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“He sure did. Sue told me he had. A few were upset, of course, so he wanted to give them time to adjust before the news spread through town.”
“Why would they be upset?”
“Alfred’s very wealthy. Old money. His distant relatives hobnobbed with the Vanderbilts. I know for a fact that Alfred not only has a gorgeous home in Kennebunkport, Maine, he has a villa in the mountains of Italy, plus he owns a complete island in the Caribbean with staff, a big boat parked at a dock, you name it. The works. Now that he and Sue are married, he’s made it clear she’ll inherit it all. He’d never married prior to Sue, and he has no children, so I’m sure some of his relatives believed they’d benefit once he’d passed, which, sadly, will happen soon.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you know? He has terminal cancer.”
Oh, my. Did Sue know this? She must. I couldunderstand why she might not have shared it with Elrik, however. Not without Alfred’s permission, though she’d told my grandmother. Or someone had.
But Alfred had definitely not tried to kill Sue to inherit her life insurance money. He not only didn’t need it, but he also wouldn’t be able to spend it.
I hated where this thought led me.
He and Sue were squabbling at the hospital, and he’d stated she talked him into the marriage.
What if Sue had dumped the Xylitol into the punch to speed up Alfred’s demise?
26
ELRIK
Iordered and then picked up dinner from Kraken’s Keep, and we sat at a table in the backyard shelling our lobsters and dipping the succulent pieces into bowls of butter, accompanying it with garlic rolls, corn on the cob, and twice baked potatoes.
After, we went inside with Grannie Rose and took care of the dishes.
“You really don’t need to keep doing all these things for me,” Rose said after Melly mentioned laying out her pills and getting a new glass for water. “I’m mobile now that I have Fredrick.”
Melly’s eyebrows lifted. “Frederick?”
Grannie hefted her cane and shook it, her eyes sparkling. “My new dance partner. He’s quite polite and helpful. The point is, I don’t need help any longer. You two go have fun together.” She winked my way. “I can take care of things from now on, Melly, though I greatly appreciate your help when I couldn’t do it for myself.”
“We’ll still have meals together,” Melly said with atouch of sadness, closing the dishwasher and starting it. “Right?”
Rose chuckled. “You’re a wonderful cook and with Elrik here bringing us lobster, I’d be a fool to turn that down.”
“You’re sure?” Melly asked. “I’ll just set things up for your dentures. Put out your nightie. You can—”
“Melly.” A hint of warning came through in Rose’s voice. “I can do this. I know the time is coming when I’ll need you to do it for me forever, but for now, I want to handle it.”
Melly sighed and gave Grannie Rose a hug. “Alright.” When she looked my way, her eyes sparkled with tears. “I love you. I like doing things for you.”
Rose patted Melly’s back. “I love you too, honey. But I want you to enjoy your evening with Elrik. Don’t worry about me.”
Melly stepped back and crimped her lips together, blinking fast to dispel the tears. “I’ll check in before I go to bed. Keep your phone nearby.”
“I will.” Rose patted her pocket. “I charged it this morning, so it’s nice and juicy.” She waved toward the door. “Go. Lock up for me, would you?”
We stepped outside, and Melly tested the knob to ensure it was locked, before we walked down the back steps.
“I feel like a parent sending their child off to school for the first time. My little one is getting independent.” Her low laugh rang out. “An eighty-year-old little one, but you know what I mean.”
“You love her. You worry about her with good reason. But she’s doing well. No more walker.”
“The cane they left will be safer. I worried the walker would snag on a rug and she’d fall again, but she refused to let me take the rugs up and put them away.”
“We’ll check on her later, if you want.”
