Cast into Doubt (17 page)

She went gratefully down the hall to Jen’s apartment, where she had a glass of wine, a complicated veal dish, and forced herself, no matter how Jen urged her to explain, to avoid talking about Chloe, Jeremy, or her son-in-law. Jen agreeably took up the slack, recounting her problems with a Main Line homeowner who wanted the best of everything and didn’t want to pay for it. Shelby felt herself relaxing a little bit, just by being away from her own problems for an hour or two.

As she walked back into her apartment she heard the phone ringing. The message had just picked up, and she heard a breathless, frightened voice speaking to the voice mail.

‘Shelby? This is Darcie.’

Darcie, she thought? Jeremy’s teacher?

‘I’m sorry to bother you but the police just called . . .’

Shelby grabbed up the phone. ‘Darcie,’ she said. ‘It’s me. I’m here. What happened? What’s going on?’

Darcie swallowed hard, and when she spoke, her voice was shaking. ‘I’m at Rob’s house. He asked me to come over and babysit Jeremy tonight. He said he had to go somewhere. So I came over. When I got there Jeremy was already in bed, asleep—’

‘Darcie, is it Jeremy?’ Shelby cried impatiently. ‘Has something happened to my grandson?’

‘No, not Jeremy,’ Darcie said miserably. ‘It’s Rob. The police just called. Rob’s been in a terrible accident. He’s at Dillworth Memorial.’

‘Is he going to be all right?’ Shelby demanded.

‘I don’t know. They wouldn’t say too much because I’m not related to him. But apparently it’s not good.’

‘Oh my God. All right. I’m going to go over there,’ said Shelby. ‘Can you stay there with Jeremy a while longer?’

‘Yes, of course,’ said Darcie. ‘As long as you need me.’

‘Whatever you do, don’t wake him up,’ Shelby said. ‘Let him sleep. He’s had too many shocks already. I’ll come over there as soon as I find out what is going on at the hospital and stay with Jeremy. But I don’t want him to hear this until I’m there with him.’

‘I understand,’ said Darcie. ‘Just let me know, OK?’

‘I will,’ said Shelby. ‘As soon as I know.’

Shelby wove through the nighttime city traffic and arrived at Dillworth Memorial in record time. She parked haphazardly and rushed inside. As Shelby burst through the sliding doors into the subdued chaos of the hospital’s emergency room, she realized that, in her haste to get here, she had committed a terrible oversight. Rob had more than one child. Molly needed to be told. Shelby pulled out her phone, ready to call, and then decided to wait, just until she had a little more information. She asked the receptionist where to find her son-in-law, and ran down the hall to the room where she had been directed.

Three uniformed policemen were conferring outside the room with an older man in a neat jacket and tie. They all looked up at her suspiciously as she approached.

‘I’m looking for Rob Kendricks,’ she said.

‘He’s in surgery,’ said one of the uniformed cops. ‘Who are you?’

‘I’m his mother-in-law. My name is Shelby Sloan. What happened?’

‘His mother-in-law?’ the officer asked skeptically.

‘I’m his closest relation, I guess. His parents are missionaries in Southeast Asia. His wife, my daughter, just . . . she died recently. Will someone please tell me what happened?’

The man in the jacket and tie peered at Shelby. ‘I’m Detective Camillo. How did you find out about this?’

‘My grandson’s babysitter called me after you called the house. I almost missed the call. I was having dinner with a friend.’

‘Your friend will confirm that?’ said Detective Camillo.

Shelby felt something tighten in her chest. ‘Yes, of course.’

‘What’s his name?’

‘Whose? My friend’s?’

Camillo nodded.

‘Her name is Jennifer Brandon. Why? What is going on?’

The detective exchanged a glance with one of the uniformed cops, who immediately turned away and began to make a call on his radio. Detective Camillo, whey-faced with dark circles under his eyes, looked back at Shelby. ‘Your son-in-law was driving on the Schuylkill Expressway tonight. His pick-up truck was forced off the road and flipped over.’

‘Oh my God.’

‘He was ejected from the vehicle. He wasn’t wearing a seat belt.’

‘I can’t believe this. I hate that road. Everybody speeds on it,’ said Shelby. ‘With all those huge trucks it’s taking your life in your hands just to drive on it . . .’

Camillo shook his head. ‘So far, we don’t know what kind of vehicle it was. We’re investigating that. It was dark, so the witnesses didn’t see the plates or the make of the car. But we know it wasn’t a truck. And we know it wasn’t an accident.’

