Dangerous Relations (22 page)

"I'm warning you--if you come with me to visit my mother, she's bound to introduce you to
everyone as my boyfriend."

He grinned. "I've been called lots worse in my life."

Ten minutes later they were in the Jeep driving down Main Street.

"Stop here, Brett," she told him as they approached the florist. "I'll get some flowers for
Aunt Julia, then run into the gourmet shop for my mother."

"Yes, ma'am." He doffed an imaginary cap.

He watched her stride toward the florist shop. She was loving and capable, yet so
vulnerable. How he'd longed to wrap his arms around her while that moron Corey was humiliating
her. But she'd rebounded like a trouper. Which meant there was hope.

Hope for what? He laughed derisively. Their little twosome wasn't going anywhere. They
were rivals, for God's sake. Each of them bogged down with enough emotional baggage to sink a
ship.

A blue van drove slowly by, and sped down the street. Was someone tailing them? Who
could it be? Not Crewe, who was still in police custody. Frustrated, Brett curled his hands into fists.
How could he protect Ardin when he had no idea who was after her?

Ardin returned to the Jeep, a look of triumph on her face. "Got a beautiful bunch of mixed
flowers on sale and some lovely grapes!"

She placed her purchases carefully on the back seat. He was glad she didn't catch him
checking out cars and pedestrians before he drove off.

* * * *

The sight of a strange woman snoring in her aunt's hospital bed sent Ardin's heart vaulting
to her throat.

"Where is she? What did they do with her?" she demanded of Brett as she race-walked to
the nurses' station. The longest three minutes of her life passed before she managed to catch
someone's attention. Finally the nice young Indonesian nurse, who had been so kind to Aunt Julia,
appeared.

"Where is my aunt, Mrs. Darling? Is she all right?"

"Your aunt had a cardiac episode. They took her over to the CCU."

"But what caused it? Was it the tests? Why didn't anyone call me? Oh, damn!" She slapped
her hand on her forehead. "They don't have my cell number, and I'm not at the house. I never
thought to call in Brett's number."

Ardin caught the nurse's uneasy expression. "Don't tell me! Somehow my aunt found out
about the fire."

The nod was barely perceivable. "I'm sorry, Ms. Wesley. She was terribly upset."

Ardin was furious. "Who was it? Some nurses gossiping in the hall right outside her door?"
Her voice rose until she was shouting. "They deserve to be fired for bringing on another heart
attack!"

"Ms. Wesley," the nurse began, but Ardin ignored her.

"It's my fault." She glared at Brett, angry at him as well as at herself. "I should have come
here, tests or no tests, to tell her first thing this morning instead of going off running."

Brett appeared unshaken by her fury. "It's nobody's fault. Don't start piling up blame on
top of everything else." He turned to the nurse. "How do we get to the CCU from here?"

The Cardiac Care Unit was in another wing. Above the nurse's station were monitors
registering the vital signs of every patient. A gray-haired nurse told them where they could find
Julia. "No flowers," she said.

She was in a cubicle-like room, inert on a narrow bed and connected to several tubes and
wires.

"I'll take the flowers to the children's ward, if you tell me where that is," Brett said.

"Thanks." Ardin squeezed his arm. He was giving her time alone with her aunt.

Tremulously she approached the bed.

Despite her bulk, Julia appeared fragile. She opened her eyes.

"Aunt Julia, I'm so sorry. I should have come this morning."

Julia gave her a wan smile. "It's not your fault, dear. But when I heard that fool of a nurse
say the house burned down and you and Leonie were missing, I figured you'd brought her home
from Vivie's for some reason, and--and I'd lost you both."

Ardin took a puffy white hand between both of hers. "Leonie and I are perfectly fine, but
the house is in pretty bad shape."

Fat tears rolled down Julia's cheeks. "All my lovely things ruined. I'll never see them again.
Who would do such an awful thing?"

"It appears that Marshall Crewe set the fire. He was angry because I served him a
revocation of power of attorney on behalf of his aunt."

Julia wiped away her tears. "I don't know what we've done to deserve such terrible fortune.
I don't think I can bear it."

Ardin felt a mounting sense of panic. "Please, Aunt Julia, I promise it will be all right in the
end."

