Valerie Wolzien - Death In Duplicate

“All these and about twenty more in the truck. I’ll get the rest of ’em and then someone’s got a lot of signing to do.”

A loud wail floated down the stairway.

“I’ll sign,” Susan said. She had a feeling Chrissy was going to be busy for a while.

IT TOOK SUSAN ALMOST HALF AN HOUR TO CARRY ALL THE boxes inside and put them in place. She stacked them in the living room, up until now the only room in the house spared a lashing of baby paraphernalia. And then, after tossing another load of baby clothing into the washer, she went back to Jed’s study and turned on the computer.

Susan found the Internet both fascinating and time consuming. She would start looking for a new recipe for chicken for dinner and end up spending hours checking out weekend rates at luxury ski lodges in the Italian Alps-before going out to dinner. Over the past few years, she had planned hundreds of vacations they had never-and would never-go on, learned how to do dozens of projects she would never even begin, and contemplated the personal musings of strangers who seemed convinced their every thought worth her time. They rarely were.

Today she was determined to maintain her focus and in less than five minutes she had found what she was looking for: the Perry Island Care Center ’s Web site. After checking out photos of the grounds, representative resident rooms, and a highly self-congratulatory description of the services it offered, she had the name and phone number of the admissions director, the center’s street address, and a map. A few minutes more and she had discovered the ferry schedule to the island. She exited the program, turned off the computer, sat back, finished the last half inch of cold coffee in her mug, reached for the phone and dialed the Perry Island Care Center ’s admitting office.

In a few minutes, she had set up an appointment to tour the nursing home and to discuss her mother’s possible admission. She grabbed the papers she had printed and hurried into the hallway. Shannon was coming up from the basement with a basketful of clean laundry. Susan looked into the open doorway to the kitchen and saw her daughter sitting at the kitchen table, eating a cinnamon roll and thumbing through the newspaper.

“Chrissy, I’ve got to go out for a few hours,” she said, entering the room.

“Oh, are you going by a drugstore? We’re out of A and D ointment. I know I packed an extra tube, but Shannon and I can’t find it.”

“No problem. I’ll stop in town on my way home. Anything else?”

Chrissy used both hands to push her thick blond hair off her shoulders and took a deep breath. “I don’t think so,” she answered uncertainly.

“Tell you what, I’ll get my errands done and call you before I go to the drugstore and you can let me know if you’ve thought of anything else… unless you need the ointment right away?”

“No, we’ll be fine. We need a diaper service, but-”

“I thought you were going to call some.”

“I’m going to, but they’re expensive and they all want a monthlong contract and I don’t know which one is best. And Ethan has such delicate skin.”

“Why don’t you call Kathleen and see if she has ever used a service. Or Erika. You know she and Brett have a six-month-old.”

“Good idea,” Chrissy said without a lot of enthusiasm.

“You’re exhausted, aren’t you?” Susan asked, instantly back in mother mode. “Having the twins and then moving… Maybe you should see a doctor. The gynecologist you used to go to is still in town and-”

“I’m fine, Mom. Just tired. I planned on going into the city this afternoon and start looking for a place to live, but I really don’t think I’m up to it.”

“Chrissy, you don’t want to do too much yet. You’ll make yourself ill. Take a nap today.”

“I don’t sleep well during the day. I lie down and think I hear Ethan or Rosie crying and then I have to get up and see-”

“Look, you have a baby nurse. Let Shannon worry about the babies and at least lie down for a bit. You really look pale.”

Chrissy took a deep breath and sat up straight. She had never enjoyed being fussed over and Susan recognized the stubborn expression on her daughter’s face. “I’m fine.”

Susan knew it was time to stifle her concern. “Then you might want to start opening the pile of packages in the living room.”

“Packages? Oh, I sent baby announcements last week and gave this address. Do you think they’re presents for the babies?”

“I’d be surprised if they were anything else. I noticed more than one from Tiffany’s.”

Chrissy cheered up. “Really? Maybe I’ll just take a peek.”

Susan left her daughter to check out the goodies and went upstairs to get ready for her trip to the nursing home.

The Perry Island Care Center looked a bit less elegant than the photos on their Web site had led Susan to expect. A large brick building with an excessive amount of white wood trim, a new paint job and some tuck-pointing would have improved its appearance immensely. In the publicity photos, the building had been surrounded by blazing red azalea bushes. But today only a few crocuses, so close to the sidewalk that they had been trampled repeatedly, were blooming. Susan pulled her purse up on her shoulder and entered through the wide handicapped accessible doors.

The interior was cheerful and well maintained. There was a wicker desk in the foyer and the young woman sitting behind it looked up from her Vogue magazine when Susan entered. “May I help you?”

“I’m here to see Astrid Marlow,” Susan explained.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Yes. For noon.” Susan looked at the clock hanging on the wall behind the desk. “I’m a bit early.”

“You must have come over on the ten-thirty ferry.”

“Yes, I did.”

“There isn’t a lot of traffic off-season so it doesn’t take any time to unload. During the summer, our noon appointments are always late. Astrid’s office is right down the hallway on the left. I think she’s in.”

“Thank you.” Susan started off in the direction indicated. An elderly man slowly making his way toward her leaned on his walker with an expression of intense concentration. Susan smiled in what she hoped was an encouraging manner, but as he got closer, a loud bell startled her and caused her to jump back. “What was that?”

A short heavyset woman popped out of the doorway Susan was making for and gently took hold of the man’s arm. “Mr. O’Neill, you know you’re not supposed to be off the ward alone.” She glanced over at Susan. “If you’re Mrs. Henshaw, why don’t you go on into my office? You don’t mind waiting while I sort out Mr. O’Neill, do you?”

“Of course not.” In fact, she would welcome the opportunity to look around a bit. Susan walked in the doorway.

Astrid Marlow’s office was large and well organized. One wall was dedicated to photographs taken at the care center. Birthday parties, Christmas parties, anniversaries… all were apparently celebrated with enthusiasm by staff and residents alike. Susan looked carefully, hoping to identify Shannon in the pictures. It was impossible to date the events; the residents, mostly women, had apparently preferred wash-and-wear clothing in floral prints for many decades. The staff, dressed in brightly printed scrubs, was always smiling. Failing to pick out a familiar face, Susan turned her attention to the rest of the room.

Two chairs faced a large walnut desk, where a multipaged application form was laid out. There were also piles of slick brochures. Susan picked one up and was perusing it when Astrid Marlow returned.

“I’m sorry about that. We must keep careful track of some of our memory-impaired residents. They do tend to wander. Mr. O’Neill has been with us for some time but, unfortunately, he has become more and more confused in the past six months or so.