuff.”
“It may be just old family stuff, but sometimes the same old stuff comes back around with some really ugly updates.”
He looked at her and then slowly nodded. “You could be right, but I would hate to think that what happened to me has anything to do with any of this.”
“But I won’t know if you don’t tell me these things,” Doreen pointed out, frowning at him. “So, what happened to you? Obviously you fell down the stairs, but do you really think Alice did it on purpose?”
“In my mind, and I’ve gone over it a million times,” he explained, “that’s the only conclusion I can come up with.”
“Was it an accident? Was Alice sorry afterward?”
“She’s always denied having anything to do with it.”
“So, you did talk to her about it?”
“I did.”
“And you’re sure nobody else was at the restaurant at the time?”
“Nobody else was at the restaurant,” he confirmed. “It was just her. From her viewpoint, I fell because I was angry. I tripped and fell down the stairs, and she didn’t find me for a while. Apparently, whether I believe that or not, I don’t know, but the bottom line is, I ended up in a wheelchair.”
“And you were already married, right?”
“Yes.”
She sighed. “I’m so sorry.”
“That’s okay.”
“So, I’ve got another question for you,” she began, “and this one is a little bit uglier.”
He stared at her. “How can you look so nice and have so many ugly questions?” he muttered.
“Would your wife have killed your sister Alice?”
“Why?” he asked, looking at her in surprise. “What would that possibly gain her?”
“If Alice was responsible for putting you in a wheelchair, maybe your wife finally decided to get revenge.”
“But why now? Why all these years later? What would it get her now? I mean, she’s had lots of time to do it. There wouldn’t have been any particular reason to do it now. It would make more sense for my wife to kill me, if she thinks she’s getting some money out of Alice’s restaurant.”
Doreen frowned. “Maybe, maybe not,” Doreen conceded, with a nod. “Still, I had to ask.”
“And I appreciate your thinking about it,” he replied. “Yet the more I think about it, maybe you’re right. Maybe it is time for a divorce.”
“It’s certainly worth some honest consideration, though, if she wants to hook up with Zev again, they may be looking at going back to Alberta after this.”
“Maybe,” he said, looking away from her. “I was wondering about getting my niece Jillian to run the restaurant.”
“And that could be a good idea too. However, it also would be very painful for her, as she just lost her partner there as well.”
“I wasn’t thinking about that, but you’re right. It would be rough, wouldn’t it?”
“Probably rougher than anybody would really want to think about,” Doreen replied, “but you’ll have to look at your options. Of course you have to get through Alice’s will to see if you even end up with it. Maybe it goes to both you and Zev.”
Danny shook his head. “Zev made that decision long ago. So I don’t think Alice had a choice to give it to anybody else but me, unless she gave it directly to Jillian.”
“No matter who gets it, you may want to consider taking good care of yourself over the next few days. Somebody is pretty interested in the Burgon family. I’ve been told the restaurants are to stay in the Burgon family line, but is there any scenario where it could go to your wife in the case of your demise? ”
He froze. “You really, really don’t mind saying awful things, do you?”
“No,” she admitted, “but I also really, really love your artwork, and I would absolutely hate it if something happened to you.”
“Good God,” he whispered, stars in his eyes. “You really do like it, don’t you?”
“I do,” she declared. “How can you not look at that and see the talent just coming out of your pores?”
“Probably because I’ve spent a lifetime not believing I had any talent,” he replied, with a self-deprecating chuckle.
“Now you’ve got a chance to change that,” she reminded him.
“Are you sure you want to take it right now?” he asked again.
“I’m sure,” she stated. “I can’t imagine what it is you think you could do to make it better. This is absolutely amazing.”
“Let me just … No. It is finished. I just keep thinking I can improve it and was so worried you wouldn’t like it.”
“No, you can’t improve it.” She pulled out her purse and handed him five crisp one-hundred-dollar bills.
“No, no, no,” he said. “The total was five hundred, and you already gave me half, remember?”
“I do remember,” she confirmed, “but I’m paying you five hundred on top of the deposit, and this painting is likely worth far more than that.”
“Seriously?” He stared at her in shock.
“Yes, seriously.”
He looked down at the money, then up at her, and one of the most incredibly beautiful smiles crossed his face. “Thank you. It’s not even about the money. It’s just the fact that you are willing to pay more for my work.”
“I would pay a lot more now that I know how amazing you are. And, rest assured, I’ll be telling people about you. So, whether you like to do commissions or not, you better get ready.”
He laughed at that. “Come on. I’ll show you out.” She gently picked up the painting, and Danny rolled with her toward the door. The animals stayed awkwardly at her side, yet kept getting in the way of his wheels.
“They really aren’t used to wheelchairs, are they?” Danny asked.
