Broken Vows Mystery 03-In Sickness and in Death (23 page)

Dr. Albert changed topics. “I guess I misunderstood. Did you want an appointment for yourself?”

I explained about Danny and his father. Dr. Albert listened without interruption. He had a question when I finished.

“Did you talk with Social Services about making an appointment for him with me?”

“No.”

“You’ll need to call them first for authorization.”

“Really?”

“I’m afraid so.”

No way would I do that. A conversation with Social Services might get him labeled as a troubled child—if he wasn’t already—or, worse, removed from our home. Ray and I were still a safe haven for him. Besides, I kinda liked having him around. From all indications, Danny liked it here, too.

I hung up disappointed and frustrated. I only wanted to help Danny. Why did bureaucracy always mess things up?

Danny sat at the table, working on his assignments when I walked into the kitchen. I wondered if Ray had gotten him going this morning or if he’d taken the initiative himself. Either way, I was pleased.

“Did you eat breakfast?”

He didn’t look up. “Ray made eggs. Brown eggs.”

“How were they?”

“Okay.”

I poured a glass of juice and peeled the lid off a container of yogurt. I ate leaning against the sink. “How’s the homework coming along?”

“I’m almost done. I have to study for a geography test.” Danny glanced at the clock. “What time are we leaving for the shop?”

“In fifteen minutes.”

He nodded. His pencil moved more quickly over the page. Impressed, I left him alone to finish.

On the drive to work, Danny talked nonstop. Most of his sentences started with the words “You know what, Jolene?” and ended with something Cory had told him about cars. I even learned a few things. But once we reached the shop, I was delighted to hand him off to Cory. The constant conversation, after all my months of solitude, was a little more than I could take. He’d talked our ears off last night, too, while we unpacked the outdoor Christmas decorations and hung them up.

I went in my office and closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief.

The phone ruined my peaceful retreat.

“Jolene? This is Maury Boor. Is this a bad time?”

A bad time? Was he nuts? “Maury, where’s Erica?”

“She’s here. She’s really … not well.”

Where had I heard that before? “What’s she doing?”

He lowered his voice to a whisper, “She’s curled up on the floor in the corner, sucking on her hair.”

“Call an ambulance, Maury. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t? If you love Erica, you have to do what’s right for her. You can’t help her. She needs medical attention.”

“She said she’d never speak to me again if I had her locked up.”

“Maury, she always says that. No one really
wants
to spend time in the psych center, but she needs to.”

“I can’t do it. Can you come?”

“Where are you?”

He gave me an address an hour outside of Wachobe, an apartment complex. He said they were in apartment 4B.

I hung up.

Should I call an ambulance to meet me there? They’d undoubtedly arrive and take her before I could make it. I might not get to see Erica for days if I did it that way, and I needed to see her, if only to verify with my own eyes that she would be all right. I decided no ambulance.

Should I call Ray? He’d want to question Maury, which might further aggravate Erica and the whole situation. The apartment complex wasn’t in our county, so he’d have to get off duty. I didn’t want him to get in any more trouble. I’d gotten him in enough hot water in the last year. I decided no Ray.

I did tell Cory exactly where I was going and if I didn’t call him within two hours, for him to call Ray. Two hours would give me more than enough time to drive there, assess the situation, and get whatever help Erica needed. Of course, if Maury was a serial killer luring me to my death, he’d have time enough to accomplish that, too. But this was geeky Maury Boor. I’d take the chance.

I hugged Danny goodbye. He didn’t seem to mind the hug, although he didn’t reciprocate.

I roared out of the parking lot. With a little extra pressure on the Lexus’ gas pedal, I made it to the apartment complex in forty-five minutes.

It sat fifty feet off a county road, the only building in sight. The rectangular, stucco four-story building had only one car in its parking lot—a white Honda Prelude. I parked next to it and observed the sheets and beach towels that substituted for curtains in all the apartment windows. Erica had really moved on up this time.

The apartment building had an exterior staircase that ran up the center of the building. Signs indicated the B apartments were on the right, A to the left. I went right.

By the top of the second flight of stairs, I realized I was out of shape. By the third, I huffed and puffed. By the time I reached Maury and Erica’s door, I had to lean on the railing and rest. If Maury attacked me, I’d have no air left to put up a fight.

After a minute of deep breathing, I approached the apartment and knocked.

The door flew open as if Maury’d been standing just on the other side.

I got a glimpse of his baby-cheeked face before he reached for me. I tried to move back, but he was too quick. He pulled me into a hug. “Thank God you’re here.”

I suffered his embrace for all of a second. “Let go of me, Maury. I want to see Erica.”

He stepped out onto the landing, closing the door behind him. “I didn’t tell her I called you.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I tried to push past him, but he had grown since high school. He outweighed me by at least seventy pounds.

“Can you pretend you found us on your own?”

“What?”

He licked his lips. “Please? I don’t want her to hate me.”

“She won’t hate you. Now get out of my way.”

Maury blocked me again. “She hates you.”

That stopped me cold. I blinked back tears. “She didn’t say that.”

“She said she doesn’t love you anymore because all you do is lock her up in the hospital.”

