Read Online You Can Run... by Carlene Thompson - Free Book Online
Authors: Carlene Thompson
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answers.
“But was there something besides Willow troubling Penny?” Diana persisted. “Did you get the feeling Penny was frightened of being harmed?”
Simon snapped, “Diana! What a question!”
Clarice Hanson raised her hand to quiet him. “No, Dr. Van . . . Simon. It’s all right. I should have said something before now. Penny
hasn’t
been her usual self, aside from her worry about Willow’s operation,” she said definitely.
“How was she different?” Diana asked.
Simon leaned forward. His expression told Diana that although she hadn’t mentioned Penny’s agitated phone call to her the night before, he’d already guessed something besides Willow’s illness had been bothering Penny.
“To be accurate, I have to say Penny seemed different the past three weeks. Maybe a bit more.” Surprise tingled through Diana, but she said nothing, not wanting to break Clarice’s train of thought. “Maybe the week before last I noticed she was staying inside a great deal. That isn’t like her. She loved the outdoors, no matter how cold or hot. When she wasn’t working for Dr. Van Etton or at the university, she spent time outside, playing with Willow or gardening. Yet the little flowerbed she’d taken such particular care of this summer wilted because she didn’t water it.
“This week she stayed in the house almost constantly, and she kept her lights on all night I only saw her coming from and going. She usually looks so neat, so carefully groomed,” Clarice went on. “But every time I caught sight of her going out, she had on the same pair of ragged jeans and a loose wrinkled blouse.”
Clarice frowned. “She came to my house on Thursday evening when she got home from the hospital. Willow’s surgery had been performed Tuesday and she’d come through just fine. Penny was bringing her home the next morning. I would have expected her to be ecstatic, but she wasn’t. She asked me if I thought Willow could travel safely by Sunday. I must have looked surprised because she quickly said Willow was bored, and she’d been thinking of taking the child for a car ride.
“Penny was terribly pale,” Clarice went on. “Her jeans just hung on her. Clearly she hadn’t been eating. Or drinking. Her skin and lips looked dry. I offered her iced tea or a soft drink, but she refused. She said she felt a bit nauseated—too much bad hospital coffee, she claimed. Then she said the oddest thing.” Clarice frowned. “She said, ‘You’ve been such a wonderful neighbor, Clarice. I hope you’ll always remember us fondly.’ ”
“ ‘Remember us!’ ” Simon repeated loudly. “What did that mean?”
Clarice looked startled at his tone, then raised her hands in bafflement. “I said, ‘My goodness, dear, are you and Willow moving?’ Penny flushed and burst into high-pitched laughter, saying she was just being sentimental. Then she started crying. Before I could say a word, she jumped up from her chair and ran out the door. I thought about calling her to make certain she was all right, but I decided she needed to calm down and get some sleep, so she’d be ready for Willow to come home the next day.”
“You did the right thing,” Diana said, thinking that Penny must have called her hotel room shortly after she ran out of Mrs. Hanson’s house—called and begged her to stop by the next evening.
Diana snapped back to attention just as Clarice was saying, “No one who looked like they could be Willow’s grandparents even stopped by to see Penny, much less stayed with her this week. There was only . . .” Clarice looked at Diana and stopped abruptly.
“There was only who?” Diana asked.
“Oh . . . no one.”
“That’s not what you were going to say.”
“Yes, it was.” Clarice’s gaze shifted to a crystal ashtray on the table beside Diana. “I wasn’t going to say anything else . . . important.”
“Oh, Clarice, don’t think you’re protecting
me
,” Simon said. “
I
went to
“But was there something besides Willow troubling Penny?” Diana persisted. “Did you get the feeling Penny was frightened of being harmed?”
Simon snapped, “Diana! What a question!”
Clarice Hanson raised her hand to quiet him. “No, Dr. Van . . . Simon. It’s all right. I should have said something before now. Penny
hasn’t
been her usual self, aside from her worry about Willow’s operation,” she said definitely.
“How was she different?” Diana asked.
Simon leaned forward. His expression told Diana that although she hadn’t mentioned Penny’s agitated phone call to her the night before, he’d already guessed something besides Willow’s illness had been bothering Penny.
“To be accurate, I have to say Penny seemed different the past three weeks. Maybe a bit more.” Surprise tingled through Diana, but she said nothing, not wanting to break Clarice’s train of thought. “Maybe the week before last I noticed she was staying inside a great deal. That isn’t like her. She loved the outdoors, no matter how cold or hot. When she wasn’t working for Dr. Van Etton or at the university, she spent time outside, playing with Willow or gardening. Yet the little flowerbed she’d taken such particular care of this summer wilted because she didn’t water it.
“This week she stayed in the house almost constantly, and she kept her lights on all night I only saw her coming from and going. She usually looks so neat, so carefully groomed,” Clarice went on. “But every time I caught sight of her going out, she had on the same pair of ragged jeans and a loose wrinkled blouse.”
Clarice frowned. “She came to my house on Thursday evening when she got home from the hospital. Willow’s surgery had been performed Tuesday and she’d come through just fine. Penny was bringing her home the next morning. I would have expected her to be ecstatic, but she wasn’t. She asked me if I thought Willow could travel safely by Sunday. I must have looked surprised because she quickly said Willow was bored, and she’d been thinking of taking the child for a car ride.
“Penny was terribly pale,” Clarice went on. “Her jeans just hung on her. Clearly she hadn’t been eating. Or drinking. Her skin and lips looked dry. I offered her iced tea or a soft drink, but she refused. She said she felt a bit nauseated—too much bad hospital coffee, she claimed. Then she said the oddest thing.” Clarice frowned. “She said, ‘You’ve been such a wonderful neighbor, Clarice. I hope you’ll always remember us fondly.’ ”
“ ‘Remember us!’ ” Simon repeated loudly. “What did that mean?”
Clarice looked startled at his tone, then raised her hands in bafflement. “I said, ‘My goodness, dear, are you and Willow moving?’ Penny flushed and burst into high-pitched laughter, saying she was just being sentimental. Then she started crying. Before I could say a word, she jumped up from her chair and ran out the door. I thought about calling her to make certain she was all right, but I decided she needed to calm down and get some sleep, so she’d be ready for Willow to come home the next day.”
“You did the right thing,” Diana said, thinking that Penny must have called her hotel room shortly after she ran out of Mrs. Hanson’s house—called and begged her to stop by the next evening.
Diana snapped back to attention just as Clarice was saying, “No one who looked like they could be Willow’s grandparents even stopped by to see Penny, much less stayed with her this week. There was only . . .” Clarice looked at Diana and stopped abruptly.
“There was only who?” Diana asked.
“Oh . . . no one.”
“That’s not what you were going to say.”
“Yes, it was.” Clarice’s gaze shifted to a crystal ashtray on the table beside Diana. “I wasn’t going to say anything else . . . important.”
“Oh, Clarice, don’t think you’re protecting
me
,” Simon said. “
I
went to
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