Death on a Silver Platter (19 page)

26

Elaine sat on one side of the hospital bed, Mick on the other. In between lay Tracy’s comatose form—a kind of no-man’s-land, full of deep secrets and wells of misunderstanding. Out of reverence, or perhaps a certain sense of humiliation, neither had said a word to the other. They’d both insisted that they loved her, and yet they’d both failed her—failed to protect her, and even worse, failed to understand her.

Elaine had sent Nathan home around six A.M. Tracy had been moved to the ICU by then and only family members were allowed in. Elaine kissed Nathan on the cheek and thanked him. He was sweet to stick around. She could tell he and Bram had some sort of staring match going and that it made Sophie uncomfortable. Sophie and Bram had left shortly after Nathan. Sophie’s parents were arriving home later in the day and Sophie needed to be there to welcome them. Elaine was so grateful for Sophie’s friendship. She promised that she’d call later with an update on Tracy’s condition.

Margie had left with Bram and Sophie, for which Elaine was grateful. It was just Mick and her now, sitting watch at Tracy’s bedside, waiting for her to wake up. The doctors hadn’t made any promises. Elaine knew her daughter was fighting for her life. In a way, she was glad for Mick’s company. They’d been partners in crime, and now they were partners in misery.

Mick did look miserable. So miserable that Elaine was starting to believe he really did love her daughter. Either that or he was an awfully good actor. When the nurse came in to check on Tracy, Elaine took the chance to move her chair closer to his. Once the nurse had left, Elaine caught his eye.

“When did you and my daughter get married?” she asked, keeping her voice low. She needed to know.

He leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs. “Well, it was a week ago—the same day she tried to commit suicide. Don’t be angry, Elaine. She didn’t do it because of me. She told me that a million times. See, we’d gone down to get the marriage license the week before. It was all her idea. You know Tracy. If it wasn’t, I never could have convinced her. She never actually said she loved me, but in time, I thought she would. We got married late Friday afternoon. We planned to keep it a secret, but then she got this idea in her head that she wanted to tell you, so we drove down to your place. You weren’t home, so we waited. Tracy opened a bottle of wine. I didn’t want any. Once she started drinking, she just got quieter and quieter, you know? She just kind of stopped talking to me. She was always moody. I guess I thought she was just having another one of her moods. But then she started crying, almost hysterically, and I couldn’t get her to stop.” He began wringing his hands.

“She finally calmed down a little, said maybe she’d take a bath. I wanted to order a pizza because we hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and she said to go ahead. There was a place in Coralville that would deliver. She apologized for falling apart, said that when it came right down to it, she was a little nervous about telling you we got married. She figured taking a bath would help calm her nerves. Somewhere in there I called you. I thought maybe you should come home. Trace and I talked for a while through the door, but then she said she needed to think. I could tell she was still crying a little, but it wasn’t as bad as before. She told me to go watch TV. The pizza arrived maybe a half hour later. I hollered at her that she better hurry up or it would all be gone by the time she got out. She called back that she wasn’t hungry. I didn’t like the sound of that, but I also didn’t want to upset her. So I gave her some time alone.”

He lowered his head. “I should have known something was wrong, but she’s pulled her silent treatment on me so many times before, I just thought it was more of the same.”

“You should have told me you were married,” said Elaine.

“I wanted to. I almost did a couple of times. But after Tracy got out of the hospital, she insisted that we keep it a secret. I was her ace in the hole. If you tried to commit her, I would ride in on my white horse and save her. At the very least, I could delay you and her shrink long enough for her to escape.”

“You didn’t think she
needed
help?”

“Sure I did, but she was terrified of being locked up. Except . . .”

“Except what?”

He hesitated. “I don’t know quite how to put this.”

“Just say it.”

“I didn’t push her, Elaine. I never pushed her. She was the one who wanted to get married.”

“Why would she marry you if she didn’t love you?”

He rubbed his jaw. “I don’t know. But, after the suicide attempt, after she got to your mother’s house, she seemed . . . changed. I told you that before. She was more sure of herself. Almost cocky, like she wasn’t afraid of anyone. I mean, she had no trouble telling me what to do, but around everyone else, she always seemed so timid. But that was all gone. She ordered Zander around like he was her personal servant. And she even sassed that old guy.”

“Doc Holland?”

“Holland, right. She told him to go piss up a tree. The old guy’s face turned beet red. I thought it was pretty disrespectful, but Tracy thought it was hilarious.”

“I had no idea.”

“All she talked about was getting even.”

“With whom?”

