Classic Revenge (3 page)

"Yeah, I want to look my absolute best when I'm lying in my coffin having died of exercising," Trish said
wryly. No one spoke for a moment. "I'm sorry," she
said. "That was insensitive."

Millie cleared her throat. "You didn't mean anything
by it, honey. It's natural for the living to go on living.
We say things that sometimes bring back sad memories, but we're human."

Edna looked down at her clasped hands. "I sure do
miss her," she said softly.

Trish and Millie both nodded silently. Edna was referring to Susan Wiley, a neighbor down the street who had died two weeks before in a tragic accident. They
hadn't seen much of Sam, Susan's husband, since the
funeral. He had withdrawn into himself, completely
devastated at the loss of his wife of forty years. They
knew it was going to take time for him to deal with his
grief, but they were concerned about him. All they
could do right now was to provide enough prepared
meals to help him get through this difficult period.

Sam and Susan had regularly participated in the barbeques, card games, and luncheons that Millie, Edna,
and Trish organized. Only a week before her death, Susan had invited all three women over for lunch. She had
been her usual happy and vivacious self, a joy to be
around. Yes, Susan would be missed terribly.

"Joe saw Claire a couple of days ago," Edna said. "Evidently Sam is thinking about moving in with his sister for
a while. He can't stand to be in the house where Susan
died." Claire had been the Wiley's housekeeper for the
last five years. Never married, she was a sweet woman
who became more of a friend to the Wileys than an employee. Susan used to boast that Claire, at age sixty, was a
true miracle worker around the house.

"I know I wouldn't ever be able to use that bathroom
again, regardless of how gorgeous it is." Trish shuddered. "Can you imagine bathing in the same tub where
your wife accidentally electrocuted herself?"

"I wonder if Claire will go with Sam if he decides to
go to his sister's house?" Edna asked.

Millie shrugged. "She probably will. She's like a
member of the family, after all."

Edna sighed deeply and rose from her chair. Carrying her cup to the sink, she said, "I think I'll run over
and see how Sam is doing. If Joe comes by looking for me, will you tell him where I've gone? He took our car
in for service this morning, and then we're meeting
Stan and Lewis for lunch."

"How are your sons, by the way? I haven't seen them
in a while," Trish said.

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I think Stan has a
girlfriend. If those two boys don't get busy finding
wives, I'll never get to be a grandmother."

Millie chuckled. "In case you haven't noticed, your
boys are in their forties. They are considered men now."

"I don't care how old they are. They're still my boys. I just don't understand it. Both are successful in their
jobs, both are very handsome, if I do say so myself,
and they have never been in any trouble. What's wrong
with them?"

"Marriage isn't for everybody, you know," Trish said
sardonically. "Even though you have a fairy-tale marriage, that happily-ever-after stuff doesn't work for
everybody"

Millie raised her eyebrows. "My, we're the cynical
one, aren't we?"

"I am not cynical. I'm a realist."

"Well, then, you're a cynical realist."

"There's no such thing."

Edna threw her hands in the air, motioning for a time
out. "You two can argue after I'm gone. I'll talk to you
later."

"Give Sam our love," Trish called out to Edna's departing back.

Millie stayed a few minutes longer, finishing her coffee and talking about her own daughter and two grandchildren. Finally, she stood to leave. "I need to run to
the grocery store. Do you need anything?"

"No, thanks. I went yesterday."

"Want to come over for dinner tonight? I'm fixing
meatloaf, and that movie you've been wanting to see
about the horse who rallied the country after the stock
market crash is on "

Trish thought for a minute. The idea certainly held
appeal, and she hated cooking for just herself. "Okay,
that sounds good. I would normally bring a cake, but
since I'm dieting I'll bring Jell-O and fruit."

"Yippee," Millie said apathetically. "My mouth is
watering."

Trish yawned and leaned against the opening to the
living room, looking at her exercise machine. "What
the heck," she muttered to herself. "Tomorrow is another day." She should start on the dessert for tonight,
anyway. Grinning, she rinsed out the coffee cups and
placed them in the dishwasher.

Maybe she'd surprise Millie and bake some cupcakes. The woman was a chocoholic if there ever was
one. She'd have to make sure she took them all to Millie's, though, and more important, be sure she left them
all. Otherwise, she'd be tempted to eat half a dozen in
one sitting. Millie, she knew, could eat them all and not
gain an ounce. It just wasn't fair.

Trish unfastened her new stretch belt. Her favorite
sweatpants hung on a convenient hook on the back of
the bathroom door, and they beckoned to her like a longlost friend. She was halfway down the hallway when the
doorbell pealed for the second time that morning. "Now what?" she sighed and backtracked. But before she could
even get to the door, the bell rang twice more.

She flung open the door, ready to give whoever was on
the other side a piece of her mind when she saw the frazzled look on Edna's face. Edna pushed through the door
with a hand on her chest. Breathing heavily, she said,
"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! You are not going
to believe what happened!"

"What?"

"They just took Sam away!"

"Who did?"

"The police did!"

Trish's eyebrows rose. "The police took Sam away?
Why would they do such a thing?"

Edna walked into the kitchen on rubbery legs and
sank down at the table. She appeared ready to jump out
of her skin. Her face was pale, her hazel eyes opened
wide in shock. Trish silently wondered if Edna had
fallen and bumped her head, but that wasn't likely because her perfectly coifed silver hair was still in place.

Finally, Edna took a deep breath and leaned back in
her chair. "I was having a cup of coffee with Sam when
his doorbell rang. Claire went to answer it, and when she
returned she had two policemen with her. They started
all that mumbo-jumbo about his rights, and then they
handcuffed him!"

