It touches Aimee deeply. “That makes me feel a little less guilty about how much we’ve been coming over. I lost my mother when I was a teenager. She died of cancer when I was sixteen. Actually, it was the medicine that killed her, not the cancer. But that’s a story for another day.”
“Oh, Aimee, I am so sorry. I had no idea.”
Aimee is struck by how genuine Cathy’s concern is. “My dad remarried right away, and my stepmom is perfectly nice.” Aimee pauses. Because it’s true. Deb is nice. “But she never really accepted me as her own. She got pregnant right away and had three more kids with my dad. So, there were three new kids formy father to focus on. I left for college the next year, and well, I just never… I miss my mom.”
“Of course you do. Look, if you need me to watch Noa or help out while you look after your friend, please don’t hesitate to ask. I know what it can be like to lose a loved one. It’s world-shattering. Be there for her.” Cathy stands and opens her arms.
“Thank you,” Aimee says, stepping into Cathy’s hug. She is curious about how Cathy’s son died but doesn’t want to pry. It would probably be too painful.
Her phone pings. It’s Scott finally responding to her text.
“I’d better get this. Thanks again. I’ll come back for Noa in a few hours?”
Aimee walks outside and stops in front of the azalea bushes Cathy wants to replace. She’s been out here several times discussing the merits of spice bush and clethra, viburnum and native hydrangeas that will support the local insect and bird populations. At first she thought that Cathy was another one of her wealthy, indecisive clients, but now Aimee realizes all those long talks in Cathy’s kitchen weren’t because Cathy is high maintenance. Cathy is lonely. Leaving Noa here for a few hours feels like she is helping them both, and that makes her feel good.
Inside the truck, she dials Scott as she drives to her Glen Echo client. Tim has been working the ground for a few weeks now, making sure the soil is acidic enough for the finicky blueberry bushes, and installing drip irrigation so the bushes have the consistently soggy soil they prefer. Now she just has to make sure all the bushes look healthy and the spacing is right, and to answer any questions from the client.
“That was me, don’t worry,” Scott says as soon as he answers.
A shiver runs through Aimee. “What? What was you?”
“The money. You’re calling about the money, right?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What money?”
He laughs. “I thought you saw the email from the bank aboutthe withdrawal, and I didn’t want you to worry. We weren’t hacked. That was me.”
They have an alert system on their accounts that withdrawals over a certain amount trigger an email, but Aimee hasn’t checked her email recently. “How much did you take out?”
“Fifty thousand.”
“Fifty thousand!”
“I can explain. I’m just moving some money around.”
“That’s a lot of money to move around without telling me.”
“Yeah, sorry, the deadline to buy these bonds was coming up, and I had to move to catch the current interest rate. Starting next month—”
“Okay, okay, I get it. You can give me all the details later. Listen, that’s not why I called.”
“Is everything all right? Is Noa okay?”
“Yeah. She’s fine, she’s visiting the kittens, and the boys are at Lisa’s.” She takes a deep breath. “I don’t know how else to say this except straight-out. Anton’s dead. He was hit by a car last night.”
There’s a long pause before Scott answers. “Oh my God, that’s horrible. Where did this happen?”
“Downtown Bethesda, but listen.” She pulls into the driveway and sees Tim’s truck. He waves at her. Standing next to him is the client, a woman a bit older than Aimee, with a scowl on her face. Aimee’s stomach sinks. The last thing she needs is a disgruntled client. This is a straightforward job. She picked out the bushes herself a week ago when she was at the family nursery outside Baltimore.
“I have to go, but you should know the police are going to come by and talk to you.”
“Me? Why me?”
“Because Anton came by the house last night.”
Scott lets out an awkward laugh. “What? Why do you think that?”
“Scott, I saw it on the doorbell camera. And so did the detective.”