Off the Record Read online

  Renee clapped her palms together. “Excellent idea! Joe Tucker, I officially challenge you to see which of us gets the most people to donate blood. May the best approach win.”

  “You’re on!” Joe put his face in hers. “I answered the call of duty in the army. I know what motivates people. You’ve lost already.”

  “Just a sec—” Paul started.

  “I don’t think—” Kate put in at the same time.

  But both their voices were drowned out by the babble of others as the group dispersed, chattering about the exciting contest.

  “This should really get the community talking,” Renee crowed and sashayed off.

  Joe nodded toward Paul. “Thanks for puttin’ things on the right track, Paul. I won’t let you down.” He marched away, swinging his hand-carved walking stick.

  Kate and Paul studied each other with their mouths open.

  “How did that happen?” Kate let out an incredulous laugh.

  Paul shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m not even sure what happened.”

  Kate shot him a grimace. “Unfortunately, I think we’re going to find out in the days to come.”

  MANY OF THE FAITH BRIAR members were already at the Country Diner when Kate and Paul walked through the door. On their way to one of the few empty tables, they greeted members of their church, as well as a few stragglers from the Presbyterian congregation. The Country Diner was the place to go in Copper Mill when services dismissed. Thankfully for Loretta Sweet, the diner’s owner and cook, and the waitstaff, churches let out at staggered times throughout the morning. Faith Briar people were always the last to arrive.

  LuAnne Matthews nodded to Kate and Paul as they went past. Kate gave LuAnne’s sober face a second glance. Where was the heavy-set waitress’ usual jaunty grin?

  Paul pulled out Kate’s chair, and she settled into it with a smile for her husband. As Paul took his seat across from her, savory smells prompted a rumble in Kate’s tummy. As much as she liked to cook, it was a treat to enjoy Loretta’s simple, hearty fare.

  LuAnne stepped up and laid menus on the blue Formica tabletop in front of them. “Special’s ham with redeye gravy and potatoes, plus corn bread on the side,” she informed them. “Loretta’s got fresh blackberry pie in the oven too. Should be done before you finish your meal.”

  Kate studied the waitress while Paul ordered the special and coffee, followed by a piece of warm pie. She didn’t even scold Paul about his cholesterol when he added ice cream. Her attention was occupied studying the waitress. Did LuAnne’s normal ruddy color look a little faded today? Her freckles stood out more than usual, and the white apron over her polyester dress didn’t appear to be tied right. It hung skewed.

  “Are you feeling okay?” Kate asked when the waitress looked over at her, inviting the order.

  “Me?” LuAnne’s green eyes widened behind her horn-rimmed glasses. “Oh, sure, I’m all right.” A smile burst out, then dimmed. “Just been a busy day, you know.”

  Kate didn’t know. LuAnne Matthews was the dynamo of the Country Diner. A busy streak never frazzled her.

  “What’ll you have?” she prompted Kate.

  “Tea with lemon. Otherwise, I’ll go ditto with Paul.”

  “Including the ice cream?” Her husband’s blue eyes twinkled at her.

  “It won’t hurt either of us to indulge once in a while.” She made certain the emphasis was on the last four words.

  Paul tipped his head back and laughed. LuAnne took their menus, slipped her pencil over her right ear beneath her red hair, and then walked off, chuckling. Kate smiled. At least their minor sparring helped restore a little of LuAnne’s good humor.

  “What are you doing?” she asked Paul, who was consulting a small pocket calendar he carried with him.

  “Checking to make sure I’ll be eligible to donate blood at the drive. They make people wait a couple of months between donations, and I gave at the Pine Ridge drive in March.” He nodded and flipped the calendar shut. “Good. The timing will work. Barely.”

  They made small talk for another few minutes, and then their meal arrived. Kate took a taste and reached for her water glass. The redeye gravy today was spicier than usual—perfect for her husband’s taste buds, judging by the rate he was eating, but a little much for her.

