8 Bodies is Enough(44)
“You’re making it beat very fast,” her mother said, batting her eyelashes.
Biting back a smile, Carlotta stood at the rear of room with Birch as Coop took her blood pressure, looked into her ears and eyes, and checked her reflexes.
Carlotta took the opportunity to snap a couple of photographs of her mother. “I saw you checking outside when we came in,” she said to Birch. “Is everything okay?”
Birch nodded. “I’m just being careful after your warning. Is there anything you can tell me about the people who might come looking for Melanie?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I wish I could be more specific. In a few more days I should know more about Randolph’s But once I see what hMeanwhile, I’m working to ”
“Your visit triggered a lot of memories,” Birch murmured. “She’s been talking nonstop about Mr. Randolph.”
“It made Mommy sad,” Priscilla said.
Carlotta turned to see the little girl standing in the doorway wearing a red dress and a black frown. “Hi, Priscilla. I thought you’d be in school today.”
“We’re on break,” she said glumly. “Dad promised he would take me to the Eiffel Tower.”
“He was going to take you to Paris on your school break?”
Priscilla rolled her eyes. “No. To the Eiffel Tower Experience downtown.”
“Oh, right. I remember seeing a brochure about it in the hotel.”
“Do you know when he’s coming home?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t. But I’m sure he misses you.”
“Of course he misses me,” the girl said in a haughty tone.
“Who is this?” Coop asked, walking up.
“This is Priscilla,” Birch said, “the head of the household.”
“I can see that,” Coop said. “Hi, Priscilla, I’m Cooper.”
“Why are you giving those tests to my mother?”
“Just to make sure she’s okay.”
“But she’s not okay. Can you make her okay?”
Carlotta’s heart squeezed at the girl’s pleading tone.
“I’m not that kind of doctor,” Coop said gently. “But there might be doctors out there who can make her some better.”
“Can you help us find one?” the girl asked.
“I will try,” Coop said, giving her a wink.
That got a shy smile out of her, revealing the telltale gap between her front teeth. Coop looked back and forth between Carlotta and Priscilla, then turned toward Birch. “How long has Melanie had memory issues?”
“She was like this when I came to work for the family two years ago.”
“During that time has her memory or motor skills gotten worse?”
“Not really. I kept expecting her to, but she’s been pretty much the same.”
Coop squatted down to be on Priscilla’s level. “Do you remember when your mother started forgetting things?”
She nodded. “She forgot my sixth birthday.”
“And how old are you now?”
“I’m nine.”
“Okay, that helps,” Coop said.
“All done?” Carlotta asked.
Coop nodded. “Do you have her medical records?”
“Some,” Birch said, reaching for a manila file on an end table. “I made a copy for you, including her medications.”
“Thank you,” Carlotta said. “We’ll go. I’ll call you later.” Then she turned to Priscilla. “I know it’s not the same, but how about fI come back tomorrow to take you to the Eiffel Tower? If that’s okay with Birch?”
He nodded.
Despite her taciturn mood, the little girl couldn’t help but look excited. “I guess that would be okay.”
Carlotta was happy to see a crack in the little girl’s veneer. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She went back to her mother’s chair. Valerie had resumed “reading” the book, but she was simply turning the pages. Her heart squeezed at the look of concentration on her mother’s face.
“Goodbye for now,” Carlotta said. “I’ll see you again tomorrow.”
“Okay, dear. If you see Wesley outside riding his bike, will you tell him to come inside? I’ll have dinner ready soon.”
Carlotta pressed her lips together. “Yes, of course I’ll tell him. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
She walked to the door with Coop and out into the sunshine. He was silent until they climbed in the car and she’d backed the rental car out of the driveway.
“Is that who I think it is?” Coop asked.
She threaded their way through the maze of identical streets. “I wouldn’t want you to know anything that would put you at odds with the fugitive task force. Or Jack Terry.”