Elder Power

In Geraldine's very ordinary and uneventful life, villains were evil characters in movies or criminals in lurid news stories. They were not dumpy middle-aged women. That was until her husband decided that the grass was greener elsewhere and abruptly departed after thirty-odd years of marriage. After she recovered from the initial shock, Geraldine was quite relieved he was gone. However, paying the rent with only her income was quite a struggle. It seemed like a godsend when she was told of an elderly couple who were looking for a live-in help with cooking, cleaning and some personal care. Their daughter, who lived quite far away, interviewed her by phone and it was agreed that she would have a month's trial. Hoping for the best, Geraldine stored her belongings and headed off to the job.

Nellie, a tiny woman with snow white hair, almost cried with relief when Geraldine arrived. "Mary had to leave very sudden, and we'd got so used to her that it's been hard to do without her. Not me so much. I'm pretty spry as you can see, but Buddy's slowing down. He's too big for me to help much if he gets unsteady because we'd both go down," she said, barely pausing for breath and talking over her shoulder as she led Geraldine down the hall. She reminded Geraldine of a little bird with her jerky movements and constant chatter. Buddy, on the other hand, was slumped in a recliner, snoring and drooling slightly. Nellie tenderly wiped his chin. "He's not long had his lunch," she said. "He'll perk up in a little while." He was indeed a large man and Geraldine hoped he could move under his own steam. She followed Nellie through the house to a back bedroom.

"This was Mary's room," said Nellie. "I've put clean sheets on the bed for you, but I'm sorry that I haven't had a chance to move her things. I've been meaning to pack them up, but it's been so difficult." She was close to tears. "Don't worry," said Geraldine. "I'll just clear one drawer for now and help with the rest later." Nellie beamed with relief.

Buddy did perk up and was able to get up and around with his walker, albeit slowly. Geraldine settled into a routine of cooking and housework. After a couple of days, Nellie asked her to refill their pill planners for the next week. "We're not quite out yet, but my hands are too shaky and it's hard to read the labels,"she explained. Geraldine obliged. She collected all the medicine bottles and began to to fill the little compartments. Nellie's was straightforward. She was puzzled by Buddy's as there was an extra pill in the morning compartment with no corresponding bottle. Nellie was not sure what to make of it. "Oh dear, I don't know. Mary organized all that for us," she said. "There should be one for his high blood pressure, one for his heart, one for cholesterol, one for gout. I don't know what else. Mary took him to his last doctor's appointment. It's so hard to get him in and out of the car."

Geraldine pondered. She finally took the extra pills from the planner, put them into a little bag and took them to the pharmacy. The pharmacist told her there were no refills to be picked up and no new prescriptions. Geraldine gave him the extra pills and he agreed to to try to identify them. Buddy and Nellie were napping when she returned to the house. Geraldine began packing Mary's belongings into a large cardboard box. The last dresser drawer was so full that it was wedged shut. She put her foot against the dresser and yanked hard. She fell backwards as the drawer finally shot out and the dresser rocked. Relieved that it hadn't fallen on top of her, she packed the clothes into the box and taped it shut. Replacing the drawer, she noticed the corner of a manila folder sticking out between the dresser and the wall which much have been dislodged when the dresser moved. She prised it out and opened it. There were handwritten pages which seemed to be in some sort of code or shorthand and a sheet of paper with Buddy's signature scrawled multiple times on it. Something about it bothered her. She finally slipped it between the mattress and box spring of the bed.

That evening she asked Nellie for Mary's address so she could mail the box. "Well, dear, come to think of it, I don't think she gave it to me," Nellie said, frowning. "She left very quickly. She said she had to go because of a family emergency. I know it's selfish but Buddy's been so groggy lately that I was more worried about how I was going to manage than anything else. But now you're here and Buddy's looking better!" She beamed at Geraldine. "Let me try calling her." Nellie and Buddy were not of the cell phone era. Nellie hurried off to use the phone in the kitchen and returned looking puzzled. "It says the number is not in service," she said. "I'll try again later."

"How long was Mary with you, and where did you meet her?" asked Geraldine.

Nellie thought for a moment. "She was here for about six months. We met her through my friend Doris at church."

"Perhaps your friend has her address. Would you like me to ask her?" said Geraldine.

"Would you, dear?" Nellie said. "That would be so nice of you."