  She glanced toward the kitchen area in time to see J. B. Packer, a part-time employee, emerge with a tray of freshly washed glasses. One foot slid on something, and the tray teetered. Kate tensed and caught her breath. J.B. made a valiant effort, but the tray hit the floor amid a crash of broken glass. Conversation in the dining room sputtered to a halt.

  In the silence, a gruff female bellow rang out from inside the kitchen. Kate made out a few words, “clumsy idiot” among them. Her wide gaze met her husband’s.

  Something was seriously wrong at the diner. Loretta Sweet might have her rough edges, but she didn’t degrade her staff. Ever.

  Chapter Seven

  That evening found Kate writing letters to her children at the kitchen table. Usually she made phone calls, but she had a special photo of Paul and herself taken on Easter Sunday to send them. She finished the address on her third missive, this one to Rebecca, their model-pretty daughter working at an acting career in New York City. Smiling, she set Rebecca’s letter atop the one for Melissa, her husband John, and their little girl Mia in Atlanta, and the one for Andrew and his wife and two children in Philadelphia. Keeping in touch with children and grandchildren was priceless and a good task for a quiet Sunday.

  At least, it had been quiet except for the little tiff at church about the blood drive and the upset at the Country Diner. She and Paul had anticipated some friction between Renee and Joe, but LuAnne and Loretta’s demeanors were completely out of character. Should she ask one of them if there was a problem? If something was wrong at the diner, surely those two knew the community would rally around them.

  LuAnne would probably be the one to call. They’d brainstormed too many mysteries together for her to hold back if something was bugging her. On the other hand, maybe Kate was making too much out of a bad workday at the diner. She should probably ask Paul’s opinion. He didn’t have quite her inquisitive streak, and if he thought there was need to ask questions, then there probably was.

  Kate set her pen down and leaned her spine against the straight-backed chair. She groaned and stretched her arms upward. Then she scooped up the letters and tucked them into her handbag for mailing the following day. Plus, she needed to ask Paul about something else that had been on her mind all day: another trip to Chattanooga.

  She wanted to have a chance to visit with Nurse Pritchard and maybe clear the air. They hadn’t exactly gotten off on the right foot the other day. And maybe Nehemiah could give her some idea of how things had been going lately at Orchard Hill, as well as the identity of the thin woman who’d been making changes in a chart during Mrs. Kraemer’s medical crisis. He’d know something about the young nurse who was accused of the medication error too. Would she be allowed to remain on duty at the facility during the investigation? If she was prone to mistakes, Kate certainly hoped not. As she’d told Paul, she didn’t want anything to happen to Nehemiah.

  Kate strolled into their large living room. Paul was lounging in an overstuffed chair, engrossed in a book, his stocking feet resting on the coffee table. Kate approached him on silent feet, but he looked up and smiled.

  “Done writing letters? Did you greet the kids for me?”

  “Check and check.”

  Paul closed his book but kept a finger in his spot. “Just a thought. I’m doing hospital visits tomorrow, and for some strange reason, I thought you might want to ride along.”

  Kate’s interest was piqued. “Hospital visits? Where?”

  “Where do you think?” Mischief lit his blue eyes.

  “Chattanooga? Paul Hanlon, you read my mind.” She grabbed his free hand and squeezed it.

  He chuckled. “I’ve been married to you for a little more than five min
utes, Katie girl. I’ll drop you off at Orchard Hill to visit with Nehemiah and whoever else you like, and then I’ll go over to the hospital to check on Mrs. Kraemer and a couple of other folks.”

  Kate moved around Paul’s chair and reached over the top to knead his solid shoulders. He kept himself in good shape, despite his occasional dietary lapses. “Did I ever tell you you’re the best husband in the world?”

  “Now and then.” He patted one of her hands. “Mmm. That massage feels good.”

  She came around in front of him. “I’ve been thinking about something else that’s bothering me.”

  He nodded. “You mean LuAnne and Loretta at the diner? I’m a little troubled about it too.”

  Kate shot up a quick prayer of thanks for her sensitive and observant husband. “By now, the diner should be closed. Do you think it would be out of line for me to give LuAnne a call at home and ask her what’s going on?”

  “If you don’t, I will.”

  “Race you to the phone!”

