by L. J. Parker
Rosalie was up, sitting in her usual chair at the table, but not looking strong enough to do battle.
Dorothy sat with an open notebook in front of her, Monte Blank pen poised. Henry Wainsworth had a stack of three legal pads with pages folded open on each one. His expression was glum when he looked up at Cassie.
Dorothy spoke first. “I understand you’ve been out running errands along with whatever work you’ve managed on the book you were hired to write.”
Cassie glanced at Rosalie. Dark circles under her eyes contradicted her happy smile.
“Yes, that’s correct,” Cassie answered. She laid the satchel on the table, ignoring Dorothy’s raised eyebrows. To Rosalie she said, “I’ll get the other chair.” Then she left the room without another word.
Bea was in the laundry when Cassie passed that direction. They nodded to each other, and then Bea continued ringing out a presoaked item from the washtub, and moved it to the washing machine.
Cassie found Harvey Richards behind the closed door in Rosalie’s bedroom, smoothing a clean sheet on her bed while a pile with bloodstains lay aside on the floor. The French doors stood open letting in fresh air and sunlight, almost erasing the sickness smells. Almost – but not completely.
Cassie nodded hello and went straight to the closet.
“I’ll get that for you,” Harvey said, moving toward her. “Miss Rosalie said to wait for you before I get it out.” He bent down and lifted the heavy printer box, and shifted it into balance. “You shouldn’t be moving this thing anyway. You need anything else, you just come get me and I’ll take care of it.”
Cassie thanked him, and collected the chair to follow him to the kitchen where the others waited. While she set the chair at her usual space next to the wall, Harvey set the box on the floor and lifted out the printer, positioning it on the table between Cassie and Dorothy.
“What is this?” Dorothy demanded, watching Harvey unwind cords so Cassie could plug them into the back of the thing.
“Henry needs a copy of everything to do his part.” Cassie spoke in patronizing monotone, keeping her attention on the equipment until everything was plugged in, turned on, and loading drivers for the printer and computer to communicate.
“I’m sure the plan was for Rosalie to redline any facts she wants changed before passing the manuscript to Henry . . . ?”
Henry’s eyes widened, flitted toward Dorothy, and then closed as his head tilted down to avoid more contact.
Cassie felt sorry for him, growing up as Dorothy’s younger sibling. Maybe that was why he chose a career that kept him in foreign countries. Cassie wouldn’t be surprised if he left again as soon as they were finished with this project.
But she couldn’t let Henry’s problems distract her today. She dug the first manila envelope from the bottom of the box and handed it to him. “Here’s the original manuscript Rosalie typed. I have a copy of everything scanned into my computer if I need it again.”
She sat in her chair and pressed a few keys to send the first twenty pages to the printer, explaining, “This first batch of 120 pages has been reviewed already. I want to--”
“Really, Cassandra!” Dorothy broke in, glaring. “You are wasting everyone’s time with this nonsense! Bea and Harvey need to be packing and preparing to move before the Health Department comes to evict them, and I’ve got to arrange for a suitable place for Rosalie’s care.”
Cassie raised her chin to glare right back. “Actually, that’s not correct.”
Cassie would have given anything for a camera to capture the expression on Dorothy’s face. But she forced herself to ignore the woman she needed to sign more paychecks, and turned to rest her hand on Rosalie’s.
She kept her voice low and soothing. “Rosalie, I have confirmation this morning that the eviction notice is void. The head of the Health Department will be back late next week to address any other complaints, and will assist us in dealing with them.”
Rosalie’s eyes glistened. Her smile said she was grateful, but her voice showed enough defeat to break Cassie’s heart. “You have done such a wonderful job with everything, Cassie,” she said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you, but the money’s gone and we can’t--”
“Actually, we can,” Cassie broke in gently. “We’ll have a police report showing embezzlement of the missing funds, and my dad says that should get us at least partial reimbursement from the insurance company. It won’t come as fast as we need it, but--”
“Embezzlement?” Rosalie looked more confused than shocked.
“Yes,” Cassie confirmed. “But Dorothy can help, and so can my parents. We just need to get a few things taken care of right away to get back on the state contract so none of the men will be affected.”
Dorothy harrumphed. “Please do tell how you expect this to happen?”
Cassie faced Dorothy squarely, and lied with enough conviction to fool even herself.
“I expect the Health Department will sign off on everything as soon as the laundry is remodeled with new equipment, and a little remodeling in this kitchen to add a sanitizing dishwasher. I’m sure you’ll want to handle that yourself--”
“What . . . ?” Dorothy sputtered.
“—and you might want to arrange a lease contract on a new car for Baylin House to use. Maybe a nice minivan, or an SUV like you always rent for yourself.”
“You are completely out of line, Cassandra!”
“Maybe,” Cassie acknowledged. She reached sideways to grasp Rosalie’s hand. “Most probably, in fact, and do it before Wednesday afternoon . . . ,” Cassie paused to soften her gaze and connect with Rosalie, then she continued, “Because Wednesday afternoon Rosalie will have a visit from her daughter. I understand you want to meet her too.”
Dorothy gasped.
Rosalie’s hand flinched and tried to pull back. Cassie wouldn’t let go. She dipped her head to hold Rosalie’s tear-filled eyes. “She wants very much to spend some time with you, Rosalie. I told her I thought you’d like that.”
Rosalie nodded cautiously. That was all the encouragement Cassie needed.
“And if Wednesday’s visit goes as well as I expect it to, I’ll be taking a personal day off this Thursday.”
The End
Thank You for Reading Baylin House
I hope you enjoyed meeting Cassie and getting to know her. She and the people of Baylin House have been like family on my mind for many years. If you’d like to know more about them, or have comments about their stories, (or just want to say hello, and I’d love that!) please visit me at:
http://apps.byljparker.com/Blog/
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
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sp; Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Thank You for Reading Baylin House
