Wait. Mr. Daley called it in? “What does that mean?”
“Isn’t he your guy?”
“What do you mean, my guy?”
“The teacher at Lucy’s school you have a thing for,” Dave said patiently.
“I— How do you figure that? Your awesome powers of detection?”
“Are you going to tell me you don’t dress up special whenever it’s your day to drive Lucy to school?”
Eddie didn’t know anyone else was aware of why he dressed up. He thought he’d kept his interest in Lucy’s ultra-attractive young teacher pretty close to the vest. “Whatever. Thanks for the heads-up about Mrs. H. She was the best teacher I ever had. I hope nothing bad has happened to her.”
“Well, you know what they say: shit happens, and absolute shit happens absolutely.” Dave disconnected the call.
Eddie pulled into the school lot and parked again. As he got out of his car and headed toward Daley’s classroom, he noticed the police hadn’t arrived yet.
It was obvious where the problem was by the cluster of people gawking. Wouldn’t you know it, Daley was right in the middle of things, standing in the doorway to his classroom with an older woman clinging to his arm.
Eddie took a good look at her. It was Mrs. Henderson, all right. Even in the rough shape she was in, he’d have known her anywhere. “Mrs. Henderson?”
“Yes?” When she gazed up at him, a smile bloomed onto her face. “I know you. You’re Eddie Vasquez’s father.”
“No, ma’am. I’m Eddie.”
She frowned at that. “Eddie’s a wily one. I keep having to confiscate his playing cards. He’d goof around with them all day if I let him.”
Eddie met Daley’s eyes over Mrs. Henderson’s matted gray hair. “You have a really good memory.”
“I won’t forget Eddie anytime soon. He confounds me every day.”
“Mrs. Henderson, can you tell me what year it is?”
“It’s 1986.” She peered up at Eddie. “Are you all right, Mr. Vasquez?”
Just then, the police arrived. Everyone followed the progress of the two officers—a man and a woman—as they headed toward Mr. Daley and Mrs. Henderson, smiles firmly in place. One of them took Mrs. Henderson aside while the other radioed in. That left Eddie alone, briefly, with Daley.
They eyed each other for a minute before speaking.
“What made you come back?” Daley asked.
“My friend Dave heard the call go out. He knows Lucy goes to school here.” Eddie shrugged. “It happens I know Mrs. Henderson, so I came to see if there was anything I could do.”
“It looked like she remembers you fondly.”
Eddie smiled at that. “Maybe she does. I sure remember her.”
“Mr. Daley?” The female officer walked over. Eddie stood back while Daley explained how he’d found Mrs. Henderson and what she’d said.
While Andrew answered her questions, Eddie met her partner’s gaze. He knew the man. Officer Leland.
Leland came over and spoke in a low voice so only Eddie could hear. “I think we might be looking at a deceased caregiver here. Maybe a husband?”
“A deceased someone,” Eddie agreed. The police officers couldn’t have failed to notice the smell of decomposition that saturated Mrs. Henderson’s clothes.
“I wonder how long she was on her own?”
Eddie shrugged. “Did someone call the EMTs?”
“We thought we’d assess her before we call for a bus, but it looks like we’re going to have to get—”
“No, I don’t want to. Go away.” Mrs. Henderson yanked her arm out of Leland’s partner’s grasp. “I have to see to my classroom. I have a responsibility to the children. Go away.”
“Mrs. Henderson.” Leland started toward her.
“What are you even doing here?” She glanced around wildly. “Is there a problem someone’s not telling me about?”
Eddie finally spoke. “Mrs. Henderson? Maybe you should come with me.”
“It’s a workday, Mr. Vasquez. My students will be arriving any minute.”
He hesitated. “Er…Eddie’s got a problem, and I was hoping you could help.” That isn’t strictly a lie.
“Eddie?” Her worried frown made Eddie’s heart swell with affection for her. He would never have believed she’d remember his name, much less that she’d worry about him. “Is he in trouble again? He’s got such a fine mind, but I can’t break through his—”
“Yes, Eddie’s in trouble. It’s something only you can help him with. We need to go to the hospital.”
