“Interesting.” Nan replaced the two little metal plates in front of Doreen. “Something’s rattling around in my brain, but I can’t remember what it is.”
Doreen nodded and kept working on her cookie and her tea. She had hoped seeing the pieces would nudge Nan’s brain to fire in the right direction, but sometimes Nan’s memory wasn’t so good. After a moment, Doreen asked, “How have you been this morning?”
Nan smiled. “Like you, bored. All that excitement with your last cold case was awesome, but it’s time for you to get a new one.”
Doreen groaned. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I’m pretty sure Mack figures I’ve caused him enough trouble.”
“What you’ve done is solve multiple murders. And that needed to happen. Who knew we had so many criminals in this town?”
“Who knew?” Doreen repeated with a nod. “You said I should come to quiet sleepy Kelowna and relax and retire in this peaceful town. And yet here I am in the middle of complete chaos.”
Nan chuckled. “I’m not apologizing. I’m too delighted to have you close.”
Doreen laughed. “Good, because really I might have been totally bored without all these cases. They’ve kept me … I would say, they’ve kept me out of trouble, but they’ve had the opposite effect instead. I’ve been in trouble with each one of them, but they have kept me busy.”
“And you’ve had so much going on,” Nan said, “with the house alone.”
Doreen laughed. “Scott said they have to fix a few of the furniture pieces, and the paintings needed to be professionally cleaned.”
Nan nodded, as if she expected that. “They obviously want to show the furniture and the artwork in the best light. You won’t get the best price when they auction your things unless they are in such a pristine condition.”
“I never considered that,” Doreen said, “but it does mean the money could be delayed.”
“It’s always delayed,” Nan said, reaching across and patting the back of Doreen’s hand. “Whenever they say three months, just automatically double it.”
Doreen groaned. “I was afraid of that.”
“Are you okay for money?”
Doreen shrugged. “I will be. I mean, I’ve been thinking of using some of the money I have to take care of repairs, like redoing the deck out back. But I don’t want to spend that money yet, if I don’t know when I have more coming in.”
“Good point,” Nan said. “You should still have some money in that bowl, or did you take it to the bank?”
“No, I didn’t get it to the bank yet. Some of it I should keep at the house. I still have the cash you gave me last time. I’ve done pretty well so far. I had a few groceries to buy, plus a few bills to be paid, and it felt good to get them paid too.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Nan said. “You’d think some of the residents here would have helped you out as a thank-you.”
“Most people don’t know if they should thank me or ask me to leave town again,” Doreen said candidly. “I’ve stirred up quite the hornet’s nest.”
“Particularly with Darren.”
“I know. Between his grandpa getting into his own mischief here at Rosemoor, so the administrator calls Darren directly, and being a local cop under Mack’s direction, I guess Darren gets twice the trouble when I solve a cold case. And that’s still an ongoing process.”
“Maybe,” Nan said, “but I’m sure everybody will be much happier knowing all these murderers have been caught, and all these poor victims have come to light, so the families can get the truth of the matter, then can mourn and hopefully move on.”
“I can’t imagine,” Doreen said, “because mourning the death of a loved one taken too early would be terrible.”
“I hear you,” Nan said. “And losing someone is very difficult as it is, even when old age takes them. But the bottom line is, you’re doing a wonderful job, and all these people thank you.”
“No, I’m not sure they do, and I certainly get an awful lot of odd looks as I move around town.”
“Those odd looks,” Nan said, “could just as easily be because you’re walking around with all the animals.”
“Well, that’s true enough,” Doreen said. “Particularly after this last case, I’ve completely changed my perception on being homeless.”
“No,” Nan said. “Your perception was never off.”
“Anyway”—Doreen thought about the fact that she was here now—“you know I wouldn’t change my life at this point, don’t you?” She gently grasped her grandmother’s hand. “I’m so delighted to finally have time to be with you.”
Nan’s fingers squeezed hers tight. “And you brought joy to this old woman’s heart. The fact that you bring me immeasurable amounts of excitement and something else to think about other than growing old is just an added bonus.” The two women smiled at each other.
“What about the gardener here? Well, the current one. Granted, it’s hard to tell Fred apart from Dennis because they are both grumpy and because they both hate me and my animals.”
“But,” Nan interrupted, “Fred has a limp. You can tell them apart that way.”
“Doesn’t seem to make a difference otherwise. So, is Fred still cranky over your flagstones, so the animals and I have a shortcut to you?”
“Oh, is he ever,” Nan said with a chuckle. “He brought it up at our last tenant meeting.”
“Wow,” Doreen said. “He must really have strong feelings about them to still be angry after all this time.”
“He does. He doesn’t want you to have access to me at all.”
“I wonder why?” Doreen asked. “Sounds like he has something to hide.”
Nan’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh my,” she said. “Wouldn’t that be interesting?” Then she stopped and picked up the little metal plates. “You know something? He’s related to this guy.”
“What guy?” Doreen asked.
“The man who made these,” Nan said, looking up at her with a frown. “I just said that. Are you having trouble with your memory, dear?”
Doreen slowly sank back. “Nan, you were thinking you couldn’t remember who made these.”
“And then I told you who made them,” she said, holding one up. “It’s the gardener’s brother.”
Doreen stared at her grandmother. It wasn’t the first time she’d wondered at Nan’s strange switches from one memory to another. “What about him?”
“Just this,” Nan said. “Remember, dear? Your memory? I just told you. He made these.”
“But what are they?”
Nan patted her on the hand. “Oh, dear,” she said. “Remember? They’re labels.”
Doreen tamped down her growing impatience. “Labels for what?” she asked gently.
“Tools, of course.”
“Tools?” She looked down at the little metal stamped items and said, “Really?”