The Babbling Brook Naked Poker Club - Book One (13 page)

Josephine walked back to the window to look
out. “Very clever of you, dear.”

“What was?”

“Dialing my number and alerting me to what
was going on.”

“Oh. And it was clever of you to figure it
out so quickly.”

I pulled my phone back out and checked to
see if I could figure out which buttons I’d pushed. Given Eddie’s
anger, it seemed prudent to move Mac to a more accessible number on
my speed dial.

“It’s okay, Mac,” Josephine said into her
phone. “Eddie’s gone, and Devi’s with me.”

After listening to whatever Mac had to say,
she turned off the phone and smiled at me. “Mac says he needs to
check with you about what happened, but I think he just wants an
excuse to see you.”

“He’s married, remember.”

“No, I really don’t think so,” Josephine
said. She glanced out the window. “He’s here. Can you let him
in?”

Rolling my eyes, I went to open the back
door for Mac.

“Thanks for coming.” After Eddie’s anger, it
was a relief to have Mac there.

“What happened?” he said as soon as the door
to Josephine’s apartment closed behind him. “Josephine said Eddie
attacked you?” He seemed out of breath, but I figured it was
because he’d rushed to get here.

“It was only a verbal confrontation.”

The three of us took seats at Josephine’s
table, and Mac pulled out his notebook, signaling this visit was
all business. I gave Josephine a
you see
look, but she
ignored me.

I described what happened with Eddie while
Mac took notes and Josephine listened.

“How do you think he knew you’d been to his
apartment?” Mac asked.

I shook my head, but then Josephine spoke
up. “I’m afraid that’s my fault. Lill and I were playing cards with
Myrtle, and she was going on and on about organizing donations for
Eddie’s sick daughter, and well, I told her you and I had checked,
and there was no daughter. It made her angry, I’m afraid. I’m
sorry, dear. It didn’t occur to me she’d tell Eddie. Guess I really
put my foot in it.” Josephine pursed her lips, looking worried.

“Regardless, his response was
inappropriate,” Mac said. He turned to me. “I hope you plan to
report this to the manager or your supervisor.”

“I can’t. Eddie didn’t do anything, after
all. He didn’t even touch me.”

“What about the time he tried to kiss you?”
Mac’s expression was stern, his tone angry.

I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. I can’t.
The manager is his uncle.” I was being backed into a corner by both
Mac and Eddie, and I didn’t like it.

“Is there someone here you trust to walk you
to your car when you leave at night?” Mac said.

“She could always let me know, and I could
watch until she’s safely in her car,” Josephine said.

“Will you agree to that?” Mac said.

“Of course.” I wondered if Eddie knew where
I lived, a possibility that sent a shiver up my spine.

“I have some other news,” Josephine said,
addressing Mac. But without telling him what it was, she went to
the kitchen and ran water into the kettle.

Then she sat down while the water heated.
“Lill and I have been in contact with Glenn Bascombe’s son and
Gladys Turpin’s daughter. Both of them said Mr. Souter blew them
off when they reported the baseball card and the necklace were
missing. After we spoke with them, they both said they’ll be filing
police reports.”

The kettle whistled and Josephine jumped up.
I got up to help.

“More details would be helpful,” Mac
said.

Josephine came back and picked up a pad of
paper, tore off a sheet covered with writing, and handed it to him.
“Those are the names of the people who will be filing the reports.
We’ve also spoken to Dot Todhoffer, and she gave us her daughter’s
number. We haven’t reached her yet, but when we do, I expect she’ll
help Dot file a report. So that’s three. I hope that’s enough for
you to look into it?”

“Three is more than enough. But I don’t want
you doing any more investigating on your own.”

Josephine’s lips firmed. “I want to do
whatever I can to help. And so does Lill.”

When Mac looked at me, I shrugged. I didn’t
think he believed Josephine would stop any more than I did.

“I’m serious, Josephine. Let us take care of
this.”

“What’s your plan?” Josephine said.

“I’ll interview whoever files the reports
and get the details about the missing items.”

“And then?”

