River Mourn

by Bill Hopkins

Chapter 46

  Tuesday Morning, continued

  "Outstanding," Ollie said. "That certainly explains it. Maman Fribeau is about three hundred years old. Makes perfect sense."

  Jim Bill and Tina laughed. Tina said, "Rosswell, cut the crap."

  "We shouldn't curse around our baby. And Ollie, you shouldn't multiply explanations. The easiest answer to a hard problem is most often right."

  Ollie said, "You scored. Now tell us what you found out."

  "I discovered a cemetery next to Maman Fribeau's cabin. It had a hundred graves, each one marked by a plain stone. There might be unmarked ones as well. I suspect that the very first Maman Fribeau is buried there. Along with all her successors."

  Jim Bill said, "Clever. And people who need information go pay the old woman money. I'll bet they've never paid a cent of taxes for three centuries."

  Ollie said, "They're filthy rich. But living in a hovel. Their money's doing them no good."

  Rosswell said, "That's not our concern. They must like what they're doing."

  Tina said, "And who will take this Maman's place when she dies?"

  Rosswell said, "I'm guessing Susannah."

  Tina said, "Gustave's daughter?"

  "Yes."

  "Susannah wouldn't live in that dump out on the bluff," Ollie said. "Unless she can't find anywhere else to live when she gets out of prison. Anyway, Maman and Lazar were helping Gustave, weren't they?"

  Rosswell said, "Jim Bill will find out for sure. But I hope they're innocent. Or not too guilty."

  Jim Bill said, "Susannah will never be the next Maman. Guaranteed."

  Rosswell said to Jim Bill, "Now you know all about Maman?" Bingo! The neurons in Rosswell's brain made the connection. "It's the Dina thing."

  Tina said, "Dina?"

  Rosswell and Jim Bill drew out their soutaches with stars attached. After Rosswell explained the significance of the necklaces, Jim Bill said to Ollie, "And here's yours. You deserve it. I'll tell you more later."

  Rosswell watched Ollie drape the soutache over his head, careful not to soil it with Vaseline, and silently declared to himself that his research assistant showed more reverence than he'd exhibited in a long time.

  Tina persisted. "Rosswell, you answer me. Where did you find all the background on Maman?"

  "Let's say?public records. Plus some gossip. Plus a bribe or two here and there. You know we research assistants have a code of silence."

  Ollie squeaked his mouse squeak. "Since when did you become a research assistant?"

  Tina grabbed Ollie's shirt. "That squeaking thing, you do that again in front of my baby, you'll answer to me."

  Jim Bill said, "I didn't hear any threat. Did you hear a threat, Judge?"

  "Nope."

  "You can't go in there!" The tall woman with bad hair tried to keep Tina's door from opening.

  Mrs. Bolzoni barged around the nurse. The old lady's hands clutched a large wide-mouth Thermos jug. "You can stop me not to seeing the lovely woman of the Judge Ross Carew. It's a wonder I'm not in a bed in this place with my bowels on the uproar."

  "Is that food?" the nurse asked, indicating the Thermos. "You can't bring food in here."

  "And why is this not?" Rosswell swore to himself that he saw steam forming on Mrs. Bolzoni's Coke-bottle eyeglasses as she berated the nurse. "She must have the food. A baby she had."

  She stomped to Tina's bedside and carefully positioned the Thermos onto the bed table. From her purse, she withdrew a bowl, spoon, and whole-wheat crackers wrapped in a linen napkin. Delicately, she poured the bowl halfway full and handed the spoon to Tina. "Now you get back in the bed and eat." Rosswell's mouth watered from the full-bodied aroma of the food.

  "Madam," the nurse said, "you are not allowed to bring food from the outside into a hospital room. It's regulations."

  "You I asked why not and you said not why I can't bring food here."

  "It might be unhealthy."

  Mrs. Bolzoni gave a cockeyed glance through her glasses at the nurse's identification badge. "You silly frog. You ever tasted the food in this place? You want unhealthy food, you eat the food you make in the slop bucket you call a kitchen."

  Tina asked Rosswell, "Am I supposed to know this woman?"