Next day, Geraldine called Doris to ask for Mary's address. "I don't have it and I don't know where she came from," Doris said. "She started coming to church and one day at coffee hour, Nellie was talking about how hard it was getting to be for her and Buddy to manage. Mary sort of spoke up and said she could help. Maybe Nellie got the impression I knew her, but that's not so. Next thing I heard, Mary had moved in with them." Geraldine related this to Nellie who was surprised. "Really, dear?" she said. "I could have sworn Doris introduced her. But I was so stressed then and maybe I'm remembering it all wrong." At that moment the phone rang in the kitchen. Nellie went off to answer it and returned a moment later looking worried. "I must go and see Mr. Bond at the bank. He's saying he needs to talk to me about something important."

"Would you like me to drive you?" asked Geraldine. Nellie's driving was erratic at the best of times and now she was obviously upset. "No, dear. Please keep an eye on Buddy. I'm so glad he's up and moving now, but I'm afraid he'll overdo it." She picked up her handbag and headed out. Buddy was happily ensconced in the recliner watching television. Geraldine was making him lunch when the phone rang,

It was the pharmacist. He explained that the pills Geraldine had brought in were lorazepam, a medication for anxiety. "Now Buddy never had a prescription for lorazepam from his doctor at this pharmacy," he said. "Perhaps he had it filled somewhere else, but I would check with his doctor."

"Could that medicine make someone sleepy or confused?" she said.

"It certainly could," said the pharmacist. "Especially someone elderly."

"Thank you," said Geraldine as she hung up. She cleared up the lunch dishes and checked on Buddy who was now snoozing contentedly. She headed outside to put the trash in the bin. Preoccupied, she did not notice an elderly lady get out of a car parked by the back gate. She jumped when she suddenly heard someone address her.

"Hello," said the newcomer. "I am Nellie's friend Doris. I am sorry if I startled you. I have been so worried since we talked about Mary that I just had to come over. Is Nellie here?" Geraldine explained that Nellie had gone to the bank. "I'll wait for her," said Doris and hurried past Geraldine into the house. To Geraldine's relief, Buddy woke up and greeted Doris with pleasure. She didn't want to think she had let a stranger into the house. "Buddy, I'm glad to see you looking so much better, but you get your forty winks now," Doris said, patting his hand. "Maybe Geraldine would be kind enough to make a cup of coffee and she and I can wait for Nellie in the kitchen."

"Sounds good to me," he said and settled back comfortably.

Geraldine made the coffee and sat down at the kitchen table across from Doris who looked at her thoughtfully. "Do you know that for a moment outside, I thought you were Mary," she said. "You're about the same size and height."

"I suppose I look like most ordinary, middle-aged women," Geraldine said with a smile.

"There's never been anything outstanding about me."

"You could have said that about Mary too,"Doris said. "You met her and an hour later it would have been hard to describe her. She was slippery somehow. I told you how she talked herself into coming here and had Nellie convinced that I knew her well. I'm still not sure how she did it." She stirred her coffee and took a sip. "Now I'm not saying that Nellie didn't need help, but she's always worried about everything. Mary played right into that. Nellie gradually got more and more dependent on her, and Buddy was more and more out of it. He used to be a little forgetful, but he got to where he didn't know whether he was coming or going. Today's the brightest I've seen him for months." She looked directly at Geraldine.

"I said you looked like Mary," she said. "Now I see you up close, that's not true. You have brown eyes. She had blue eyes, ice-blue eyes. You didn't really notice because she hardly ever made eye contact, but she didn't miss a thing. She was always hovering around Nellie, taking up all her time and attention. I came over one day. We were chatting the way we used to when I happened to look up and find Mary staring at me." She shuddered at the recollection. "I'd never liked her, but that look gave me the creeps. It was like a snake sizing something up. But that was hardly enough to convince Nellie that something wasn't right. I mentioned it to Nellie's daughter, but Nellie just got mad when she found out that I'd talked to her. That's why I haven't seen much of her recently." She set her coffee cup down. "I'll just go to powder my nose. I do remember where to go!" she said with a little smile. Geraldine sat still, but her mind what whirling. She was tempted to tell Doris about the odd situation with the medicine, but before she could decide, the door opened and Nellie entered, looking distraught.

"Oh, Geraldine," she said, and burst into tears. Geraldine got her into a chair and brought a box of tissues. Eventually Nellie calmed down enough to explain that the banker wanted to talk to her about several large withdrawals that Buddy had made over the past few months. "I didn't even know he'd been to the bank," Nellie said. "We haven't had any big expenses that I know of. I don't know why he'd take that money and not tell me. What did he do with it?" Doris returned at that moment. Nellie was surprised to see her but did not object. Geraldine suspected that Nellie would not have questioned the appearance of Queen Elizabeth at that point. Nellie launched into the whole story again. "Why don't we start by asking Buddy?" said Doris. "He seems very alert today."