Mac shook his head and suppressed an eye
roll. “We look for the items. And we interview the manager and the
staff here.”

“What about Eddie?” Josephine said.

“What about him?”

“He’s a suspect, right? Can’t you do that
thing where you pull his financial data and prove he’s living on
ill-gotten gains?”

Mac struggled to suppress a smile. “Not
without a warrant. And for a warrant, I need evidence. And you will
leave that to me.”

“Of course.” Josephine tried to look
innocent, but I was beginning to know her well enough to suspect
she was crossing her fingers when she said it. That was what I did
when I needed to tell a lie.

Although I was tempted to check Josephine’s
hands, I didn’t want to make Mac any more suspicious of her than he
already seemed to be.

Josephine

After Mac and Devi left—Mac insisted on walking Devi to her car—I
called Lill to come over for a strategy session. She was as
disturbed as I was when I told her about Eddie confronting
Devi.

“As for the thefts, Mac will investigate as
soon as the reports are filed. But if we continue trying to find
out who the thief is, we can’t let him know we’re doing it,” I told
her.

“Because?”

“Because he made a big deal out of it. Said
it could be dangerous. But we’ve already pulled Eddie’s tail. How
much more dangerous can it be?”

“What about Devi?”

“She’s okay. More angry than frightened. She
left when Mac did, so I don’t know if she’ll help us or not.”

“They left together?”

“And went as far as her car. They didn’t
even chat. He opened her door for her, then he got back in his car
and they drove off.”

“Maybe he is married.”

If he was, I didn’t think it could be a very
happy marriage, not with Mac going out to dinner by himself and
then accepting an invitation to spend an evening playing poker with
a couple of old ladies.

“What we need is a plan to figure out who
the thief is,” I told Lill, getting back on topic.

“Well, there’s one thing we can do, and it’s
as safe as going to church,” Lill said, folding her hands together,
her expression smug.

“And that is?”

“I can analyze everyone’s handwriting.”

I sat staring at her. Possibly my mouth even
hung open until I realized it was and snapped it shut. Up to now,
I’d thought Lill was an intelligent and worthy partner in our
little endeavor. But this latest suggestion was just plain nutty. I
searched for words that would counter her idea without being
unkind.

Meanwhile, Lill sat there, her expression
one of amusement. “I can see you don’t know what I’m talking about,
Josephine. It’s an exact science, you know. It even has an
impressive name: Graphoanalysis. I trained for a number of years
before doing it professionally.” She settled her shoulders, giving
me a
so, there
look.

“You mean like those things you see in the
newspaper? Copy this paragraph, and we’ll tell you all your
secrets?”

“That’s mostly a parlor trick. I have worked
with the police, you know.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t know.”

“And I helped a large corporation pick its
executives. As a result, their stock has done very well.”

“Oh?”

“I could tell you which company, but then
you might be accused of insider trading.”

I suppressed a smile.

“I’ve already analyzed Eddie’s handwriting,
and he has very few good points. Still, I don’t think he’s
intelligent enough, nor does he have the finesse, for these other
thefts. I think we’re looking for a smarter, more devious
person.”

“If you say so.”

“I do. What we need to figure out is how to
get handwriting samples from as many of the staff as possible. I
need at least four or five lines of writing to do a valid analysis,
so we can’t just pass around a get-well card and ask everyone to
sign it.”

“I see the problem. But I don’t have a
solution.”

“I can also do couples analysis.”

“What’s that?”

“You know. If I had samples of their
writing, I could tell if Devi and Mac are compatible.”

“We still don’t know if he’s married.”

“Like you, I doubt that. But I bet you can
find out for sure with your computer, Josephine.”

Lill was correct. And it was annoying that
she had to suggest it before I thought to do it. But then, I’d
never truly doubted he wasn’t single.

Lillian

I could see how skeptical Josephine was when I suggested
handwriting analysis as a way to identify our thief. She obviously
did some checking, though, because the next day she called me right
after breakfast to come to her apartment, saying she had an idea
and wanted my opinion.

