In Sickness And In Death Part 20

Ray grimaced as if it pained him. "Danny's father may be charged with murder."

My heart filled with dread. "What are we going to tell Danny?"

"Nothing yet."

"What if it's in the paper tomorrow?"

Ray scratched his eyebrow and peered at me through his fingers. "We don't get the paper. Do you get it at the shop?"

"Sometimes Cory brings it in."

"Call him and tell him to leave it home tomorrow. Danny doesn't have to go back to school until Monday. By then, we'll know what to tell him."

"His cla.s.smates already know his father's in jail."

"I'm not surprised. How do you know?"

"I saw Bernie at The Lincoln House. His son Jacob is in Danny's cla.s.s. He said another kid told Jacob on the bus."

Ray stretched out on the bed again. "It's one thing to be in jail for car theft, but it's a whole different game when your father's in jail for murder, especially of a female relative."

"That kid was already teasing Danny about you. I can't imagine what they'll say about his real dad."

"We'll just have to tell him to hold his head up high and ignore them."

I stretched out next to him, my body rigid with tension. "Oh, Ray, you said yourself he's impulsive. He cried in the car today. I don't know if he can take any more pressure."

"What's your suggestion?"

"I thought about making an appointment for him with Dr. Albert. He could tell Dr. Albert the whole truth. Dr. Albert wouldn't tell us, but maybe he could give Danny some direction or at least some support."

Ray thought about it for a minute. "That's a good idea, Darlin'. Dr. Albert works miracles on your sister. Let's hope he can help Danny, too."

I lay silent next to Ray, thinking about the doubts I'd had about Dr. Albert's treatment of Erica. She was avoiding Dr. Albert now, but prior to her disappearance, she'd gone the longest time ever content and employed. Not to mention she always seemed upbeat when she came out of his office. It wasn't him causing the problems. It was her.

In the morning, I'd give him a call about Danny.

Ray broke into my thoughts. "The sheriff doesn't want me involved in the investigation. Period. Exclamation point. That's why he called. He said if we had any further suspicions about Leslie Flynn or her brother, we need to talk to him directly. We're not to pay any more calls on them."

I stiffened. "I don't work for the sheriff, Ray."

"I know."

"I don't like being told what to do, especially by him." The sheriff didn't leave his office very often, unless an on-camera opportunity arose. I'd lost respect for him years ago. But Ray didn't share my feeling, so I kept it to myself.

"I'm just telling you what he said. I'm the only one sworn to obey."

I lifted my head and gazed into Ray's amused eyes. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"No."

But the twinkle in his eye said otherwise.

____.

The next morning I phoned Dr. Albert. His receptionist said he didn't have any openings this week and gave me the runaround. I insisted on speaking to him directly. She grudgingly took a message.

He called back within an hour. "Were you calling about your sister? I'm willing to make another appointment for her this week, but it would be better if you escort her. She didn't show up this Wednesday."

"She's missing." I rattled off the whole sordid tale, including all I knew about Maury Boor. "He's not a patient of yours, is he?"

"I couldn't tell you if he was."

I got the feeling from his tone that Maury wasn't a patient. "What do you think of his behavior, the roses and the stalking?"

"I'd say he's desperate for attention."

"Does that make him dangerous?"

"Not necessarily."

"Ray and I have showed his picture around town. We don't know where else to look."

Dr. Albert changed topics. "I guess I misunderstood. Did you want an appointment for yourself?"

I explained about Danny and his father. Dr. Albert listened without interruption. He had a question when I finished.

"Did you talk with Social Services about making an appointment for him with me?"

"No."

"You'll need to call them first for authorization."

"Really?"

"I'm afraid so."

No way would I do that. A conversation with Social Services might get him labeled as a troubled child-if he wasn't already-or, worse, removed from our home. Ray and I were still a safe haven for him. Besides, I kinda liked having him around. From all indications, Danny liked it here, too.

I hung up disappointed and frustrated. I only wanted to help Danny. Why did bureaucracy always mess things up?

Danny sat at the table, working on his a.s.signments when I walked into the kitchen. I wondered if Ray had gotten him going this morning or if he'd taken the initiative himself. Either way, I was pleased.

"Did you eat breakfast?"

He didn't look up. "Ray made eggs. Brown eggs."

"How were they?"

"Okay."

I poured a gla.s.s of juice and peeled the lid off a container of yogurt. I ate leaning against the sink. "How's the homework coming along?"

"I'm almost done. I have to study for a geography test." Danny glanced at the clock. "What time are we leaving for the shop?"

