Christmas Cloches and Corpses Read online

  Patting Dwight’s thin shoulder as he continued to stroke Jazzy’s head, I said, “What if we offer to send flowers to your friends’ families? That’s not troublemaking—that’s being considerate.”

  “All right. I suppose that would be okay—as long as you don’t raise a ruckus.”

  I lifted my right hand. “I solemnly promise no ruckus-raising. Be right back.”

  At the nurse’s station, I found one harried-looking nurse with her dark hair in a severe bun. “Yeah?”

  “Hi. I’m Amanda Tucker, and I’m here with Zoe Flannagan.”

  “Dwight’s grandkid, yeah. What do you need?”

  “Well, two of his friends from here died, and he’s pretty distraught,” I said.

  “Right. Bea and Mack.” She picked up a pen. “I’ll give Dwight something to help him sleep.”

  “Oh, no, no.” I held up a hand. “Thank you, but that isn’t necessary. I don’t think he’ll have any trouble sleeping. He just wants to send some flowers to the funeral home for the families.”

  “Huh.” She seemed surprised. Apparently, nursing home patients weren’t in the habit of sending flowers to the funeral homes for their friends. “That’s not necessary—the nursing home sends an arrangement.”

  I smiled. “He’s old fashioned. Brought up by a Southern mom who always sent flowers and took food when a friend passed.”

  “Weren’t we all?” She barked out a laugh. “Well, if he really wants to send flowers, he can send them to the families of Bea Jansen and John McCready at Peaceful Rest Funeral Home over near Brea Ridge.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I don’t mind giving Dwight something to calm him and make him sleep,” she said.

  “I appreciate that. We’ll let you know if he needs it.”

  When I returned to Dwight’s room, he and Zoe were playing checkers while Max coached them both from the laptop. Dwight was happily winning, and Zoe was teasing that he was too tricky.

  I sat on the windowsill where Jazzy had moved to and was looking out onto the parking lot. I rubbed her chin as I watched the checkers match progress.

  Within a few minutes, the nurse I’d spoken with gave a brief knock before coming into the room. Dwight froze, his red checker in mid-air. If the nurse wondered why the interior of a fashion boutique was up on Dwight’s laptop, she didn’t mention it. I wasn’t near enough to close it. Not that the nurse could see Max, but I simply didn’t want Dwight to be questioned about what he’d been doing after we’d gone.

  “Visiting hours are almost over, folks,” the nurse said.

  Max poked her tongue out at the woman.

  “We doing okay here?” She squinted at Dwight. “Need any help going to sleep tonight?”

  “No, ma’am.” He put the checker on the board.

  “I’ll be at the desk until midnight if you should need anything.” She turned her attention back to me. “Ten minutes.”

  “All right. Thank you,” I said.

  Zoe and Dwight finished their game, and then Zoe put away the checkers as I secured Jazzy in her carrier.

  “Love you, Papaw.” Zoe kissed his cheek. “We’ll see you soon.”

  “Love you, Dimples.” He looked around the room. “You, too, Amanda, Jazzy, and Aunt Max.”

  “We love you,” Max said. “Don’t you worry about a thing. You’re going to be fine.”

  Dwight nodded but didn’t look convinced.

  “Are you two coming back to the shop?” Max asked me.

  “I think we’d better get something to eat and then get Zoe home,” I said. “I’ll try to touch base with you a little later.”

  “All right. Ta!”

  I couldn’t always reach Max. It took a lot of energy for her to stay present at Shops on Main as much as she did.

  When we got back into the car, Zoe asked, “So, what do you think?”

  “I’ve got a bad feeling.” I backed out of the parking space. “For one thing, that nurse was awfully eager to give Dwight something to make him sleep. She asked me twice and him once if he needed medication. What do you think?”

  “I’ve never known Papaw to spook easily, and his friends’ deaths have him on edge,” she said. “Is there someone we could call or something we could do?”

  “Yeah. We need to find out what killed Bea and Mack,” I said.

  Zoe grasped my arm. “Do you think it could be an overdose of sleeping pills?”

