Chapter Twenty-two: Hospital Visit
"Buck up, my dear!" Fat little Reverend Meeps gave the tall girl's arm a reassuring squeeze. "We'll have a spot of tea before we finish our work for the day. Just one more patient. Just one more!"
"Just one more," Catherine echoed, biting back a yawn and pasting on a smile for a pair of sexy young doctors. The openly admiring looks she got in the hospital corridor made the former fashion model forget all about her sore shoulder and aching head.
"You wanted to make yourself useful," the kindly clergyman reminded her, over a cup of watery tea in the hospital canteen. "You said you couldn't bear being linked in the tabloids to a false-faced do-gooder like that odious Thomas Culpepper. You said there's something sinister about him. And I happen to agree."
"Mm. I don't want anything to do with him!" Just thinking about Thomas Culpepper made Catherine's head pound even more. Without thinking, she automatically reached for a couple of pain pills in her purse. Ever since being shot in the shoulder in Puerto Tranquilo the little blue pills had been her constant companions.
"Better not, my dear." Reverend Meeps placed his hand over hers, his soft voice surprisingly firm. "You'll want a clear head."
"Why? We've been visiting elderly patients for hours. You do all the talking – and all the praying. All I do is stand there and smile!"
"Don't be cynical, Catherine." The kindly clergyman leaned closer across the table, squeezing her icy hands in his warm ones. "The woman we're about to visit lost a granddaughter some years ago – a very lovely girl about your age. She hasn't much time left, and her wits are not quite right anymore. But given how you feel about Mr. Culpepper, I think her story may interest you."
"All right." Catherine wanted to hear what the woman had to say. How had she lost her granddaughter? Reverend Meeps was probably giving her a warning, not to follow the path the other girl had followed. Ministers were always like that, she thought, hiding a yawn behind her perfectly manicured nails. Too clever by half!
"Hannah, how good to see you!" Reverend Meeps kissed the wasted, withered form of the frail woman lying in the hospital bed, his mild gray eyes seeming to radiate compassion and kindness.
"Did you bring her?" The old woman's voice was clear and strong. Her hollow cheeks were sunken, and her hands were like claws, but her black eyes were bright and feverish.
"Hello, I'm Catherine." Smiling nervously, she offered her hand.
"You've come back," the old woman croaked. Her withered claw seized Catherine's slim fingers in a painful grip. Bright eyes gazed searchingly into her face. "Dolores, you've come back!"
"My name is Catherine!" Feeling frightened, and wanting to avoid that hypnotic gaze, the girl shot a glance at Reverend Meeps. He put his finger over his lips, telling her to calm herself and listen.
"Dolores, I warned you he was no good." The woman called Hannah was studying Catherine with a stern look on her wrinkled features. "I told you that handsome young Mr. Culpepper would lead you to your ruin. It isn't right, a man like that giving gifts to a shop girl. I told you to send his fancy presents back unopened. But you always did enjoy nice clothes, didn't you?" Hannah's harsh face turned soft and dreamy. "Such a pretty girl!"
"What did he . . . how did he . . . where is he now?" Catherine felt a river of ice water flowing through her veins. Was all this a dream? Was the old woman delerious? Where and how had rich and sexy Thomas Culpepper met a shop girl called Dolores?
"He didn't even come to the funeral!" Hannah wailed. "The coffin was empty, but it's dark at the bottom of the river. And you were always so afraid of the dark. Poor Dolores! You poor, poor girl."
"Let's say a prayer for Dolores," Reverend Meeps said, taking charge of the situation and soothing the tearful old woman with the sound of his low, calming voice.
"Yes, let's say a prayer!" For the first time, Catherine felt genuinely grateful for the chance to kneel and pray by the reverend's side. Her voice joined with his even as her mind buzzed with questions.