Death by Donation

by Sarah Hualde

  “I don’t want to drive my car. Besides, I’m on painkillers. I shouldn’t be behind the wheel.”

  “Your hands look a lot better to me. After all, they were feeling good enough to be all over Della last night.”

  ✽✽✽

  Ines stretched and stuttered. She opened her eyes recognizing her surroundings. “How long...” She smacked her lips together. Lydia offered her a bottle of water.

  “Only an hour and a half. Not too long.”

  “Bill still hasn’t come?”

  Lydia shrugged. She didn’t want to tell her the truth but she wasn't about to lie. “I haven’t heard him arrive. Should I ask Parker if he’s popped by?”

  “Don’t bother. He’s not coming.”

  Lydia rose to her feet and began sorting the room. She tidied her purse and jacket first. And then went on to fix Ines’ pillow for her. She didn’t want to tell Ines her suspicions over Bill.

  “You don’t have to hide from me.” Ines placed a finally stable hand on Lydia’s forearm. “I know. My Bill is gone. I’d hoped it was just a fleeting moment. Now, I’m not sure. I don’t think my sweet bumbling professor will ever return to me. She’s taken him.”

  “Della?”

  “Who else?”

  “Are you sure?”

  Ines didn’t cry. Lydia gathered tissues but Ines sat straight and faced Lydia. Her eyes were still puffy from earlier but steady. Her words were slightly slurred but concrete. “Yes.”

  “What happened?”

  “After the memorial, Grant told me about some conversation Ivy and he overheard. I didn't think too much about it. Who knows what they were talking about? So I ignored it. Then, just before turning in, I went to give Bill his pain meds. There she was lying across my guest bed. Bill was standing in the bathroom talking to her. She didn’t even look surprised to see me or shocked to be caught in his room. She winked at me.”

  Lydia shivered. “What did Bill do?”

  “He stared at me. Della stood up and walked over to him and planted a huge kiss on his cheek and he just stared at me.”

  Lydia sat back into her chair. She needed to process Ines’ story. She wondered which parts she’d told Gus and which parts the deputy still didn’t know. “What did you do?”

  Ines blushed and cleared her throat. “Like some stupid child, I went crazy! I’ve never felt so out of control. I lunged at her, yanked her off of Bill, and slapped her across the face.”

  Chapter 30

  Bill hesitated, only a heartbeat before he backhanded Grant across the face. Grant stumbled but did not fall. He faced Bill eye-to-eye. Ivy trembled for him. In her experience, the first hit was the easiest to excuse and the hardest to come back from. More blows would follow if Grant didn’t back down. Her stomach tightened.

  “Now, look what you made me do.” Bill’s words nearly made Ivy vomit. She swallowed her fear but could not keep away her memories. Those words echoed through forgotten places of her mind. She wanted to sit and cry and weep and wail. But Grant needed her. Grant needed her to tell him to run. Grant needed her to explain this situation would never get any better.

  Now, look what you made me do. Ivy reeled. Her mother’s face met her mind’s eye. It was swollen and sorrow soaked. Ivy looked up into it from a hidden place nearby. Now, look what you made me do. The words spun Ivy to the most horrific moments of her life. Standing beside her mother's bed, shaking her and begging her to wake up.

  Until then Ivy had convinced herself she dreamt looking down upon her mother. Her beautiful mother, lying lifeless on top of her favorite quilt.

  The words brought it all forward. It was no dream. It had been her life. She’d expected to hear Don’s voice blaming Ivy for her mother’s death. But it wasn’t his voice at all. She blamed the wrong man. Sure, Don had stalked her but he hadn’t been there when Ivy’s mother died. “Whose voice am I hearing?”

  ✽✽✽

  “Does Gus know?” Lydia didn’t remember seeing any bruising on Della’s face. But then she had been more anxious about reviving the woman or insuring danger wasn’t still lurking around the pool at the time.

  Ines nodded. “I told Gus everything. I really don’t have anything to hide. I’m as angry as a honey badger at Bill and Della but I didn’t kill Della. After many choice words and slurs, I called a car to take Miss Strap back to the Sleeping Pretty. Bill was not pleased. But I couldn’t abide her being in the house any longer. Once the front door shut behind her, I retreated to my bedroom and prayed for help.”