  “I don’t know.” Surely, the nurse wouldn’t be that bold. Would she? “Either way, I feel it warrants some looking into. First things first—let’s call Grandpa Dave and see if we can drop in at his house.”

  Chapter Three

  G randpa Dave, Zoe, and I sat at his dining room table with takeout boxes in the middle of the table. We had paper plates and cups, so clean up would be a breeze later. My laptop showed Max sitting at my desk at Designs on You. We wanted her to be included in our conversation.

  Jazzy was eating her food at her bowls in the kitchen. We visited Grandpa Dave so often that he had food and water bowls as well as a supply of her favorite food on hand.

  “So, tell me what’s got my favorite ladies concerned,” Grandpa Dave said.

  The three of us started talking at once, so he asked us to let Zoe begin.

  “Papaw is really scared, Dave. Two of his friends are dead, and he thinks that if he doesn’t be good—that’s exactly how he worded it—he’ll be next.”

  “I went out to the nurse’s station and asked the nurse there the names of Dwight’s friends,” I said. “I thought I could use their names to find out what had happened to them.”

  “You didn’t ask the nurse their causes of death?” Grandpa Dave asked.

  “No, I didn’t feel it was appropriate, and I didn’t want to make waves for Dwight. I told her Dwight wanted to send flowers.” I took a sip of my soda. “The thing that concerned me about the nurse was how willing she was to give Dwight a sleeping pill.”

  “Not only did she ask Amanda at the desk, she came to the room and asked again,” Max said. “She wanted to knock my sweet nephew out.”

  “Let’s not rush to judgment, dear.” Grandpa Dave smiled. “I love how protective all of you are, but we need to find out everything we can about Dwight’s friends so we can give him some reassurance.”

  “True.” Zoe got out her phone. “The nurse said they were at Peaceful Rest, right?”

  “Yes. And their names were Bea Jansen and John McCready,” I said.

  Zoe tapped some keys while Grandpa Dave and I ate, and Max looked at her fingernails.

  “No cause of death is listed for either,” Zoe said at last. “Bea’s obituary says she went to be with her Lord and Savior, and Mack’s simply says he passed away. From there, it gives us visitation and funeral information. That’s it.”

  I hadn’t expected the cause of death to be listed in the obituary. Had there been a request for donations to cancer research or something of that nature, we might’ve inferred a cause of death. But neither obituary requested charitable donations.

  “When is the visitation?” Grandpa Dave asked.

  “Bea’s family is receiving guests tomorrow evening, and the visitation for Mack will be on Sunday.” Zoe frowned slightly. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to go to either one without my mom freaking out.”

  Zoe’s mom, Maggie, was one tough customer, but she loved her daughter. Having never been inside Shops on Main, Maggie’s ability to see Max had never been tested. Max and I had asked Zoe if she’d like to invite her mom inside, but she’d told us Maggie wasn’t open-minded when it came to ghosts. Seeing a ghost—even a family member as awesome as Max—would terrify her, and Zoe was afraid Maggie might make her quit her job at Designs on You if she believed there was anything other-worldly going on there.

  “Has Dwight ever mentioned Aunt Max to your mom?” Grandpa Dave asked. “I’m guessing that would freak her out.”

  “Oh, it definitely would,” Zoe said. “I told him when we first star
ted talking with Aunt Max that it would be best if we didn’t tell Mom about our video chats—that they would be our fun little secret.” She smiled. “When I was in elementary school, our fun little secret was that Papaw would always sneak me candy. But he’d make me promise to eat all my dinner so Mom wouldn’t find out and make him stop spoiling me.”

  “As much as I’d like to meet your mom, I’m thrilled to have you and Dwight in my life,” Max said. “Of course, I was thrilled with Amanda and Dave too! My family just keeps growing!”

  “I wonder if Dot spoiled her children,” I said.

  “I’d imagine she did.” Max laughed. “Dottie always loved to bake, and she’d make me treats whenever I was feeling down.”

  “I can’t imagine you ever being down.” I shook my head in disbelief. “You’re always such a positive person.”

  “Of course, I am now, darling. I’m dead. What have I got to lose?”

  I didn’t have a response to that.

