Page 17 of One Little Spark

She frowned in puzzlement. “I’m not following.”

He smiled. “Young lady, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we live in a very small town and there are lots of gossips about.”

Hazel burst into laughter. “Um, yes. I’ve noticed.”

“Not too many folks would be able to work on this project with me without telling the world about it. You haven’t said a word to anyone about our work. You didn’t ask me any questions and kept everything to yourself. You are discreet and smart. It’s a rare combination these days.”

“I see. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to then. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Not at all,” he said. “You should know. The whole town thinks I’m getting nostalgic about retiring so I’m running through my old files as a way to relive my glory days.”

“Yes, that’s what most people seem to think,” she agreed. “But I’m not so sure.”

His eyes twinkled at her. “You’re right. Frankly, I couldn’t give a hoot about these old files. I’m so excited to retire; it can’t come soon enough. Since I lost my Helen, I’ve realized how precious life really is. And how short. I’m seventy-two. It’s time for me to go.” He gave a sad smile. “I loved Helen, but she wanted to stay here and work until we were both too old to move. Me”—his eyes brightened again—“I want to go on an adventure. When I leave here, I’m off to Hawaii. I want to learn to surf!”

She burst out laughing. “Oh, Doc, I think that’s wonderful. Good for you!”

“But before I go, I have to find something.” He glanced around the room. “Helen was the love of my life, and she was an amazing help with the patients, but her filing skills left much to be desired. She’d developed her own filing system, but not based on anything logical as far as I can tell. She always knew where everything was, so it didn’t matter when we were younger, but as she got older, she started losing track of things.” He paused andlet out a sigh.

Hazel’s heart constricted, and a lump clogged her throat. Helen had died last year. She’d had dementia. Doc had looked after her until the very last moment.

Doc pushed up his glasses. “One of the things she lost track of was a bunch of bearer bonds. We bought them years ago, and they’re worth a packet now. The thing with bearer bonds is, they can be cashed in by whoever has them in hand. So, I have to find them before I leave. If not, whoever ends up going through the files will find my Hawaii money.”

She smiled. “Well, we can’t have that, can we? Let’s find those bonds. Now that I know what I’m looking for, we can move through this much faster.” She grabbed a file and then stopped. “Unless you feel that you should look at all the files, too.”

Doc let out a sigh. “This has been my life’s work. I should want to revisit them, but to be honest, I just find it a bit…depressing. It reminds me too much of my Helen. She loved her roses and her tea, and she loved being my assistant.”

“That’s okay, Doc. I get it. And I’ll keep your secret, too, about the bonds.”

“I know you will, Hazel.” He smiled at her. “Maybe a cup of tea would help the situation.”

“That sounds good, Doc. Would you like me to make it?” She started to get up.

He waved her back down. “No, I’ve got it. I find if I sit too long, I stiffen up.” He got up off the chair and started to shuffle out of the room but then turned back. “Oh, I do want to see certain files if you find them.” He reeled off a short list of names.

Hazel narrowed her eyes. “Those are the names of some of the elderly patients who died recently at the hospital.”

“Yes. You know, I’ve got a funny feeling in my gut about those deaths. They’re just not sitting right with me.”

Hazel pulled another file out of the box. “But they were allelderly and ill.”

“Yes, but being old doesn’t actually kill you, and none of their illnesses should have caused their deaths either.”

He disappeared around the corner, and then Hazel heard him puttering about in the kitchen, which was just behind the room she was currently in. She pushed out a breath. So, Doc wasn’t happy with the deaths. That made her feel better and worse all at the same time. Better because they’d been gnawing at her as well. Not all of them. Doc had listed off five people. She’d only caught three. Mrs. Fields, Mr. Groll, and Mrs. Levy.

But her belly roiled as she thought perhaps these people might not have met their end in a natural way. Her fingers stilled on the file she’d been rifling through. The idea of them dying unnaturally was just too horrible a thought to contemplate.

A few minutes later, Doc arrived with two cups of tea in antique China, complete with saucers. The cups had tiny pink roses on them. “Here now.” He handed one to her. There was a cookie on the side. She grinned and thanked him.

He sat back down. “Tell meyourtroubles. You’ve been so kind to listen to my ramblings.”

“Not at all, Doc.” She shifted back to lean on a filing cabinet and took a sip of tea.

“Come on. Out with it.” Doc waited, sipping his tea.

“What makes you think I have troubles?” She tried to look innocent.

Doc snorted. “I was in the room when you were born, young lady. I know a troubled soul when I see one.”

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