Her eyes widened. “But—”
“I understand it’s a workday, but Mr. Daley has assured me that Principle Spivey will arrange for a substitute. It’s really important, or I wouldn’t ask.”
Behind her, Daley mouthed, Principle Spivey?
“I don’t understand.” Eddie hadn’t thought ahead to what he’d do if she refused him. If she grew agitated, they would have to call in EMTs—maybe even restrain and sedate her. He couldn’t bear it if she got hurt.
“I think you’re the only teacher who ever understood Eddie. It will mean the world to him if you would come with me now.”
“Of course,” she said, giving him a determined nod. “If Eddie needs me, I’ll come. He’s a good boy. If we can only put all that energy to good use, there’s no telling what he’ll be able to do.”
“You found the secret, Mrs. Henderson. Only you.” Eddie’s throat tightened. “My car’s out front. If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you right now.”
Eddie saw Daley eyeing him. He had to be wondering what this was all about.
Eddie held his elbow out for Mrs. Henderson as if they were going into a dinner party. Eddie let Leland know he was taking Mrs. H. to the ER, and then escorted her past curious onlookers. Past noisy kids.
The adults stared. That was a fact of life. They probably meant well. They’d probably help if they had any idea what to do. Mrs. H. walked along with him, slightly dazed now but with her dignity intact.
“Some of these kids don’t look familiar. Do they go to school here?”
To avoid answering her question, Eddie pointed out his vintage MG. “My car’s over there.”
“Oh my, Mr. Vasquez, you drive a convertible.” Eddie could tell she liked his car. Her hand seemed to flutter as it went to her unkempt hair. “However do you manage to get all four children to school in this?”
Eddie couldn’t believe she remembered the size of his family. He answered her question as his father would have. “Lourdes takes them usually. She has the station wagon.”
“I see.”
Eddie helped her into his car and saw to it she buckled her seat belt. He smiled and said what he always told Lucy, “Safety first.”
“Such a dashing car.” Mrs. Henderson smiled up at him. Her teeth were still fairly nice. That was obviously a part of the hygiene equation she remembered.
At stoplights, he surreptitiously studied her. She had been in her late forties when he was in her third-grade class. That put her around…sixty-five to seventy?
Despite the changes wrought by age and illness, he had recognized her right away. No one else had eyes like hers. Green and lively. Intelligent and kind. When he was her student, she’d gotten so deeply inside his head she discovered his fatal flaw, the learning disability that made his earlier teachers—and even his parents—write him off as not very bright.
Lazy.
Thank God she caught it before his tendency to lash out at the world in frustration was fully formed. He’d idolized her then. He’d loved her for not giving up on him when so many people—when even he—had believed he was a lost cause.
He’d find a way to help her now even if it meant he had to lie to her.
The ride to the hospital was fairly quick. They made little conversation, mostly because it was hard to hear around the noise of traffic. She laughed like a girl when the car cornered, bounced, or dipped.
When he parked in the lot by the emer
gency entrance, she allowed him to help her from the car. “That was so fun. Oh, I hope you keep the car. I can just see Eddie driving it someday.”
He smiled at her suggestion. “He’d love that.”
“That boy’s going to go places. Mark my word. He’s got style.”
Her certainty almost, almost made him sad. While he owned a small business with two of his best friends, he wasn’t Donald Trump. No one could accuse him of overachieving.
The business gave him what he needed—a comfortable living. A good, debt-free life aside from his mortgage. A couple of nice vacations a year. He hoped he wasn’t letting Mrs. Henderson down but had no way to ask her. No way to form the words in such a way it wouldn’t confuse her more.
He pointed to the sliding doors at the emergency entrance. “We should go in here.” After they walked in, Eddie caught sight of a familiar face. “You have a seat, Mrs. Henderson. I see someone I know.”
Dave leaned over the intake desk. He was talking to someone, showing his badge. When he saw Eddie coming, he smiled in welcome.
Dave told the woman, “Okay, here they are. I’ll go talk to her, and we’ll see what’s what.”
