Too Far Under
Page 28
It was like a hundred-pound weight had fallen from my shoulders! I burst into tears of gratitude and relief, fueled by my utter exhaustion. Lacey came over and hugged me close as I sobbed out the stress I’d accumulated. Then I dried my eyes, thanked them all profusely and told them I needed to leave so I could visit my grandmother who I hadn’t seen since Saturday.
“I’ll walk you out,” Shane said, getting up and following me to the door. “I have a couple more questions about the art fraud.”
As we walked down the hospital corridor to the elevators, Shane pulled me over to a small sitting area. “I don’t actually have questions,” he said. “I wanted to talk to you about Grandad, but I didn’t want to do it in front of Angelica. I don’t want her thinking about any more upsetting stuff today.” He sat and motioned me to a chair next to him.
I sat and waited silently for him to continue. “Dad and I met with the Coroner about Grandad’s autopsy results and death report,” he said quietly. “The official cause of death is listed as severe craniocerebral trauma with intracranial bleedings and cerebral contusions. The coroner ruled it accidental death resulting from a fall down the stairs. We pressed him about whether he could tell if Grandad had been pushed, and he admitted he couldn’t. But he said that Grandad had been drinking—no surprise there—and that the police assessed the scene and found no evidence of foul play. So everything points to accidental death.” Shane sounded exasperated.
“You sound annoyed with the findings,” I said. Then I sat back to give him an opportunity to continue.
“I’m sure Glenna pushed him,” Shane said, “but there’s no way I can prove it. I was thinking that if you could help me contact Grandad, maybe I could get some evidence that would help us pin this on her.”
What? He wanted me to help his family track down another murderer? Inside I was screaming No! No way! but I choked the words down and stayed silent. I forced myself to sit quietly in my seat. I knew he was coming from grief and anger. I understood and totally sympathized. I’ve been very close to my grandparents all my life, and I know how vulnerable old people can become. The idea of anyone taking advantage of them in any way disgusts me. But I knew I couldn’t take on another cause.
I tried to let him down easy. “Did you know that Lacey already contacted your grandfather?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes, but she didn’t find out anything about who pushed him.”
“Vernon told her it was his time to go,” I reminded Shane, “and that’s all he would say about the fall. Even if you do contact him, I don’t think you’re likely to get anything more.”
“I just want to try,” Shane begged. “Can’t we just give it one more try?”
I couldn’t face any more arguing with him, so I finally said; “I’ll think about it and get back to you in a few days.” But I knew I was done helping the Townes family. I needed to get back to my own life and spend some time reviewing and rethinking the choices I’d made.
Chapter 42
When you get a life-changing surprise, you want to share the news with someone close to you, ideally someone who has time to listen and talk. My bombshell came on Tuesday afternoon, a week after that horrible Tuesday when Angelica and I were kidnapped.
I had spent the morning moving Gramma into a comfy, sunny room at Glenwood GardensMary Ellen, Joanna and Betsy’s new assisted living house. As promised, it was small and homelike with a fireplace in the living room, plants everywhere, a resident cat, and a deck and a yard where residents could walk and sit. I especially loved the open kitchen where everyone could eat together family style at a large dining table. Gramma seemed at home there right away thanks to staff and other residents she knew from Shady Terrace.
I was home alone in the afternoon when I got my shocking news. I wanted to share it right away, but only in an in-person conversation. I called Pablo, but he said he was busy all afternoon and evening. Then I called Elisa. She said she had news to share too and could meet me later.
It was Halloween, so we agreed to meet on the Pearl Street Mall at 5:00 to see the little kids parading in costumes and trick-or-treating for candy at the stores along the mall. Then we’d go to the Rio for dinner and a long talk. Sounded great. I was looking forward to meeting up with Elisa. I hadn’t seen her for nearly two weeks, mostly because she’d been out of town at a conference most of last week when everything was blowing up in my face.
After the crises were over, I’d filled her in by phone on Faye and everything that had happened. And accepted the tongue-lashing I knew I’d get for getting myself into a life-threatening mess yet again. Or in her words, “Honey, if you want to live to be old, you need to learn to back away from serious shit like that before it sticks to you.”
What could I say? She had warned me to stay out of the Townes family drama, and maybe she was right. Still, now that it was over, I wasn’t actually sorry that I’d followed Tyler’s directives to stay involved and help Angelica. Despite the trauma Angelica and I went through, the overall results were positive. In the past week Faye had been charged with kidnapping and art fraud, and the police had reopened their investigation of Mirabel’s death.
Best of all, Derrick had come to realize how precious Angelica is to him and started giving her priority over Judith, who had huffily moved back to her own place. There was no more talk of sending Angelica away to school. And she had an exciting new activity.
With Shane’s help, Derrick had purchased a comprehensive art-gallery-software-management system to get the gallery’s finances in shape. He had turned the day-to-day operation of the gallery over to Lacey to run with the assistance of a consultant. And, as long as she kept up with her schoolwork, Angelica was going to spend weekends helping at the gallery.
But I wasn’t going to try to justify my actions to Elisa by listing off all these good outcomes. I hadn’t seen her for two weeks and I just wanted to enjoy hanging out together on the mall, then go to the Rio, hear her news and tell her mine.