“She wouldn’t say. But then, when I found out she’d been molested as a child, and that’s why she was in therapy, I figured she was going to get the guy who did it. She sure had it in for someone. God, it was killing me to see her like that. I wanted her to be happy that we were married, but it wasn’t even a blip on her radar screen.”

Elaine would have been delighted to think her daughter had found someone to love her, if Tracy had returned that love. But before her disappearance, it seemed that her daughter had been consumed with revenge, not the joys of young married life. Tracy didn’t even trust Mick enough to give him the name of the man she was after. Elaine had no doubt that the man who had molested her when she was a girl was the same one who had just attacked her in Margie’s apartment and nearly killed her. According to the evidence at the scene, that man was Galen Zander.

If there was a God, Zander was already in custody, on his way to lower hell.

“Can you ever accept me as your son-in-law?” asked Mick.

Elaine had lost all patience with him. He seemed so sappy and sincere. His youth and naïveté gave her a headache. Under other circumstances she might have felt sorry for him, but every ounce of sorrow she had was directed toward her daughter. For Mick, she felt only pity. The curse of her life was to be surrounded by weak men.

Before she could answer Mick’s question, a doctor walked in. He checked Tracy’s IV, then spent a few moments talking to the nurse who sat at a computer terminal just inside the door. When he was done, he stepped over to where Elaine and Mick were seated.

Elaine stood. “Did you get the X ray of her neck back?”

“It didn’t tell us anything new. We still don’t know how long her brain was deprived of oxygen. That’s critical.”

“You’re concerned about brain damage,” said Elaine, feeling her stomach tighten.

“Yes. We’re watching her very carefully. The next twenty-four hours should tell us a lot.” He glanced at Mick. “I understand you’re her husband.”

Mick rose from his chair. “That’s right.”

“I’m sure you’ve got questions about the pregnancy.”

Elaine’s eyes opened wide. “The what?”

The doctor glanced down at the chart. “According to this, your daughter is ten weeks along.”

Elaine’s unblinking eyes turned to Mick.

“That’s impossible,” said Mick. “She never said anything to me about a baby.”

“You bastard!” cried Elaine.

Mick whirled around to look at Tracy.

“You’re not
that
big an idiot. You know how babies happen.”

“But . . . we never slept together. Not once. If she’s pregnant—” He turned back to Elaine. “I’m not the father.”

“Then who is?” demanded Elaine. Even as she said the words, a thin, small voice in the back of her mind offered an answer. “Who is?” she whispered, feeling suddenly sick to her stomach.

27

“Bram, they’re beautiful! You shouldn’t have.”

“I shouldn’t have?”

“No, no. You should have. You should have!”

Per her husband’s instructions, Sophie had opened the door to their apartment at exactly three o’clock. Outside, on the floor in the hall right in front of the door, she found a dozen, long-stemmed roses in a beautiful crystal vase.

“They’re pink,” said Bram.

“I can see that.” It was her favorite color. She knew it was trite for a grown woman to adore pink, but there it was.

Sophie held the phone in one hand and picked up the vase with the other. “I’ll put them in the center of the dining room table where we can both enjoy them. Bram, they’re just gorgeous.” She noticed a card. “You are
such
a sweetheart.”

“I agree. I am one in a million. Guys like me don’t come along every day, you know. We don’t grow on trees—or, or . . . all the other clichés I can’t think of at the moment.”

“And
I
don’t take clichés with a grain of salt.”

He laughed. “God, but we’re amusing.”

“We are.”

“You are what you eat.”

“Beauty is only skin deep.”

Bram paused. “You’re not speaking of
my
beauty, are you? Mine goes clear to the bone.”

“You have a glamorous soul.”

“Well, if not glamorous, at least it’s pretty. Look, Soph, I’m sorry I got so angry at you yesterday. It’s just . . . seeing Nathan in your office like that, I went a little berserk. I’ve never been the jealous type. I mean, I didn’t think I was.”

“It was totally innocent, Bram. He just stopped by.”

“I realize now that he’s dating Elaine. I’m thrilled. I wish them years of happiness. Maybe they’ll move somewhere far far away. Like the tip of South America. Or better yet, the wilds of Mongolia. He can open a restaurant featuring sautéed moose or boiled yak. She can build igloos.” Another pause. “So you forgive me?”

“Oh, Bram, let’s just forget about Nathan.”

“Good plan. Listen, I’ve only got four minutes and ten seconds left. It’s top of the hour news and weather time. Have your parents arrived yet?”

“No,” said Sophie, glancing at the grandfather clock in the living room. “Their plane gets in at three-fifteen. They didn’t want me to pick them up. They’re taking a cab. I expect them around four, four-thirty.”

