The Caldwell house was a white coastal contemporary with a two-story front porch and a grand staircase that led to the second floor, which was where the main entrance was.I parked at the curb.Pulling into a stranger’s drive uninvited was bad manners.
I walked up the stairs, grateful now I’d thought to drop Chowder at home, and rang the front doorbell.
A very attractive woman opened the front door.Jackie Caldwell had the shade of blond hair that could only be found at an expensive salon, and a fringe of bangs that highlighted cerulean eyes.She wore yoga pants and a thin-strapped workout top on a body that didn’t look like it needed working out at all.
I recognized her, of course.She’d been in the tea shop many times, but I’d never gotten her name.
“Why Mabel,” she said, surprised to see me.“I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“I’m sorry for dropping by unannounced,” I said.
“No trouble.I just got back from Pilates and was about to pour myself a glass of iced tea and put my feet up.Why don’t you join me?”
“Oh, well thank you.I’d like that.”
I would’ve done the same had a practical stranger shown up at my door.Southern hospitality was drilled in at an early age.
I followed her into a wide foyer with golden pine floors and a black modern chandelier that looked like it had been designed by Edward Scissorhands.There was a large painting with color splattered across the canvas and stairs with a black iron railing that led down to the floor below.
She moved like a ballerina, with smooth, fluid movements, and I watched in fascination as she took a pitcher of tea from the refrigerator and poured two glasses.She had to be in her fifties at least, but she could have passed for closer to my age.I was tempted to ask who her esthetician was.
“Come on out to the porch, and you can tell me why you’re paying me a visit.Do you want any cookies?They’re store bought.I can’t bake like you.”
“I’m fine with tea, thank you.”And I followed her out a set of French doors and to one of the black rocking chairs on the porch.
“I’m here to talk about Henry Wainwright,” I said.
Her expression was one of genuine surprise.“Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.He was the sweetest man.Why do you want to know about Henry?”
“His sister paid me a visit.She believes Henry didn’t kill himself.That he was murdered.”
“Are you taking the case?”she asked, intrigued.“I’ve read all about you and the Silver Sleuths.”
“Yes,” I said.“We believe Milton was hasty in calling his death a suicide.”
She made an unladylike sound and propped her feet on the balcony ledge.“Milton was an idiot.No one believed Henry killed himself at the time, but by the time Milton got finished spreading the tale it had everyone who knew Henry wondering if we ever really knew him at all.I’m glad you’re taking the case.How can I help?”
“I’d like to get to know him,” I said.“And I figured as his nurse, you were probably the best place to start.”
“Oh, I had such a crush on him,” she said.“I’m happily married now, but I was looking for a husband back then.My plans didn’t include being a nurse forever.He was so handsome.Tall and tanned and athletic.But Henry only had room in his heart for Charlotte, and he never even glanced in the direction of another woman.And boy did I try to get him to glance in my direction.”
She winked and her smile was open and genuine, and I liked her instantly.I could see why Walt had been so complimentary.
“I came to work for him right after I finished nursing school, and I stayed with him for three years until his death.And then I stayed on with Dr.Everett for a few more months.By that time I’d met Kirk and we were planning a wedding, so I didn’t see a need to stay on longer.And Dr.Everett was planning to close the clinic anyway.He never really got over Henry’s death.They’d been friends and partners for a long time.”
“Tell me what he was like to work for.”
“Kind,” she said immediately.“Always.He knew the name of every patient he had and remembered everything about them and their children too.It was amazing.He made house calls in an era when nobody was making house calls anymore.
“Did he have a temper?”
“Not that I ever saw.There was the occasional disgruntled patient, and he’d gotten threats once, but he was always calm and level headed.”
A cool breeze blew in from the water, ruffling my hair in the breeze, and I took a sip of tea hoping it would cool me off.It didn’t.
“What about his personal life?”I asked.“Did you know anything about that?”
“Well, it’s Grimm Island, so it was a lot harder to keep secrets back then than it is now.He was always at the office by eight.And our last appointment was at four o’clock.He had a housekeeper who prepared his meals, but she didn’t live on the property.She drove in every day, but I’m not sure from where.I think she’s the one who found him.Must have been awful.”
