The Gamble and the Grave (Veronica Barry Book 4)

by Sophia Martin

  Jake reappeared, and when he saw Adelaide and Harriet he increased his speed to a near-jog.

  “There’s Jake!” Harriet said.

  “Adelaide! Harriet!” Jake exclaimed, and embraced each of them.

  “Where were you?” Adelaide asked.

  “Talking to one of the doctors,” Jake said.

  “Well?” Sunny prompted, clearly unconcerned with whether Jake would want to share what he’d been told. “What did he say?”

  Jake shuddered. “You were right, Sunny. He was having a heart attack. I couldn’t believe it—no offense, Veronica—because he’s been like this for two days. I thought heart attacks were sudden. The doctor says it can be like this—this slow build up. He says he could have collapsed any time. His guess is Darnell’d have had his crisis in the middle of the night. He said they always seem to come in then.”

  “Or in the morning,” Veronica murmured, thinking of her vision of Darnell at his desk, reaching for the phone as the attack hit him.

  “So what’s happening now?” Harriet asked, taking her mother’s hand in both of hers and holding it against her chest.

  “They’ve got him in surgery,” Jake said. “They’re giving him a double bypass.”

  “Oh, Lord have mercy,” Adelaide breathed.

  “How long will it be before we know how he’s doing?” Veronica asked.

  “The doctor thinks they have another three hours to go,” Jake said. He looked wan.

  “So long?” murmured Adelaide.

  Harriet squeezed her hand. “Might as well get comfortable,” she said, indicating the chairs. Veronica knew from experience that comfortable wasn’t really a word that applied to them. But it hardly mattered. No one would relax while they waited to find out the results of the surgery, of that she was certain.

  “We should leave,” she said to Sunny, who nodded.

  “What? Why?” Jake demanded.

  Veronica grimaced a bit and shrugged. “Because we’re not family…?”