  Lydia couldn’t picture Ines slapping anybody. But a small part of her was glad Ines had stood up for herself. Too many times, Lydia had witnessed a dominant personality push another one to the brink. She was glad Ines hadn’t broken but stood her ground.

  Of course, it was awful that Della had been murdered. Lydia didn’t wish that on anybody, no matter how deluded and deceptive they might be. Not even Della Strap.

  Suddenly, Lydia grew panicked about Ivy. She excused herself from the room and called Flora.

  ✽✽✽

  “What is your girlfriend doing? She really is stupid, isn’t she?” Bill’s voice invaded Ivy’s thoughts and brought her back to the moment.

  Grant didn’t turn around to look at Ivy. He took a deep breath, intending to say something sharp to Bill. Ivy knew that would only lead to a more vicious attack. She stepped into the fray before Grant could make matters worse.

  “I’ll drive you wherever you need to go.” Ivy’s phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket. Lydia was texting. There wasn’t time to read her messages.

  “What? Why?” Grant turned sad eyes to Ivy. A small trickle of blood ran from his left nostril.

  “You’re hurt,” She both explained and exclaimed.

  Bill glowered. “Get cleaned up and then come with us.” He commanded Grant. “Thankfully, this girl is wise enough to know I mean business.”

  Grant gave Ivy a quick appraising look. “Do what he says, Grant. Let’s get this over with.”

  “Yes, let’s.” Grant hurried to the kitchen and came out moments later with a kitchen towel.

  Bill scanned Grant’s injury. He put a hand to Grant’s chin and turned his head from side to side. Grant allowed this through gritted teeth and seething eyes. “You’ll be fine. It’s just a little blood.”

  ✽✽✽

  “I don’t know what to tell you. She hasn’t responded to any of my texts or calls.” Flora struggled to calm Lydia. “She hasn’t missed a check-in. She’s probably talking with Bill.”

  “That’s exactly what scares me.”

  Flora rocked Scout, who nuzzled her nose into Flora’s neck. The baby recognized Lydia's voice even through the phone. “Grant’s there. She’ll be fine.”

  ✽✽✽

  Grant squeezed into the seat next to Ivy. The small cab of the truck made all three passengers sit shoulder-to-shoulder. Grant sat slightly diagonal in his seat, as he led the towel to his face. The taupe kitchen towel hosted the spreading stain from his nose.

  “We should have that looked at,” Ivy whispered as she pulled out of Ines’ driveway. She passed the maid's car. Luckily the maid had remained oblivious to the argument on the porch. If her phone’s battery kept up with her, music would still be blasting through the large house.

  “He’s fine.” Bill buffeted Ivy’s concern.

  She ignored him. “Where do you want to go?”

  “Take me to my apartment.”

  Grant’s eyes narrowed. Ivy felt his consternation. She mouthed, “Don’t ask” and hoped he’d get the message. A tiny truck was not the place to have a physical confrontation.

  Chapter 31

  Lydia explained her worry over Ivy to Parker. Parker, in turn, radioed Gus. They waited to hear back. In the meantime, Lydia returned to the patient room with Ines. She lounged on the bed. Her eyes were closed but Lydia knew the woman wasn’t asleep. Ines was slowly buffering through all the last few days had chucked at her.

  Lydia sat on the r
olling doctor’s seat and anchored her feet to the ground. She didn’t want to go spinning through the room and crash right into Ines.

  Ines popped open one eye to register Lydia’s presence. “Everything alright?”

  “That’s what I should be asking you,” Lydia said.

  “Everything’s so far from alright for me. It would be nice to know there was someone out there who was doing well. Even out the balance, a bit.” Ines half chuckled. Stress plagued her but she pushed it aside and seemed to assess it in bite-sized chunks.

  “When did everything start going amiss? When Della arrived?”

  Ines opened her eyes, now fully awake, and gazed into the air before her. “No. When Jake did.”

  “Bill seemed so happy to have Jake here. What went wrong?”

