Cover-Up

by Ruth Langan

  It was a scene Emily had been enjoying since she was born. The Brennan family had lived in this big house for three generations. Their home, The Willows, was part of a wonderful collection of turn-of-the-century mansions that sat along the shore of Lake Michigan, hugging the water’s edge like faded dowagers.

  Emily’s grandparents had bought the house more than fifty years ago, and had immersed themselves in the life of the community. Her grandfather, Frank Brennan, was a retired judge and gentleman farmer, though his gardens now contained flowers instead of vegetables. He spent every spare moment working on his inventions, though no one could recall one that served any particular purpose other than to amuse him.

  His wife, Alberta, an English teacher whom the family affectionately called Bert, had been a fixture at the local high school for four decades. Her announcement that she was retiring had left the community, and her family, stunned.

  Bert was a sea of calm in this stormy, volatile family of achievers. Emily glanced at her with affection. If the world were coming to an end, her grandmother would find something soothing to say about it.

  When her son Christopher had returned from a medical internship in Chicago with his bride Charlotte, called Charley by all who knew her, a wing had been added to The Willows for the newlyweds. Chris and his beautiful Charley had quickly been absorbed into the house, and into the community as well. Chris established himself as town doctor, and had built a clinic in the rear of the house. Charley raised their four daughters while starting her own real estate firm, which now routinely handled the sale of million-dollar houses being built on the few remaining parcels of waterfront land.

  “I’m glad you could get away to join us for lunch, Em.” Charley was wrapping vegetables in foil, crimping the edges to hold the moisture before placing them on the grill.

  “I wouldn’t miss it. Especially today.” Emily crossed the brick-paved patio furnished with a mix of contemporary wrought-iron furniture and comfortable heirloom wicker pieces that her sister Courtney had found for her grandparents on her last buying trip to Europe. Courtney owned a gift shop in town, and lived in the tiny apartment above it. Her impeccable taste was reflected in the pots of geraniums and ivy offering bright islands of color on the terraced lawn that sloped to the water’s edge.

  Emily smiled at the sight of her sister Sidney arranging pale-pink roses and baby’s breath in a vase. To an artist like Sid, the color, the symmetry, the beauty of the presentation, were as essential as the food they would eat. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise Emily to learn that her sister simply forgot to eat for days at a time. How else did she explain that tiny figure?

  “It’s a grand day, isn’t it?” Bert continued setting the table with colorful napkins and pretty crystal plates.

  All that was missing to complete this cozy picture, Emily thought with a quick flash of pain, was her father. When she’d left Devil’s Cove to pursue a medical career at University Hospital, he’d been so proud that one of his children was following in his footsteps. It had never occurred to her that he wouldn’t be around for years to offer sage advice.

  Emily had thought her days in her grandparents’ house, like those of her three sisters, would consist mainly of occasional visits. Yet here she was keeping a deathbed promise to her father to carry on his practice until a replacement could be found, and living once again in her childhood home.

  It hadn’t been easy giving up her hard-won independence. Still, her family seemed to understand, and worked hard at giving her the space she needed to make the adjustment.

  Her grandfather looked up from the grill. “Emily, we could use those fine surgeon’s hands to fillet this salmon.”

  That brought a round of laughter from the others.

  Though Frank Brennan had traded in his judicial robes for a golf shirt and casual slacks more than a dozen years ago, he still had a commanding courtroom presence, which he used to his advantage whenever it suited him.

  Emily joined in the laughter. “I always knew my medical training would come in handy for something, Poppie.” Her childhood nickname for him rolled easily off her tongue.

  “That’s my girl.” He brushed a kiss over Emily’s cheek as she picked up a knife and neatly sliced through the fish.

  He arranged the fillets on the grill and was rewarded by the hiss and snap of the fire as they began to cook.

  “Trudy,” he bellowed, and turned to find their housekeeper standing right behind him. “Why do you always sneak up on me like that?”

