Nightingale Way: An Eternity Springs Novel (20 page)

“Oh, no,” she said with dismay when he removed a shattered wide-angle lens. “I’m so sorry, Jack.”

“My fault. It was a poor place to leave my stuff.”

“I’ll replace it. Just let me know what—”

“I’ve been wanting to get a new one anyway. Tell you what. When you are through here, why don’t we drive on over to Gunnison? We can stop by the camera shop, then have lunch in that Mexican restaurant Nic and Sarah rave about.”

“That’s an excellent idea.”

During the drive, Jack sensed Cat’s gaze upon him. Glancing over at her, he saw that she studied him with a considering look. “Thinking, Catherine?”

She rolled her eyes. “You have a one-track mind, Davenport. I’m thinking, but not about that. I’m wondering what’s going on with you and your job. You don’t appear to be working very much.”

“I’m putting in the majority of my hours overnight since I don’t have anything better to do.”

“Now you’re whining.”

Actually, he was telling the truth. The project currently assigned to him had required a conference call at three a.m. Colorado time each of the past four nights. He’d taken to turning in early, then getting up for the call and staying up. Usually, he had put in a full day by the time he wandered into Eternity Springs to spend time with his ex-wife.

He had to make a trip tomorrow and he knew he should tell her about it. In the old days, she’d get quiet and sulky at similar news. In the old days, he’d wait until the last minute to tell her. Curious about her reaction now, he decided that now was as good a time as any to find out. Casually, he said, “I will be working the next few days. I have a trip planned.”

She shot him a sharp look. “Tell me you’re not going to Mexico.”

Jack winced. It was the first time anyone had mentioned that idea to him since he ditched his crutches. “No, I’m not going to Mexico. I wasn’t exactly thinking rationally then. I’m not planning a crusade against the cartels. Don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried,” she was quick to fire back. “Well, maybe a little worried. I figured it was the drugs talking, but you never know. You do know, don’t you, that his death wasn’t your fault? You didn’t fail your friend.”

“Sure, I failed him, but as much as I’d like to go to Mexico and kick some ass, it’s not a rational plan.”

“I’m sure you’ve spoken with your friend’s widow. How is she doing?”

“She’s hanging in there. She’s strong.” She’d called him the day before yesterday to thank him for the trust fund he’d established for her daughter.

“Good.” Cat opened her mouth to say more, then shut it.

When she remained silent, he prodded, “What?”

“I know better than to ask. It’s a work-related question. You never answer work-related questions.”

“Try me.”

“Okay, I will.” She folded her arms. “On a scale of one to ten, what’s the danger level?”

“Fifteen. I have a meeting on Capitol Hill.”

She laughed, as he had hoped. Because he didn’t want to put a damper on the mood with any more talk about Washington, he didn’t mention the appointment he had with the detective assigned to her case or the meeting he’d called with his private investigators. No matter how easy technology made communication these days, nothing beat face-to-face ass-chewings. Almost a month had passed since the bombing. Somebody should have caught the bastard by now.

In Gunnison, he made the camera shopkeeper’s day with a long list of purchases, then enjoyed the simple, sensual pleasure of sharing a delicious meal with a beautiful woman. He coaxed her into indulging in a sopapilla for dessert, and was so distracted by the way she licked honey from her fingers that he totally missed the question she asked. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“A one-track mind,” she repeated, a gleam of amusement in her eyes. “I asked if you’d mind if we stopped by Keller Oaks. Sarah has asked that any time her friends are over here that we drop in and check on her mother.”

“I got that memo, too, so I’d planned on it.”

They entered the long-term care facility shortly after two and found Ellen Reese in the music room participating in a sing-along that was wrapping up as they arrived. She didn’t recognize Jack, which wasn’t a surprise since he’d only met her a few times. Though she’d never met Cat, she latched on to her like a long-lost friend, calling her “Honey.” It wasn’t long before Jack figured out that “Honey” was Ellen’s method of compensation.
She thought she was supposed to know who Cat was, and this way her way of hiding it.

