Better Off Thread, page 18
He nodded. “I’m sure they like you both a lot.”
“Would you like for me to talk with Bellamy?” Carrie asked. “I mean, Dr. Carstairs? We all call him Bellamy behind his back. It’s such a pretentious name.” She chuckled.
“Oh no,” I said. “I wouldn’t want to get you into any trouble with him. Maybe when you’re the administrator, you can put in a good word for me then.”
I told them good-bye and went into the candle shop. As I browsed the rows and tried to distinguish one scent from another, it occurred to me that Carrie Monahan wasn’t wearing an engagement ring. Had she been wearing one the other evening at the hospital? Maybe the nurses weren’t allowed to wear jewelry. Either way, it was easy to see that Charlie was smitten with her. I wondered if he knew she was engaged to John Martin.
Chapter Twenty-four
I didn’t have time to pick up Angus before going to the Seven-Year Stitch, so I called Ted as soon as I got there.
“Hey, sweetheart. What’s up?”
“I went to the mall this morning and didn’t have time to pick Angus up before getting here. Would you mind swinging by for him at lunchtime? I’ll get our lunch from MacKenzies’ Mochas.”
“All right. That sounds great,” he said. “How’d your shopping trip go?”
“It was interesting. I did find your mom a necklace—I’ll show it to you at lunchtime—but then I ran into Carrie Monahan and Charlie, the security guard.”
“At the mall?”
“Yeah. They were having coffee in the food court.”
“Did it strike you as odd?”
“Actually, it did,” I said. “I kinda doubt it was a coincidence that they ran into each other at the mall, so why not have coffee at the hospital?”
“Unless they didn’t want anyone at the hospital to know they were meeting.”
“Right. Something else I noticed was that Carrie wasn’t wearing an engagement ring, even though she introduced me to John Martin as her fiancé. It makes me wonder if she’s simply stringing Charlie along in order for him to support her in her bid for the hospital-administrator job, or if she just doesn’t wear jewelry.”
“Do you know the security guard’s last name?” Ted asked.
“No. I don’t think anyone has ever mentioned it.”
“It should be in Sandra Vincent’s file. He is the person who came to Captain Moe’s aid, after all. I’ll have Doug see who this Charlie is.”
“Okay. Would Caesar salads be all right for lunch?” I asked. “Since we’re having dinner at Captain Moe’s, I thought we might want something a little lighter for lunch.”
“Salads will be terrific.”
We had said our good-byes and ended the call when I spotted a familiar-looking woman heading toward the Seven-Year Stitch.
When the woman came inside the shop, I recognized her as Jane, the woman whose contractor husband was blackballed by Martin Brothers Construction.
“Hi, there! How’s the stump work going?”
“It’s going well,” she said. “In fact, I finished Grandma’s ornament and enjoyed making it so much that I want to do some more.”
“Good. Do you need my help finding anything?”
“Nope. I think I remember where everything is. If I need you, I’ll let you know.” She looked around the shop. “Where’s your dog today?”
“My boyfriend is bringing him in at lunchtime. I did a little shopping before work this morning.”
“That’s nice. I hate going on the weekends now, but it’s about the only time I can get away long enough to really browse. I’ve been doing a lot of my shopping online this year.”
“I enjoy doing that, too. You can find some of the neatest things online.” I was looking for a good way to segue into asking Jane about Martin Brothers Construction. “And, of course, you can find some cool things in specialty shops, too. I think they have some neat ones in Lincoln City, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“I am sorry your husband was blackballed in Tallulah County and you had to move there, though,” I said. “I think it’s a charming town, but no one wants to be forced to make a move.”
“It is a charming town.” She smiled slightly. “We like it. My daughter has already made new friends at school. Everything’s good.”
I looked around to make sure no one was about to walk into the Stitch. “Was it Martin Brothers Construction that was responsible for your husband’s problems in Tallulah County?”
Jane took a sudden keen interest in the embroidery floss directly in front of her.
“I’m not asking just to be nosy.” I explained to Jane how I’d met Mr. Martin at the hospital when I’d gone to read to the children. “I ran into him again at the coffee shop down the street, and I asked him about Sandra Vincent.”
“She’s the woman who was found stabbed to death in the conference room, isn’t she?”
“Yes. He basically told me to mind my own business, and then acted all creepy—standing on the other side of the street, making shooting motions in my direction, asking the people at the Brew Crew if Angus was an aggressive dog.”
“Don’t write him off as a kook.” Jane turned and took me by the arms. “John Martin is dangerous. Yes, he blackballed Aaron with other construction companies, but the real reason we left our home—the dream house we’d built when we first married—was that John Martin threatened our lives. All our lives.”
I gasped. “Did you call the police?”
“No, Marcy. We were scared. We still are. We left the man alone, and we’re finally feeling secure again. Take my advice: don’t cross John Martin.”
