by Leona Karr
Courtney wanted to protest that it would be midwinter before Jamie would be big enough for some of the new outfits. Surely Devanna wasn’t thinking she and the baby were going to live somewhere else with her when summer was over? The thought of living year round with her eccentric aunt was enough to curdle her stomach. The few weeks she’d spent on the houseboat had been less than comfortable. If it hadn’t been for Neil, they would have been close to unbearable, and she’d already begun to make plans for an earlier departure than originally planned.
“You must have spent a bundle on all of this,” Courtney said.
“Our darling little boy is worth it.”
Courtney couldn’t figure out why her aunt was suddenly willing to spend money. She’d always been miserly about sharing the cost of groceries and necessities, making sure that Courtney paid her share or more. Now, the way she was suddenly spending money was a total shock. Courtney couldn’t figure it out.
Devanna replaced a lot of the baby’s bottles, nipples and other paraphernalia. She came back from her shopping trips carrying purchases that she took directly to her room. When the door was left open, Courtney could see boxes and sacks piled up on the top bunk.
When Courtney asked her about extra food supplies she was buying, Devanna just shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to be prepared.”
For what? Courtney was more puzzled than ever, but decided if Devanna had caught a shopping bug, there wasn’t any harm in it. Her mood was definitely improved.
She even invited Courtney to go shopping with her. “You could point out some more of the things the baby might be needing.”
“I can’t think of another thing,” Courtney answered honestly. “And I’m not much of a shopper.”
“I bought a couple of books about feeding him solid food, and all.” She hesitated. “I thought we might look through them together.”
Courtney doubted that she’d heard correctly. Was her aunt really reaching out to her. This offer to spend companionable time together took her completely by surprise.
“I’d like that,” she answered quickly. Maybe the kind of relationship she’d hoped for was going to develop between them after all. Her spirits lifted as the two of them sat down together and went through some of the books.
There were other changes in her aunt, too. She’d never been interested in sharing any of the cooking. More often than not, she fixed something for herself, or brought back something from a fast-food restaurant. She’d never made an effort to eat with Courtney.
“How about I bring home some carryout for supper for us?” she asked as she prepared to leave on one of her shopping trips.
Startled, Courtney responded, “Sounds good. Thank you.”
“There’s a good seafood place that has wonderful food. How about that?”
“Perfect.”
“Good, I’ll get some clam chowder and a couple of combo plates.”
Devanna’s sudden willingness to provide a meal for both of them bordered on the miraculous. Courtney couldn’t get over the change in her behavior. Even though Devanna’s possessiveness over Jamie was hard to take sometimes, Courtney couldn’t fault the obvious love she had for the baby.
While Courtney waited for her aunt to return, she spent the afternoon sitting on the deck with Jamie in his carrier. Restless, and unable to put Neil out of her mind, her eyes kept traveling across the lake, searching for a sign of his boat.
Her hope that he might have relented and would come to see her faded as the afternoon ended. There was a tightness in her chest as she tried to reassure herself that the shooter would not try to harm him again with the police alerted to the situation.
When Devanna returned, she had a new rattle for Jamie and two dinners from one of Manitou’s popular restaurants.
Courtney set the table, and Devanna dished out steaming bowls of chowder while Jamie played on a blanket with his new rattle.
“Plenty of clams and potatoes, that’s what I like,” Devanna said as she set the bowls on the counter. “And warm cornbread.”
As she reached for a piece, her elbow hit her water glass and tipped it right into her lap. She squealed, jumped up, and swore, “Damn it all!”
Drenched from the waist down, she started toward her bedroom. “Go ahead and eat. I’ll change and be right back.”
The aroma of the thick chowder had already stimulated Courtney’s taste buds, and she wasn’t about to argue. She dipped her spoon into the chowder, and had taken only a small sip when Jamie let out a howl.
“It’s all right, darling.”
He’d hit himself in the forehead with his new rattle, and she tried not to laugh at his surprised expression. As she bent down to pick up him, a fierce burning hit her in the pit of her stomach.
She groaned, nearly doubling over.
Leaving Jamie on the blanket, she covered her mouth with her hand and dashed to the bathroom. Groaning, she dropped to the floor in front of the toilet. Heaving and violently sick, weak and dizzy, she rid her stomach of the small amount of soup she’d consumed.
She wavered to her feet a few minutes later. A paralyzing weakness threatened her whole body as she stumbled out the bathroom door. Devanna stood there looking at her and holding the baby.
“The soup,” Courtney croaked. “It’s bad.”
“Oh, my God,” Devanna swore. “Are you sure?”
Courtney didn’t have the strength to answer. She barely made it to the lower bunk in her room and collapsed on it. Doubling up, she groaned and writhed, praying that the misery in her body would soon pass.
Thank God, Devanna was there to take care of Jamie, she thought, as her aunt hovered in the doorway, watching.
Courtney had never given a thought to what would happen to Jamie if she wasn’t around to take care of him. The near fatal shooting, and now food poisoning, brought home a frightening reality. There was no one on her side of the family but Devanna to take over the care of her son. He would be in good hands, she thought as the pain slowly subsided, and she finally fell into an exhausted sleep.
