Worse Than Being Alone (22 page)

“
How many aliases do you think he
has?” Pete asked.

“
There’s no way to know unless we
keep following him,” Roni said. “I don’t think he would admit more
if we confronted him. He’s obviously not stupid.”

“
What will the insurance company
do?” Pete asked.

“
They will end his claim,” I said.
“They will probably turn the information over to the state fraud
unit.”

“
Will they prosecute?” Pete
asked.

“
Maybe,” I said. “It’s a small
unit and they seem reluctant to prosecute most of the
time.”

“
That’s not good enough,” Pete
said. “I want you to keep following him and figure out how many
false claims he has. Then we can take it to the County Prosecutor.
I want this kid to do jail time.”

“
Well, why don’t we give it a go
again tomorrow?” Roni asked. “Then we can call you back and
reassess. It’s going to be hard to follow him every day for any
length of time. We don’t want him to see us, and we have other
commitments.”

“
I understand,” Pete said. “You’re
doing a great job. Like I told you in the beginning, I don’t care
how much this costs. Maybe it’s my Italian heritage, but I find
Tim, or whoever the hell he is, offensive. I refuse to let him get
away with it.”

“
We understand,” I said. “We’ll
call you tomorrow.”

I was about to make a comment when my cell phone
emitted its little jingle. I checked the screen and said. “I’d
better get this. Hi, Meadow, what’s going on?”

“
Kitty,” Meadow Knull said, her
voice breaking with emotion. “Can you come to the hospital? I need
to talk to you.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Billy Diamond looked at the stakes with small red
flags that had been placed on their lot overlooking the river. Late
September had arrived with the same hot temperatures that had
characterized their summer. Billy couldn’t remember the last time
they had such lingering heat for three straight months. The leaves
on the trees hinted at some subtle color changes, but Billy figured
fall would be late this year, perhaps holding off until
Thanksgiving.

Marian was having her hair done again so Billy had
come by himself to be sure the house was staked out correctly.
Billy went back to the car, pulled a folding chair out of the
trunk, and grabbed his lunch from the front seat. He placed the
chair near where their front door would be after construction.
After numerous discussions and actual arguments over every aspect
of the proposed house, they were nearing a consensus.

The mansion Marian had envisioned had been scaled
back considerably, much to Billy’s relief. Still, by any standard,
it would not be a small house. A sprawling ranch with two decks and
a screened in porch had been included in the plans. Marian had
fought for a huge two story, but Billy prevailed because he felt at
their age, a two story was impractical.

Billy pulled a Lion’s Choice roast beef sandwich out
of the bag along with a container of French fries. He usually
watched his diet very carefully, but sometimes you just had to have
some good junk food. Billy had totally rejected the herbal
medicines Marian had pushed early in the marriage. After his
hospitalization, Billy had stood his ground. Marian’s pouting over
the issue had lasted several weeks until she finally relented.

Unfortunately, they just seemed to move from one
issue to the next, leaving Billy to seriously question his hasty
marriage. Marian wanted to know every detail of Billy’s finances,
which Billy had been resisting. On the one hand, he understood her
curiosity. He also knew she wouldn’t be pleased with the current
setup and would continue to demand changes that Billy had no
intention of making.

Marian’s recent tactic had been pouting and
withholding sex. Billy had countered with if there isn’t going to
be any sex, there’s no need for us to be married. In Billy’s mind
it represented sort of a variation of the whole free milk thing. In
other words, I bought the cow, give me the milk.

Finished with his sandwich, Billy liked the way the
house was staked out and was sure Marian would be pleased, at least
about the house. Everything else was going to be a challenge, and
Billy wasn’t sure how it would all play out in the end.

One thing was crystal clear, at least to Billy. Roni
and his grandchildren were more important to him than Marian. If
Marian kept up the pressure and wouldn’t relent, he wasn’t sure
there was much hope for the marriage.

Billy still felt bad about telling Roni and Kitty to
back off. He realized they had only been concerned about his
welfare. Part of him wanted to meet with Roni and confide in her,
but as long as his marriage had a chance, he didn’t want to confess
his doubts to Roni.

A box of his own making, Billy thought as he stood,
gathered his trash, and grabbed his folding chair. Billy threw
everything in the trunk and climbed back in the car, reaching for
his cell phone so he could call the contractor. Instead, he found
Roni’s number and pressed her name.

“
Hey, Dad,” Roni said. “How are
you?”

“
I’m good. I haven’t seen you in a
few weeks. I’m here at the lot.”

“
How’s it going?” Roni
asked.

“
Good. They’re getting ready to
pour the foundation. I’m checking out the stakes to make sure it’s
right. I was hoping we could do lunch soon.”

“
Will Marian be joining us?” Roni
asked.

“
Well, I was thinking about just
you and I.”

“
Is everything OK, Dad?” Roni
asked. “You sound kind of tentative.”

“
Yeah, it’s OK. We can talk about
it when we get together.”

“
I’m kind of busy,” Roni said.
“There are a few things I need to finish up. I need to talk to you
about some things, too. Could I call you next week and set up a
time?”

“
Sure, that sounds
fine.”

“
Dad, is everything OK with you
and Marian?”

“
Why would you ask me
that?”

“
Just wondering. I’m sorry. I
guess I was jumping to conclusions.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Gloom and doom were like real passengers in the car
with me as I drove to the hospital to see Meadow. I knew her well
enough to identify the obvious distress in her voice and then there
was the simple, plaintive plea that had sent me scurrying. I tried
to reach my contact, Barbara Talbot, but she had left for the
day.

I parked on the surface lot, grabbing my jacket
because the cool temperature hinted that Fall was around the corner
despite the brilliant sunshine. The pleasant weather seemed at odds
with the emotional turmoil going on inside the hospital. A driving
wind and unrelenting rainstorm seemed like it would be a lot more
fitting.