  “Papaw told me lots of stories about how Great-Grandma Dot would surprise him with a cake or a pie whenever he did well in school or earned some accomplishment. And sometimes they were flat-out bribes.”

  “Like what?” Max rested her chin on her fist. “Tell me about one of the bribes.”

  “One time, she wanted Papaw to ask a girl in his class to the sock-hop.” Zoe held up her hands. “Now, according to Papaw, this poor girl was as ugly as a mud fence, but he agreed to ask the girl because Great-Grandma Dot had promised him an entire coconut cake all to himself if he would. She apparently felt sorry for the girl.”

  “Of course, he asked her,” I said.

  Grandpa Dave chuckled. “And I’m guessing that girl blossomed into a beauty and became your grandmother.”

  “The girl did blossom but ended up married to the richest boy in town. Papaw said he used to brag that he’d seen a diamond beneath that lump of coal all along. Then he met Mamaw and shut up about the coconut cake girl.”

  After sharing in the hearty laughter, I got up to take the trash into the kitchen.

  “Let me give you a hand with that,” Grandpa Dave said. “Zoe, hon, keep Max company, will you?”

  Once we were in the kitchen, he lowered his voice. “Between you and me, did you think Dwight was overreacting about his friends’ deaths?”

  “I don’t know the man very well, but I find it hard to believe he’d be as frightened as he appeared to be this evening without good reason—at least, in his mind.” I tossed the empty plates into the garbage can. “But also the nurse’s eagerness to sedate Dwight made me think she could be in the habit of controlling any unruly patients through medication.”

  “If this woman is using sedatives to control her patients’ behavior, Dwight could see their health failing, contribute it to their being anesthetized, and believe she’d killed them.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe, in that way, she did.”

  Zoe came into the kitchen carrying my laptop. “Max said to tell you guys goodnight. She needs to restore her energy.”

  “That sounds like a good plan for all of us,” I said. “I’d better get you home.”

  “I’ll put Jazzy in her carrier,” she said. “Thanks for being the host with the most and the ghost, Dave.”

  “You’re welcome, sweetie.”

  I kissed Grandpa Dave’s cheek. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Would you mind going to Bea Jansen’s visitation with me?”

  “Not at all,” he said. “We need to offer Dwight some reassurance.”

  Jason called when I was driving home from dropping off Zoe.

  “Hello, beautiful. I’ve just finished up with a client who wants me to shoot his daughter’s winter formal,” he said. “I’m guessing it’s too late for this evening, but are you free for dinner tomorrow night?”

  “I think so.” I’d have to work dinner with Jason around Bea Jansen’s visitation. “Even though I’ve already had dinner with Zoe and Grandpa Dave, would you and Rascal like to come by and watch a movie with Jazzy and me?”

  Zoe and I had planned to stream The Bishop’s Wife tonight—Max, too, if she could maintain enough energy—so we could all discuss it at work tomorrow.

  “Sure,” Jason said. “I’ll swing through a drive-through and get something to eat, and Rascal and I will be there in an hour or so.”

  “That sounds great,” I said. “It’ll give me time to make some movie snacks.”

  “So, what are we watching?” Jason asked when he and his wild white dog entered my living room an hour later.

  I didn’t answer right away, as Rascal had scampered over to me and was entreating me to scratch his furry head. Laughing at the way Rascal wiggled his entire body as he danced around me, I answered, “The Bishop’s Wife.”

  “I’ve never heard of it. Is it new?”

  “Hardly. The film was made in 1947.”

  He scrunched up his face. “Is it sappy?”

  “Maybe a little, but you’ll love it.”

  “I do appreciate the nuances of black and white cinematography.” He kissed me. “I’m glad it’s Friday.”

  “Me, too.” It had been a crazy week, and Jason and I hadn’t seen each other very often despite working in the same building.

  We sat on the sofa, and I turned on the television.

  “Before we watch the movie,” I said, “do you know anything about the nursing home in Winter Garden?”

  “No. Why?”

  I explained about Dwight and how he’d acted so odd that Zoe and I went over there to check on him. “He’s afraid the nursing home people are going to kill him.”