Trish leaned over and grabbed the box of tissues off
the counter and pushed them toward Edna. "You've got
to be kidding!"

"I wish I were. You should have seen Sam's face,"
Edna sniffed.

"Were you able to talk to him? Did he say anything?"

"No. They rushed him into one of the patrol cars so fast I was afraid there was a sniper around or something. Then the two officers drove off with Sam in the
backseat. Claire was hysterical, so I stayed with her until she calmed down. I came here as soon as I could"

"I still can't believe Sam could be in any trouble, not
with the law! Did you find out what the police are after
him for?"

Edna nodded and the tears spilled over. "They say
it's for murder."

Trish's heart stopped beating for a moment. "Murder? Are they crazy? Who in their right mind would
think Sam was capable of murder?" Her mind couldn't
comprehend this. There had to be some mistake. Then
it occurred to her. "The police think Sam killed Susan,
don't they?"

Edna nodded, the tears running down her face.

Trish drummed her fingernails on the table. Her
mind was spinning helplessly as she tried to make some
sense of what was going on. Finally, she said, "Okay,
let's go talk to Claire. Maybe she knows if Sam has an
attorney. First, we need to get him out of jail. I'm not
sure the man can stand much more stress"

Edna drew a shaky breath and stood. "You're right. We
need to take action. Crying isn't going to help anybody"

Trish put her arm around Edna's shoulders. "You cry
all you want, sweetie. Get the shock out of your systembecause when Sam does get out we're going to have to
be strong and supportive."

Edna sniffed and nodded. "You're right, of course.
We know Sam isn't guilty. We can't let him know how
horrified we are that he's been charged with this. He'll
think we may have our doubts. We need to show him,
above all else, that we are there for him, that we believe in him." Edna's voice had gained strength and her hand
was clenched in a fist where it rested on the table. Sam
needn't worry about Edna's loyalty, that was a fact. The
little lady looked like she was ready to punch somebody
out just for suggesting he could do anything wrong.

Trish reached over and squeezed Edna's hand. "Let's
go see Claire."

Sam's house was three doors down. It was hard to
believe that the beautiful old home with the meticulous
landscaping and the cheerful red door Susan Wiley had
painted herself held so much recent tragedy.

They were almost at the house when they heard tires
screeching. Both of them looked over their shoulders.
It was Millie, turning onto their street. "Boy, I wish
they would take her driver's license away," Trish said.
"She's more dangerous than a carload of teenagers on
cell phones"

"I know what you mean. She scares me to death"
They watched as Millie pulled into her driveway and
slammed on the brakes. It took a few seconds for the big
car to stop rocking.

"You go fill in Millie on what's happened, and I'll go
talk to Claire. You two can meet me over there"

Edna nodded and hurried back down the street while
Trish walked up the sidewalk to Sam's house. She rang
the doorbell and waited, then realized that she was still
wearing her bright blue spandex exercise outfit. Hopefully none of the neighbors were watching, she thought
self-consciously as she quickly glanced around. Down
the street, Millie was scooting off the three cushions
she used to help her see over the hood of her car just as
Edna reached the driver's door. She didn't see Millie's reaction to the news because at that moment the front
door of Sam's house opened.

Trish took one look at the face of the housekeeper
and stepped inside to envelop her in a hug. "Oh, Claire,
I'm so sorry" Claire's swollen eyes were red-rimmed,
her lips trembling on her ashen face. Hopelessness
seemed to shroud her as she clung tightly to Trish, her
shoulders shaking. "Shh, shh, everything is going to be
okay," Trish said soothingly, hoping she spoke the truth.

Claire stepped back. "Nothing will ever be okay
again."

The sadness in Claire's voice broke Trish's heart.
"Of course it will. You have to have faith, Claire."

Claire smiled slightly and ran her fingers through her
short, thick hair. "I appreciate your coming over. I was
just getting ready to make some coffee. Would you care
to join me?"

"Coffee would be nice," she said, following Claire
into the kitchen. The house was dark and quiet as if it,
too, were in mourning. Sadness and worry permeated
the air, seeping through the sand-colored walls and rich
hardwood flooring. The kitchen, as usual, was spotless.
She sat at the oval table while Claire started the coffeemaker and pulled cups down from the cabinet.

Trish had always adored this kitchen, coming over
often during the remodeling that Susan had supervised
from beginning to finish. The open spaciousness Susan
had wanted to convey, while projecting a warm, comfortable atmosphere, was successfully achieved with a
tasteful mixture of old-fashioned knickknacks and stateof-the-art appliances. The ceramic bread box sitting on
the dark green granite countertop had been a gift from Trish last Christmas. She smiled sadly as she remembered Susan's joy when she'd opened it.

There was a knock at the front door just as Claire
prepared to sit down. Noticing the startled look on the
other woman's face, Trish hurriedly explained, "That's
probably Millie and Edna. I told them I would be over
here." Poor woman, Trish thought to herself as Claire
went to the door. She has been through so much lately
that she's afraid of even going to the door, afraid of the
news the person on the other side is there to relate.

As Trish predicted, Millie and Edna followed Claire
into the kitchen. Millie's arm was wrapped protectively
across Claire's shoulders as she led her to the table.
Edna reached into the cabinet and pulled out two more
coffee cups. They were all going to be bouncing off
the walls with as much caffeine as they had consumed
today-either that, or they should seriously consider
purchasing stock in coffee beans.

Trish waited until they were all seated at the table.
"Claire, do you know if Sam has an attorney?"

Claire shook her head. "I don't know. I wasn't involved in any of their personal business. I guess he must
have, you know, to settle the issues regarding Susan's
death and her will, but I never met an attorney or heard
Sam mention one."