Her escape was short-lived. In the middle of the night, the painful trauma gave rise to a terrifying nightmare. She fled along the water’s edge with Jamie in her arms. Someone was at her heels, ready to snatch the baby from her—but she couldn’t see who it was. Hot breath seared the back of her neck, and a ghoulish cry filled her ears as she clutched the baby against her heaving breast. Suddenly she tripped and fell. A vague, threatening figure snatched Jamie out of her arms and disappeared into the fog-laced darkness.
Courtney cried aloud as she jerked awake and sat up with her heart pounding. The threat of losing the baby was so real that every muscle in her body tensed and perspiration beaded on her forehead. A mocking stillness was broken only by the never-ending lapping of water against the sides of the houseboat.
Jamie! Where was Jamie?
Then she remembered. The baby was safely in Devanna’s care. Apparently her cry had not awakened him or her aunt. She could see that the bassinet was gone, and decided her aunt had wisely taken it into her room for the night.
Toward early morning when she got up to go to the bathroom, she saw that Devanna’s door was still closed. Although still weak and shaky, her body had thankfully recovered from the small intake of the bad soup, and she made her way to the galley to fix herself some tea and toast.
She was surprised how clean everything was. The counter had been cleared, the sink emptied of dishes, and no sign of the treacherous clam chowder. Courtney shivered as she thought about what might have happened if she and her aunt had eaten the entire order. If Devanna hadn’t spilled the water, and Jamie hadn’t hit himself with the rattle, they both could be in the hospital with food poisoning.
She was stretched out of on the sofa when Devanna came in with the baby. A look of total surprise crossed her aunt’s face.
“I thought…you’d be…” Devanna stammered.
“Me, too,” Courtney admitted. “I still feel a little woozy, but I was l
ucky. We both were, considering how close we both came to getting deathly ill on the tainted soup.”
Devanna didn’t respond as she fixed Jamie’s bottle and sat down to feed him. Courtney knew she should probably take over with the baby, but she felt totally depleted.
Her aunt’s scowling expression clearly showed she was out of sorts about something. Resting her heavy head on one hand, Courtney asked, “Did Jamie keep you up? I’m sorry. I didn’t hear him fussing.”
Devanna made some noncommittal response, and Courtney had the impression that she was blaming her for getting sick. Irritated, Courtney said, “The clams in the chowder must have been bad, and gave me food poisoning.”
“Yes, the clams,” Devanna agreed.
“You should go back to that restaurant and complain.”
“I dumped all of it down the sink,” Devanna answered with obvious satisfaction. “No need to make a big fuss.”
Courtney didn’t bother to answer. She’d given up trying to follow the tangled mesh of her aunt’s thinking.
THAT MORNING WHEN Neil arrived at his office, he was surprised to find McGrady already there, interviewing the staff, one by one.
“Just plowing a little ground,” the detective explained. “You can never tell what a little spadework may dig up.”
“Feel free to dig away,” Neil said with a wave of his hand. “I haven’t been able to come up with anything that might connect Jensen’s murder with the attempt on my life. He was an accountant, not an investor.”
“Are you sure?” McGrady asked lazily. “We’ve discovered Harold Jensen had quite a bit of money tucked away. We’re looking into the possibility that he might have been a silent investor in some of Delaney and Woodword’s financial schemes.”
Neil’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe Jensen would keep something like that to himself. We had an honest relationship between us.”
McGrady leaned back in a chair and frowned as he stared into space. “There’s something here that I’m missing,” he mused. “I can’t get over a gut feeling that there’s a connection between Jensen’s shooting and yours.”
“What on earth would that be?”
“I’m not sure. The only common denominator seemed to be your company.”
When Neil told McGrady about his run-in with Jake Delaney, the detective wasn’t pleased.
“We don’t need an assault-and-battering charge messing up things. I reckon you’d better be holding on to that temper of yours.”
“I couldn’t help myself. His threats against me didn’t mean anything, but when he leveled them at Courtney, I blew.” Neil’s face flushed with anger just thinking about it. “She’s already been through enough. I decided to put some distance between us just to make sure she’s not an innocent victim again.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” McGrady agreed. “You need to watch your backside pretty close. Until we get something solid, better to err on the side of caution and stay away from her.”
“It’s not going to be easy,” Neil admitted.
“Seems like a nice lady,” McGrady commented with a knowing smile as he got to his feet. “Well, I’ll be moving along.”
“Will you keep me posted if there are any new developments?”
“Don’t hold your breath. There are a lot of loose ends, and I have a feeling nothing’s going to change much.”
He was wrong.
Later that afternoon, he called Neil with good news. A ripple of excitement coated every word. “The D.A. just announced that Delaney and Woodword have been arrested.”
“For the shooting?”
“No, for another illegal scam that came to light when the authorities were looking into their affairs. They found enough evidence for an indictment of fraud.”
Neil could hardly contain himself as he thanked the detective and hung up. Their arrest changed everything. Now Delaney’s threats against Courtney were null and void.