Eddie briefly outlined the lie he’d had to tell to get Mrs. Henderson to come with him. “She likes my car. Told me someday little Eddie is going to love driving it.”
“That is something, isn’t it? That she sees the family resemblance.” Dave followed Eddie to the waiting area where Mrs. Henderson sat primly by herself.
“Mrs. Henderson? This is Detective Dave Huntley. He’s a friend of mine. He’d like to ask you some questions. Would that be okay?”
“About Eddie?”
“No, ma’am,” Dave said carefully. “I need to ask you how you got to school this morning?”
“I— Uh…” She frowned. “I walked, of course.”
“From where?” Dave asked.
“From home.” She glanced at Eddie, and he tried out a reassuring smile. “That’s why I like working at Taft Elementary. The school is within easy walking distance.”
“And you live at home with your family?” asked Dave.
“It’s just me and my husband, Phil.”
“I see. Can you give me your address?”
“This isn’t about Eddie, is it?” She narrowed her eyes at them. “Why are you asking me these questions?”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Henderson,” said Eddie. “I told a fib to get you to come with me because I was worried about you.”
She looked blankly back at him. “You lied to me?”
Shame filled him as he squatted on his haunches to talk to her face-to-face. “I’m afraid I did, ma’am. I am Eddie Vasquez. I was taking my niece to school. You don’t work there anymore, Mrs. Henderson.”
“I don’t understand. You’re Eddie’s father, you said—”
“I said I was my dad to get you to come with me. I think maybe you must have hit your head or something. It’s the year 2013, and I’m Eddie. I’m an adult. I look like my dad, but I’m thirty-five years old. You don’t work at the school anymore. You retired years ago.”
“No, that can’t be true.” The confusion on her face made Eddie want to put his arms around her, but he didn’t want to upset her further. “I had coffee with Phil just this morning, and I turned off the pot, and we said good-bye at the door. He…he…”
After that she gazed at Eddie without really seeming to see him for the space of fifteen seconds or so, as if someone simply switched her off.
“Mrs. Henderson?”
She gave no answer.
“Mrs. Henderson?” Dave appeared to know no more than Eddie did. Their gazes met, and a question went unspoken between them.
Suddenly Mrs. H. pitched forward, landing in Eddie’s arms where she flailed until he could get her into a rescue position on the floor.
Eddie cursed sharply.
“Hey,” Dave called out to the woman at reception. “Can we get some help here? She’s having a seizure.”
A man and a woman in multicolor scrubs burst through the intake door and rushed forward to help.
“Is either one of you family?” the woman asked as she replaced him at Mrs. Henderson’s side.
“No, ma’am.” Eddie backed away, sick at heart as he watched his former teacher’s small body shake apart. “I brought her here because when I found her I knew something wasn’t right.”
Dave took out his phone and motioned toward the door. “I’ll call in and see if the uniforms got an address.”
“She’s dehydrated badly, for one thing. We’ll get her stabilized and find out what we can.”
Dave gave her a grim nod. “I’ll be getting back to you to let you know what we find.”
“I’m pretty sure I know what you’re going to find.” Eddie followed Dave outside, into some much-needed fresh air. As a trauma-scene cleaner, Eddie had adapted to endure the smells of his profession—of sickrooms, crime scenes, and death. He had never gotten used to them.
“Me too. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything, all right?”
“Thanks.” Eddie glanced back the way they’d come. “You know, she was my favorite teacher. She’s the one who figured out why I had so much trouble in school.”
“It wasn’t because you’re such a clown?”
“I’ll have you know I wasn’t a clown. Not then. Until I had Mrs. Henderson, I probably worked harder than anyone else. I just…I had trouble. She’s the one who discovered what was wrong and helped me fix it. She believed in me.”
“Special teacher.” Dave nodded. “The good ones really make a difference. We’ll find out what happened and go from there, all right?”
“Sure. Call me.” Eddie gave Dave a one-armed guy hug and left to get into his car. In his rearview mirror, he saw Dave standing outside the ER, talking on his phone. Before he took off, he took the time to call his partner Gabe to leave the message he might be a little late.