We strolled among princesses, Spidermen, Elmos, vampires, Batmen and other less-identifiable characters, some squealing in excitement, others crying in exhaustion. The kids were adorable, but also demanding. I was impressed with how handily parents steered them through the crowd while tiny voices clamored, “I don’t like that kind of candy,” “I need to go potty,” and “I’m thirsty.”
“Thinking of thirsty,” Elisa said with a grin. “Let’s head over to the Rio. I hear a margarita calling me.”
It was early, so we got a table right away. A server wearing a unicorn Halloween costume brought us chips, salsa and water. Then a sexy-looking Wonder Woman in thigh-high red boots and a short blue skirt appeared to take our drink orders. “Rocks, salt,” Elisa said, using Rio shorthand for a margarita on the rocks in a salt-rimmed glass. “Same?” she asked giving me a quick glance.
“No,” I said slowly. “I’ll have a ginger ale.”
“No way,” Elisa said, laughing. “She’ll have the rocks, salt. She’s just trying to get me going.”
“No,” I said firmly, waving Wonder Woman away, “I’ll have the ginger ale.”
After the server left, Elisa gave me her this-better-be-good look. “What gives? Have you converted to Scientology or what?”
“I’ll tell you later,” I said. “But first tell me your news.”
“Only if you agree to explain your conversion from the world’s best margaritas to ginger ale.”
“I will, but it might take some time. So tell me your news first.”
“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “Here it is. Tim Grosso was hit so hard by finding out that Faye wasn’t who he thought she was that he’s taking a leave of absence to go off to a Buddhist retreat center for six months. And I’m going to be the interim chair of the Psych Department.”
“Wow!” I said. “That’s great. And kind of amazing since you just got tenure.”
“I know. But department politics are strange, as you know. I guess he thought I’d be a good choice since I�
��m not part of one of the established factions. Anyway, that’s my news. Now what’s up with you?”
The server brought my ginger ale and Elisa’s margarita, which sure looked tasty. After she left, I took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant,” I said, “so no alcohol.”
For maybe the first time in her life, Elisa was speechless. She stared at me, took a big swig of her drink, then finally spoke. “Is this good news? Are you happy?”
“Yes,” I said thoughtfully. “I think I am.”
“What about Pablo? What does he think?”
“I haven’t told him yet. I just found out this afternoon when I peed on the stick. I didn’t want to tell him on the phone, so I called him and invited him to dinner so we could talk. He said he couldn’t come tonight because he’d promised to help a friend move after work. I’ll see him tomorrow. But I wanted to talk about it today. So I called you.”
Elisa looked thoughtful. Didn’t make her usual quick comeback. Finally she said, “What do you want him to say?”
That was a good question that opened up a long conversation about life and love, choices and commitment, uncertainty, and planning for the future. Elisa pushed me in the good way that only she can to focus on what really matters to me. It was a satisfying talk, but I couldn’t resolve what I wanted from Pablo.
Finally I tried to sum it up for Elisa this way, “On the one hand, Pablo’s a very sweet guy who would make a terrific dad. He cares deeply about family and is a loving uncle to his nieces and nephews. We love each other and we have great sex. But on the other hand, we also have our issues with trust and commitment. Mia is a good example, and I still don’t know what his relationship with her is.”
Elisa listened thoughtfully, then asked, “What do you think is behind your and Pablo’s hesitance to commit to each other?”
As soon as she asked, the problem was clear to me. “I think he’s too bossy. He takes over and I feel swallowed up by him. He thinks I’m too flaky. I can’t imagine him ever believing in my Contact Project or accepting that Tyler is more than a figment of my imagination.” I stopped, took a deep breath, and said the scariest part. “I really don’t know whether a permanent relationship—should I say marriage? —is in the cards for us.”
Elisa nodded. No judgement that I could see. “But the baby?” she asked.
Again my answer was crystal clear. “Whatever happens between Pablo and me, I want this child,” I said earnestly. “I’m thirty-seven years old and I want to be a mother. I didn’t plan this baby, but I see her or him as a gift.” I smiled. “Who knows? Maybe my child will be an Indigo.”
###
Acknowledgements
Again I acknowledge Raymond Moody, M.D.'s Reunions (Villard Books, 1993), which was the inspiration for Cleo's Contact Project. Also, Afterlife Encounters by Dianne Arcangel (Hampton Roads Publishing, 2005), and the Indigo Children, by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober (Hay House 1999) were helpful references as I wrote this book.
Many thanks to those who read and edited drafts of this book, especially Marian, Janet and Andrea from my Boulder Media Women's critique group.
As always my husband, Allan, and my daughter, Laurel, were my go-to readers who went through draft after draft, giving me useful notes and unwavering support. I couldn't have done it without them.
Other books by Lynn Osterkamp:
Too Near the Edge (first novel in the Cleo & Tyler mystery series)
Stress? Find Your Balance (nonfiction)
How to Deal with Your Parents When They Still Treat You Like a Child (nonfiction)
For information, visit Lynn Osterkamp’s website at:
http://www.lynnosterkamp.com
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42