Nursing a Grudge: An Earl Walker Mystery

Chapter 11

Nelson was gone several long minutes before either spoke. Jenny asked, “What are we supposed to do now?”

Earl scratched the side of his nose. “I, for one, would like to find out how he knew about that money. Which, I guess, means I need to call off seeing Gloria.” He reached for the phone.

“You’ll do no such thing! If you let that man stop your date, then he wins.”

“That’s crazy talk. We need to plan our next move. And it’s not a date.”

“There is nothing we can do about any of it right now. And she’s going to be here in a few minutes. So you need to get ready.”

“My arms are kind of sore after—”

“She can push the wheelchair. Get going.”

Jenny waited in the living room while Earl washed up. Despite her insistence, he refused to take a shower. He just wet a washcloth and a bar of soap, washed his face and under his arms.

In the next room she sang some happy tune. Earl stopped with the washcloth and growled. “Stop that!”

“What?”

“That singing!”

“Sorry.” She stopped. Temporarily. After a few minutes of songless bliss she started up again.

Earl set down the washcloth again. “Stop that!”

“Sorry,” she called out. “I’m just so thrilled you’re going out on a date.”

“It’s not a date.” He put the washcloth under the faucet and ran the water.

“Then why are you getting cleaned up?”

“A man can be civilized without folks jumping to conclusions.” He began washing out his ears.

“I’m just thrilled that you’re finally connecting with your fellow residents. Good for you.”

He squeezed out the cloth in the sink. “You make it sound like your pet dog is finally playing nice with the neighbors’ pets.”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. It’s healthy for you to get out and be with people. And if it’s with a lovely lady, all the better.”

He came out of the bathroom. “But I’m a married man.”

“You’re a widower—which means you’re free to see other women. Trust me, your late wife is fine with this.” Jenny paused. “How long has she been gone?”

“Twenty-two years.” Earl was silent a second. Then he rubbed his hands together. “Gotta brush my teeth.” He wheeled himself back into the bathroom.

Out in the living room Jenny said, “I think it’s time to go back out into the world and make some new friends. We all need people. Like the Bible says—”

“Fine, fine, we all need people, amen.” He got the brush, the paste then pulled his teeth out of the glass where he had put them to soak. He began brushing vigorously.

“And she can show you around Candlewick.” Jenny went into his bedroom and started going through his closet. “Gloria Logan seems to know a lot of people here. She can really help you make a lot of friends.”

“Not to mention she can really give me the inside edge.” Earl poked his head out of the bathroom. “By the way, can you set the TV recorder? There’s a show I want to see.”

“Um, okay.” Jenny met him in the hall. “What did you mean by that?”

“While I’m out making friends, the TV recorder can—”