When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,43

premises after my little display.

I heard voices in the background, and someone calling Joe’s name.

“I’ve gotta go,” he said, “but we’ll talk more tonight, okay? And reconsider spendin’ the evenin’ with Jed and Neely Kate. If you want to sleep in your own bed, I can even swing by to pick you up on the way home.”

“I’ll consider it,” I said, my guilt rushing back like an avalanche. “Now go find Violet’s kids.”

I hung up, trying to think of what else I could do to aid the investigation. James wouldn’t be at his house for hours, so the rest of the day loomed before me. I would be terrible at any kind of surveillance, since rule number one was blend in so you go unnoticed. But at least I could make phone calls.

First I pulled up Violet’s attorney’s number and placed the call. When his receptionist answered, I asked to speak to Mr. Gilliam, surprised when she put me right through.

“Rose. Pleased to hear from you,” he said, sounding anything but, which was fair considering our previous encounters.

“Thanks, Mr. Gilliam. I have a few more questions about Violet’s affairs.”

“We haven’t heard any new developments regarding the break-in,” he said, “but then again, you’d be in a better position to know than I would.”

I grimaced. “Joe doesn’t have any new information, but I’m calling about something else.”

“Okay,” he said, but I could hear the hesitation in his voice. “I’ll answer if I can.”

“It’s regarding Violet’s medical bills. You said the estate only had to handle the hospice bills. Do you know anything about the medical expenses from her bone marrow transplant?”

“No,” he said. “She never mentioned it.”

“MD Anderson hasn’t reached out to you for payment?”

“I doubt they would. They would be sending the bills to the address on file.”

Which would have been Momma’s house since Violet had been living there before she’d left for Texas. I’d been collecting the mail for over a year and had yet to see a bill. “Do you think they could have gone to Mike?”

“Perhaps,” the attorney said. “Her divorce attorney might know. Let me give her a call and get back to you.” He was so eager to get me off the phone he hung up before I could answer. The last thing I expected was to hear back from him soon, but he called back about ten minutes later.

“I’ve solved the mystery of the medical bills,” he said, sounding like he’d just won a gold medal. “Violet’s divorce attorney said that Mike was responsible for any copays or expenses not covered by her insurance through the nursery for two years after the divorce. Which explains why you haven’t seen any bills. In fact, you aren’t even responsible for the hospice bills. We can send them to him if you like.”

I was so shocked it took me a few seconds to respond. “No. I’ve already paid them and I don’t want to saddle him with those too.” I shook my head, sick to my stomach. “Mr. Gilliam, do you have any idea how much he had to pay?”

“Not a clue, but it’s nothing for you to worry about. It’s Mike’s problem.”

But I suspected it was a huge problem—the kind that might have driven him to crime. Had Violet known? “And if I wanted to find out?”

“We might be able to find out by calling the billing department. I can do that if you like. I’ll just tell them I’m the attorney handling Violet’s estate.”

“Yeah, that would be great.”

“If I can get a copy of any bills, I’ll email them to you.” Then he added, “but I assure you, Rose, that you are not responsible for those bills. The divorce decree makes it very clear that Mike is the responsible party.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

I wasn’t sure what else to do. I considered calling Neely Kate to see if they’d found anything yet, but it would be pointless. She’d let me know if they’d discovered anything important. Instead, I sent her a text telling her that Joe thought Jed should let the sheriff’s department handle Calista.

She sent back: Jed got your message.

Which meant he wasn’t going to take Joe’s advice. I was relieved to hear it, although it made me feel guilty all the same.

I headed up to the baby’s nursery to see if anything needed to be washed or organized, and Muffy trailed behind me. Truth be told, I’d already done all the chores that needed doing, but part of me needed to see