“On my way!” My heart pounded hard in my chest. She’d either found a dead body in the upstairs hallway, or she’d found my son. Hopefully not both.
I cringed. Hunting demons made for a particularly morbid sense of humor, and I didn’t like the fact that I was displaying it to myself about my own little boy.
I took the stairs two at a time, seriously less gracefully than the movie stars who I knew had come down that same ornate set of stairs in fabulous ball gowns.
Once I reached the landing, I raced down the hall toward what was essentially Stuart’s hospital room, then skidded to a stop when I saw Rita standing outside it with a woman I’d never seen before.
“Oh.” I forced a smile. “Rita, I’m sorry. I’d love to meet your friend, but I’m looking for Timmy, and I’m starting to get a little worried.”
“Well, I’m not surprised. That boy is a fast one.”
“Yes, and—”
“Why don’t you take a peek into Stuart’s room?”
I did, then sagged with relief when I saw him sitting at the foot of Stuart’s bed with his favorite lovey, Boo Bear, beside him.
I popped my head back out before he noticed me and looked at Rita. “Thank you. Thank you so, so much.”
“No problem. The little devil was almost to the top of the stairs when I noticed him. Doing well, too.” She glanced around as if taking in the entire mansion. “Eddie said you were taking a lot on here. It’s going to be tough keeping an eye on that one.”
“Don’t I know it. I don’t suppose you know anyone who’s into childcare?”
“Fran’s always looking for extra work,” she told me, referring to her daughter, who, like Rita, was in the self-defense class I’m teaching to the neighborhood women. She was also the mom of a toddler, Elena, who happened to be one of Timmy’s best friends.
Still, I was regretting the question. I couldn’t bring someone in who didn’t know what we really do here. And I wasn’t ready to share with Fran.
Hopefully someone on the housekeeping staff could be retasked. I made a mental note to ask Father Corletti as I thanked Rita for the suggestion.
“I actually wanted to introduce you to my cousin,” Rita said, nodding toward the tall woman beside her. She had Rita’s slender nose and small mouth. Unlike Rita, who had let herself go naturally gray, this woman’s hair was a vibrant red that reminded me of Lucille Ball. But despite the color of her hair, her face made it clear that she was close in age to Rita, which put her in her late seventies or early eighties.
“It’s very good to meet you, um…”
“Nancy,” the redhead said.
Rita smiled brightly. “Eddie said that you were looking for a nurse to watch over Stuart, poor thing. How long has it been?”
“Almost three months. The truth is, they don’t expect him to wake up.”
I said the words calmly and felt proud of myself. It was starting to get easier. The hard part was that I was starting to believe it.
I drew in a breath, gathering myself.
“And Eddie said you didn’t want to go the assisted living route.”
“No. I really don’t. Not for a lot of reasons. He needs to be here. I need to be able to watch over him.” All of that was the absolute truth, even if the deeper truth was that I needed to be near him, just in case. Because if Stuart did die without waking up, there was no way I was letting a demon set up in his body.
“Well, Nancy worked as a nurse for twenty years before she got married.”
“I assure you I’m more than capable of taking care of him,” Nancy said. “Some people don’t like this type of work, but I’ve seen patients that no one expected to survive wake up and walk away. Those are the moments that make it worth it,” she said, as I felt a little queasy, certain she was unknowingly talking about demons. “You just never know what the universe has in store for you.”
“No,” I said. “You never do.”
I wanted to believe this woman. I wanted to hire her on the spot. But she’d also showed up very conveniently, and I wasn’t in a position to take chances.
I glanced around, thinking. “This hall is an incredibly uncomfortable place to talk,” I said. “There’s a small couch and a few chairs in Stuart’s room. Why don’t we go talk in there?” I pulled my phone out of my pocket as if I’d just gotten a text. “Give me one second, and I’ll follow you.”
“That sounds wonderful Kate,” Rita said, then ushered her cousin into Stuart’s room.
