“Oh, no. No time,” Gilda said. “Dogs are too messy. Believe me, I’ve spent enough time changing adult diapers. The last thing I want to do is have to pick up a dog’s poop.” She plopped onto the couch opposite Louise, who was half frowning. “I’m Gilda.”
“I’m Louise and I really don’t need help,” Louise informed her.
“Probably not much,” Gilda agreed. She turned to Bree, who was coming back into the living room. “Who are you?”
“This is my granddaughter, Bree,” Louise answered for her.
“You look strong enough to help your grandma,” Gilda observed.
“I can,” Bree said, and sat down on another chair. “When I’m not working,” she added.
“Bree is going to go to nursing school,” Louise bragged.
Gilda nodded approvingly. “Good career choice. If you don’t let yourself get burned out. All that being on your feet. Make sure you always wear support stockings. And never forget, doctors aren’t gods, even though they think they are. Oh, and never marry one. My friend Gail married a doctor, and he has made her life miserable ever since.” Gilda shook her head over her friend’s foolishness. “That man is a control freak. Their children are grown, but she still won’t leave him. He keeps telling her she’d never make it without him. Disgusting. I never trusted the man. I’m good at reading people.”
And talking about them.
Bree looked at Zona and raised her eyebrows.Who is this woman?
Zona shrugged.She’s available, that’s who she is.
Gilda pointed to Louise’s cast. “How’d you break your leg?”
“I fell. I was on a cruise.”
“That’s too bad,” said Gilda. “Travel can be dangerous.You never know when disaster’s going to strike. My cousin took a trip to London, and when she was waiting for the train to Croydon, she fell off the platform.”
“Was she hurt?” Louise asked, wide-eyed.
“Oh, yes. Broke her neck and died.”
Louise gasped. “That’s horrible. Did someone push her?”
“We’ll never know,” Gilda said. “Of course, you don’t have to go far from home to get hurt. One old fool of a man I was called in to care for got on his grandson’s hover board at Christmas. Fell off and broke his hip. Let me tell you, after a certain age, you break a hip and it’s the beginning of the end.”
This was cheery stuff. “Mom’s doing fine,” Zona said.
“I can tell, you’ve got spirit,” Gilda said to Louise. “And you’re still young so you’ll be up and around in no time,” she added, and Louise preened. “You know, I’m not doing much of this anymore, but after talking to your daughter I had to meet you,” Gilda continued.
Louise raised her eyebrows. “Oh?” she prompted and looked at Zona.
“You’re a writer, right?”
“Well, I want to be,” said Louise. “I haven’t written anything yet.”
“I love mysteries,” said Gilda. “I could give you ideas. I had one woman... I’m sure her husband was trying to kill her.”
Louise leaned forward. “No.”
“Oh, yes,” Gilda said with an emphatic nod. “He had her on this strict vegan diet because, according to him, he was worried she was going to gain weight while she was recovering from foot surgery. But it wasn’t a balanced diet, and she wasn’t getting enough calories to keep a bird alive. I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t even let her have the dark chocolate I brought her. She was wasting away, looked like a skeleton. Let me tell you, I kept my eye on him.”
“Is she okay?” asked Louise.
“Thank God, yes,” Gilda said, then added, “For the moment. I still go by and visit once in a while, just to check on her. She still doesn’t look very good if you ask me. Too gaunt. I don’t trust that man.”
“You never know about people,” said Louise. “When a person dies mysteriously, it always turns out the murderer was somebody no one suspected. Unless money is involved. Then you know right off the spouse was behind it,” she added.
“You sure do,” Gilda agreed. “Did you watch theDeathlineepisode about the honeymoon killer?”