  Paul laughed and waved her off. Kate trotted away, ignoring a twinge from her pesky arthritic knee, and got the cordless phone from the nightstand in their bedroom. Then she returned to the living room and took a chair opposite her husband. Paul had laid his book aside on a lamp table and was waiting expectantly.

  Lower lip caught between her teeth, Kate punched in LuAnne’s number. The phone rang once...twice...three times.

  “Hello?” LuAnne’s voice answered, but the tone wasn’t typical of her. She still sounded blue as a rainy day.

  “Hi, LuAnne. This is Kate Hanlon.”

  “Kate!” The tone brightened. “I’m so glad you called.”

  “You are?” She shot Paul a wide-eyed look, and he responded with raised brows.

  “I’ve been pacin’ in front of my phone, tryin’ to get up the nerve to call you.”

  Well, that’s a strange coincidence. “You were going to call me? Why?”

  Paul’s brows climbed a few more millimeters, and Kate sent him a shrug.

  “Because you’re so good at figurin’ things out,” LuAnne answered.

  “You need me to figure something out?” Was there a rash of mysteries going on? First Lucy Mae and now LuAnne. “What is it?”

  Paul leaned closer as a heavy silence radiated from the other end of the phone.

  “Do I need to figure that out too?” Kate prompted.

  “No, I’m sorry. I just...” The waitress huffed gently. “It’s not really my secret to tell, but somebody needs to give Loretta the help she needs.”

  “Oh, so the problem is something to do with Loretta.” At least that might explain why the diner owner had yelled at her staff. “I wasn’t sure who was having difficulties around there. I just knew someone was. Maybe I should give her a call.”

  “You can try that, but I don’t know how much she’ll tell you if you just call her out of the blue.” LuAnne clucked her tongue. “I need to give you a heads-up because I’m at my wit’s end. Here’s the deal...” Pregnant ticks of silence followed, as if the waitress were gathering her courage. “About six months ago, Loretta started gettin’ medical bills from that famous clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.”

  “You mean the Mayo Clinic? Is Loretta sick?” Kate’s grip tightened around the phone. If the diner owner was ill, why was that such a secret?

  LuAnne spurted a laugh. “Not at all. She’s healthy as the proverbial horse.”

  Kate’s tension eased, but she frowned into the phone. Paul mirrored her action, though he was only catching her end of the conversation. “Then why did Loretta have a clinic visit in Minnesota?” She struggled to reconcile the contradictory information.

  “That’s just it. She didn’t. But somebody got mighty expensive services from there, and somehow their business office mixed things up on the charges, and they’re billin’ her. She’s called them, but they insist that if she’s the Loretta Sweet who lives on Barnhill Street in Copper Mill, Tennessee, then these are her obligations. Can you believe it?”

  “Huh!” Kate planted her elbows on her knees and wrapped a curl of strawberry-blonde hair tightly around one finger. This conversation kept getting stranger and stranger. “If Loretta’s never been a patient at the Mayo Clinic, how did the business office get her name and address?”

  “That’s the mystery. What do you think?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “But you’ll find out, won’t you? She’s started to get harassin’ phone calls from a collection agency. It’s drivin’ her nutty—not to mention the rest of us at the diner.”

  “How can somebody be billed for medical services they’ve never received?” Kate spoke as much to herself as LuAnne. She sat up and scowled at the only person in front of her. Paul answered by running his fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair, a sure sign he was as perplexed as Kate.

  “That’s my question exactly,” LuAnne said. “It’s outrageous!” She harrumphed. “But that’s not the worst of it. The bills are so high that if they somehow manage to make her pay, she could lose the diner.”

  “Lose the diner!” Kate slumped, while Paul stiffened like a yard pole. “No wonder she was...er...tense today,” Kate added.

  The waitress snorted. “You noticed, eh? You and half the town. Loretta is a great boss. Nothin’ around the diner knocks her off her stride, and that place can be a whirlwind sometimes. But the possibility of losin’ the business she’s put forty years of her life into...well, she can’t handle that.”

  “I don’t blame her,” Kate answered, her words rather breathless from shock.