Shelby stared at him. ‘It wasn’t . . . What do you mean?’

‘I mean,’ said the detective. ‘It was deliberate. Your son-in-law was forced off the road deliberately.’

Shelby shook her head, uncomprehending.

‘It might have been road rage. Maybe he had a bumper sticker some idiot didn’t like. It could be anything these days. Everybody’s got their middle finger permanently at the ready.’ Detective Camillo shook his head. ‘Nothing surprises me anymore. There’s no civility left. None at all.’

‘Deliberate,’ said Shelby.

Camillo shrugged. ‘We need to know where he was immediately before this took place. He might have been in an argument with someone. At a bar or club, or whatever. Do you know where he went tonight?’

Shelby shook her head.

‘You’re looking a little green, ma’am.’

‘I need to sit down,’ said Shelby.

One of the officers stepped aside and offered her the chair behind him. Shelby sank down into it, trembling.

A doctor emerged from the nearby room and pulled his cap off his head. He spoke to the detectives, and then, when they pointed Shelby out to him, he came over to her.

Shelby looked up at him. ‘How is he?’

‘He has a lot of internal injuries.’

‘But he’ll be all right?’

‘Well, I hope so. But, if there’s any other family, you might want to get in touch with them,’ he said.

‘Is . . .’ Shelby tried to wet her lips with her tongue. ‘Is he . . . ?’

‘Just a precaution.’

Shelby pulled out her phone and stared at it. She could still see Rob’s angry eyes as he threw her out, furious that she had hired a detective to investigate Chloe’s death. And now, someone had tried to kill Rob. Road rage? An accident? She had heard what the detective said, but what were the chances that it was all a coincidence? First Rob’s wife. Now Rob. Both victims in such a short time. She wanted to call Perry and tell him. Ask him what he thought. But first, Molly. And Rob’s parents. The church would know how to get in touch with them. She would call the church. First, Molly. She thought of calling Molly’s cell phone, but then she decided, as she looked up her address book, to call Lianna instead. This was news that Molly needed to hear from her mother.

SEVENTEEN

T
wenty minutes later Molly, wearing a jacket over her pajama pants and slippers, arrived, shepherded by Lianna. Molly was bleary-eyed, her face swollen from crying. Lianna was beautiful, even with no makeup and uncombed hair. She wore a trench coat pulled over her sweats.

‘Where is he?’ Molly demanded in raw voice. ‘I want to see him.’

Shelby directed the distraught teenager to a nurse who was passing by. ‘That’s her father in there,’ Shelby said.

The nurse nodded. ‘Just for a few minutes. He’s not awake. But he can probably hear your voice. He’ll know you’re there.’

‘Do you want me to come with you, darling?’ said Lianna putting a hand on her daughter’s arm.

Molly shook off Lianna’s hand and looked at her mother with malice in her eyes. ‘No. Don’t you dare.’

‘It’s one person at a time,’ said the nurse.

‘I’ll be right here waiting for you,’ said Lianna apologetically.

Molly did not reply.

Shelby looked at Lianna questioningly.

‘They never forgive you for a divorce,’ she said with a shrug of embarrassment. ‘At a time like this, it’s all my fault.’

Shelby nodded knowingly. ‘I suppose.’

Lianna sat down heavily on the chair next to Shelby. She pulled her trench coat tightly around her and looked at Shelby in disbelief. ‘What happened?’

Shelby shook her head. ‘The police don’t know yet. Somebody ran him off the road. They’re thinking it might have been road rage.’

Lianna peered at Shelby. ‘You sound skeptical.’

Shelby looked back at her frankly. ‘First my daughter. Now Rob.’

Lianna frowned and pulled at her plump upper lip with her index finger. ‘It is bizarre.’

‘It is to me,’ said Shelby.

‘You must be utterly wasted,’ said Lianna.

‘I am. I dread trying to explain this to Jeremy.’

‘I can imagine,’ Lianna agreed, shaking her head. ‘This all so unreal. Molly is beside herself. She loves Rob. More than anything.’

‘He’s a good father,’ said Shelby.

Lianna sighed. ‘Yes. He is. I guess we’ll be here for a while.’

‘Well, now that you’re here, I’m thinking I’ll head back to their house,’ said Shelby. ‘Rob asked Jeremy’s teacher to babysit and she’s been there for hours. I should probably let her get home. Besides, much as I dread telling him, I don’t want Jeremy to hear this from anyone but me.’