  “Please,” Jake said with a wave of his hand. Then he glanced at Adelaide and Harriet, who each gave him nods. “If you want to stay, please do,” he said to Veronica and Sunny. “We understand if you’d prefer to go, but as far as I’m concerned, you both earned honory family status when you brought my pig-headed husband in to the ER today.”

  ~~~

  Veronica used to be afraid of spending any time in the hospital because there were more spirits there than in most other settings. However, she had come to rely on the intervention of her guardian spirits—her father, her mother, and the others who always seemed to be close by, and generally, she could count on not getting mobbed despite the proximity of ghosts. This time, though, as she sat on the not-so-comfortable seats in the waiting area, a shimmer became slowly more and more visible, and it approached her as it did, moving only a little every few minutes. It was unnerving.

  At last it came close enough and gained enough clarity to reveal its identity.

  “Gerry,” Veronica said under her breath.

  She’s here.

  “Liz?” Veronica whispered.

  Yes.

  Glancing around at the others who waited with her, Veronica was relieved to see that no one had noticed her talking to herself, yet. That wouldn’t last. Then an inspiration struck, and she pulled out her cell.

  “Hello?” she said into it. “Yeah, this is Veronica.” Then, looking at Gerry’s ghost, she added, “I’m not sure what you want me to do.”

  She’s very low. She needs help.

  “I feel for her, but I’m really not qualified to help her, you know.”

  Talk to her. Tell her I want a better future for our son than the one he’d have had with us. Tell her I want her to give him that future.

  “You know, I saw something about that, and it doesn’t look good. I mean, I do intend to try to do something about it, but everything’s been a bit crazy lately.”

  His parents are here.

  “What?” Veronica said, confused.

  Simeon’s parents. They are right here. You have to tell her.

  Veronica looked around the waiting room as if she would see who he was talking about, and her eyes came to rest on Jake. Oh, she thought. She did see who he was talking about.

  “You mean Jake and Darnell?” she whispered into the phone.

  With them, Simeon would have everything he needs—love, a home, a future. Liz can’t do this by herself—even if I had been there, I know now how it would have gone.

  “You want me to convince her to give him up?” Veronica said, still whispering. “Gerry, I can’t do that. I can’t go find Liz in a hospital room and tell her she has to give up her baby!”

  Just talk to her. Please. Tell her it’s what I want.

  Veronica hesitated.

  You have to hurry. They’ll put her into 72 hour hold soon, and you won’t be able to see her.

  “Oh jeez,” Veronica muttered. “Look, I’ll go find her, okay? But just don’t expect anything more than that.”

  Gerry disappeared and Veronica made a show of putting the phone back in her purse. No one was paying attention. It had only been an hour since Jake spoke to the doctor. They were all in for a long wait, and Veronica had plenty of time to seek Liz out.

  She stood up and touched Jake on the shoulder. “I’ll be back in a bit,” she said.

  He nodded and went back to reading an ebook.

  The admitting desk in the ER was busy with a steady stream of people coming in, so she headed to the main entrance of Sutter Memorial to find out if they would give her Liz’s room. Sure enough, they did, without any trouble. Veronica made her way to the third floor and looked at the room numbers she passed until she came to 380. As she entered, she knocked on the door frame.

  Liz, looking exhausted and still very pregnant, sat up in her hospital bed, staring at the TV, which was on with the sound turned down low, hanging in the corner to the right of her. She didn’t look toward Veronica as she entered.

  “Uh, hi,” Veronica said.

  Liz still didn’t respond.

  “Um, I’m Veronica. I was… well, I was with Gerry, when he died.”

  Liz turned her face toward Veronica then, her eyes widening. “What did you say?”

  Veronica gave her a pained smile. Wringing her hands, she repeated, “I was with him when he died.”

  Liz’s breathing accelerated. “Oh god.”

  “I’m so very sorry for your loss,” Veronica said.

  “You—you saw it happen?”

  “Yes.”

  Liz chewed on her bottom lip, which looked pretty banged up, like she’d been doing a lot of chewing on it. “You can tell me, then. I mean—they told me—but they weren’t there. Did he suffer?”

  Veronica shook her head. “It was instantaneous. Really. It was so fast I didn’t understand what happened for a minute.”

  Liz gave a shuddering sigh and closed her eyes, resting her head back against her pillows.

  Pulling up one of two chairs in the room, Veronica sat and remained quiet, waiting for Liz to initiate more conversation.

  At last, she did. “Did you know Gerry? Why were you there?”

  Veronica remembered the story she’d come up with. “I was taking a class at the college on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I’d walk by the track afterwards to get to my car. Gerry and I just started chatting one time. After that, I always stopped to talk to him.”