The elevator was crowded; a little boy pressed all
16 floors buttons before his mother could stop him so the trip
seemed interminable. Thankfully, the burn unit was on the seventh
floor, sparing me the rest of the stops. The door opened, and I was
surprised to see Meadow standing in the waiting area by a door that
led to a small courtyard. When she spotted me, a look of relief and
then pain marched across her face. By the time I reached her, the
tears were flowing.

“
Lets go outside,” I said as I
grabbed her and led her through the door. We ended up by the
exterior wall, which was as much privacy as we were going to
get.

“
Oh, Kitty,” Meadow said. “Her
kidneys are failing. They’re going to start dialysis tomorrow.
That’s really bad, right?”

“
It’s not a good sign,” I said as
Meadow started sobbing. I hugged her until the worst of the torrent
had passed.

“
I want the absolute truth,” she
said as she stepped back a little. “The doctors keep treating me
like I’m some fragile little girl they have to protect. I have
siblings I have to take care of and plans to make.”

“
I haven’t seen your mother’s
labs,” I said as she started to protest. “Hear me out, OK? The fact
they are recommending dialysis means her kidneys are not
functioning properly. One of two things is going to happen. Your
mother gets dialysis and her kidneys start functioning again or
they don’t.”

“
If they don’t,” Meadow
said.

“
There is a complication in burn
patients called DIC. Because of the trauma, small blood clots
develop throughout the body. As those blood clots consume proteins
and platelets, normal coagulation is disrupted and abnormal
bleeding occurs. The clots can disrupt normal blood flow to
organs.”

“
Like the kidneys?” Meadow asked
as I grabbed her hand.

“
Yes, if that’s what’s happening,
your mother’s kidney function will not improve and she will start
to require blood transfusions.”

“
Then what?” she asked though I
could tell she knew the answer.

“
It will lead to multi-organ
failure. There is no coming back from that scenario.”

“
OK, at least I know what this
means,” Meadow said. “You know, I remember when you told me I would
be on the rollercoaster from hell. I didn’t get it at first but I
do now. One day, the news is good and the next, it’s bad. You have
this little flame of hope and you’re not sure whether to keep it
alive or let it go out.”

“
At this point, I’d keep it going.
There’s still a chance.”

“
Prepare for the worst and hope
for the best,” she said sarcastically.

“
There’s a reason for every hokey
platitude. What else can I do to help you, Meadow?”

“
Do you think I should talk to the
adjuster again about what happens if Mom dies?”

“
Absolutely. I’ll call her in the
morning and explain the situation and have her call you. She can
explain the benefits you and your siblings are entitled to under
the comp law. Are your brothers and sisters here? I’d like to meet
them.”

“
My fiancé took them down to get
something to eat,” Meadow said. “I didn’t want them to see me like
this.”

“
Anytime you need to talk, call my
cell,” I said as Meadow’s brothers, sisters, and fiancé came out
into the courtyard. We visited for several minutes as Meadow’s
carefully constructed, adult mask slipped back into place. Teasing
banter replaced any serious discussion as I watched Meadow interact
with her family. I left, vowing to stop by every day and feeling
despondent myself. I made it to the car and started crying until I
had the worst of it out of my system. Sometimes you just have to
have a good cry. On a whim, I picked up my cell phone and selected
the person I wanted to talk to.

“
Lionel,” I said when he answered.
“I was hoping I could see you tonight.”

“
I was just grilling some burgers
and dogs for the girls,” he said. “Come on over. I’ll throw a few
more on. I’d like to see you, too. I want you to meet Sophie and
Bella.”

I entered the address into the navigation system and
settled in for the short ride. I tried not to think of all the
reasons this might be a bad idea, and just let my impulse rule. I
parked in front and started walking toward the front door just as
two adorable blond girls with ponytails opened the door and came
bounding down the walk.

“
Are you Kitty?” one of the blond
beauties asked.

“
Yes, I am,” I said.

“
I’m Sophie,” she said. “I don’t
wear glasses so you can tell me apart from Bella here.”

“
Hello, Sophie and Bella,” I said
as they each took a hand and led me up the walk.
“My Dad says you work with him and you’re friends,” Bella said as
we walked into the house.

“
That’s right,” I said as Lionel
came in from the patio carrying a plate of burgers and hot
dogs.

“
Good timing; let’s eat,” he said
as he smiled and waved toward the table.

The girls talked non-stop about school, dance
glasses, friends, and threw in a flurry of questions for Lionel and
me about our friendship. Our answers seemed to satisfy them.

I was totally enamored of both of them by the time
we finished dinner. I volunteered to get them ready for bed and
read them a story while Lionel cleaned up the kitchen. Lionel came
upstairs just as the story was ending. I got kisses and hugs from
both girls and followed Lionel down the stairs.

“
I think they like you,” Lionel
said as we walked back into the kitchen.

“
The feeling is mutual,” I said as
he washed several bowls that didn’t fit into the
dishwasher.

“
I’ll dry,” I said as I grabbed a
towel. “I gotta say, they more or less had me on the front walk
when they took my hands. They’re adorable, Lionel.”

“
They’re on their best behavior,”
he said. “I’m glad you called. You seemed upset. Is everything
OK?”

“
I have a catastrophic case. She’s
a burn victim who is in a coma. I’ve gotten close to her daughter,
Meadow. I was at the hospital because her mom has kidney failure. I
was upset because I don’t think her mom is going to make
it.”

“
I’m sorry, Kitty,” Lionel said as
he leaned over, kissed me, and smiled.

I kissed him back and suddenly our hands were
everywhere, touching, probing, removing clothing, but always
returning to a deeper kiss.