  Rosswell said, "Which one?"

  "Let's start with the one who brought the soup."

  "Not soup," Mrs. Bolzoni said. "It's American beef stew. Much healthy. Fine meat and many vegetables to make you strong so you can feed your baby."

  Rosswell told the nurse, "It's okay. This is my landlady, Mrs. Bolzoni. She's quite protective and I can assure you that the food is exceptionally good for you." He patted his stomach to demonstrate.

  The nurse said, "I give up," and swept out of the room.

  Tina said, "Rosswell, you're going to get that nurse fired."

  "No," Jim Bill said. "I've got the magic badge, remember? I'll talk to her supervisor."

  "And you," Mrs. Bolzoni said to Jim Bill, "are not chewing the filthy weeds in front of this baby?"

  "No, ma'am."

  Ollie said to Tina, "Jim Bill learns quickly. Not at all like Rosswell."

  "But, Mrs. Bolzoni," Jim Bill said, "since I saved you from being arrested, you need to answer some questions."

  "Questions?" She looked at Ollie. "You got questions, you ask him with the purple spider on his head."

  "No, it's you I want to hear from."

  "I tell you one thing about this man with this insect on his head."

  Ollie said, "It's a star, not a spider. And spiders aren't insects. Araneae, or spiders, are the most familiar of the arachnids-"

  Rosswell said, "Zip lip time."

  "This Ollie, he ran off all the bugs in my house with his bug running off business. He's genius."

  Rosswell decided to withhold the fact that Ollie had never run a bug off her place or any other place on Earth.

  Ollie said, "That's right, Mrs. Bolzoni. I'll need your endorsement to prove that my system gets rid of bugs of all kinds."

  Jim Bill said, "Answer me this, Mrs. Bolzoni. Did you know Tina was being held captive by Nathaniel Dahlbert?"

  "Did I call police?" Mrs. Bolzoni moved next to Jim Bill. She leaned down, stared him straight in the face, and spoke loudly, as if sitting in a wheelchair affected his hearing and sight. "If I knew such thing I call police. Did I call police to rescue her? No, you weed chewer. Do you know Tina was captive?"

  "No, ma'am. May I ask something else?"

  "You make it quick, for the woman of the Judge Ross Carew needs to eat while the stew is hot."

  "Did you ever visit Alessandra when she was at River Heights Villa?"

  "Of course." Mrs. Bolzoni drew a dry wash rag from her pocket, wet it in the sink, and began wiping Tina's table. "They keep this place filthy." She shook the washrag at Jim Bill. "I love my daughter and that rusty hair guy, he help her."

  Jim Bill said, "Do you know the rusty hair guy's name?"

  "Nathaniel Dahlbert. I look it up. Not a frog name."

  Jim Bill said, "When you visited Alessandra, did you ever see Tina?"

  "You asked that already. You sneaky man. But I never see Tina at the rusty hair guy's place. I go see Alessandra, we sit in big room with bunch of people and talk. I tell her I love her and that she must get better so she come work with her old momma who's not so spry in the bones anymore, not to mention the insides acting up, which I never talk about to no one, but keep it all behind the teeth."

  Rosswell hid his eyes from Mrs. Bolzoni's line of sight, bowed his head, closed his eyes, and prayed for strength.

  Tina had eaten the portion of stew Mrs. Bolzoni had offered. "That was delicious, Mrs. Bolzoni. Thank you."

  "Then you must eat more." She poured the remainder of the stew into Tina's dish. "I cannot eat for the tests of the doctor." A wave of the hand dismissed any concern she might have.

  "Mrs. Bolzoni," Rosswell said, "what kind of tests?"

  "Nothing." She turned to Tina. "I got the Judge Ross
Carew room set up with crib. You come back and let me take care of you till you feel like going home. You got many rough times and these"-she pirouetted her head until she'd drilled Ollie, Jim Bill, and Rosswell with her eyes-"men got not one idea how to take care of a new momma and a new baby." Mrs. Bolzoni hovered over the crib, her hands clasped. "A fine baby. He looks like you, Tina. God has smiled on the baby. You cannot tell that Ross is the father."