Chapter 3
Eddie arrived at the warehouse just as Skippy and Kim were getting one of the Brothers Grime panel vans ready to roll.
“You’re headed where again?” He pulled his clipboard down from the peg on the wall and studied the schedule for the day. He had his own system, a series of shapes and colors and big block letters representing people and different types of jobs. He didn’t need his reading pen to double-check special instructions because he remembered them. A quick X in a yellow box marked that he’d seen them out.
Easy peasy.
“We’re going to the motel in Fontana.” Kim checked him out. “Aren’t you Señor Smooth today. Going to be on Dancing with the Stars or what?”
Eddie felt his cheeks heat. “No.”
“You got a hot lunch date?” asked Skippy.
“I just felt like wearing a suit. Is that a crime these days?” Why hadn’t he gone to his office first? He could have left his jacket over the chair. Rolled up his sleeves.
Ditched his tie.
“Nobody dresses like that except for court and to get laid, Boss.”
“I’m ignoring you, Skip. Kim, did you double-check you have the number for Empire Glass?”
Kim nodded. “Got it.”
Eddie gestured toward the front. “Is anyone else in?”
“Just Gabe. Jack’s working at home today.”
“I’ll bet.” Jack’s new boyfriend, Ryan, worked nights at the hospital, so his shift ended in the early morning. If Jack was coming by the office, it would be noon or later before he got in.
“Okay, off you go. See you later.” Eddie waved good-bye to Kim and Skippy and then rolled the big warehouse door down before heading for his office. As he headed in, his eyes had to adjust from the glare of morning to the gloom of the unlit building.
Gabe was a fanatic about keeping the lights off unless they needed them. He also tried to be king of the thermostat, which Eddie adjusted slightly because the air was getting stale and hot. When the system ticked on, Eddie heard Gabe’s chair squeak.
“That y
ou, Eddie?”
“Yeah.” Eddie dropped his jacket and tie off on his desk before walking to Gabe’s office. He rolled up his sleeves as he went. “You’re like a frog in hot water, Gabe. You’re going to boil one of these days. Frogs never learn, man.”
“Instead, why don’t you learn you don’t need to wear wool slacks and dark colors this time of year?”
“I like to look nice.”
“Are you kidding me?” Gabe stood up. “Are you saying I don’t look nice?”
“You look great.” Eddie took in Gabe’s Hawaiian shirt, baggy shorts, and flip-flops. “Mouthwatering. I changed my mind about the no-fucking-on-the-job rule. Come here, papi. I gotta get me some of that.”
When Eddie rushed him, Gabe pushed him away. “Yeah, yeah. You had your chance.”
“When did I have my chance?” Eddie went to the coffeemaker and poured himself a cup. “Back in high school? You were fully on the down-low back then. You were still dating Sylvia Yi when I graduated.”
“Yeah. I guess I was. And you were the first out-and-proud dude any of us ever met. We all thought you were so badass. On second thought, you want my dick now? You can have it.”
“Nah. I caught my quota for the week. No need to be greedy.”
“Then why are you all dressed up?” Gabe’s brown eyes sparkled. “Could be I know all about that.”
“If you think you know so much, spill.” Eddie couldn’t imagine how Gabe would find out anything.
“I’ve got a message here from Cecelia. It reads, ‘Tell Eddie to double-check Lucy took her lunch when he dropped her off at school. And tell him he should give Professor Hot Stuff a big fat kiss and stop wasting his time or—’”
“Shit.” Eddie grabbed for the paper, but Gabe held it behind him. They struggled for it until Eddie hauled him into a bear hug and took it. “Give me that.”
“I’ve seen you dress up extra nice to take Lucy to school all year. You got some ’splaining to do, Lucy’s Uncle. Everyone knows you’re hot for her teacher.”
“Can’t a man dress nice? Does he have to undergo the third degree every time he puts on a tie?”
“You wore a tie?” Gabe gave him a wide berth as he returned to his office. “That’s some incurable shit right there.”
Eddie: Grime Doesn’t Pay: The Brothers Grime, book 2 Page 2