  Liz gazed at her, her eyes weary.

  “He told me about you,” Veronica said. “He told me how excited he was to start a family.”

  That earned her a bitter laugh from Liz. “Yeah. Some family we’ll be now.”

  With a short sigh, Veronica gave Liz her most sympathetic look. “I am so sorry. He told me how much you both wanted to have a new life. A house, kids. He was really happy about it.”

  “And then he had to get himself killed,” Liz said, mouth twisting with anguish. “He had to leave me with this.” She gestured sharply at her b
elly, large under the covers.

  “Will you still call him Simeon?” Veronica asked, not sure where the question came from.

  Liz’s face crumpled and she began to weep.

  “I—I’m sorry,” Veronica said. “I should go, I’m just upsetting you.”

  Shaking her head, Liz reached out and caught Veronica’s wrist. “Don’t leave. You’re the first person I’ve been able to talk to about any of this.”

  Veronica settled back down in her seat.

  “Did he tell you how we came up with the name?” Liz asked.

  “He said you went camping, and there was a beautiful sunset—in San Simeon Park?”

  Liz snorted. “That’s one way of looking at it.” She sighed and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I wanted an abortion. Did he tell you that?”

  “No,” Veronica said.

  “Well, I did. And he talked me out of it. Him with all his promises. And maybe it would have been just like he said,” Liz’s voice cracked. “But maybe it wouldn’t, you know? Gerry was always full of ideas, and they never worked out.”

  “A friend of mine who knows him really admired him,” Veronica said, thinking of Miguel. “The way Gerry always made it to the track? He did a painting of him.”

  Tears came to Liz’s eyes again. “Yeah. Gerry loved to run.”

  Neither of them said anything for a few minutes.

  “I have a friend who was as single mom,” Veronica said. “It was hard, but she had a few people who really supported her.”

  Liz shook her head, her mouth twisting with her tears. “I don’t have anyone like that.”

  Veronica wanted to offer herself, but it seemed so artificial. “I—well, you don’t have to do it alone, I mean, I’d be happy to help any way I can—”

  “Please,” Liz said, glaring at her. “I mean, you seem like a nice enough person, and all, but please don’t give me that line of bullshit. What did you think? ‘Hey, I think I’ll go visit that Liz woman in the hospital. I bet she could use a shoulder to cry on.’ And now, what, you think you’ll be my best friend? Help me raise my kid? Yeah, right. You did a nice thing, but you’re not my friend.”

  With a grimace, Veronica racked her brain for what to say. There was nothing that would work, though. She just had to keep coming back until they released Liz. Maybe by then, Liz would be willing to believe that Veronica would truly be a friend to her.

  Liz was frowning. “How did you even hear about me being here, anyway?” she asked.

  “Uh,” Veronica said, at a loss.

  Tell her I spoke to you.

  Gerry’s voice startled her, and she almost groaned. Just what she needed—she couldn’t think of a logical reason why she would have learned that Liz was at the hospital, and now Gerry was here to make things even more distracting.

  Tell her the truth. Tell her I’m here, now.

  Veronica sucked in a breath, her eyes darting around as if she was trying to find an escape route.

  “What’s the deal with you, lady?” Liz demanded.

  Tell her.

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” Veronica breathed.

  “What?”

  Tell her.

  “Alright,” Veronica said. Liz blinked at her as if Veronica had blown in her face. “I’m sorry,” Veronica said to her. “You’re probably going to think I’m a crazy person. Let me just explain before you call for a nurse to take me out of here, okay?”

  Liz’s face grew more alarmed. “What, are you some kind of stalker? Were you stalking Gerry? Oh, shit. Did you shoot him?”

  “No! No! Nothing like that,” Veronica said. “I just—well, meeting Gerry wasn’t really an accident and me coming here… well… it’s just that I—well I have a special—a special ability, you might say. I talk to ghosts.”

  Liz’s eyebrows rose.

  “I know what you’re thinking. But I’m not lying and I’m not crazy and I’m not trying to con you. I don’t want anything from you. I swear. I just—well, I talked to Gerry because I felt like I had to, because I saw some of his future. But then the shooting happened, and he wasn’t supposed to get killed,” Veronica said, trying not to contradict her earlier story too much. “And then a friend of mine got sick and we brought him here, and then Gerry was here, too, and he wanted me to come find you.”

  A look of puzzled frustration darkened Liz’s face. “What? Are—are you saying Gerry’s ghost was here, at the hospital? And he talked to you? He told you to come find me?”

  “Yes,” Veronica said. She ran her fingers over her thighs, hoping the denim would soak up the sweat on her palms. “He said you were feeling very low. In fact, he implied you were going to attempt suicide, or at least that the hospital staff believed you would, because they would be putting you in 72-hour hold soon.”