Buddy was bewildered. "I don't remember doing that," he said. "Mind you, my memory hasn't been that good lately."

"Well, Nellie, if you didn't go to the bank with Buddy, it must have been Mary," said Doris. "Oh, Doris, I know you didn't like her, but I can't believe she'd do anything like that," wailed Nellie. She gasped and clutched her chest. Buddy began to get agitated. Geraldine suddenly couldn't stand any more drama. She startled herself by politely asking Doris to leave and led Nellie by the hand to her armchair. Offended, Doris grabbed her handbag and headed for the door. "I'll be back tomorrow and we'll get to the bottom of this," she said over her shoulder as she departed.

It took Geraldine the best part of the evening to calm both of the old people down and settle them for the night. She made herself a cup of tea and headed to her room to relax. She turned the bedroom light on and stood for a moment, puzzled. Something seemed out of place, but she couldn't pinpoint what. The box of clothes might have been moved but she couldn't swear to it. She went to the window to close the curtains. For a moment she thought she saw something outside in the shrubs but decided it must be her imagination. She sighed. Maybe she was getting to be as confused as Buddy. She got into bed and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

She was shaken awake by Nellie. "I'm sorry, dear, but I had to get up and I heard something outside in the back yard," Nellie said. Geraldine blinked for a moment, trying to get her bearings. She got up and threw on her robe. She headed for the back door with Nellie anxiously trotting behind her. "Here," Nellie whispered, passing her a large flashlight. Geraldine wondered briefly if her job description included security work. She told Nellie to wait in the kitchen, cautiously opened the back door and peered out into the darkness. She heard scuffling in the bushes. Just as she decided it must be an animal, two struggling figures appeared in the beam of the flashlight and she heard a high-pitched cry for help. She yelled at Nellie to call the police and hurried outside. One figure was now on the ground. The other looked up, startled, as Geraldine hurtled forward. They collided heavily and fell together. The flashlight fell and went out. By luck rather than skill, Geraldine found herself sitting on top of the squirming intruder. She blinked as the beam of the flashlight dazzled her. Nellie stood there, trembling, but resolutely holding the flashlight. "The police are coming," she said breathlessly. "Who is that?" Geraldine looked down. In the wavering beam of the flashlight, she saw Doris glaring in fury. "See who that other person is," she said to Nellie. Nellie bent over the motionless figure and gasped. "It's Mary! Thank goodness she's still breathing." At that moment, they heard the whoop of sirens and found themselves in a flashing red glare; a blur of voices, ambulances, police cars, curious neighbors.

Next morning, Geraldine, Nellie and Buddy found themselves sitting around the kitchen table drinking coffee with a detective. "Is Mary going to be alright?" Nellie asked anxiously. "Her real name's not Mary, but yes, she'll be fine," he said. "It seems she and her friend Doris had a nice little scheme going here."

"I told you Doris knew her!" said Nellie.

"Yes, indeed," said the detective. "She also knew you needed help at home and that you and your husband have quite a bit of money in the bank. Once Miss so-called Mary was inside, they could work together. Mary was slipping Mr. Buddy that sedative, so he didn't remember much of anything, much less going to the bank. It was going fine until the last trip to the bank when the staff asked far more questions than usual. Mary panicked and took off. She must have left something incriminating behind though, because she came back here to look for it. Doris was trying to get her away before they got caught."

"Wait, I think I know what it was," said Geraldine. She hurried off to the bedroom and retrieved the folder from under the mattress. She gave it to the detective. "I bet Doris was looking for it yesterday when she said she had to go to the bathroom. I thought some things had been moved in my room." He opened it. "Well, look at this." He held up the sheet with Buddy's signatures. "Looks like she's been practicing. We'll figure out what the rest of this is, but it'll probably turn out to be financial information."

Buddy shook his head. "Well, it's good to know I haven't lost my marbles after all."

"I feel so stupid," said Nellie. "How could I have fallen for it?"

"Don't blame yourself," said the detective. "We're pretty sure they've been at this for a while using different names in different places. They knew how to pick out trusting folks like yourself who were going through a difficult time. They just didn't expect to run into ladies who were prepared to kick, ahem, behinds."

He grinned and Nellie giggled. She raised her coffee cup to Geraldine. "Good work, partner," she said. "Here's to us," said Geraldine with a smile.