“Tell them I’ll see them tonight. We’re still doing the welcome-home party, right? We’re killing the fatted lamb chop?”

“We’ll have dinner in the Zephyr Club.”

“Excellent choice. By the way, speaking of lamb chops, I talked to my buddy Al at the St. Paul P.D. a while ago. I asked him if he knew anything about Galen Zander—if they’d picked him up yet.”

“And?”

“They brought him in for questioning around four this morning. Talked to him for several hours. He insisted he was innocent, that he had nothing to do with Tracy’s attack. He even produced a witness who said he was nowhere near the Maxfield last night. I guess the witness checked out, so they had to let him go.”

Sophie hadn’t expected that. “Do you think someone was trying to frame him?”

“That’s what Zander thinks. The police aren’t so sure, but unless they can break his alibi, he’s off the hook. Keep this next part under wraps, okay? Seems he’s the key suspect in Millie Veelund’s murder, too. He was the one who administered her insulin shots, so he had access. Mick said that when he climbed in Tracy’s bedroom window the night she disappeared—the same night Millie was murdered—that he found Zander downstairs in the pantry, where the insulin was kept. Zander said that he was having trouble sleeping, but the police don’t buy it.”

“If he did murder Millie, what do they think his motive was?”

“Money. Millie left him a million dollars in her will— his reward for years of loyal service. It would be pretty ironic if he offed the old girl just to get his hands on it and then went to jail for her murder. He was at Canterbury Downs yesterday celebrating, and later at a bar where he picked up some girl. She was his alibi for last night.”

“A prostitute?”

“I don’t know if she had sex with him for money, but I do know she was awfully young—and looked even younger.”

“Did the police ask him about Tracy? If he’d molested her?”

“They did,” said Bram. “But obviously he wasn’t going to admit it and they don’t have any proof. He said he had nothing to do with Tracy’s problems, then or now.”

“And the only one who knows the name of the pedophile is lying in a hospital bed in a coma. How convenient.”

“Have you heard from Elaine?” asked Bram.

“No. I called the hospital a little while ago, but there’s been no change.”

“What an incredible mess.”

“You know,” said Sophie, musing out loud, “if Zander is off the hook, that means someone else attacked Tracy last night. Who would do that, Bram? What kind of monster are we dealing with?”

“Like you said, the suspects are fairly limited.”

“The police need to concentrate on the molestation. That’s the key.”

“For Millie’s murder, too?”

“Oh, geez, I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Ten seconds to airtime. Gotta run, sweetheart. We’ll talk more later. Bye.”

28

A shadow fell across Tracy’s bed.

“It’s only me,” said Doc Holland, smiling down at Elaine. He patted her shoulder. “I’m sorry if I startled you. I played my usual trump card. They only want family in the ICU, but I told them I was your family doctor. I hope you don’t mind. I had to come see how Tracy was doing.”

“How did you know she was here?” Elaine stood and gave him a hug.

“Danny.”

Danny and Alex had come down to the hospital around noon. Roman was with them, bearing flowers. Elaine didn’t care if she made a scene. She refused to let him in the room. Alex walked him back to the ICU waiting room, where he and his flowers could rot, for all she cared. Danny and Alex stayed only a few minutes, but in that time, Elaine saw her own shock reflected on her brothers’ faces.

Mick had left a few minutes before to grab something to eat, so Elaine was alone in the room—as alone as one can be with a nurse sitting ten feet from the hospital bed. The nurse wasn’t in the room at the moment. She split her time between Tracy and another patient across the hall.

“Would you like to sit down?” asked Elaine, nodding for Doc to take Mick’s chair.

He hesitated, stepped closer to Tracy and looked closely at her, then checked out the swelling in her neck. “Has there been any change in her condition?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“No breathing problems?”

“Should there be?”

“Well, that’s always an issue after an injury like this. But she’s holding her own. That’s a good sign.” He touched the skin on Tracy’s arm, making a low, indecipherable noise in the back of his throat.

“What is it?” asked Elaine, jumping up. “Is something wrong?”

“Her skin is clammy.”

“What’s that mean?”

He turned to her, holding a finger to his lips. “I’ve always believed that a person in a coma is far more in touch with what’s happening around them than we realize.” Bending close, he said softly into Tracy’s ear, “I’m here for you, kiddo. It’s Doc Holland. I’m here to help take care of you.” He brushed her hair tenderly. “You’ve got yourself into a bit of a fix, honey, but you’re strong. Just remember that. Your mother and I are going to sit and talk for a while, so you rest. When you wake up, maybe I’ll be here. That would be nice, wouldn’t it? I’d dearly love to see your eyes open right now.” He waited for a few seconds, watching her closely, then shook his head and sat down, muttering, “You never know.”