* * *
When Ted and Angus arrived for lunch, I’d already gone down to MacKenzies’ Mochas and picked up our salads. I’d put them and two sodas on the desk. Blake had, as usual, sent Angus a peanut butter cookie. I had that sitting out, too.
I spoke to Angus but went straight into Ted’s arms, holding him as tightly as I could.
“What’s wrong?” He pulled away slightly to look down into my face. “Did something happen?”
I shook my head. “Just let me hold you for a second.”
“We’ll hold each other for as long as you’d like. I’m just worried about you.”
Angus wedged his nose between us.
I laughed. “Somebody’s feeling left out.” I bent and hugged him.
“Ready to talk about it?”
“It’s not that big of a deal, really. I guess.”
“Marcy.”
“Okay. Jane, the woman whose husband is the contractor that John Martin ran out of town, was in here earlier. I told her about Mr. Martin’s creepy behavior, and she told me not to cross the man. She said he threatened the lives of their family.”
“Did she contact the police?”
“No. She was afraid to. She said they left John Martin alone, and everything has been fine for them.” I gave Angus his cookie. “But, Ted, that’s scary. He even threatened their child.”
He sat down at the desk, his face like granite. I hated when he got like this.
“Please say something.”
“I’m just angry, babe, and I’m trying to sort this all out.” He ran his hands through his hair. “On the one hand, I understand why your friend and her husband didn’t file a police report. It would’ve been their word against Martin’s unless they had some sort of proof. Either way, it was too risky.”
“I agree.”
“And I understand why you’re scared.” He patted his thighs, and I gratefully took a seat and snuggled against him. “But I will protect you.”
“I know you will,” I said. “I’m not really even afraid of John Martin . . . not really.” Okay, I was, but I didn’t want to admit it. “I just got to thinking after Jane left about running into Carrie and Charlie at the mall this morning. What if she decides to mention to John Martin that she saw me, and he thinks I’m making trouble?”
“That won’t happen. You said yourself that it appeared that the security guard was smitten with her and that she was enjoying his attention. She’s not going to tell her fiancé anything about their meeting.”
I nodded slowly.
“And I promise you that John Martin is not going to hurt you. He’s not going to threaten you. He’s not going to stand across the street and scare you. He’s not going to step one foot into this store. He’s not going to call you. Because if he does any of that, I’ll throw him in jail so fast, he won’t know what hit him.”
I took his face in my hands and kissed him deeply. “Thank you.”
* * *
I was showing a customer a redwork pattern book when Melanie Carstairs came into the Seven-Year Stitch that afternoon.
“Hello, Mrs. Carstairs,” I said. “I’ll be right with you.”
“Take your time. Hi, Angus.”
Angus got up and walked over to her, and Melanie patted his head. “Brendan is sorry he missed you the other day.”
Inwardly, I groaned. There was no way I was going to visit the Carstairs’ home ever again. I’d been banished by Dr. Carstairs—alias the king—himself.
“Maybe you can bring Brendan in to see Angus sometime,” I said brightly. I returned my attention to my customer, who’d decided to buy the book.
“I love your little tree,” said the woman, leaning closer to look at the ornaments. “Did you make these?”
“I did.”
“Would you be willing to sell one or two of them?” she asked.
I said I’d be happy to do so, and she added two of the ornaments to her purchase.
She left, and I asked Melanie if there was anything in particular I could help her find.
“No,” she said. “I’m here to apologize for my behavior and for Bellamy’s, too. He told me he came in yesterday morning. He said he instructed you never to come to our home again, and I can imagine he was quite brutish about it.”
“He certainly didn’t hem and haw.”
“I truly am sorry, Marcy. I know you didn’t intend to cause trouble for us when you called the police on Tuesday. You saw the truck and became concerned.”
“I did. I thought that whoever had vandalized your car had come to your house and had hidden in the bushes. I was afraid he was there to attack you.”
“I know, and I appreciate your concern. The whole affair wasn’t your fault—it was mine. But Bellamy can’t accept blame for anything himself, and, by association, he won’t let me accept blame, either. I have tried, though.”
“It’s none of my business, of course, but I have to wonder why you’d do such a thing. Why would you have your gardener throw a brick through your windshield?”
“To make Bellamy care.”
“Did it work?” I asked.
She sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingertips. “I don’t know. In a way, I guess.”
“Would you like to have a seat?”
She nodded, and we went to sit on the sofa.
“I know he didn’t try terribly hard to help me get the hospital-administrator job when I first applied for it.”
“I understand that you were one of the top three contenders.”
“I was,” she said. “But then I lost out to Sandra Vincent. Bellamy said she knew someone on the board . . . was cozy with him. He wouldn’t tell me who. I felt that if he’d pushed a bit harder, I could’ve gotten that job and used it to do some good in this community, not only for Brendan, but for a lot of people.”
“Do you think he’ll back you this time?”