‘I can understand that,’ said Lianna.

Detective Camillo emerged from a room down the hall and walked up to where Shelby and Lianna were sitting.

‘This is Detective Camillo,’ said Shelby. ‘He’s investigating what happened.’

‘You are . . . ?’ he asked Lianna.

‘I’m Rob’s ex-wife,’ said Lianna. ‘Our daughter, Molly, is in there with him now. My husband is parking the car.’

‘Where were you tonight, Mrs Kendricks?’

‘Mrs Janssen. Well, I was home. With my family. My husband’s a doctor. A neurologist, actually. He often operates at this hospital. Maybe you know him. Harris Janssen? Here he is now.’

Lianna waved to Harris, who was striding toward them, jingling his keys in his hand. Shelby noticed the glow in Lianna’s eyes as she watched him approach.

Camillo seemed unimpressed. ‘Did you and your ex-husband get along?’

Lianna raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows. ‘As well as can be expected. For exes.’

‘Not that well, then.’

‘We each made a new life. And we share a daughter.’ Lianna hesitated. ‘We always will.’

Detective Camillo looked at her, unsmiling. ‘I hope so, ma’am.’

Shelby drove back to Manayunk, and, luckily, found a space only half a block from the house. As she walked up to the front door, she saw Darcie holding back the curtain looking anxiously up and down the street. She waved, and Darcie’s tense frame sagged with relief. Shelby let herself in.

‘I’m back,’ she said.

Darcie rushed up to greet her. ‘How is he? How is Rob?’

‘Well, there hasn’t been much change,’ said Shelby. ‘I guess you could say that he’s hanging in there.’

Darcie burst into tears.

Shelby looked at her in surprise.

Darcie shook her head and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. ‘He’s just such a great father. I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to him. Of poor Jeremy, losing both his parents.’

Shelby looked at the large, sweet-faced young woman kindly. Darcie was in her twenties although she still had the wardrobe of a teenager. But despite her girlish clothes and soft features, she had a certain confidence that Shelby liked. The children in her class always seemed calm and happy at the end of a day with her. ‘You’ve been such a big help to this family. I really, really appreciate it, Darcie. I know Rob does too.’

Darcie sniffed. ‘I’m just glad I can help.’

‘You have. But now you need to go home and get some rest. You’re getting worn out. I assume you have school tomorrow.’

‘I do,’ Darcie admitted.

Shelby reached for her wallet. ‘I don’t know what Rob pays you.’

Darcie recoiled. ‘No. Please. I couldn’t accept anything. This was an emergency.’

Shelby hesitated, then realized she needed to accept the young woman’s generosity. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I may have to call on you again.’

Darcie had recovered her self-possession. ‘Call me anytime. Really. I want to help.’

Shelby followed her to the door and watched her walk up the block. She only lived a few streets away. Darcie looked back and waved as she turned the corner, and Shelby waved back. Then she closed the door and locked it.

The house was utterly silent. She decided to go upstairs and check on Jeremy before she did anything else. She tiptoed up the stairs, and pushed open the door to his room. The light from the hall fell on the boy’s curly hair, the lumpy covers and stuffed animals scattered about the bed. Shelby sighed at the sight of him.

The covers rustled, and then, before she could retreat, she saw Jeremy, squinting into the light. ‘Mom?’ he mumbled.

Shelby’s heart ached to hear him call for Chloe. She slipped into the room and sat down on the edge of his bed, rubbing his shoulder and murmuring soothingly. ‘It’s me. It’s Shep. Go back to sleep.’

‘Shep?’ he asked. And then he emerged from under the covers and buried his face in her side.

‘Hi sweets,’ she said. ‘I’m here. You go back to sleep.’

‘Where’s Dad?’

‘He’s sleeping,’ she said, trying to remain close to the truth. ‘It’s time for everybody to be sleeping.’

‘Is the pirate still here?’ he mumbled.

‘No pirates,’ said Shelby fondly. ‘Just the sandman.’

Jeremy pushed away from her, and peered at her through sleepy eyes. ‘No Shep, there was a pirate here. Before. A lady pirate.’

‘A lady pirate,’ said Shelby, smiling.

Jeremy nodded. ‘I saw her. She was talking to Dad. Downstairs.’

‘I’ll bet you did.’