For all of a second, his words bothered me. Then reality kicked in. “Maury, the opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference. Now get the hell out of my way.”

He opened the door all the way and stood aside.

I rushed in. The living room was empty, the kitchen littered with takeout boxes and paper plates. It smelled like dirty feet and, oddly enough, lemons. I headed for the door off the living room. I pushed it open.

Sheets and blankets were clumped in the center of the bed and clothes were strewn all over the floor, some of them Erica’s. I whisked the covers off the bed. No Erica.

I checked the corners of the room. No Erica.

I peeked in the bath, which smelled of wet towels and lavender. She was here someplace.

I bent to check under the bed. I heard a whimper.

I stood and tipped my head to see behind the bedroom door.

Erica.

She wore tattered jeans and a pink sweater, her feet bare, her tangled blonde hair covering her eyes.

I crept closer, pushed the door aside, and knelt in front of her. “Erica? Sweetie?”

She pulled her feet closer to her body.

I reached out and smoothed the hair from her face.

Her eyes were puffy and red with mascara circles the size of mini donuts. She held a hank of hair in her fingers as she sucked on it.

“Oh, Erica.”

She didn’t acknowledge me.

I pulled out my cell phone and called Dr. Albert’s emergency number. He said to bring her in as soon as possible.

I sat cross-legged in front of her and took her free hand in mine. It was like ice. I rubbed it gently. “Everything will be fine. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of you.”

She let out a sigh and murmured something.

“What? I didn’t hear you.”

Her gaze met mine. She pulled the hair from her mouth.

“Mom said you would come.”

I rode in the
backseat with Erica. Maury drove his Honda Prelude. Dr. Albert met us at the door of the psych center. He touched Erica’s shoulder, then mine, joining us in a pseudo triangle. “I’ll take her from here. Everything’s going to be fine. She’ll call you in a few days.”

Where had I heard that before?

The last five times I’d checked her in.

I kissed Erica and ran my hand down her cheek before the attendants rolled her away. She sucked harder on her hair.

Maury started to chase after her. The guard blocked him. “I’m sorry, sir. You can’t go with her.”

He looked at me, bewildered and forlorn. “I’m her husband.”

I slid my arm through his and tugged him in the direction of the cafeteria. “Let’s talk about that.”

While Maury purchased coffee for himself and a Snapple iced tea for me, I dialed Cory to let him know everything had gone according to plan. Then I dialed Ray and filled him in. He was more concerned about Maury than Erica.

“How’s he behaving?”

“He’s lost, Ray. He’s the same geek he was in high school, just taller and better looking.”

“Where were they?”

I described the apartment to him. From my brief glimpse, the furniture had been old, the carpets threadbare, and the housekeeping less than desirable, but I wouldn’t say dirty, just used. “He still claims they’re married.”

“Ask to see the marriage certificate. We can verify with the officiant and witnesses.”

I rushed Ray off the phone because Maury appeared with our drinks in hand. He set mine in front of me, put his down, and reached for mine again. He took off the shrink wrap and popped the cap before returning it to me.

He smiled as he sat. “I don’t want you to chip a nail.”

I was torn between “Aw, shucks, how considerate” and “Do I really look like I’d care?” I settled for a simple “Thanks.”

He sipped his coffee and glanced around the room, which had only a few other occupants seated on plastic chairs. “Is this where Erica will eat?”

“She’ll eat in her room.”

“Is the food any good?”

“It’s pre-chewed. You know, mashed potatoes, Jell-O, pudding. I’m not sure why. The patients have mental problems, not gastrointestinal.”

“She hates it here.”

I took a long swig of my iced tea while I tried to formulate a response he might understand. He hadn’t spent the last fifteen years coping with Erica’s issues. I had.

“Sometimes she’s been known to think of it as a resort and spa. When her life doesn’t go the way she wants, she’ll do … something to get herself admitted.”

His eyes told me he was wounded. “She was happy with me.”

I couldn’t argue. I didn’t know for sure. “She has to take her medicine every day, Maury, or she starts to act differently. Sometimes she’s wild and takes too many risks, and sometimes she’s like this. Without the medication, she’s unpredictable.” I decided not to mention “suicidal.” I still wasn’t sure of the reason behind all of her suicide attempts. Some had been pretty lame for a girl of her ingenuity. Of course, Dr. Albert didn’t agree with me on this, and he was the expert. I only knew Erica needed professional help.

“Is it because of your mom?” He stared at his coffee cup, twisting it between his hands. “Because she killed herself? Is that why Erica acts this way?”

Life should be so simple. “Erica has been diagnosed as bipolar. That’s why she takes the medicine. I’m sure our mother’s death created issues for her, too. She didn’t always get along with our father, and she had difficulties with school. I can’t really categorize all her behavior for you. I’m not even sure Dr. Albert can, but maybe you can talk with him later and see what he says. She’s … unpredictable, like I said. But loveable.”

His eyes met mine. “I love her. I’ve always loved her, even in high school.”

“I remember all the times you asked her out.”

He blushed and cast his eyes on his coffee cup again. “Erica didn’t want to go out with me then. She said I was too short, but I think it was because I was a geek.” He looked up at me through his eyelashes as if waiting for me to respond.