  “That’s why you’ve got to find some way to help her.”

  Although LuAnne couldn’t see her, Kate shook her head vigorously. “Oh, LuAnne, this is way outside my expertise. I really think she needs to see a lawyer right away.”

  “I’ve told her so time after time, but she doesn’t trust ’em. Just makes dark mumbles about ‘hucksters and thieves.’ But she trusts and admires you. I think if you were able to shed some light on her problem, she might listen to whatever you tell her to do.”

  Kate let silence fall. What did LuAnne really expect her to do about this? Then again, what could it hurt to ask a few questions? She had a little experience along those lines, at least. And perhaps she could convince Loretta to see a lawyer.

  “I’ll speak with her. If she opens up to me about this issue, I’ll look into whatever I can. That’s all I can promise.”

  LuAnne breathed out a sigh of relief. “Oh good. Thanks sooo much! Whew! Now I feel a lot better.” The waitress’ familiar jolly laugh rang out.

  The line went dead, and Kate held the phone away from her ear, glaring at it.

  “Did you get an impossible assignment?” Paul asked.

  “Improbable, for sure. I can hardly believe what’s happening to poor Loretta. As for impossible, I have my doubts that I’m the right person for this job.” She slapped her palms against her legs. “Plus, now I have two mysteries to solve, as if one wasn’t enough.” She filled Paul in on everything LuAnne told her.

  Paul mouthed a long Wow! as he sat back in his chair. “That’s serious.”

  “And beyond strange. First, a medication error nearly kills the mother of our mayor’s wife, and now a town institution is in danger of going out of business because of erroneous medical billing. What’s going on with health care?”

  Chapter Eight

  Right after lunch on Monday, Kate and Paul drove south in his blue Chevy pickup under an overcast sky. With Paul at the wheel, they wound toward Chattanooga over mountain ridges and through valleys. The dull copper sky mirrored Kate’s spirits.

  She hadn’t slept well for thinking about Loretta Sweet and Shirley Kraemer. Both of their problems related to health care, but the circumstances were so different. She couldn’t imagine that their troubles might be related, yet it was awfully strange that these crises involving people from Copper Mill erupted at the same time. She simply didn’t know enough about either event to draw a cor
relation—or rule one out.

  In all the time she and Paul had visited Nehemiah at Orchard Hill, she’d always felt comfortable with the professionalism of the care...until now. If only for her own peace of mind, she needed to understand exactly what she’d seen at the nurses’ station the other day.

  Kate massaged her arthritic knee and studied the gray clouds. “Could be we’re in for a little more rain. I was hoping the sunshine would stick around, and my garden would dry out for planting. The weeds are getting the jump on me.”

  “Anxious to get your hands dirty?” Paul sent her a warm smile.

  “When I was a little girl, I couldn’t wait until spring so I could make mud pies. Maybe I’ll bake you one while I’m at it.”

  Her husband chuckled. “As long as you leave the worms out.”

  The rest of the trip passed in similar pleasant banter, and Kate’s outlook was much improved by the time they reached Orchard Hill. The sun had peeped through the clouds too. Maybe she’d get her miracle with the staff as well.

  Nehemiah was glad, but a little surprised, to see them again so soon. Paul left almost right away to head over to the hospital, and Kate suggested to Nehemiah that they take a walk around the grounds outside. Shooting her a speculative look, he shrugged into a ratty old sweater. Kate just smiled and made no comment about the misshapen gray cardigan with the frayed cuffs.

  Out in the backyard, gazing at the blue gray ridges of the Smoky Mountains on the horizon, she inhaled a deep whiff of damp earth and greening shrubs. Nehemiah fell into step with Kate on a sidewalk that led between fallow flower beds.

  “You’ve got a load on your mind,” he said. “Do you plan on sharing it?”

  “That’s part of why I’m here. But I can’t tell you everything, because some of it was entrusted to me in confidence.” She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “I’ve got serious concerns about our health-care system.”

  Nehemiah nodded slowly. “Because it’s messed up in general all across the country, or something specific to around here?”