“I flew my nephew here, the one I told you about. Annie, Annie, why didn't you tell me about that little episode in your life? I thought we agreed to be open and honest with each other. According to Ben, it's a closed case and will probably never be solved. I couldn't figure out what made you do such a turnaround. It finally dawned on me that it was when I mentioned Ben and his project that you called everything off. I think you owed me more than a Fed Ex letter, Annie. I thought we were in love. We mapped out our lives for years to come.”
“The middle of a hotel lobby is not the place to discuss this, Parker. It was more than that, and we both know it. Yes, Jane, Elmo, and I were under suspicion after the bank robbery. To this day we are under suspicion. It was a harrowing experience being hounded like that. It wasn't something I felt comfortable talking about. It also wasn't any of your business. Just like what you were and probably still are doing in that laboratory of yours. Would you like to expound on that? By the way, the police, the bank, and the insurance company closed the case. The money was returned. I really have to go, Parker. Elmo and Jane are waiting for me.”
“Can we have dinner this evening, Annie? I'd like you to meet my nephew Ben. He needs to hear your side of the case before he turns in his report to his professor.”
Annie stared bug-eyed at the handsome man she'd promised to marry. Did she just hear what she thought she'd heard? She struggled to feel something. She'd made love to this man, lain in his arms, promised him there would be a future for the two of them. Now she could barely stand the sight of him. What did that say for her? “I don't think so, Parker. Just about every hour of my time here is accounted for. Why don't I call you when I get back home?” How inane. She might as well have said, let's do lunch sometime in the next decade.
“I think you owe me more than a Fed Ex Dear John letter, Annie. My nephew and his partner are going to your class reunion tomorrow, so why don't I tag along. Surely we can find ten minutes to talk. I'm not giving up, Annie, I want you to know that.”
A chill ran up and down Annie's spine. “Why would your nephew be going to my class reunion?”
“He wants to meet you and Jane. This project is very important to him. He's convinced you are the one who took the money.”
“Really! Read my lips, Parker. I'm up to here with theories and suppositions where that robbery is concerned. Your nephew had better not show up. He had also better not plan on causing any kind of a ruckus. Are we clear on that?”
“Then have dinner with me and meet him.”
“Not in this lifetime, Parker.” Annie fired off her last zinger as she turned to walk away from him. “The Daisy Shops will not be renewing our contract with the Grayson Coffee Company. Sit on that one, Parker, and do a full spin.”
Annie beelined for the elevator, whose door swished open. She was shaking so badly she could hardly press the button for the fifteenth floor. She wondered if Parker had the gall to stand and watch the overhead numbers of the elevator to see which floor she got off at. She started pressing numbers and got off on the eighth floor to take the stairs to the fifteenth. She didn't need Parker Grayson knocking on her door. If he slipped someone money, would they give up the information? Of course they would. The answer to that was she would move over to the Ritz Carlton but not check out of the Four Seasons until it was time to leave for home.
Annie was winded and breathless when she opened the door to her suite. She wondered if her expression betrayed what she was feeling. She had her answer a moment later when Elmo, who was sipping his double scotch, and Jane both said, “What's the matter?”
“You look funny, Aunt Annie. Did you run up the stairs?”
“Actually, Daisy, I did run up seven flights. I needed the exercise. Would you get me a soda from the fridge, honey?”
“We're going to be leaving soon, Daisy. Go into the bathroom and clean up. Put on that pretty pink dress we just bought, okay? Make sure you pick the right ribbon for your ponytail.”
“Do you need to do grown-up talk, Mommy?”
“Uh-huh. I'll call you when it's time to go.”
“I'll have another double scotch, Jane. I haven't felt this good in weeks.” Jane rolled her eyes but did as the old man asked. “What happened, Annie?”
Annie explained her visit to Andrew Pearson's father and what she'd learned. “His nurse gave me this,” Annie said, tossing the packet to Jane. “Then when I got to the lobby, guess who I ran into! Parker Grayson. He flew his nephew here, and the nephew is going to our reunion. He figures I was the one who found the money. He and another law student were assigned unsolved crimes, and this kid just happened to get the one that involved us. Parker wanted to take me to dinner so I could meet him. I said no. I also told him I wasn't renewing our coffee contract.”
“Good going, Annie,” Elmo said, smacking his lips.
“Does that mean we aren't going to the reunion?” Jane asked.
“That's what it means. In addition, we are moving out of here. Call the Ritz Carlton and make us a reservation for like now. We can go down in the freight elevator with our baggage. We aren't checking out of here, though, until we're ready to leave.”
“Very clever, Annie,” Elmo said. “More ice, Jane.”
“I feel like everyone in the whole world is watching us.”
“They probably are,” Elmo said. “If you aren't going to get gussied up to go to your reunion, why do we need to take our bags? Jane came in loaded down with shopping bags. Just put what we need in them. Someone might see us leave and think we're checking out without paying our bill.”
“I guaranteed our stay with a credit card, Elmo. I know, I know, money talks. I found that out today at the university. We could simply leave here, check in at the Ritz, and buy what we need in the shops. I've worn the same clothes for three days in a row before, so it won't be the first time. Personally, I don't care if I miss the reunion or not. How about you, Jane?”
“Couldn't care less. This is more important. Are you okay with the Parker thing, Annie? If you're having second thoughts, I can take Elmo to the drugstore.”
“I'm okay with it. I had a couple of bad minutes, but that was it. I'm glad I did what I did when I did it. Just think, it could be hitting me in the face now out of the blue. No way are you going to the drugstore without me. You do the shopping bags, and I'll call the Ritz. You guys go down in the freight elevator and take the car to the Ritz and check in. I'll go down to the lobby and take a cab and we'll meet up at the drugstore. I'll give you a forty-minute head start. Do you think we're being melodramatic?”
