“Honey,” Rosemary said, peering over her shoulder. “You look all done in, even with sleeping in this morning. Why don’t you go up to your room and rest for a while.”
Nothing sounded better. “Can I help with the dishes first?”
“No, no, sweetheart. I’ve got it. You go.” She thrust her hands into the soapy water in the sink. “Washing dishes is…comforting. Besides, I’ve got help.” She looked pointedly at Death, who held up hands in mock horror before standing and collecting the rest of the dishes on the table.
Casey used to enjoy washing the dishes. In fact, she and Reuben used to argue over who got to do them while the other kept Omar entertained. After a night of sleep broken by multiple feedings, a day of diaper changes, and attention never wavering from protecting a baby, Casey had longed for a few minutes of solitude. Precious minutes where all that was required of her was to plunge her hands into the warm water and mindlessly wash the bottles and dishes and baby spoons. She’d often ignored the dishwasher, preferring the manual labor, and the time alone.
How she wished she could have those minutes back. Those night interruptions, that exhaustion that comes from raising an active child.
“Okay, I’m going upstairs.”
Casey paused just outside the door of the kitchen to see if she would be followed by Death. Instead, Death stood beside Rosemary at the sink, towel in hand. Casey left, slogging up the stairs, her brain fuzzy. Solomon the cat was nowhere in sight this time, and Casey couldn’t blame him. Death wasn’t exactly hiding at the moment.
Casey went into her room, took off her shoes, and lay down on the bed. She was awakened sometime later by a weight by her feet. She raised her head.
“Well,” Death said. “I’ve been officially unwelcomed.”
“Huh?” Casey rubbed her eyes.
“Rosemary said that while she’s not afraid of me, she doesn’t want me hanging around.”
“And you listened?”
“I’m still here, aren’t I?”
“But not with her.”
Death lay across the foot of the bed. “I figured I’d come back up here. She won’t know.”
“Haven’t I been unwelcoming? Why don’t you listen to me?”
Death leaned on an elbow. “You don’t really want me to go away.”
“Yes. I do.”
“No. You want me to go away and take you with me. That’s the difference between you and Rosemary.”
Casey laid an arm over her eyes. “Who did you steal from Rosemary?”
“I’m not a thief. But it was her husband, of course, that I took. Remember? She’s a widow?”
“How?”
“Hiking accident.”
“Hiking?” Casey lifted her arm from her face.
“Oh, yes. Rosemary and her husband were quite the outdoor adventurers. I know, you wouldn’t think it to look at her now, but at one time she was quite the explorer.”
“What happened?”
“They were camping. Hiking a trail along the Appalachians. A place they’d never been. He went off in the twilight to gather kindling, and never came back. Rosemary went to look for him and discovered him at the bottom of a ravine. The way he’d fallen had broken his neck. He was dead when she found him.”
“But that’s awful!”
“Rosemary took it well. Said it was a better death than lots of other things. At least it was quick.”
Burning up in an exploding vehicle was quick.
Casey scooted up, leaning her back against the headboard and wrapping her arms around her knees, studying this…this entity who had become her most constant companion.
It had been in one of the boardrooms that she’d first seen Death. Casey had thought an extra lawyer had joined the team. Hers or Pegasus’, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that an extra chair sat at the table. It only took a few minutes, however, to realize that this lawyer wasn’t on any team, but spent every second sitting back in the chair, fingers steepled, staring at Casey with…was that amusement?
At the first break, Casey had confronted the new lawyer, who stood alone, leaning against the stair railing in the foyer. How dare someone laugh in the face of her pain?
Death only smiled, leaning closer until Casey breathed in…and she knew.
In fact, she was ecstatic, holding out her arms to receive Death’s embrace. Only that’s not what Death had in mind. Ricky had come to her then, concern etched into his face as he stood in exactly the spot where Death had been a moment before. She’d searched wildly around the hallway, but Death had disappeared, leaving her too emotionally distraught to continue with the day’s proceedings. Neither team of lawyers had been happy about that.
“What?” Death said now, seeing Casey’s face. “What did I do?”
Casey shook her head, disgusted with herself, with Death, with everything. “Nothing. You did absolutely nothing.” She jumped off the bed and grabbed her jacket, heading out the door. “And you’ll continue to do nothing, you worthless piece of…of…dark matter.” She slammed the door on Death’s surprise, and went downstairs.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Casey headed directly out the front door, avoiding any conversation with either Rosemary or Lillian, and took off down the sidewalk. No bike this time. She needed to get back on her feet.
Her feet took her to the door of the bank, apparently with the idea of confronting Todd at his workplace.
It was closed.
She studied the lobby hours printed on the glass, seeing that they’d closed already at noon, this being a Saturday. Shoving down her frustration, she changed direction and strode down to the corner, entering Wayne’s Pharmacy.
Becca was behind the counter, wrapping what looked like a birthday present. A girl and her mother watched the process as Becca fashioned ribbons into a festive poof of curls. “Here you go, sweetie. Courtney will be very happy with her new tiger snake.”
The girl grinned, hugging the package to her chest, and left with her mother.
“Tiger Snake?” Casey asked. “For an eight-year-old?”
Becca laughed. “It’s a toy. You know, those stuffed animals you play with on-line?” At Casey’s blank expression, Becca waved away the subject. “You’re not here to talk about kiddie toys. What can I do for you?”
“Can you tell me how to find Todd?”
“Todd Nolan?”
“Are there other Todds?”
Becca swept ribbon cuttings from the counter into a trash can. “No. I just…he doesn’t exactly seem your type.”
“Becca, I’m not looking for a type. I’m looking for some answers.”
“About the play?”
“What? No. If I had those, I’d ask you or Eric. No, I have…banking questions.”
Becca regarded her with doubt. “Banking?”
“He is a banker.” It wasn’t a lie.
“True.”
“And the bank’s closed.”
“Yes, it would be.”
She slid her scissors into a drawer. “Okay. I’ll give you directions, but you’d better hope his daughter’s not there to see you.”
“Kristi?”
Becca blinked. “Yes. How did you know?”
“Met her at the diner.”
“Oh. Sure. Anyway, she’s not too keen on her dad right now, let alone women he might talk to.”
Casey looked around the store, but they were alone. “Ellen, right?”
Becca made a face. “I don’t know what it was about her. Eric, and Todd, too. At least Eric was free to do something about it.”
“I heard Todd was working at Home Sweet Home.”
Becca snorted. “If you want to call it working. From what I’ve heard he didn’t do a whole lot except get in Ellen’s way.”
“So it’s no wonder Kristi was unhappy. What about his wife?”
Becca shrugged. “Todd’s wife is…spacey, shall we say? I don’t think it would even occur to her to think about Todd being interested in someone else. It wouldn’t have occurred to most of us. He’s too lazy.” She gave a half smile.
“But Kristi?”
“She’s smart. And she could see exactly what was going on. In fact, she was the one who finally put a stop to the whole thing—whatever there was.”