In her late sixties, Ellen Reese remained an attractive woman, trim and short of stature like her daughter, Sarah. She had a nice voice, a lovely smile, and a sadly vacant look in her pretty blue eyes.
Alzheimer’s is an awful disease
, Jack thought as they made their way outside to the enclosed courtyard. They sat for a bit talking about the flowers and the hummingbirds at the feeders until a uniformed attendant approached with news that bingo was about to begin and that “Miss Ellen likes her bingo.”

They said good-bye and started to leave when Cat hesitated. “Jack, would you mind if we took a little more time here? I’d like to speak with the director if she has a few minutes.”

“That’s fine with me.” Then, because he knew her, he asked, “Did you see a problem?”

“No. Not at all. I’m very impressed with Keller Oaks. Something arrived in my email, though, about assisted living facilities, and since Sarah has shared her experience with her mom with me, the subject caught my eye. I thought that since we’re here, it wouldn’t hurt to ask a few questions.”

Cat knocked just below a nameplate on the door that read
LOUISE GALLATIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
. She introduced herself as Catherine Davenport and him as her friend Jack, and said she wrote for the Eternity Springs newspaper. “I know that Sarah Reese is so pleased with her and Ellen’s experience at Keller Oaks and she feels lucky to have found you.”

“Ellen’s transition here has been relatively easy,” Louise said, smiling. “We do try hard to make it so, and I’m so glad that the Reese family is happy with our efforts.”

“They definitely are. After speaking with Sarah, and
mindful of our aging population, I am considering doing an in-depth article about elder care options, including potential problems a family should be aware of as they begin their search for the right facility. Would you be willing to speak with me on the record? Not today, but sometime in the next few weeks?”

“I’d be happy to speak with you. This is a soapbox issue for me, to be honest. If you’re willing to let me speak off the record, I have some particular warnings, too.”

Cat leaned forward. “Really?”

Louise proceeded to relay her suspicions about mismanagement at an assisted living facility in the area. “They don’t physically mistreat the residents or anything like that. This is more subtle, and they’re very good at it. They ingratiate themselves with the residents and earn their trust. Then, they strike.”

“What do they do?” Cat asked.

“They steal the residents’ money.” Louise squared her shoulders and declared, “They call it an investment club, but I know in my bones that it’s nothing more than a Ponzi scheme.”

Jack asked, “Why haven’t you contacted the authorities? They can check them out.”

“I actually did make a call to the state authorities who have jurisdiction,” Louise replied. “They said that they’d look into it, but I have my doubts anything will come of it. They’re overworked and I have no proof to give them. None. Just the fact that my instincts tell me it’s a little too good to be true. Perhaps if you included something about it in your article, we could get some traction for an investigation.”

Interest flared in Cat’s eyes. Jack had seen that look before. Next would come a barrage of questions.

His prediction proved correct, and forty minutes passed before they finally took their leave of Keller Oaks. Cat
remained quiet on the return trip to Eternity Springs while he debated the intelligence of cautioning her against diving into an investigation and putting herself at risk of discovery. Experience had taught him that sometimes, suggesting to Cat Blackburn that she take one path was sure to send her down another. That’s why he began cautiously. “So, are you going to look into it?”

She gave him a blank look. “Look into what?”

“The investment scam.”

“Oh.” She gave her head a shake. “I don’t know. I have to think about it. Until this whole thing with the firebomb is behind me, it’s probably better I don’t get too involved in any investigation.”

Hallelujah
. “So if not the investment scheme, what were you thinking about just now that had you looking so serious?”

Cat exhaled a loud sigh. “I was thinking about Ellen and Sarah and the mother-daughter relationship. Nic told me that Sarah fought hard to keep her mother at home as long as possible. They had their secrets and their differences, but at the heart of things, they were close.”

Ah. Now he understood. “You were thinking about Melinda.”

“I find it sad that my husband has always had a closer relationship with my mother than I have.”

Her use of the term “husband” rather than “ex-husband” did not go unnoticed by Jack, but he focused on the substance of her comment rather than the detail. This wasn’t the first time she’d made such a claim, and honestly, he couldn’t argue with her. Melinda Blackburn was a peculiar duck. Brilliant, without a doubt. Driven, like no other person he’d ever met. In a crisis, the woman had the proverbial balls of steel. But in all the years he’d known her, he’d never seen her comfortable with the maternal side of her personality or, as a result, with her
daughter. Still, he knew one thing about Melinda Blackburn that was undeniable. “Your mother loves you, Catherine.”