"Nothing will ever be right again." Julia closed her eyes.

Brett squeezed Ardin's shoulder. She sighed, leaning back against his strong, solid frame.
"Brett came to say hello, Aunt Julia."

Her aunt's eyes fluttered open. She saw the flowers, now in a glass pitcher. "Thank you,
Brett. Give Leonie a hug from her grannie."

Ardin kissed her papery cheek. At the nurses' station, she jotted down her cell phone
number and Brett's number.

"Please call me if there's any change in my aunt's condition. And I want to speak to her
doctor ASAP."

"Certainly, Ms. Wesley. Will do."

Outside, the sky had turned cloudy with the threat of rain. Ardin longed to return to
her bedroom in Brett's house and burrow under the covers until things miraculously
improved.
Fat chance of that happening.
She had to be prepared to handle whatever
else arose. Damn! She'd forgotten to ask Julia for the name of her insurance company.

"And now for a visit with Vera," she said, forcing a cheerful note. "Think you're up to
it?"

"Absolutely."

His hand on her waist made her catch her breath. She gave him a rueful smile. "Why not?
Things can't get any worse, can they?"

* * * *

"Ardin, come here!" Vera cried as she and Brett walked through the door.

Her mother crushed her to her breast, then held her at arm's distance to study her from
head to sneakers. "Thank God you're all right! After you called, I almost took a cab to Brett's
house."

"I came just as I said I would." Ardin was both touched and embarrassed by her mother's
uncharacteristic show of emotion.

"I was so worried, they had to give me a sedative," Vera said. "And Brett, how nice to see
you."

Ardin laughed at her mother's sudden flirtatious tone. She moved aside to let Vera greet
Brett.

"I hope you're looking after my daughter. She's very dear to me."

Brett winked. "I'm doing my level best." Both he and Vera beamed at Ardin.

"Aunt Julia's not doing well," she said, and ignored the sudden heat in her face. "They've
put her in the CCU."

"Poor thing. It's no wonder. Her life's falling apart, and her heart can't take it."

Ardin washed the grapes and put them on a plate, which she handed to her mother.

Greedily, Vera popped a few into her mouth. "Ardin dear, I hope you don't mind, but
Renata's invited us to tea. She feels terrible about involving you with her awful nephew, and she
wants to apologize."

"She doesn't have to," Ardin said. "It's not her fault."

"She blames herself for asking you to serve him that what-do-you-call-it paper. Believe me,
she gave that lowlife a piece of her mind. She was livid because he kept denying he set the fire.
Renata says he's always tried to weasel out of things. And on top of everything, he's a lousy
liar."

"I bet he attacked me, too, while I was at your place."

"Not necessarily," Brett said.

"What does Detective Rabe think?" Vera said.

"I don't know." His words echoed hers.

Vera looked from one to the other. "I see." A smile lit up her face.

Ardin was afraid to ask her mother what she saw. She glanced at her watch. "If we're going
to Renata's, we'd better leave now. We have to pick up Leonie soon."

It felt strange walking beside Brett as he pushed her mother's chair along the path that led
to the elegant building where Renata lived. It felt strange, she realized with a start, because she was
enjoying herself. She said little, preferring to listen to the easy banter flowing between her mother
and the man she cared for.

Beneath the banter was their unspoken alliance based on their mutual concern for her
safety. Ardin was touched. Corey had rarely spoken to her mother in the past. But in those days,
Vera was drunk most of the time. Ardin was different then too, she supposed. Unhappy and
unloved. Now she had a career and knew exactly what she wanted from life.

Renata was leaning on her walker at the door of her suite, waiting for them to enter her
living room. As they passed her, she reached out two frail arms to hug Ardin. "Ardin, my dear, I'm so
sorry. That miserable nephew of mine will pay for everything he's destroyed. In the meantime,
here's a little something to buy new outfits for you and Leonie."

The check was made out for five thousand dollars. Ardin gasped. "Please, Renata. This is
too much."

Renata waved a tiny hand. "My dear, not another word."

While Vera introduced Brett to Renata, Ardin glanced around the beautifully furnished
living room that was twice the size of her mother's studio apartment. Light streamed in through the
floor-to-ceiling windows. A woman in white sat against the wall watching them, a grim expression
on her face.