“You would think they would be since we’re down at the home all the time, but they seem to be all over you for some reason,” She frowned, then looked at him. “They’re very protective of people they know and love.”
He looked at her, surprised, then looked down at them. “I’m fine.” Yet a frown crossed his face. “I promise that I’ll keep your warning in mind.”
She nodded. “You do that, please.”
And, with that, she finally managed to get her wiggling crew out to the vehicle, where she very gently put the canvas on the back seat and insisted that all the animals ride in the front seat. She was paranoid that anything would happen to the painting.
With a wave, she headed back out and drove very carefully home. As soon as she got there, she took the canvas out of the back seat, carried it into the kitchen, and propped it up on the kitchen table, then immediately tried a different location. Her concern was that Thaddeus might peck at it.
She spied a couple nails in the walls in the living room that she hadn’t ever bothered to pull out after removing the other paintings located here.
So she hung this painting on one of those.
At least it was out of everybody’s reach.
There she stood and admired it for a few minutes, then took out her camera and snapped several photos, sending one to Mack.
He called her a little bit later and asked, “What is that?”
“Oh my gosh,” she cried out, “you won’t believe it. That is Nan’s birthday present. It’s absolutely perfect. It’s such a …” And she told him all about it.
“That is fabulous,” Mack agreed, “and what an amazing and lovely gift.”
“I thought so too. As you know, I’m still really new to this whole gift-giving thing. I had no idea what to do, and then … I even surprised myself with this idea.”
He burst out laughing. “You continuously surprise me with how well you’re doing, so give yourself credit. That is really nice, and I can’t wait to see it in person.”
“I’m really worried about him too.”
“Who? The artist? Why is that?”
“Because Alice’s restaurant may now be his.
In my understanding, it can’t be passed down to Alice’s husband because it has to stay in the family, in the Burgon bloodline family.
The husband was already getting money every month from Alice, so harming her would be killing his golden goose.
Then there is Danny’s wife, who is extremely unhappy about everything, and she apparently had a prior history of cheating on him with his own brother, none other than Jillian’s uncle Zev. ”
“Good God,” Mack muttered. “Why does everything have to be so convoluted?”
“It’s just family issues,” she noted, “and family is messy.”
He burst out laughing. “You’re right. Family is messy,” he confirmed. “Look. You work it out in your head, and I’ll come by—hopefully in another forty minutes, if I can get out of this place. We can talk then.”
“Good enough,” she said. “That’s two people whom I’ve now warned to stay safe, and one of them was more or less just left …”
Mack interrupted her, “Hang on. I’ve got to call you back.” And he ended the call.
She groaned and waited, but, when he didn’t get back to her very quickly, she wasn’t sure what was going on.
She just hoped that it wasn’t anything bad again.
She kept admiring the painting, absolutely loving it.
Before too long, she realized that she had to hide it before Nan accidentally saw it before her birthday.
So, with that in her mind, Doreen picked it up and carried it upstairs to her bedroom, where she hid it in the closet.
Even as she was coming downstairs, Nan called. “I’ve decided to have a birthday party,” she announced. “I didn’t want anybody to plan a surprise party, so I’ve just decided we’ll have a party.”
Doreen laughed. “That sounds good. When and where and who?”
“Everybody,” she declared, “at least everybody here, plus you and Mack, of course. I don’t know about anybody else,” Nan added, “but that seems to be enough people already.”
“It’s definitely a lot of people,” Doreen agreed, with a smile. “But it’s only enough people if it’s enough for you.”
“It’s enough,” Nan stated, with a snort. “The last thing I want is a big party, with all of them fussing over me.”
“You’ll get it anyway.”
“Maybe so. Anyway, it’ll be in two days, if that’s okay.”
“You left that up to the last minute.”
“No, I didn’t,” she declared. “I just didn’t want anybody making a fuss.”
“Or you decided that nobody would make a fuss, so you chose to take the reins in your own hands and do it yourself?”
Nan went silent for a moment, then muttered, “Maybe, but I won’t admit to that now. Anyway, please come.”
“Of course I’ll come,” Doreen stated. “I only just now picked up your birthday gift.”
“What did you get me?” she cried out.
“Ha, I’m not telling you. You’ll find out on your birthday and not one moment before.”
“Oh, that’s just mean. That is just mean, child.”
Doreen chuckled. “Nope, it’s not mean,” she argued. “It’s all about anticipation.” And, with that, she ended the call.
She turned to her animals. “Now, back to the case. My question is, Who will be next?”
They all froze, and she nodded. “You know somebody will be. The only question is who.”
She had two in mind, but what she didn’t know was whether there would be a third, and the third one she needed to worry about because, honestly, the third one was her.