  Ines cleared her throat. Her fiancé meant so much to her. She didn’t want to slander him or cause undue gossip to sully his reputation. But he’d changed so much. Ines needed to understand. She decided to let Lydia in and see if together they could trackback to Bill’s turning point.

  “He was. Very happy. Bill’s always longed for family.” Ines sighed. “We’re both too old to start making our own.”

  Lydia chuckled. “I know someone who’d disagree with you.”

  Ines returned the laugh but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Flora? Well, Flora’s superwoman. I don’t want to have my first child at forty-five and turn sixty when they hit driving age. Bill would be even older. We were happily resigned to it. Until the wedding date was set and we were writing out guest lists. My family sports over half the list. Bill had a handful of past coworkers and then there are all our Honey Pot friends. The wedding made him a lot more nostalgic.”

  “Is that when he sent into TreeLinks?”

  Ines sipped her half-empty water. “No. We did that a long time ago. For our ancestry club. I kept track of both of our lines in a beautiful leather scrapbook. Working on it together made us feel more connected. Even if Bill’s lines were undefined. Every cousin that tracked back to Bill went on the chart. Even if they never wanted to meet us, Bill enjoyed knowing they were out there.”

  “Was Della on that list?”

  “No, she’s a step-cousin or foster cousin. I’m not quite sure which. She’s solely related to Jake through marriage or adoption. I never really understood where she came from.”

  ✽✽✽

  Ivy pulled into the same alleyway she and Lydia visited the prior day. She put the car in park and motioned to the door. “We’re here. Get out.”

  Bill frowned at Ivy. “Don’t be rude. Walk me to my door.” Grant shook his head and groaned. More blood sullied the rag. “Not you. Ivy.”

  Again Grant shook his head. Ivy silenced him before he could get them both in trouble. “He probably can’t unlock his door without help. His hands are still pretty messed up.” Grant tried to protest. Ivy hurriedly vacated the truck and rushed to open Bill’s door.

  “Go ahead,” he said gesturing toward the back entrance.

  ✽✽✽

  Devon, the nurse, brought Ines a cup of hot tea and a sleeve of graham crackers. “Sorry, that’s all I could find in the break room.”

  Ines thanked Devon and breathed in the steam from the minty tea. “I can’t remember when I ate last. I know I made myself at least three plates of food last night, but I don’t think I ate a single one.”

  Devon sighed. “Well, that sure hasn’t helped. Let me check your blood pressure while I’m here.” The nurse slid a cuff over Ines’ arm and started pumping. The action reminded Lydia of the first day at the bloodmobile.

  She waited until Devon finished her work and then asked, “What effect did Jake have on Bill? What triggered this side of Bill to come out?”

  Ines nibbled the corner of a graham cracker and traced back the days. Less than a week ago, Bill was happy and dedicated to starting their new life. He was his awkwardly flirty self with her and his quiet, helpful self to everyone else. The last six days felt like an entire year. A thousand miles had cropped up between the future newlyweds. It all rotated around one person.

  “Jake.”

  ✽✽✽

  Ivy led Bill up the stairs and to his front door. She held out her palm to take the keys from him. He grinned. “They’re in my pocket.”

  Ivy flung defiant arms across her chest. “Don’t push it. Hand me your keys, so I can let you in.”

  Bill moved slowly mocking Ivy’s patience. He pulled out the keyring and dropped it in the teen’s hand. “Which one is it?”

  Bill shrugged. “I’m sure you can figure it out.”

  Ivy huffed but she wasn’t going to play Bill’s game. She just wanted him away from her and Grant and Ines. She hoped letting him into his apartment would do the trick. She doubted it.

  Thankfully, Bill didn’t have many keys. There was a new key with a purple heart painted on it. Ivy guessed that was to Ines’. She slid past it. An obvious car key was next. She pushed that one away as well. Between the car key and the apartment, key dangled an old fashioned key. Ivy couldn’t imagine what lock it might fit. There wasn’t time to think about it.

  Ivy plugged the apartment key into the lock and twisted it. The door popped open and she stepped out of Bill’s way.

  The apartment was still a mess from yesterday, though it was apparent to Ivy, someone started tidying it up. Bill stumbled over a mess and cursed. “Turn on the light,” he said.