  Liz’s eyes widened. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  Tell her I still remember the day with the ladybugs. Tell her I bet some of them are still on the roses at Aunt Lanie’s house. They had to have loved those roses—there were so many aphids for them to eat.

  Veronica took a shaky breath. “Okay, Liz, I know you don’t believe me, but Gerry’s here now.” Liz recoiled, pushing herself away against her pillows. “He says he remembers the day with the ladybugs! On the roses at Aunt Lanie’s house, with all the aphids.”

  Liz frowned. “He could have told you about that one of the times you talked to him.”

  Tell her I was with her this morning. I know she has her knife hidden under the mattress. I know what she plans to do with—that’s why they’ll put her in 72 hour hold.

  “You have a knife hidden under your mattress,” Veronica said. “You were planning to hurt yourself with it.”

  Liz stared at her then.

  “How would you know that?” she asked with a sharp shake of her head. “Have you been watching me?”

  “No,” Veronica said.

  Tell her I’m sorry about all the times I disappointed her. And I’m sorry I got shot and left her this way.

  In a soft voice, Veronica relayed the message. Liz’s eyes filled with tears again.

  “I don’t believe you,” she whispered.

  She called her mom and tried to get her to help—Liz was hoping her mom would ask her to come live with her, but she didn’t say so. Her mom was as hateful as always, though, and she won’t help her at all.

  Veronica’s heart broke for Liz. She was just another kid with an abusive parent, in the end. She’d just grown up. What could Veronica possibly do for her?

  With a deep breath she repeated what Gerry had said.

  Liz dug her fingers into the blanket. “How could you know that? How could you know what I was hoping she’d say? Even Gerry wouldn’t have said anything to you about my mom, and if he did, he’d have said I never talked to her, and that I wanted nothing to do with her. Because as far as he knew, that was true. I only called her after I got here.”

  “He can see you now,” Veronica said. “He’s been staying close to you. He’s really worried about you.”

  “It’s a little too late for that, Gerry,” Liz said, choking back a sob. Her sorrowful eyes found Veronica’s. “Is it true? Is he really here?”

  Veronica nodded quickly.

  Liz shuddered and covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know if I can handle this,” she said through her fingers. “I can’t face him.”

  Tell her it’s okay. I already know what’s in her heart, and I think she’s right.

  Considering he’d already implied that Liz was planning to try to kill herself, Veronica wasn’t sure she wanted to repeat what Gerry said.

  I want what’s best for her and for our son. I would never hurt either of them.

  “Fine,” Veronica murmured. She told Liz what he had said.

  Shaking her head, Liz wiped tears from her face. “That can’t be true. There’s no way that’s true.”

  “What does he mean?” Veronica asked. “What does he think you’re right about?”


  “He can’t think I’m right. You’re either hearing him wrong or this whole thing is a lie!”

  Tell him what I said about Simeon’s parents. How they’re here.

  Veronica really balked at that. She had no intention of telling Liz to give up her child.

  Please.

  “No,” Veronica said in a low voice.

  Liz watched her. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Veronica said, more vehemently than she intended. “It’s nothing.”

  “What?” Liz demanded. “What did he say?”

  “Nothing,” Veronica said.

  “Tell me!”

  “Not unless you tell me what he was talking about. About you being right.”

  Liz grimaced and looked away. She said nothing for a time, and then sighed. “Fine. Maybe he needs to hear me say it. Maybe then he’ll say I’m wrong.”

  Keeping quiet, Veronica waited.

  “I want to give him up. My baby. I want to give him away.”

  “Oh,” Veronica breathed.

  “There. See? What’s he saying now? Is he throwing a fit?”

  Veronica shook her head. “No, he was right. He did know what you wanted. He does think that you’re right.”

  “What?”

  Shifting uncomfortably, Veronica explained, “That’s why he wanted me to come talk to you. I wasn’t going to do it, though. He wanted me to tell you that Simeon’s parents are here, in the hospital. One of them is that friend I told you about—my friend who got sick. He and his partner have been trying to adopt, and they’ve have some disappointments. Gerry wants them to have Simeon.”

  Liz just stared at her.

  “I wasn’t going to say anything. It’s not my place,” Veronica said. “But Gerry—he’s very pushy, you know?”

  With a smile like a grimace, Liz raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Yes. Yes he is.”

  Veronica thought it best to stop talking and see what Liz would say about Gerry’s message. For a while, Liz didn’t say anything at all.

  Liz began smoothing the covers over her belly. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” she said in a whisper. “Even before Gerry died. I’ve been so scared. I want a family more than anything, but I’ve barely kept it together since we decided to keep him, and before that I—I didn’t make the best choices. I’m so scared of what might happen to him if I keep him.”