Pumpkin Roll (14 page)

“Of course I was listening,” Gabrielle cut in, folding her arms. “But I can’t drop everything at a moment’s notice.” Sadie watched Gabrielle wrestle with what she’d said behind her perfectly polite, if not plastic, expression.

“If you understood how concerned I was, you
would
drop everything to look in on your sister. She is—”

“I know.” Gabrielle looked past Sadie’s shoulder, irritable and impatient.

Sadie followed her glance to see the blonde woman Gabrielle had come with chatting with a few other attendees of tonight’s banquet. Gabrielle obviously wanted to join that discussion rather than have this one.

“You know, Gabrielle, it’s very hard for me to believe you’re listening when you keep cutting me off,” Sadie said, unimpressed with Gabrielle’s reaction. “I need to be assured that you understand my level of concern for your sister. Is she under the care of a doctor?”

“She hates doctors,” Gabrielle admitted, finally participating in the discussion. “She won’t go.”

“You might have to make her go, then,” Sadie said. “She’s in a great deal of pain, and while I don’t know what her typical behavior consists of, she’s coming out at night, yelling at the neighbors, and talking to people who aren’t there.”

Gabrielle’s jaw tightened even though she continued to smile. She leaned forward, although her expression barely shifted. It was strange to hear the tone of her words and yet see her smiling at the same time. “This is not the place—”

“Then when?” Sadie said, disappointed that Gabrielle was still worried only about causing a scene. If Sadie had only wanted to embarrass Gabrielle there were far better ways to do it. Sadie’s phone chimed, indicating a text message, but she ignored it for now. “And where? I already tried calling you and—”

“How did you even find me? How did you know I would be here?”

Still about Gabrielle. “You’re her
sister,
” Sadie said, hearing the sorrow in her tone as she tried to redirect the conversation back to Mrs. Wapple. “Look, I really don’t play hardball very well,” she said, “but there is something wrong with your sister.”

Gabrielle glanced over Sadie’s shoulder again, a wave of fear crossing her face. “Can you give me twenty minutes? Let me get settled in, and then I’ll meet you in the Connexion Lounge—not here.”

Not where anyone she knows might see us,
Sadie mentally translated.

“I can wait twenty minutes,” she said with a nod, quick to agree to any terms that would give her what she’d come for.

Gabrielle nodded and took a few steps away before turning back and giving Sadie a look that was either repentant or embarrassed, Sadie wasn’t sure which. “I’m not a bad person,” she said quietly.

“Then do the right thing by your sister.”

That brought Gabrielle up short, but after a brief pause, she turned and hurried back to her friends. As soon as Gabrielle rejoined her group, the other women leaned into her while glancing at Sadie. Did Sadie really look so out of place that she warranted being such a furtive topic of discussion? She smoothed her shirt front and headed toward the lobby. Sadie had already passed the Connexion Lounge, so it wasn’t hard to find her way back to it.

She situated herself on the surprisingly comfortable chairs in such a way that she would be able to see Gabrielle when she appeared in the lobby area below her. Then she was left with one of her least favorite things to do—wait. It was a beautiful lounge, complete with mini fire pits on some of the tables. You didn’t see indoor flames very often these days. The warmth was nice, and she hoped it would help take the edge off the wait before her.

She let herself relax for a few minutes as the warmth and dancing fire worked their magic, then she remembered the text message that had arrived while she and Gabrielle had been talking. Grateful for the distraction, she retrieved her phone from the inside pocket of her purse that looked like a Kmart special compared to what the other women were carrying. Oh yeah, it
was
a Kmart special.

The text was from Shawn, checking in. She quickly texted back that she was waiting to talk to the sister. His reply asked her to call when she was done, and Sadie couldn’t help but smile at his determination to be involved. Oh, but to have even a little bit of his enthusiasm. As it was, Sadie’s drive was waning since so little of what she’d discovered or encountered was positive. No one seemed to want Sadie involved in this . . . well, except Shawn, but he wasn’t here so it didn’t feel fair to count him. With a little luck, talking to Gabrielle would end Sadie’s involvement. After assuring Shawn she would let him know how it went, she ended the conversation and began writing down a list of what she
wanted
to talk to Gabrielle about.

A large man suddenly appeared at the right side of her chair, startling her.

He was Caucasian, with a square face, square jaw, and expansive chest and shoulders. His crew cut made his hair look like freshly mowed grass, except it was blond, not green. He looked down at her with a steeled expression, and Sadie tried not to cower under the weight of his glare. “Are you Sadie Hoffmiller?”

She recovered from her surprise enough to register the security guard uniform and slowly closed her notebook before standing up in order to be at his same level. Unfortunately, he was still nearly a foot taller than she was, and she continued to feel intimidated.

“Yes, I’m Sadie Hoffmiller. Can I help you?”

“I’ll need to ask you to leave the hotel, ma’am.”

“Leave?” Sadie asked, raising her eyebrows. “Why?”

“A guest at the hotel has reported that you’ve been harassing her. Management has asked that you leave, since you’re not a paying guest or on any of the guest lists of tonight’s closed events.”

Sadie felt heat creeping up her neck. “I’m not harassing anyone. I simply came here to talk to her.”

“And she has requested that you be removed from the premises.”

Sadie scanned his face in hopes of finding some sympathy, but she saw none. This obviously wasn’t the first time he’d had to do this, and Sadie was embarrassed to be treated as though she were doing something wrong. But right now embarrassment was weakness and she needed to appear strong so she tamped it down and drew together all her confidence.