“I’m glad you came by,” said Elaine, resuming her own seat. She was so completely at her wit’s end, and Doc was the closest thing to a father she’d known since she was a child.

He leaned over to pat her knee. “The world calls us to be a part of it. It’s a fierce pull, this being alive stuff. Problem is, life doesn’t come with an instruction book, unless you believe in the Bible. I’ve lived too long, seen too much, to rely on something so essentially confusing. Now, your mother, she was different. She found comfort in religion. I believe in God, mind you, but not the way she did. Millie was so certain about her ideas and values. Me, well, I figure there’s always somebody out there trying to tell you what to do, what’s right, what’s wrong. It’s a damn nuisance.”

When Elaine smiled, it felt as if the muscles in her face were made of concrete. “You’re quite a philosopher.”

“Not really, but age makes you one even if you weren’t when you were younger.” He narrowed his eyes at Tracy. “I don’t like her color.”

“Should we call someone?” asked Elaine, feeling her anxiety zoom into the stratosphere.

“They’ve got her well monitored.” He looked around at all the equipment. “Besides, it’s probably just an old man’s eyesight. Now, Danny, on the other hand. I haven’t wanted to pry, but he’s lost some weight. How’s his health?”

“Fine, as far as I know. The cancer is gone, but he’s still careful about what he eats. I think he’s even started exercising, which is very unlike him.”

“That could account for it,” said Doc. He used his cane to help him shift back in his chair. “I couldn’t believe your mother didn’t leave a specific bequest to Danny’s two kids in her will. I suppose it was that old Jewish animus again.”

“Mom was a bigot.”

“Must have hurt Danny.”

“It did.”

“When Tracy gets back on her feet, are you planning to go ahead with your mother’s idea of turning the house into a bed-and-breakfast? Millie thought it would be good for Tracy. Get her interested in something besides her problems. Your friend Sophie said she’d help.”

“I haven’t even given it a moment’s thought,” said Elaine, rubbing her eyes.

“Funny how life works.”

“What do you mean?”

“It makes for some strange bedfellows.”

She still didn’t understand.

“Pearl, Sophie’s mother, was engaged to your father once upon a time. Did you know that?”

“They were?”

“Sure. They were high school sweethearts. I guess I figured your mother told you.”

“She didn’t.”

“The night your dad died, he and Pearl spent some time alone in his car. I saw them drive away from the house. I was standing at the living room window.”

“What are you saying?”

He shrugged. “Just that I always wondered what they talked about that night.”

“Are you suggesting they were having an affair?”

“No idea. All I know is, your mother jumped through a lot of hoops to please your dad. I’m not sure Millie ever felt loved. I hated Carl for that. He was one of my dearest friends, but he didn’t treat your mom the way she deserved.”

It didn’t come as a shock to Elaine that her parents weren’t happy. In some part of her psyche she’d always known it, though she’d successfully hidden that knowledge away inside herself where she didn’t need to think about it. But an affair? She couldn’t imagine her father, the original straight arrow, cheating. “Why are you bringing this up now?”

Doc sighed and folded his hands in his lap. “Since your mother’s death, I guess I’ve been revisiting the past a lot. Just because I was there, lived through it, doesn’t mean I understood it. And”—he glanced over at Elaine, a rueful look on his face—“you’re old enough to realize that
everlasting love
and
knights in white armor
are fairy tales. They have nothing to do with real life.”

She wasn’t quite sure where he was going. She waited for him to continue.

“Well, if you do make your parents’ home into a bed-and-breakfast, you won’t have to kick Zander out. You knew that the police brought him in for questioning this morning.”

“Danny told me.”

“When I left a few hours ago, he was upstairs packing.”

“You mean . . . the police let him go?”

“He had an alibi. They didn’t have a choice. He said he was moving to that new Savoy Millennium in downtown Minneapolis for the time being. He also said that he had nothing to do with what happened to Tracy.”

“Right.” As if Elaine would believe a word he said.

Suddenly, Doc stood up. “Get the nurse!”

“Why?”

“She’s starting to seizure.”

Before Elaine reached the door, the nurse rushed into the room.

Everything was a blur after that. Elaine heard strange words being shouted—crash cart, intubate. Nobody explained what was happening, but they didn’t need to. She knew something dire was happening to her daughter. She backed into a corner and stayed there until a young man told her she had to leave. She resisted, saying she’d keep out of the way if he’d just let her stay, but she was finally escorted out of the room as other hospital personnel charged past her.