"In fifteen minutes."

He nodded. His pencil moved more quickly over the page. Impressed, I left him alone to finish.

On the drive to work, Danny talked nonstop. Most of his sentences started with the words "You know what, Jolene?" and ended with something Cory had told him about cars. I even learned a few things. But once we reached the shop, I was delighted to hand him off to Cory. The constant conversation, after all my months of solitude, was a little more than I could take. He'd talked our ears off last night, too, while we unpacked the outdoor Christmas decorations and hung them up.

I went in my office and closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief.

The phone ruined my peaceful retreat.

"Jolene? This is Maury Boor. Is this a bad time?"

A bad time? Was he nuts? "Maury, where's Erica?"

"She's here. She's really ... not well."

Where had I heard that before? "What's she doing?"

He lowered his voice to a whisper, "She's curled up on the floor in the corner, sucking on her hair."

"Call an ambulance, Maury. I'll meet you at the hospital."

"I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't? If you love Erica, you have to do what's right for her. You can't help her. She needs medical attention."

"She said she'd never speak to me again if I had her locked up."

"Maury, she always says that. No one really wants to spend time in the psych center, but she needs to."

"I can't do it. Can you come?"

"Where are you?"

He gave me an address an hour outside of Wachobe, an apartment complex. He said they were in apartment 4B.

I hung up.

Should I call an ambulance to meet me there? They'd undoubtedly arrive and take her before I could make it. I might not get to see Erica for days if I did it that way, and I needed to see her, if only to verify with my own eyes that she would be all right. I decided no ambulance.

Should I call Ray? He'd want to question Maury, which might further aggravate Erica and the whole situation. The apartment complex wasn't in our county, so he'd have to get off duty. I didn't want him to get in any more trouble. I'd gotten him in enough hot water in the last year. I decided no Ray.

I did tell Cory exactly where I was going and if I didn't call him within two hours, for him to call Ray. Two hours would give me more than enough time to drive there, a.s.sess the situation, and get whatever help Erica needed. Of course, if Maury was a serial killer luring me to my death, he'd have time enough to accomplish that, too. But this was geeky Maury Boor. I'd take the chance.

I hugged Danny goodbye. He didn't seem to mind the hug, although he didn't reciprocate.

I roared out of the parking lot. With a little extra pressure on the Lexus' gas pedal, I made it to the apartment complex in forty-five minutes.

It sat fifty feet off a county road, the only building in sight. The rectangular, stucco four-story building had only one car in its parking lot-a white Honda Prelude. I parked next to it and observed the sheets and beach towels that subst.i.tuted for curtains in all the apartment windows. Erica had really moved on up this time.

The apartment building had an exterior staircase that ran up the center of the building. Signs indicated the B apartments were on the right, A to the left. I went right.

By the top of the second flight of stairs, I realized I was out of shape. By the third, I huffed and puffed. By the time I reached Maury and Erica's door, I had to lean on the railing and rest. If Maury attacked me, I'd have no air left to put up a fight.

After a minute of deep breathing, I approached the apartment and knocked.

The door flew open as if Maury'd been standing just on the other side.

I got a glimpse of his baby-cheeked face before he reached for me. I tried to move back, but he was too quick. He pulled me into a hug. "Thank G.o.d you're here."

I suffered his embrace for all of a second. "Let go of me, Maury. I want to see Erica."

He stepped out onto the landing, closing the door behind him. "I didn't tell her I called you."

"It doesn't matter." I tried to push past him, but he had grown since high school. He outweighed me by at least seventy pounds.

"Can you pretend you found us on your own?"

"What?"

He licked his lips. "Please? I don't want her to hate me."

"She won't hate you. Now get out of my way."

Maury blocked me again. "She hates you."

That stopped me cold. I blinked back tears. "She didn't say that."

"She said she doesn't love you anymore because all you do is lock her up in the hospital."

For all of a second, his words bothered me. Then reality kicked in. "Maury, the opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference. Now get the h.e.l.l out of my way."

He opened the door all the way and stood aside.

I rushed in. The living room was empty, the kitchen littered with takeout boxes and paper plates. It smelled like dirty feet and, oddly enough, lemons. I headed for the door off the living room. I pushed it open.

Sheets and blankets were clumped in the center of the bed and clothes were strewn all over the floor, some of them Erica's. I whisked the covers off the bed. No Erica.

I checked the corners of the room. No Erica.

I peeked in the bath, which smelled of wet towels and lavender. She was here someplace.

I bent to check under the bed. I heard a whimper.