With the new cars, it’s hard to do without special factory equipment. She said that she—” Jane stopped and took a deep breath. “I’m yammering. I’m scared, Eve.”
“Me too.” Eve got out of the car. “Come on. Let’s just do it.” She climbed the steps. “Ring the bell.”
“I don’t have to.” Jane’s gaze was fixed on the door. “It’s ajar.”
A slender crack of light was issuing from the edge of the door.
“Oh, shit,” Eve whispered. She slowly reached out and pushed the door wider.
“Patty!”
It was a scream that almost shook the rafters of the house.
“What the hell?” Jane threw the door open and ran into the hall. Eve was right behind her.
“Jane?”
They whirled around to see Patty standing in the doorway behind them, a bewildered look on her face. “What are you doing here?”
Relief soared through Eve. Thank God.
“Patty!” Another shrieking yell.
Patty grimaced. “Excuse me. I have to see what he wants. You’d think he’d be able to wait. I’ve only been in the backyard for a few minutes or so.” She hurried past them toward the back of the house. “I’m coming, Granddad. Do you need something?”
“You wouldn’t care if I did.” The man’s voice was whining. “You’d leave me here to rot.”
“You know that’s not true.” Patty had disappeared into the room. “What do you want?”
“My juice needs refilling. And you know I don’t like to be left alone.”
“I’ll get it for you right away.”
Patty reappeared in the hall carrying a carafe. She crossed her finger over her lips for silence and motioned them to come with her. “Sorry about that,” she said, when they’d reached the kitchen. “He’s not in the greatest mood. I didn’t want to expose you to that waspy tongue of his.”
“Why do you put up with it, Patty?” Jane asked.
“I owe him. He wasn’t always like this. When I was a kid, I remember him as being . . .” She made a face. “Well, he was never sweet, but he took me in after my parents broke up, and he did the best he could. It was only when he got sick that it got bad.” She went to the sink and rinsed out the carafe. “You don’t want to hear this. Why did you come to see me?”
“We just wanted to make sure you were all right,” Eve said. “You weren’t answering your cell phone.”
“I didn’t have it. Granddad pitched a fit when he heard me talking on it last night, and I had to give it to him to pacify him.”
“Why was he angry?”
She grinned over her shoulder. “I was talking to Charlie Brand. He called me and asked me to dinner tomorrow night.”
“Charlie?” Jane smiled. “Good. I knew he liked you.”
“And I like him. We talked about fifteen minutes before Granddad pulled the plug.”
“You shouldn’t have let him take your phone,” Eve said. “He had no right.”
She shrugged. “It’s easier to let him have his way. It makes him feel as if he still has power. One of the sad things about getting old and sick is that everyone seems to have power but you. I usually just let him keep it for a little while, then pick it up on one of my trips into his room.”
“You’re more patient than I’d be,” Jane said. “He still has it?”
“I didn’t need it. It was storming, and Granddad wanted me to sit with him. We had a blackout last night. We must have lost power.”
“Is that why your house phone wasn’t working?”
“Probably. I was out in back when you came, trying to check the ground line from the pole.” She frowned. “It looks sort of funny. I have to get a better look at it as soon as I get Granddad settled again.”
“Leave it to the power company,” Eve said.
“I’ll be careful. I just want to make sure it’s not some simple connection that I could do myself.”
“Patty!”
“Coming,” she called. “I’d better get his juice back to him.”
“We’ll go,” Jane said. “We just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Why shouldn’t I be?” Then she nodded. “Oh, all those police cars down the street. I was wondering. Something nasty?”
“Something very nasty,” Jane said. “Promise that you’ll take your phone back from your grandfather so that you can reach us.”
“Sure.”
“And keep your doors locked and be very careful.”