BY AFTERNOON, COURTNEY FELT she was once more among the living and, over Devanna’s protests, she took charge of Jamie again.
“Jealous, that’s what you are!” Giving a toss of her unnaturally red head, her aunt flounced out of the houseboat.
Courtney sighed as she heard her drive away. The harmony between them hadn’t lasted very long. They seemed to be back to square one in their relationship.
“Jamie, love,” Courtney cooed to the baby, “I think we both need some sun and fresh air.”
She took him out on the deck, and set his carrier down beside her chair and shaded his face. He quickly drifted off for his afternoon nap. She leaned her head back against the chair and closed her eyes. Exhausted from the night’s ordeal, and soothed by the warmth of the sun, she fell asleep.
The sound of a motorboat pulling into the dock woke her. Neil! Her first thought was one of joy, quickly followed by instant embarrassment. That morning she’d thrown on a faded pair of shorts, a baggy pullover, and had only given her hair a few perfunctory strokes.
“Oh, no! I look awful.” She braced herself to greet him as he anchored the boat, and came quickly around the deck to where she was sitting.
In contrast to her unkempt appearance, his crisp white slacks were neatly creased. A dark blue knitted pullover stretched across his chest, and his jaunty captain’s hat sat on the back of his head.
“What a surprise,” she said, trying her best to put some enthusiasm into the greeting.
His smile faded. “My God, what’s happened to you?”
Her complexion was a pasty yellow, her eyes heavy, and her lovely body slumped and lifeless as she sat there staring up at him.
“I…I’ve been sick,” she stammered. “But I’m fine now.”
“Sick? How? What?”
He pulled up a chair and reached for her hands. They felt cold as they clutched his. As he listened to her story, he was filled with a combination of relief and anger—relief because the food poisoning was a temporary condition, and anger because she’d been subjected to it at all.
When Courtney told him the name of the restaurant, he was surprised because it was one of Manitou’s most popular and reliable eating places.
“Did you see a doctor?”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t that sick. I mean, I got over it pretty fast.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I can see that. You’re a bundle of energy. Ready to take me on in another game of pool.”
“Well, maybe, not today,” she admitted with a sheepish smile. “But I’m glad you came by. I’m surprised, though. The last time we talked, you had decided to put some distance between us.”
“That’s why I’m here. I have some good news. Delaney and Woodword have been arrested.”
“For shooting at us?”
He shook his head. “No, for an illegal scam the authorities discovered as they looked into their affairs. They moved quickly to arrest them before they could get out of the country.”
“What a relief.” She felt tears swelling up in her eyes. Now Neil was safe.
“They haven’t admitted the vendetta against me, yet, but I’m sure they will. They have a pattern of violence.” Then he smiled at Courtney. “You know what this means? Lucky me, I’m free to hang around now as much as you’ll let me.”
Just being in his company was like a shower of light breaking through a dark cloud. How could she resist the warmth he brought into her dull life?
“I think that can be arranged,” she answered with mock solemnity.
He lifted one of her hands and brushed it with his lips. “I have to be out of town this week on business, but I’ll see you as soon as I get back.”
“I’ll miss you.”
He cupped her face with his hands as he kissed her, and murmured, “Me, too.”
As he turned to leave, a flicker of a shadow across the floor of the deck caught his eyes. Moving quickly around the corner of the houseboat, he came face-to-face with Devanna. Even though he knew she’d been standing there listening, he repeated what he’d just
told Courtney.
“I’m going to be gone a few days, but I’ll check on her as soon as I get back.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her.”
It was only later that he realized how her smile had been a mockery of the promise.
Chapter Eight
The next few days crept by at a snail’s pace. Courtney still wasn’t back to normal after the food poisoning, and she didn’t feel like doing much of anything. She slept, took care of Jamie, read a little and spent time sunning on the deck.
In sharp contrast, her aunt was the epitome of energy, bustling about in the houseboat, or coming and going in the van. She was obviously preoccupied, and only responded vaguely to Courtney’s occasional attempts at conversation.
“I have things to do.”
“If you wait until I feel better, I’ll help.”
“Don’t need your help.”
Devanna kept the small under-the-counter clothes washer and dryer going most of the day, washing an assortment of clothes Courtney had never seen her wear. Why the burst of energy, Courtney wondered.
She began marking off the days until Neil would return from his business trip. She knew she might be setting herself up for a fall if she became dependent upon his attention. For some reason he seemed taken with her and the baby at the moment, but who knew how long that would last.
She was totally surprised and pleased when his sister, Maribeth, came by midweek, and invited her and Jamie to a small luncheon gathering at her house the next afternoon.
Courtney readily accepted the invitation. Escaping a few hours from the gloomy houseboat, and her aunt’s indifferent company, would be a godsend.
“I’d love to come. How nice of you to ask me.”
“There’ll only be six of us. Nothing fancy,” Maribeth assured her.
When Courtney told her aunt about the luncheon, Devanna didn’t react in her usual negative way. In fact, she appeared to be glad Courtney was going to be gone from the houseboat for the afternoon.
