She frowned, then smiled—it nearly appeared genuine. “Well, if you’re going to live here, Gage aus den U.S.A., I’d like to know something about you.”
“Not much to tell. Like you just said, I’m from the U.S. but I’ve lived all over. I actually lived in Germany before, not all that far from here. I’m not married. I don’t have any kids. I do have a dog, but he’s staying with a friend. I’m hoping to bring him over soon.”
“Keep him away from me if you do.”
“You don’t like dogs?”
“No.”
“Interesting. I’ve not met many Germans who don’t like dogs,” he remarked.
“Well, I’m one of them,” she replied without a trace of humor. Ina finished stretching her calves. She held the bannister and pulled her right foot up to her butt, stretching her quadriceps. “That’s it? That’s the sum total of your life?” She mocked his accent, saying, “Hi, I’m a boring, single, childless man with a dog.”
“Yeah,” he answered. “That’s it.”
“No girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Gay?”
He blinked several times. “No.”
“So, who was your last girlfriend?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Tell me. I’m serious.”
“Ina, I’ve dated a number of girls, but to define which one was my last official girlfriend is kind of—”
“So, basically you’re telling me that you’ve banged around but not committed?”
Gage frowned but didn’t respond. Despite her physical attractiveness, he found Ina quite rude and wished she’d leave.
She stopped stretching and faced him. “Why are you here, Gage?”
“Your mother wants me here.”
“Why?”
“Ask her.”
“Oh, I will. Right now, I’m asking you. So, answer me.”
“I’m here at your mother’s pleasure.”
“Is she paying you?”
“Ask—your—mother.”
“This is so fucking childish,” Ina said, screwing up her face.
Gage stared.
She sipped her water. “No one killed my father, Gage. He died because his heart had been on borrowed time for a decade. My mother is delusional. You’re taking money from someone whose mental faculties aren’t functioning properly. In my book, that’s stealing.”
“I don’t make your mother as a woman who isn’t thinking clearly. She’s quite sharp—apparently her lawyers think so, too.”
Shaking her head in an admonishing fashion, Ina said, “Taking money from a crazy, sick old woman.”
Gage wasn’t going to be goaded into a fight, but he felt compelled to respond. “She’s lucid, Ina. Besides, I have zero influence over your mother. When she told all of you about your inheritance, that was the first I’d heard of it, too. I’d suggest you speak to her about it.”
“She’s a crazy old bitch. When I was a kid, she was just a bitch. But now she’s crazy, too…a crazy old bitch.”
Gage drained the last of his coffee. He said nothing.
“No one’s confessing, Gage, not about something we didn’t do. Once Katja and I calmed down, we sat down and actually talked about it. We even floated the idea of one of us confessing, and then cutting the confessor back in after our mother dies. But we’re not going to do that, because our mother is so irrational she’d probably attempt to get a conviction.”
“The authorities aren’t investigating, to my knowledge,” Gage remarked.
“She can wave her pinkie finger and make that happen. Do you have any idea of the political influence she has?”
“If she has such influence, I suggest you talk to her—or an attorney.”
“What attorney is going to help us defeat her? She has all the resources in the world.”
Gage shrugged. This conversation was pointless. “How can I help you, Ina?”
“You can help us talk some sense into her. We didn’t kill our father.”
“She thinks you did.”
“She’s wrong. Maybe she did it? Ever think of that?”
“That makes no sense.”
“And one of us killing him does?”
The two of them stood there—a staring contest.
Finally, Ina said, “I need a shower.”
He stood there.
“Help us, Gage.”
“You know, you’re rude as hell for someone who wants help.”
Ina pulled in a great breath and let it out slowly. “I apologize for being rude. This situation has added stress to my life.”
“I plan to help, if I can.”
“Oh?”
“I don’t agree with your mother’s decision, either. But I don’t have nearly the facts she does.”
Ina crossed her arms. “I demand you keep me posted.”
“I report to your mother.”
“You can still keep me informed.”
Gage shrugged. “We’ll see how it goes.”
“I need a shower.”
“You already said that.”
“I know.”
Gage shrugged.
“I said it twice because I was thinking…” she arched her eyebrows as her eyes slid down his body and back up, “…maybe you’d want to join me?”
Gage was floored by the suggestion.
“Well?”
“No, thank you, Ina.”
“Then what good are you?” She capped the nearly empty bottle of water and tossed it to him, barely leaving him time to catch it.
Ina Vogel stalked out of the manor house, her reflective clothing eventually blending into the morning darkness.
CHAPTER FIVE
39 Days Later
Gage stood in the hallway, watching the processional of nurses and specialists depart Claudia’s room. Sheriff sat dutifully next to him. Claudia’s doctor was last, a rather somber woman from the hospice organization Claudia had chosen. Given what the doctor dealt with each day, Gage would probably be somber, too. She offered Gage a pinched smile.
“How’s she holding up?” Gage asked, his voice low.
“Better than I’d expected, to be frank. She’s still eating, and taking in plenty of water. How’s she getting around when we’re not here?”
“Won’t let anyone help her.”
“She’s a strong lady,” the doctor agreed. She knelt and readily allowed Sheriff to lick her face as she rubbed the dog behind the ears.
The somberness was gone as the dog-loving doctor made quite the transformation.
“When will I need to arrange for