  “Oh, I’m not dumb enough to come in there.”

  Bill laughed, scornfully. “Please. I’m not a monster and if I were you wouldn’t be my first choice in prey.” Again he lifted up his wounded hands.

  Ivy glared at him and took two reluctant steps inside.

  ✽✽✽

  “What about him,” Lydia asked. This time Devon helped herself to the only other chair in the room. She listened as Ines expounded on the details.

  “He was fine, for the first night. Then, after the celebration, he started talking with Bill about all his troubles. Bill’s never been very good at refusing a sob story. His heart bleeds for the hurting. It’s one of the things I love most about him. He’s never been afraid of feelings, his or other people’s.” She sniffled and wiped her dry eyes with a tissue. “It looks like I've run out of tears.”

  The statement wounded Lydia and her eyes watered for Ines. Ines loved Bill so completely. They’d each waited so long for each other. The librarian was nearing her 45th birthday and the Professor his 50th. Neither had married. Lydia couldn’t remember Ines ever dating. It was as if they were stalemated until they found each other.

  Lydia felt fury rage up in her chest.

  She despised Jake and Della for destroying the connection between Ines and Bill. Lydia wanted to be contrite about her bitter emotions. She knew she shouldn’t give them a place to ferment in her heart but she couldn’t shake her anger. She wasn’t happy someone had murdered Della. But she was glad the woman was out of the way.

  The intensity of her thoughts shocked her. How had they escalated so quickly? She looked toward the tired librarian before her. Had Ines’ flared even more rapidly? Was Ines truly capable of killing another person? Had she killed Della to get her out of the way?

  Lydia hated to think so. But she’d never thought Ines was capable of hitting another person and yet she had. Lydia chastised herself for doubting Ines, but intense love and intense fear did funny things to the most stable of people. Had they cracked Ines?

  Chapter 32

  Ivy sidestepped to the nearest light switch and flipped it on. “There,” she said flatly. “I’m leaving.”

  Bill lunged at her. Ivy didn’t have time to think. She stepped back into the hall and pulled the door closed behind her. A gigantic crash against the doorframe answered Ivy’s question. Bill had run right into the closing door. She could hear his muffled cursing and ranting. But she was not about to check if he was okay. She hurried down the steps and to her now idling truck.

  Grant sat in the driver’s seat with one hand on t
he wheel and one on his nose. He’d turned the truck around and had its fender pointed toward the closest alleyway exit. Ivy opened the passenger door and slammed it shut. She locked it in reflex.

  “You’ve done this before,” Grant said. Ivy didn’t answer. She held her breath until the truck rolled onto Main St. There was no way Bill was behind them. Still, Ivy kept watch. Stranger things had happened to her. Right when she felt the safest.

  “He’s not back there,” Grant stated. “I’m watching too.”

  “You just drive.”

  “Where?”

  Ivy couldn’t think. Her head spun until her eyes settled on Grant’s face. He was ashen and worried but determined to remain strong. Ivy fought off the urge to hug him and thank him for his internal courage. She didn’t dare. She thought of the next best thing she could do for him. “To Dr. Lawrence’s. I’ll tell you when to turn.”

  “Got it.”

  ✽✽✽

  Ines continued her story without a sprinkle of sadness in her tone. Her eyes were fierce and factual. “Jake started asking for money right away. Bill had some but not a lot. We’d saved most of it for the wedding. Jake even tried convincing Bill to cancel the wedding plans and elope. That way he could give the money to Jake and Jake could free himself of his debts.

  Bill refused. You should’ve seen his face. It tore him apart, that all his brother wanted was money. Still, he decided to let it all go and love Jake anyway. I backed him up.

  We planned to not only invite him to the wedding but to make him a part of it. Bill called our travel agent and asked about downgrading our honeymoon. He wanted to gift the difference to Jake. I wasn’t thrilled but I was behind him.

  Bill needed this so much. He was determined to have a relationship with Jake. He said he was going to love him until it was impossible for Jake to run away from it. We both prayed over the entire situation. Bill was on his way to ask Jake to be his best man when the mobile caught fire.”