She questioned that with an arch of her brow.

“You know she does.”

“She didn’t call me after my dining room exploded.”

“She sent me.”

“And that was an act of love?” When he chided her with a look, she pursed her lips into a pout. “Oh, all right. Yes, I know she loves me, but my mother and I will never be close the way Sarah and Ellen were. I know that sounds whiny, especially to someone like you who lost your mother way too young, and that makes my whining sound even worse. I thought I’d left this behind me a long time ago, and for the most part, I have. It’s just that every so often, it gets to me. I wish I had as good a relationship with her as I do with my dad.”

“I understand, and I don’t think you’re whiny.”

“Thank you for that, Jack.”

“You’re welcome.” He waited a beat, then asked, “So, will you take care of my dog while I’m away?”

She laughed. “Sure. I’ll be happy to.”

They passed the rest of the drive in relative silence. Jack’s thoughts turned to tomorrow’s trip. He didn’t look forward to being grilled by the Intelligence committee chair. That never was much fun.

However, it would be a cakewalk compared to the meeting he had scheduled with Cat’s mother.

Thoughts of Cat and her mother and their relationship continued to swirl through Jack’s mind after he dropped his ex-wife off at Nightingale Cottage and decided to take a detour by the mineral springs before heading back to Eagle’s Way.

Though he’d never admit it to another soul, he still felt deep tissue bruises from his motorcycle accident, and the hot springs worked the best magic on them that
he’d found. He was pleased to see only a handful of visitors enjoying the pools, so he stopped his car, grabbed the swim trunks that he kept in his car for this very purpose, and headed over to have a soak.

The heat penetrated his skin like a song. A smelly song, but a song nonetheless. He reflected on the day spent with Cat. It had been a good day. He’d enjoyed himself and he thought Cat had enjoyed herself, too. Her eyes had certainly sparkled when she talked to the director at Keller Oaks. The enchiladas at lunch had left her groaning in delight. Her good mood had even lasted after he mentioned his trip.

The thought of his trip brought his mind back around to Melinda. It was too bad, he thought, that she and Cat couldn’t put their mother-daughter relationship to soak in an Angel’s Rest hot springs pool. It certainly could use the healing.

“Hello, Jack.” He opened his eyes to see Celeste sitting on the rim of the pool, the hems of her jeans rolled up to just below her knees. Her bare feet dangled in the steaming mineral pool.

“Hi, Celeste.” Nodding toward her feet, he asked, “Are your dogs barking?”

She laughed. “Oh, my. I haven’t heard that old saw since I left the Carolinas, but yes, my feet are killing me. I climbed the trail above Heartache Falls today and I totally overdid it. How about you? Weren’t you and Cat going sightseeing today?”

“We went up to the Silver Miracle Mine.” He told her about their visit to Keller Oaks to see Ellen Reese, then mentioned he was leaving town for a few days. “I still don’t think anyone could have tracked Cat Blackburn of Washington, D.C., to Catherine Davenport of Eternity Springs. I don’t expect trouble, and Cam said he’d keep an eye on her while I’m gone, but I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your eyes open, too.”

“Of course I will,” Celeste said. “I do have a soft spot in my heart for your Cat. She is an advocate, isn’t she? For the truth. For those less fortunate than her. For the good Lord’s four-legged creatures. She puts herself on the side of the angels, doesn’t she?”

He nodded and spoke a truth he’d recognized a long time ago. “She’s like her mother, more than either one of them would ever admit.” Scowling into the steam rising from the surface of the pool, he asked, “Do you have a daughter, Celeste?”

A shadow passed over her face. “No, unfortunately, I was never blessed with children. It is one of my life’s biggest regrets.”

Jack felt words he rarely ever spoke bubble up inside him, but he repressed the mention of Lauren. What was it about being around Celeste Blessing that gave him the impulse to blabber?

Instead, he focused on an issue he could do something about. “On our way home from Gunnison, Cat talked about Sarah and her mother. I think Cat regrets that she’s not closer to her own mother. I’ll be seeing her mom while I’m away, and I’m trying to think of the best way to encourage her to be open to it, too. What do you think a mother wants from her adult daughter, Celeste?”