“There’s simply been a misunderstanding,” Sadie said calmly. “She asked me to meet her here in the Connexion Lounge in”—she turned her wrist to see the time on her watch—“about ten minutes.”

He blinked at her but was not swayed. “I need you to exit the hotel and vacate the premises.”

“But I am not harassing her!” Sadie said, incensed by the injustice. A couple seated a few tables away turned to watch the scene, and she felt her cheeks heat up even more as anger mingled with her embarrassment.

The security guard pulled himself up even straighter, adding two more inches to his already imposing frame. “If you refuse to cooperate, this will get a lot more complicated. I’ll ask you one more time to vacate the premises.”

Chapter 12

The security guard walked her back to the mall and watched until she turned a corner out of view. Her cheeks were still on fire as she hurried into the subway car and took a seat in the corner, heading back to Forest Hills. The vapor of defeat surrounded her in the capsule, which smelled like stale exhaust and wet cement. A group of teenage girls occupied the other end of the car, and she ignored them, glad that they did the same to her as she stared out the window at the dark subway tunnel, trying to decompress from what had happened. She couldn’t believe Gabrielle had turned her in to security! Why was she so against Sadie’s help? Was she hiding something? Should Sadie be
protecting
Mrs. Wapple from her sister?

Thinking about Mrs. Wapple stirred up a whole list of questions: Was she digging for potatoes again tonight? Was she hurting? Mumbling about the angry birds in her head? No. First thing tomorrow, Sadie would call social services and wash her hands of the whole situation. She’d done enough—too much, perhaps—but at least she knew she’d done her very best. Gabrielle couldn’t say the same thing.

After marinating in her embarrassment for a few minutes, she dialed Shawn’s number, turning away from the girls, who were, like, totally having a great time.

“Hey,” she said. “I’m on the subway so if my call drops or it gets too loud, I’ll call you when I get to Jamaica Plain.”

“Okay,” Shawn said. “So, what happened?”

Sadie laid out all the gory details.

“I can’t believe she had you kicked out,” Shawn said when Sadie finished unloading the events of her evening. “Are you okay?”

The question unhinged her a little bit, and a wave of unexpected emotion caused tears to rise in her eyes. “I’m okay,” she said, but her tone sounded vulnerable even to her own ears. The fact was she could really use a hug right about now. It was a good thing Pete was so huggable and waiting for her at Jared’s house. “I’m just . . . embarrassed.” She blinked several times to clear the tears.

“Yeah, I bet,” Shawn said. “Are you going to try to talk to her again?”

“No,” Sadie said, shaking her head for emphasis. “We’ll call social services in the morning and let them take it from here. Gabrielle knows how her sister is living, and she’s chosen to do nothing about it. I don’t know why I thought talking to her would change anything, but I no longer believe Mrs. Wapple’s sister is her best option.”

“Well, you’ve sure gone the extra mile, Mom, you can feel good about that.”

More tears. He was such a good son.

“
And
you have all the luck,” Shawn said. “Always stumbling into adventure.”

Sadie frowned. “You make that sound like it’s a good thing.”

Shawn laughed, and Sadie tried to see it from where he stood, removed and intrigued.

“Do you still want the landlord info? I found the one in Lowell as well as the current owner of the rental house on Browden Street. It was rented in the sister’s name, though.”

Sadie had forgotten Shawn was researching Mrs. Wapple’s housing and for an instant she was excited to get the information. The instant passed quickly, however, and was replaced with regret. “I don’t need it anymore,” she said. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

“Nah,” Shawn said. “It’s fine, and it didn’t take me long to find—bless public information databases and Google Earth. You’re sure you don’t want to make these two final calls?”

Sadie
was
tempted, but the humiliation and frustration of her dealings with Gabrielle were still fresh enough that she was not swayed. “No. It’s done.”

“All right,” Shawn said, but he didn’t seem to agree. They both sat in silence—well, as silent as a subway car could be—for a few beats before Shawn spoke again, changing the subject dramatically. “So, I talked with Jane today,” he said casually. “She said you told her you couldn’t see her while you’re in Boston. She’s not far away, ya know.”

Jane again? That woman was so removed from Sadie’s thoughts that it was annoying to have to make room for her. “I’m not at my own home, Shawn,” she said, repeating what she’d told Jane. “And I’m already feeling horribly guilty for being so distracted by Mrs. Wapple. Pete and the boys deserve more from me. I actually fed the boys chicken nuggets tonight. I’m so disappointed in myself.”

Shawn laughed. “Okay, I can see your point. What do you think about inviting her to come to Salem with us on Saturday instead? You’ll be done playing grandma by then.”

Sadie frowned. The thought of inviting Jane after the babysitting job was complete had crossed her mind—she was too efficient to have not considered the option—but she’d also looked forward to having time alone with the two men in her life: Shawn and Pete. The two of them hadn’t spent much time together—

Wait—why was Shawn working so hard for her to meet up with Jane in the first place?

The thought brought an unwelcome realization that Shawn had brought up Jane during nearly every phone call they’d shared this week. He’d also asked for Jane’s help in one of the PI cases almost immediately after Sadie had asked him to use her only if he absolutely had to. And hadn’t he told Sadie she should try to form a new opinion about Jane? Beyond that, Sadie had been waiting weeks for Shawn to tell her he’d changed his major. That he hadn’t confided in her yet—not to mention that he hadn’t discussed it with her before he actually made the change—was a sign of his growing independence. Another perspective on that independence, though, was that he was keeping secrets from her. Or at least he thought he was.