“Maybe,” Elmo growled. “It's better to be safe than sorry. Do you want us to take this envelope or are you going to take it?”
“You take it, Elmo. We have to decide what we're going to do with it. Are you sure you're okay? You're not tired?”
“Annie, I had a three-hour nap. The scotch is coursing through my bloodstream. I feel fine. I should have stopped taking those damn pills months ago.”
Who was she to argue with, a pharmacist who practiced pharmacology for forty-five years and stayed on top of the profession to this day. She nodded bleakly.
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Charlie poked his head out of Daisy's canvas bag and woofed softly. “Shhh,” Daisy said. “Oh, oh, look, here comes Jake.” The Yorkie wiggled and wiggled until he had his little body free of the loose flap on the canvas bag. A second later he was romping down the hall, Daisy in hot pursuit.
“Clay, what are you doing here? Whatever it is, I don't care. I'm just so glad to see you,” Jane babbled. She threw her arms around the ex-basketball player and hugged him.
“Now, that's what I call a real warm welcome. Where's Annie?” Clay asked, looking around. “How are you, Mr. Richardson?”
“I've been better. Today started out to be a good day. Why are you here?” he asked more bluntly than Jane had.
“I got worried about all of you, so I chartered a plane. Women aren't the only ones who have intuition or go by gut instincts. Jake seemed to think it was a good idea. I left a message, didn't you get it? Where's Annie?”
Elmo stared up at the tall man with the honest concerned eyes. There was no debate, no indecision. He told him what had happened. “Annie is waiting for us at the drugstore. We were going to check in and go through these papers before we meet up with her. She's giving us a forty-minute head start.”
“Then let me put the top up on the car I rented. If someone is watching you, they have your car tagged. It might be a little tight with Jake, but I think we can all fit in. We can ditch the wheelchair, and I can carry you if you have no objections. I can pull my car right up to the side entrance. You guys hop in and we're off. How's that sound? We can pick up another rental at the Ritz. I'll call in a reservation from the car, or I can drive you to the drugstore if you tell me where it is.”
Jane almost fainted with relief. Elmo sighed. Daisy giggled as Charlie and Jake romped outside the elevator. “I'm worried about Annie, Clay.”
“I can see that. Annie is no fool. She can take care of herself.”
“Parker Grayson is here. She ran into him in the lobby.” Jane recited Annie's story on the ride down in the elevator.
Clay winced. He didn't know what to say, so he remained quiet. He'd come prepared for anything and everything. The anything and everything didn't include an ex-fiancé.
“All of you wait here. Jake, come with me. Daisy, put your pup back in the bag. We don't want to call attention to ourselves,” Clay said gently, a twinkle in his eye.
“God, Elmo, suddenly I feel so much better,” Jane said.
“I'm going to need the chair,” Elmo said. “All of a sudden, I'm not feeling so good.”
“It's the excitement, Elmo,” Jane said, concern written all over her face. “We'll stuff the chair in the trunk and have Clay park in the campus lot. I'll push you from there. How's that? We have to believe those watching eyes can't be everywhere.”
Jane motioned for Clay to pop the trunk, then helped Elmo to his feet. “I'll fold it up. We have to take the chair, Clay. It won't be a problem, though. I know where we can park so the car won't be recognized.”
“I called the Ritz. There's a black Lincoln waiting for us. More room. Do you want to pick it up now or wait till we see Annie at the drugstore?”
“Elmo, what do you think?”
“Let's go to the drugstore,” Elmo wheezed. Alarm registered in Jane's eyes as the color left Elmo's face. The moment Elmo and her daughter were settled, Jane hopped into the front seat with Jake. Daisy was holding Elmo's hand and babbling ninety miles to the minute. Clay kept one eye on the road and one on the rearview mirror to check on his passenger in the back.
Fifteen minutes later, Daisy let out a whoop. “There's Aunt Annie. See, she's standing in the doorway.” Clay swerved and made a U-turn in the middle of the road.
“I would have missed her, Daisy,” Clay said, pulling to the curb.
“I thought we were going to park in the lot and push Elmo here.”
Clay looked in the rearview mirror. Jane turned and blinked. “Too late now, we're here.”
Annie saw Jane's wild red hair; then she saw Jake. “Clay!”
“Yeah, it's me. Hope you're glad to see me and my dog.”
“Well, yes, I am, but what are you doing here?”
“You and your little band of followers made such an impression on me I got worried about you. The plain damn truth is, I got sick and tired of talking to Jake. You got me out of my shell, so you need to take responsibility for this.” Clay's voice dropped several octaves. “One very sick old man, a woman with a kid who has a pup under her arm and another woman who packs a gun and romps through mud fields . . . Well, wouldn't you have been worried? What would you have done if you were in my place?”
“Annie, Elmo's color is gone, and he's not breathing right. Hold the door so we can get the chair inside. Thank God the store didn't change, at least on the outside. Were you inside?”
Annie's throat closed tight when she saw Clay lift Elmo into the waiting wheelchair. “Look, Elmo, they made a new sign. It's just like your old one.”
“The owner left your old sign for you. The pharmacist is holding it for you. Guess they figured it worked, huh?” Annie said, her eyes filling with tears. Her throat muscles relaxed. “It smells the same, Elmo. Sniff. Smell the Chantilly and the Max Factor powder. They just made fresh coffee. It smells heavenly. I feel like I stepped back in time. The toothpaste is in the same place, so are the antacids. The licorice sticks are still by the register. The only difference is the bubble-gum balls are bigger and cost a quarter now instead of a nickel. This is Andy Jan, the pharmacist. He's worked here since you sold the store to the Havermeyers. He loves it here.”