“What I’m thinking,” Josephine said, after
we were settled with cups of one of her delicious teas, “is we get
Myrtle to propose a fund-raiser.”

“For?”

“Eddie’s daughter.”

“I thought you said he didn’t have one.”

“But he has pictures of a little girl, and
he’s convinced a number of people she’s his daughter. So here’s the
deal. We talk Myrtle into setting up a fund at Children’s Hospital,
then we volunteer to put together a book of encouraging messages to
go along with the money.”

“It won’t work, Josephine. You and Myrtle
aren’t even speaking. Besides, she knows you don’t believe
Eddie.”

“I bet you that if I go crawling to Myrtle,
saying how awful I feel about doubting Eddie, she’ll go for
it.”

The idea wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t have a
better one, even though I’d asked the Heavenly Father to send me
one. But perhaps he sent me Josephine instead.

~ ~ ~

After Josephine and I talked further about how to handle Myrtle, we
decided the best approach would be for me to talk to her, since she
wasn’t as angry with me as she was with Josephine.

After lunch I followed Myrtle back to her
apartment, pleased that Bertie wasn’t with her, since he distracts
her. When I knocked on her door, she opened it and gave me a
suspicious look.

“May I speak with you, Myrtle?” I said using
my meekest tone.

“About?”

At the unpleasant aggression in her voice, I
leaned away from her. Then I remembered why I was there and said a
quick prayer.

“May I come in?”

In response, she opened the door wider, but
it was obvious she was withholding approval of the visit. I stepped
inside and waited for her to take a seat on one of her sofas. I
then sat on the second, facing her like a naughty child awaiting
judgment for my transgressions.

“I’m here to apologize. The last time we
talked, I made a dreadful mistake. You were being compassionate and
caring, and Josephine and I were being . . .”

Myrtle frowned, then spoke firmly into the
pause. “Not very nice.”

Probably better if I avoided any further
mention of Josephine. “Yes. Not very nice. But I hope you and I can
make a fresh start?” I paused.

Josephine insists Myrtle lags a word or two
behind, and I wanted to give her time to catch up. Besides, I
needed a moment to gather myself before saying the next bit.

“You’ve been talking to people about the
daughter, I believe. Trying to get donations to help with her
expenses?”

Myrtle nodded. Sharply and begrudgingly.

“I think it’s wonderful that you’ve taken
that on. And I want you to know you can count on me to help.”

“Really?”

“Really. And I’m wondering why you don’t
expand your efforts? Make it a project. You know, establish a fund
in the daughter’s name at Children’s Hospital? That way everyone
who donates will get a tax deduction.” I stopped again to let her
think about it.

Then the clincher. “And if you set up a
fund, I know someone who’s willing to donate a thousand
dollars.”

Myrtle gasped, which is what I did when
Josephine proposed it. She said the promise of a large donation was
the best way to keep Myrtle from figuring out she was being
manipulated, although Josephine also thought there was little
danger Myrtle would suspect. I agree. Myrtle is a sweet lady, but
she isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, as my Roger would
say.

“Who?”

“An anonymous benefactor,” I said, avoiding
the dreaded
J
word. “And since you’re the one who had the
idea, you should get all the credit.” I waited. And prayed.

“I’ve talked to several people, but I’ve
only been able to collect a couple hundred dollars so far. Do you
really think . . . ?”

Ah, she was on the hook. As Josephine
predicted.

“That’s amazing, and I think that proves if
you give people the chance to write a check so they know where the
money’s going . . . well, I think this could be
huge.”

“You really think so?”

“I do. It’s so wonderful of you to do this.
And I hope you’ll let me help.” I stopped, then snapped my fingers.
“I know what I can do. While you take care of the donations, I’ll
ask people to write messages of encouragement for Eddie’s daughter.
Remind me, what’s her name?”

“Sara.”

“Sara, that’s so pretty, isn’t it? Well, as
I was saying, I’ll ask the residents and staff to write
inspirational messages. Even those who can’t afford to contribute
money can write something. And then I’ll get help to turn it into a
book. Yes, indeed. A book. For Sara.”