again, harder this time. “Sorry, Janet. I didn’t mean your husband, of course, but everyone in the health field seems
to be running scared of lawsuits now. ”
Bitsy
shook her head. “No, he didn’t say a word. He removed the cuff, told me to make
another appointment for April with the nurse on my way out and then stalked out
of the examining room. That was very unlike him.”
I
took my time and chose my words with care. “Has Dr. Petersen been your primary
care physician for a long time or just since you’ve lived at Vista View?”
“Oh,
just forever,” Bitsy assured us. “You too, right, Janet? This really is a small
town, and Dr. Petersen has practiced here since I can remember. He’s the primary physician for about half of
Vista View’s residents. That’s one of the reasons the board invited him to be
our on-call physician. It seemed as if everyone was already comfortable with
him, and he has two younger associates who are available when he isn’t.”
Margo
introduced a new topic. “How did your husband’s meeting with Margaret’s cousins
go last night? Was he able to reassure them at all? I’m assumin ’
that if they were close enough for Margaret to send them all those expensive
jewels, there were in her will.” She let that one dangle in front of Janet.
“Goodness,
I have no idea about that. Gerald is such a clam when it comes to his clients’
affairs, even with me. We both know it’s difficult to find any privacy in a
little community like Wethersfield as it is. Everyone seems to know everyone
else’s business, but frankly, I’ve always been happier not knowing who’s
sleeping with whom.” She clapped one hand over her mouth and blushed violently.
“Metaphorically speaking, is what I meant.”
“Uh
huh,” Bitsy teased her. “In the literal sense, that sort of thing seems to be
common knowledge anyway.”
Margo
smiled her sympathy at Janet. “It’s the same with my husband. My John is as
close-mouthed as can be when it comes to police business, and I’m glad he is. Despite my best efforts to remain ignorant, you wouldn’t believe
what some of our most upstandin ’ citizens get up to.”
“Oh,
yes, I would,” Bitsy assured her. “Having been involved in a political campaign yourself, you shouldn’t be surprised at the dirt that
gets dished about the candidates and everyone else.”
Margo
snorted into her coffee, and I tried to get the conversation back on track. “So
we agree that we’re all clueless in the matter of Margaret Butler’s unfortunate
passing and are likely to remain so. Perhaps it’s time that the Vista View
community accepts that her early death was lamentable but not suspicious in any
way, and it’s happening so soon after Angela Roncaro’s death was purely coincidental.”
An
unmistakable gleam of satisfaction came into Bitsy’s eyes as she signaled our waitress Sherri for more coffee.
Janet
relaxed visibly. “I guess you’re right,” she agreed, trying in vain to sound
disappointed. “We should all put this behind us and move on. If there were
things in Margaret’s life that she wanted to keep private, she had every right
to do that, and we should respect her wishes.”
“Great,”
Margo said as Sherri refilled our coffee cups and flew off to take an order at
the next table. “ Meetin ’ adjourned. Now, does anyone
know where I can get a good massage? Spendin ’ all my
nights hunched over a hot computer is just killin ’ my
back.”
Half
an hour later Bitsy and Janet made their excuses and headed out after thanking
us for our time. Margo tucked a slip of paper on which Janet had noted Tommy
Garcia’s name and phone number into her wallet.
“What
do you think the real agenda was here?” she asked me.
“To
find out what we know and head us off,” I answered promptly.
“How about the manufactured distress about the
circumstances of Margaret Butler’s demise?”
“Misdirection. If they
can convince us that they have minor
to be running scared of lawsuits now. ”
Bitsy
shook her head. “No, he didn’t say a word. He removed the cuff, told me to make
another appointment for April with the nurse on my way out and then stalked out
of the examining room. That was very unlike him.”
I
took my time and chose my words with care. “Has Dr. Petersen been your primary
care physician for a long time or just since you’ve lived at Vista View?”
“Oh,
just forever,” Bitsy assured us. “You too, right, Janet? This really is a small
town, and Dr. Petersen has practiced here since I can remember. He’s the primary physician for about half of
Vista View’s residents. That’s one of the reasons the board invited him to be
our on-call physician. It seemed as if everyone was already comfortable with
him, and he has two younger associates who are available when he isn’t.”
Margo
introduced a new topic. “How did your husband’s meeting with Margaret’s cousins
go last night? Was he able to reassure them at all? I’m assumin ’
that if they were close enough for Margaret to send them all those expensive
jewels, there were in her will.” She let that one dangle in front of Janet.
“Goodness,
I have no idea about that. Gerald is such a clam when it comes to his clients’
affairs, even with me. We both know it’s difficult to find any privacy in a
little community like Wethersfield as it is. Everyone seems to know everyone
else’s business, but frankly, I’ve always been happier not knowing who’s
sleeping with whom.” She clapped one hand over her mouth and blushed violently.
“Metaphorically speaking, is what I meant.”
“Uh
huh,” Bitsy teased her. “In the literal sense, that sort of thing seems to be
common knowledge anyway.”
Margo
smiled her sympathy at Janet. “It’s the same with my husband. My John is as
close-mouthed as can be when it comes to police business, and I’m glad he is. Despite my best efforts to remain ignorant, you wouldn’t believe
what some of our most upstandin ’ citizens get up to.”
“Oh,
yes, I would,” Bitsy assured her. “Having been involved in a political campaign yourself, you shouldn’t be surprised at the dirt that
gets dished about the candidates and everyone else.”
Margo
snorted into her coffee, and I tried to get the conversation back on track. “So
we agree that we’re all clueless in the matter of Margaret Butler’s unfortunate
passing and are likely to remain so. Perhaps it’s time that the Vista View
community accepts that her early death was lamentable but not suspicious in any
way, and it’s happening so soon after Angela Roncaro’s death was purely coincidental.”
An
unmistakable gleam of satisfaction came into Bitsy’s eyes as she signaled our waitress Sherri for more coffee.
Janet
relaxed visibly. “I guess you’re right,” she agreed, trying in vain to sound
disappointed. “We should all put this behind us and move on. If there were
things in Margaret’s life that she wanted to keep private, she had every right
to do that, and we should respect her wishes.”
“Great,”
Margo said as Sherri refilled our coffee cups and flew off to take an order at
the next table. “ Meetin ’ adjourned. Now, does anyone
know where I can get a good massage? Spendin ’ all my
nights hunched over a hot computer is just killin ’ my
back.”
Half
an hour later Bitsy and Janet made their excuses and headed out after thanking
us for our time. Margo tucked a slip of paper on which Janet had noted Tommy
Garcia’s name and phone number into her wallet.
“What
do you think the real agenda was here?” she asked me.
“To
find out what we know and head us off,” I answered promptly.
“How about the manufactured distress about the
circumstances of Margaret Butler’s demise?”
“Misdirection. If they
can convince us that they have minor
Similar Books