  “I don’t sneak.” Trudy Carpenter was as wide as she was tall, with big capable hands and a voice, after a lifetime of smoking three packs a day, that sounded like a rusty hinge. Her face was deeply lined, her hair the color and texture of cotton balls.

  His tone was accusing. “You blindsided me.”

  “Easy enough to do, since you never look before hollering.” The old woman sniffed and held out a tray of glasses. “Judge, Miss Bert says you’re to drink a tall glass of water before lunch.”

  “Let Bert drink the water.” He picked up a tumbler of his favorite Scotch and winked at his granddaughter before lifting it to his lips.

  “Beats me why you always try to fight it.” Emily gave him a quick nudge with her elbow. This was an argument these old people had been waging for a lifetime. One they seemed to thoroughly enjoy. “You’ll just have to drink the water later.”

  “Later is better than now.” He grinned. “I’ll have food in my stomach later.”

  Overhearing him, Hannah gave a throaty laugh. “You’d better hope you never have to give Poppie any medicine, Em. If you think he’s finicky about water, wait till you see him try to swallow something nasty.”

  Emily grinned. “I’ll make sure it’s cherry-flavored, like the medicine we give the children.”

  “That’ll work,” his wife called from across the patio. “Since he’s just a big kid at heart.”

  “And you like me that way, Bert.” He blew her a kiss before turning the salmon, all the while muttering that he needed to invent a better spatula.

  His family had no doubt that would be his next project.

  When the fish was ready, he transferred it to a platter and the family took their places around the glass-topped table. Frank Brennan was in his favorite wicker chair, sporting the contented look he always wore when surrounded by his women. His handsome Irish face was deeply creased with laugh lines. His lion’s mane of white hair showed off his ruddy complexion, made even deeper by the summer sun.

  His wife was seated at the other end of the table, her soft cap of gray curls dancing in the breeze that perpetually blew off the waters of Lake Michigan.

  Charley sat on one side of the table, between Hannah and Courtney, while Emily and Sidney sat across from them.

  Emily passed a basket of rolls to her grandmother. “I still can’t believe your retirement party is this week. Are you ready for your big kickoff night?”

  “Probably more so than you. I hear the tribute committee has been pestering you with calls all morning.”

  Emily sighed. “Now I know why they asked me to be the chairman of this tribute. Every time they need something done, they call their chairman and dump it all in my lap.”

  Hannah looked around the table and grinned. “That’s because you have Sucker written on your forehead.”

  Emily joined in the laughter at her expense and accepted a piece of salmon, then held the platter while her grandmother selected one for herself. “I didn’t have a clue what I was signing up for.”

  “It’ll soon be over and you can get back to a normal life.” Frank took a taste of salmon. Pleased with his efforts, he tucked into his meal.

  “I have a bit of news.” Charley paused to glance at her family. “You know the developer that bought that last big chunk of Prentice Osborn’s lakeside property?”

  The others nodded.

  “The rumors were all true. The town council approved his plan to build homes and condominiums around a world-class golf c
ourse, yacht club, restaurants and shops.” She paused a beat before saying softly, “My agency will be representing it.”

  “Oh, Mom.” Hannah gave her mother a fierce hug, before Courtney pressed a kiss to her mother’s cheek.

  Sidney and Emily were on their feet and racing around the table to do the same.

  “Christopher would be so proud of you, Charley.” Frank lifted his glass in a salute and the others joined him.

  Charley glanced at her daughters. “Actually this development has been a boon for all the Brennans. The architect’s interior designer has already given Courtney a list of some of the things he’ll be wanting for the models. And when he saw some of Sidney’s work, he decided to commission her to paint a mural on the walls of the foyer. There’s talk of having her do the ceiling of the dining room as well.”

  At the news, Sidney beamed. “Mom, are you sure?”

