Page 140 of Luck Be Mine
“Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, Frank.” She mimed the phrases with her hands and shuffled past him.
Pushing open the break room door, Cait studied the visitor. The slender brunette was faced away from her, staring at the colorful abstract painting of San Diego hanging on the wall. Cait did not recognize her.
“Can I help you?”
The young woman turned, her hand gripping her black leather purse. Something familiar tugged at Cait’s memory.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” Her expression uneasy, she didn’t smile.
Cait entered fully and let the door close. “Give me a second. You look familiar.”
“We met at the farmer’s market several months ago. I was with Robert.”
Cait froze, the brief meeting flashing into full color. Baxter had been dating this woman months ago. An unexpected meeting, Cait had caught the two kissing in the parking lot which had forced him into introducing them. “Grace? Right? I’m sorry I don’t remember your last name.”
“Grace Lennox.”
Baxter hadn’t told anyone he was dating her, a situation Cait had wanted no part of. She didn’t lie to Hunt and only occasionally kept things from him.
“What do you need?”
“I want to talk to Robert. He’s not answering his phone, and I don’t know where he lives. Can you pass on the message?”
Cait’s mind shutdown. Her chest seized in a rush of tight, bottomless grief. A wave of dizziness washed over her. Shit. “Hold a minute.”
She went to the door and frantically looked for Bets. The woman had great radar. She appeared at Cait’s side. “What?”
“Family room? I need one.”
Questions flashed in the nurse’s eyes. To her credit, she didn’t utter one. Bets pointed down the hall. “Two is open, right there.”
“Thanks.” Cait swiveled and went to the doorway of the day room, signaling Grace. “Come with me.”
“Why?”
“This is a break room, not a talking room.”
The woman’s expression tightened with irritation.
“We need a more private place to talk. Please, come with me.” Cait left the room and hoped she would follow.
She didn’t look but tracked the sound of heels clicking on the linoleum floor behind her.
She pushed open the door to the family room and flipped on the light. This was where they told families bad news. Quiet and private, the room was heavy with the memory of grief. The hum of the fluorescent lights filled the silence as the sun burned orange against the window.
Cait pointed to the green nubby sofa. Grace didn’t flounce, but her walk carried attitude. She sat, tugged her flowered shirt over her jeans, and primly put her hands in her lap. “He probably talked to you and told you not to interact with me anymore.”
Oh honey, he didn’t tell anybody about you.
Cait let the door click shut and flipped the occupied sign. She pulled a small, checkered armchair near the sofa and sat. “Why do you need to talk to him?”
Grace’s expression soured into a deep frown. “It’s none of your business. Could you pass the message on?”
Cait stayed silent. The knot in her chest intensified. “I can’t pass on anything, Grace. Bax got killed the first part of November.”
Grace recoiled, arms cradling her body. “That’s a horrible thing to say. You can’t stop me. I need to see him.”
Cait softened her voice. “He’s gone, Grace.”