  “That’s extreme, don’t you think?” He shook his head. “Does he have dementia? I know people with dementia can get paranoid.”

  “I don’t think he does. Grandpa Dave and I are going to the funeral home tomorrow to see what we can learn about Bea Jansen, one of Dwight’s friends who died.” I shrugged slightly. “We thought if we could find out the cause of death, then we could reassure Dwight.”

  “If you can provide Dwight reassurance and he is still afraid of the nursing home staff, then you might suggest to Maggie that he needs a psychiatrist or a neurologist.”

  “But, Jason, what if he’s right?” I asked.

  “You’ve been watching too many crime shows. But, if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll ask my friend Ryan—he’s a deputy at the Winter Garden Sheriff’s Department—to see if he can get a cause of death on Dwight’s two friends.”

  I smiled. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He kissed me again. “Now, let’s watch this sappy Christmas movie.”

  Chapter Four

  J azzy was dozing on the backseat in her carrier as we drove from Zoe’s house to Shops on Main.

  “I tried to call Papaw before I left the house, but he didn’t answer,” Zoe said. “He’s probably still sleeping.”

  “Is that normal for him?”

  “Yes.” Her voice betrayed her anxiety. “Why? Are you worried maybe that nurse came back and gave him a sleeping pill after we left?”

  “No.” In truth, I was a little. “We can go by and check on him before I take you home after work, if you want.”

  “We’ll do that if I can’t get him on video chat before then.”

  Ella and Frank were in the hallway when we arrived at Shops on Main.

  “Good morning, ladies,” Frank said. “We’re on our way for coffee. For some reason, it’s always a little tougher for me to wake myself up on a Saturday.”

  “It’s because when you worked at the manufacturing plant, you always slept in on Saturdays,” Ella said.

  “Ah, yes, before I retired. Now I live this life of luxury.” He rolled his eyes at us comically.

  Zoe giggled. “Well, I’m glad you’re here and not there, Frank. Had you not been here, who’d have helped Amanda make the ottoman costume for Beauty and the Beast?”

  She had a point. Frank had been instrumental in making that costume for the play.

  “
We’re glad you’re here,” Ella told Zoe. “Having you around the building for the past few weeks has made me miss our grandchildren like crazy. Our son’s family lives near Boone, so Frank and I don’t get to see them as often as we’d like.” She stepped into the kitchen and poured her coffee. “Thank goodness, the kids will be here to spend a few days with Frank and me soon.”

  Ella headed back to Everything Paper, and Frank got his coffee.

  Watching his wife’s retreating back, he said quietly, “We see those kids plenty. They’re little monsters. Their mother browbeats our poor Oliver half to death, and the kids have her crummy disposition.”

  “Frank, did you get lost?” Ella called.

  “Coming!” He gave us another eye roll before hurrying off down the hall.

  Zoe grinned. “We need to help Frank find a project to do while the grandkids are in town.”

  “I’ll see if Grandpa Dave has any suggestions.” I opened the door to Designs on You and placed Jazzy’s carrier on the floor. When I let her out, the cat immediately rushed over to Max.

  Max was perched on the worktable, but she appeared more translucent than normal.

  Hurrying over to her, Zoe asked, “Are you all right?”

  “No, darling, I’m dead.” Max winked. “You know that.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Zoe huffed.

  Laughing, Max said, “I know. I’m fine, as far as I know. I just haven’t got a lot of energy today. Still, I wanted to pop in and discuss the movie.”

  I wasn’t as concerned as Zoe because I’d seen Max with her energy depleted before. She’d rest up for a day and be back to herself the next time we saw her. “Did you love it?”

  “I did.” She fanned herself with both hands. “Cary Grant—what a dreamboat!”

  Zoe looked from Max to me before visibly relaxing. “Queenie, the dog, was like Jazzy. She could see the angel even when he was invisible to everyone else.”

  “That dog was sweet,” I said. “Jason watched the movie with me. He said had he been the bishop, he’d have punched Dudley.”

  “Did you point out to him that the bishop wouldn’t have been justified in attacking a man for wanting something he himself seemed determined to push away?” Max asked.