“I’m not sure. I hope he will.” She threw her head back against the sofa cushions. “I simply can’t understand it. We want the same things. I know we do. We want to help our son. We want to make sure that sick children get the best possible care. We want to see to it that the people on the organ-donor waiting list are treated as equitably as possible. Together Bellamy and I could reform Tallulah County General into one of the best hospitals around!”
“I’d love to see that happen.”
“Charlie Emerson told me that you brought your friend to do an article on the support group and the concerns of those awaiting organ donors. That was really nice of you. Charlie’s mother, Mary, and I were friends.”
“Really.” I said it flatly, a statement rather than a question.
“Yes. I know it’s unusual to be friends with someone with such a marked age difference as there was between Mary and me, but we just hit it off.”
“How did you meet?”
“At one of the meetings. I began attending them when I applied for the hospital-administration position. I didn’t go as much after the job was awarded to Sandra Vincent, but I still went now and then. And, of course, I kept in touch with Mary until her death.”
“That’s sweet of you.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Ted called a few minutes later to tell me that he’d heard from his friend Doug. Apparently, the security guard—Charlie Emerson—had applied for a position with the Tallulah County Police Department but had been unable to pass the examination.
“That’s kinda sad,” I said. “He’d have probably been a good police officer.”
“Maybe.”
“You don’t sound so sure.”
“He didn’t pass the exam. That probably means he wasn’t cut out for a career in law enforcement.”
“You might be right. In fact, I’m beginning to think he’s more suited to a career as a gossip columnist.” I told him about Melanie’s visit and her being glad I’d brought Vera to do an article about the group.
“Why is the security guard talking with Melanie Carstairs about the organ-transplant support group? I was under the impression that he wanted Carrie Monahan to get the job.”
“He came right out and said as much at the meeting,” I said. “He was asking patients to petition the board of directors to instate Carrie as the hospital administrator. I think either he mentioned it to Melanie in passing because she was friendly with his mother or he’s talking to Melanie to see where she stands with regard to the position.”
“So he can report back to Carrie Monahan.”
“Right. That’s the only reason I can think of that he’d pretend to be on both their sides.”
“But maybe he feels that Bellamy shot his wife down before and will again,” said Ted. “What does it hurt to keep Melanie posted on things if it makes no difference in the long run?”
“Or, it could be that he’s keeping his options open,” I said. “He doesn’t know which woman will eventually end up with the job, so he wants them both to think of him as an asset.”
“And yet you said he seemed smitten with Carrie when you saw them together this morning.”
“I do think he has a crush on her. Still, he could simply be hedging his bets with regard to the job. After all, whoever gets the hospital-administrator job could fire Charlie if she so chose.”
“I guess that’s true enough.”
“But enough about Tallulah County General,” I said. “Do you think your mom will like the necklace I got her?”
“For the thousandth time, she’ll love it. And she’ll also love the cross-stitch Clover you’re making for her. She cares a great deal about you, you know.”
“I care a great deal about her. And I honestly believe Tiffany was beginning to thaw toward me before she left for Seattle. I felt a bit of genuine warmth blow my way as she headed out the door.” I neglected to add her threat about how quickly her feelings would change if I ever hurt Ted. It was a nonissue anyway. I would never hurt Ted.
“The more she gets to know you, the more she’ll like you,” he said. “So, I’m looking forward to Captain Moe’s later. Aren’t you?”
“Yes. Has your salad already worn off?”
“Pretty much.”
“How do you think he’s holding up?” I asked.
“He’s tough. I believe he’s doing fine.”
“Fine? Or as well as can be expected?”
“That last one.”
“Could we go by the mall after dinner?” I asked. “I was really in the mood to shop this morning before I ran into Carrie and Charlie.”
“Sure. After all, I need you to help me pick out something for Angus.”
“You know he’ll love anything you get him.”
“Maybe, but I want it to be something special.”
I laughed. “You’re something special.”
“So are you. See you soon.”
* * *
I was helping a man choose an advanced cross-stitch kit for his wife when Vera came into the Seven-Year Stitch.
“Hi, Vera. I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”
“Take your time,” she said. “I’m in no hurry.”
The man chose a wintry Victorian scene, and we returned to the counter.
“If she doesn’t like it, can she return it?” he asked.
“Of course.” I rang up his purchase and slipped his receipt and a flyer into the bag.
He thanked me and left.
“Are you offering gift certificates?” Vera asked, as I joined her and Angus in the sit-and-stitch square.
“Yes.”
“Well, you need to print off a little sign or something and put it on the counter so people will know. I can do calligraphy—I took a class in it once. Give me a marker and a piece of thick paper, and I’ll make the sign while we talk.”
I went into the office and got Vera a fine-tipped marker and a piece of card stock.
“So, what’s the latest?” She turned the paper this way and that, as if deciding what she wanted to do with it.
I told her about seeing Charlie the security guard and support-group facilitator over coffee with Carrie Monahan, and then I informed her about Melanie’s visit. “I think maybe Carrie is taking advantage of Charlie because he has a crush on her.”
