“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” I respond, getting flustered.
“Are you in danger?” she questions bluntly.
I swallow, giving myself a minute. “I don’t know,” I reply, being more honest with her than she deserves.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” she huffs. “Not if Conrad Price’s stepdaughter was involved. Can you believe we used to live in the same neighborhood as that prick?”
“How far we’ve fallen,” I mumble, needling her.
“Ain’t that the truth, sweetheart,” she answers, her eyes following the track of the curtain surrounding the bed. “But you’re doing all right for yourself. I always knew you would. You’re made of tougher stuff than I am. I couldn’t handle the ups and downs life threw at me, but ever since you were small, you’ve faced them head-on, unafraid.”
“Maybe because I had to,” I respond, feeling tired all of a sudden.
“It’s just a shame that two young people in the prime of their lives had to die today because of him,” she rambles on, lost in thought. “He was always a good for nothing. I remember sitting on the back porch with his first wife, Joanie, listening to her tell me about all of the terrible things he did.”
I turn toward her. “Like what?”
“Oh, dearie, stuff not worth repeating,” she protests, holding up her hand, before going on. “How he cheated his clients on these insider-trading deals and clawed his way to the top. But Joanie was a smart one. She made copies of all of the papers he had in his home office when she planned on filing for divorce so he’d let her go.”
“Yeah, right. Conrad left Joanie for his mistress,” I jump in, shaking my head.
“That’s what he wanted everybody to think,” my mom says smugly. “But I know the real story. He was taking some off the top when it came to his financial dealings with his mistress’s family. He didn’t want to get caught, so he made a deal with Joanie to ensure her cooperation.”
“I wonder if she kept everything…” I ponder, mostly to myself.
“Conrad made her burn everything in front of him before he’d sign the divorce papers,” my mom admits, surprising me.
“What?” I ask, bewildered.
“I was working in the office of that auto repair shop then. Don’t you remember?” I nod. “Joanie didn’t work at the time. She depended on Conrad for everything. He was so paranoid. He started monitoring her comings and goings to the point that she couldn’t even drive her car without him knowing about it. That’s why she smuggled the documents over to me to make copies.”
“Mom, that’s insane,” I exclaim. “Do you know the risk you were taking?”
“Ivy, I had a lot of time on my hands, sitting out there in that waiting room with nothing to do,” she grumbles like my being tied up in surgery was a major inconvenience. “After hearing from the Youngs how Conrad kicked Ryan out and how he ended up in jail, I thought I’d give Joanie a call. See if she’d be willing to help. Ryan was never the same after the divorce, and I think she always blamed herself for it.”
“Can we please not talk about Ryan?” I plead, gripping my forehead.
“He always was a little peculiar, wasn’t he? There was something about that boy I never liked,” she grunts under her breath.
“Well, you could’ve fooled me because you were always falling all over him whenever he came to visit,” I reply, jogging her memory.
“It’s only because he was your friend, Ivy, and I didn’t want to upset you,” she insists, sliding her hand up and down the bedrail.
“Whatever,” I moan, not heeding her excuses. “So what did Joanie have to say?”
“She’d been trying to get Conrad on the phone all day, but he wasn’t returning any of her calls. She’s been frantic about Ryan. Conrad wouldn’t even get his secretary to tell her where they’re holding him,” she whispers like it’s a terrible tragedy. “When I told Joanie how you were connected to everything, she was floored. She promised me mother-to-mother that she’d get Conrad off your back when she spoke to him. We go way back and she remembers how I was there for her in her time of need.”
“I don’t think you’ve ever been there for anyone in their time of need,” I mutter stubbornly.
“You can’t say that now,” she declares, tossing back her shoulders. “Joanie just got back to me a little while ago and said it’s all taken care of. Conrad won’t be bothering you again.”