When they were comfortably settled, Renata gestured to the nurse. "This is Gert, who looks
after me. Gert, I think we're ready for tea."

Gert gave a curt nod, and went into the small kitchen. She returned with a tray covered
with creamy French pastries.

"Coffee or tea?"

When they had expressed their preferences, Renata said, "Two coffees, one Earl Grey tea,
and one lemon zinger, Gert, if you please--"

"I can hear." Gert disappeared a second time. She returned a few minutes later with the
requested beverages.

"Thank you," Renata told her. "You can go out if you wish."

Gert gave her a doubtful look. "Sure I can leave you on your own?"

Renata smiled. "I'll be fine. I'll call if I need you. Do you have your cell phone?"

Gert patted her pocket. "Ready and waiting."

When she closed the door behind her, Renata said, "Gert doesn't have the sunniest
disposition, but she's very devoted."

She made a derisive sound. "Of course her devotion's inspired by the large salary I pay
her."

Ardin nearly choked on the bite of napoleon she'd just taken.

"Money's nice to have, don't you agree, Mr. Waterstone?"

"Please call me Brett, Mrs. Kellering."

"Certainly, if you'll call me Renata."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, his southern accent more pronounced than Ardin had ever noticed.
"And yes, I agree money's nice to have--among other things."

"What other things?" Renata's tone was light, Ardin noted, but her sharp eyes watched
Brett like an owl ready to swoop down on her evening meal.

"I'd say family, friends, and good health rank high up there, even higher than money."

"Good for you, Brett. The trouble is, things have gotten rather lopsided for me. I lost my
husband, the person I loved more than anyone in the world, so I started amassing money.
Discovered I was good at buying and investing."

Relaxing in the company of people who adored her, Ardin found herself unwinding. She
sipped her coffee while Renata related the fascinating tale of how, at the age of sixty-seven, she'd
turned into a moneymaking wizard.

"And now that I'm reaching my final days, I want to give most of it away." She poured
herself more tea and sipped. "Ah. Delicious. But being the ornery, rock-headed kind of person I am, I
want to do it my way."

"And why shouldn't you?" Vera said. "It's your money."

"Why not indeed?" Renata sounded somber, but Ardin saw the twinkle in her eye. She was
enjoying her audience. "It's funny about money. As soon as you make some, people come out of the
woodwork and tell you why you should share it with them."

She winked at Ardin. "Like this passel of relatives I hadn't seen in decades. They're
expecting legacies, but I refuse to oblige them. The bulk will go to medical research and needy cases.
And to my favorites."

"What are they?" Ardin said, intrigued. She'd written several wills, but she'd never seen
anyone derive this much pleasure planning how her money would be spent after her death.

"I'm considering establishing a zoo where the animals truly roam free." Renata paused. Her
eyes took on a dreamy expression. "But right now my pet project is my bird sanctuary."

"Where's that going to be?" Brett said.

Renata coughed. Her hand shook as she raised her cup of tea to her lips. "Not far from
here." She started coughing again and couldn't stop. Her cup slid to the floor.

"Ardin, do something!" Vera shouted, though Ardin was already kneeling beside Renata
and rubbing her back.

"Gert!" Renata managed to get out between racking spasms, and pointed to the cell phone
on the table.

Ardin handed it to Renata, who thumbed a number and returned it to Ardin.

"Renata's having a coughing fit," Ardin explained.

"I'll be right there."

"Sorry," Renata said between gasps of breath. "I was enjoying your visit."

"I'll come again," Ardin said, "when you're feeling better."

The door flung open. Gert strode into the apartment. She felt Renata's pulse, and then lifted
her as easily as if she were a child.

"I told you it was too soon for company," she said, her tone surprisingly tender as she
carried Renata into the bedroom. She must have heard Ardin clearing dishes, because her head
swiveled around. "I'll see to that."

She'd as good as ordered them to leave. Flustered, Ardin said, "Yes, of course.
Good-bye."

"Thanks, Renata," Brett called after their hostess. He guided Vera's wheelchair toward the
door.

"Poor Renata," Vera said as they waited for the elevator. "I hope she's not going to have another
bout of pneumonia. In her weakened state, it could finish her off."