  Charley grinned at the sweet redhead who had always been the dreamy artist in the family. Since losing her young fiancé to illness two years earlier, she’d become even more introverted and reclusive. Though her family was concerned, they knew she had to work through the grief in her own time.

  “I’m sure. And I’m sure whatever you paint will be the talk of the town.” She sipped her lemonade before adding, “On top of that, Hannah has been given the contract for all the landscaping.”

  Her grandfather arched a brow at his granddaughter. “That ought to pay your greenhouse loan for a year or two.”

  That had them all smiling. Hannah had gone deeply into debt to finance new greenhouses for her fledgling nursery and landscape business.

  She ran her fingers through her short blond bob. “This is a dream job. When Mom told me, I didn’t believe her at first. But now that I’ve had a chance to look at the blueprints, I realize I’ll have to double or even triple my crew to handle it. Not that I’m complaining. By the time I’m through with this contract, there won’t be anyone in Devil’s Cove who hasn’t heard of Hannah’s Gardening and Landscape.”

  Her grandfather looked at her with affection. “I always knew your knack for gardening would pay off one day. You inherited that from me.”

  “Speaking of inheritance…” Emily took a final bite of salmon before pushing away from the table. “I have to get back to the clinic. I want to leave early this afternoon so I can see what the committee did with the decorations for tonight’s kickoff cocktail party.” She paused by her grandmother’s side and bent to press a kiss to her cheek before rounding the table to do the same to her mother. “I’m so proud of you, Mom.”

  “Thanks, honey.”

  “But I think you’re about to become awfully busy.”

  “I don’t mind. I can’t wait.” Charlotte laid a hand on her daughter’s arm. “We’ll all see you at the party tonight. I know you and your committee will do a fine job.”

  After kissing her grandfather and congratulating her sisters on their good news, Emily made her way inside. A glance at the clock told her she had less than five minutes before her first afternoon patient. She hurried toward the clinic at the rear of the house.

  Chapter 2

  “You just about finished, Doc?” The sixteen-year-old boy lying on the examining table had his teeth clenched so tightly he could hardly get the question out.

  “Almost done, Cody.” Emily tied off the final stitch while her assistant, Melissa, mopped at the blood on the boy’s thigh. “Just another minute.”

  When she finished, Emily straightened, slipping off her latex gloves, and turned to the boy’s mother, who was hovering in a far corner of the examining room, looking anywhere but at her son’s bloody calf. “Janet, I’ll give you a prescription for pain so Cody can sleep tonight.”

  “I don’t need stuff for pain.” The boy swung his legs over the side of the table and turned pasty-white as the blood rushed from his head. He looked down at the crimson stains that smeared the front of his baseball uniform and swallowed hard.

  “You may not think so now,” Emily steadied him with a hand to his shoulder, giving him a chance to clear his head without embarrassing him. “But when this wears off you might want to have something, just in case.”

  When his color returned she crossed the room and wrote on a notepad, then tore off the page and handed it to his mother. “He’ll be fine, Janet. But he ought to skip practice until those stitches come out. I wouldn’t want to see him tear that wound open.”

  “Thanks, Dr. Brennan.” Janet Adams gave a laugh as she shook her head from side to side. “Dr. Brennan. Seems like I’ve been saying that all my life. Except now it’s to you instead of your father.” She looked down at the prescription, avoiding Emily’s eyes. “I’m glad you’ve stayed on in Devil’s Cove. The town just wouldn’t feel the same without a Doctor Brennan in it.”

  “That’s nice.” Emily felt a twinge of pain before she managed a smile. “Next time you dive for home plate, Cody, try to avoid the other guy’s spikes.”

  “Okay, Doc.” The boy grinned self-consciously.

  As he eased off the table and headed toward the door Emily stopped him. “By the way, Cody. Who won?”

  “We did, Doc. By one run.”

  She laughed. “I guess that’s worth a few stitches.”

  “You bet.”

  She was still laughing when the boy and his mother left.

  She turned to her assistant. “Is that the last patient?”

  Melissa shook her head. “Prentice Osborn is here with his brother, Will. I put them in the other room.”

  The Osborn family was the most prominent in Devil’s Cove. Prentice, a former classmate of Emily’s, had more than doubled his family fortune in the past ten years. It was his grandfather who’d had the foresight to buy up the choice acreage dotted with farms. In recent years a bidding war by developers eager to build hotels and condos on the property had made Prentice more money than his grandfather could have ever dreamed possible.

  Even if Prentice hadn’t turned a fortune, the townspeople would have admired him for his tireless care of his severely handicapped brother. Will Osborn, with his garbled speech and unsteady gait, was treated gently by all the citizens of Devil’s Cove. He was routinely handed his favorite sugar cookies at the bakery. Whenever he visited the diner he was given a grilled cheese sandwich and a chocolate malt, free of charge.

  To thank them, Prentice was more than generous to the town that sheltered his brother. He gave freely of his time and money to various charities around town. A new wing at the University Hospital now bore the names of his deceased parents.

  Emily smiled at the two men. “Hello, Prentice. Will. What brings you here?”

  Prentice Osborn, tall, with sun-streaked golden hair, took charge. “Will’s been tugging on his ear. I think it’s another infection.”

  Emily turned to the older brother, who was watching her with the wary eyes of a frightened child, so at odds with his almost graying hair and stooped shoulders. “Have you been swimming in the mill pond again, Will?”

  The man shrugged and stared hard at the floor.

  “It’s okay, Will.” Prentice spoke to his brother the way one would speak to a child. “You can tell Dr. Brennan the truth. Have you been swimming in the mill pond?”

  His brother nodded shyly.

  “Well, let’s have a look.”

  Before Emily could step closer Will hunched his shoulders and cringed.

  Prentice sent her a pleading look. “Will was poked and prodded by too many doctors when he was young. Do you think you could give him a sedative to take the edge off his nerves?”

  Emily nodded her understanding and reached for a syringe. “This won’t hurt, Will.” She moved so quickly he didn’t even have time to react. To his brother she said, “Dilaudid. Just two milligrams. Enough to quiet him, but not so much he’ll have any reaction. Now, Will.” She indicated the examining table and the shy man sat on the edge and watched as she sorted through her instruments. When she bent close he breathed her in and, relaxed
now and enjoying the faint scent of her perfume, grinned like an errant schoolboy.

  It took only a moment’s examination to see the evidence. “I’ll bet this has been giving you some pain, Will.”

  He nodded.

  “It’ll be much improved by tomorrow.” She used a dropper to dispense liquid into the ear, then wrote on a notepad and tore it off, handing it to his brother. “He’ll need to take this antibiotic for a full ten days. I’ll want to see him then, to make certain the infection is completely cleared up.”

  Prentice put an arm around his brother’s shoulders. “Come on, Will. Let’s go home and take Dr. Brennan’s medicine. Before you know it you’ll be feeling as good as new.” He helped his brother from the table. As he followed Will from the room he turned. “Would you like me to pick you up for tonight’s cocktail party, Emily?”

  She shook her head. “Thanks, Prentice. But I’ll be heading up there early to see to some of the last-minute details.”

  “Then I’ll see you there.”

  When he and Will were gone, Emily looked up as Melissa poked her head in the examining room. “You’ve had three calls in the last hour from the tribute committee. They’re waiting for you at the Harbor House. They want you to check out the ballroom for tonight’s kickoff party.”

  Emily sighed. “Why did I ever agree to chair this tribute to my grandmother?”

  “Because you love her. We all do. And because nobody else in town was willing to see to all the little details the way you do.”

  “Yeah.” Emily laughed. “Like they say, the devil is in the details.” She began unbuttoning her white lab coat. “I’ll run over to the Harbor House and see what they’ve done. But I have no intention of getting roped into making any changes in the decorations at this late date.”