“The activity he’s talking about, it started after you started living at the house, not before?”
He nodded. “It’s gotten worse the past couple of weeks. Well, he says it’s gotten worse. Like I said, I haven’t experienced it. I’m usually not home during the day unless I run home for lunch.”
“Please don’t take offense at what I’m about to ask. But could he be lying about it? Making it up?”
“No.” He wore a wry smile. “One of the ‘wonderful’ quirks we discovered about Brad’s new brain, as we like to call it, is his incapacity to lie. If you told him to tell you a lie, like lie about his name or whatever, he can’t. That’s why I know he thinks he is experiencing stuff. But he also knows if I can prove to him there isn’t any supernatural basis for what he’s experiencing, he’ll completely submit to more testing.”
“Another reason he can’t be a lawyer?”
That earned her an honest, amused smile. “Yes, you could say that. Believe me, he already has.”
She turned the notepad around and handed him the pen. “Please give me all your information. Address, phone number, e-mail address, that stuff. I need to get through the next couple of days and…this weekend.” She swallowed back tears that wanted to flow. For a few blessed minutes, she’d had respite from her crushing grief. “We’re having a tree planting in Julie’s memory over at the library on Saturday at noon, if you’d like to join us. I’ll have to look at the schedule, but maybe we can get together at your house next Monday evening?”
He nodded as he wrote. “And Brad’s not dangerous. He’s a very gentle man. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to scare you about him. If you need access to the house and I can’t be there because of work, you’re perfectly safe with Brad.” He put down the pen after he finished writing. “Others are more dangerous to him. The sad thing is, he knows it, but he’d still let it happen.”
Chapter Four
Brad stared out the window as they headed home. He’d had a nice conversation with Julie while waiting for Ellis to finish talking with Mandaline.
Ellis really liked Mandaline. Was attracted to her. Brad actually felt glad about that, because he was attracted to Mandaline, too.
Julie was really happy about that. She’d told him so.
“You told Mandaline you think what’s happening isn’t real,” he said to Ellis.
He heard Ellis sigh next to him. “Buddy, I know you believe it’s real. That’s what matters.”
Brad held back his laugh. “But you don’t believe it’s real.”
Poor Ellis. How Ellis never lost his patience with him, he didn’t know. But he loved him for it. “All that I care about,” Ellis said, “is that you think it’s real. We have a deal, though. Right?”
Brad nodded, still staring out the window. “If she doesn’t find anything, I go back to the VA for more tests.” He finally pulled his gaze from the window and looked at Ellis. “You won’t let them lock me up, will you?” he quietly asked.
Ellis shook his head. “Never. We have a deal.” He reached over and patted Brad on the leg, but didn’t take his eyes from the road. “I told you, we’re a team. Death do us part.”
Brad nodded and had to look back out the window to conceal his smile at the sound of Julie’s laugh. He didn’t want Ellis to ask him what was so funny. Then he’d have to tell him about Julie. That he’d been talking to her since the afternoon she’d died.
That might make Ellis reconsider their deal.
He didn’t understand why he couldn’t lie or keep secrets anymore. Not that he’d been a sociopath or anything…before. But poor Mom and Dad, they’d learned not to ask innocent questions like, “Does this look okay?” or “Do I look fat in this?”
It was like he had to sit back and listen to his own answer.
That frustrated him. He didn’t want to lie, per se, but he didn’t want to hurt people’s feelings. He couldn’t even tell little white fibs to make people happy. And trying to deflect answering a question usually made people want him to answer it that much more.
If Ellis saw him smiling and asked him what was so funny, he’d have to tell him about Julie.
He’d also have to tell him why Julie was laughing so hard.
Ellis would never believe that they’d found their unicorn. A unicorn, a woman perfect for them both. At least, that was what Julie said.
And he suspected Julie wouldn’t lie to him. No, not at all. Because she loved Mandaline and wanted her to be happy.
Ellis shut the car off and stared at the house.
“Are you coming in?” Brad asked.
“Yeah, buddy. I just need a minute.”
“Are you upset that Julie died?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
“She was nice.”
“Yeah. She really took a shine to you.”
“I like Mandaline.”
“I like her, too.”
Ellis hoped he wouldn’t have to order Brad to leave him alone. He hated doing it and always felt guilty about it, even though Brad had said he didn’t mind and even admitted that sometimes he needed the direct order.
Brad opened his car door, much to Ellis’ relief. He swung his legs out and sat there for a moment, staring at the ground. “Can we go to the tree planting on Saturday?” Brad asked.
“Sure, buddy.”
“Okay.” He got out, closed the door behind him, and headed to the house.
Ellis put his head back against the seat and blew out a long breath. He watched as Brad unlocked the side door they used most and headed inside. He held his breath, but the alarm didn’t go off.
Brad managed to set it off while arming or disarming it an average of once a week.
Did I tell him about the tree planting? He couldn’t remember. He didn’t think he had. Then again, maybe one of the other employees had. When he’d followed Mandaline out of the private room, he’d found Brad standing by Julie’s urn and staring at it.
No, without a doubt he knew Brad thought what he was experiencing was absolutely real. Thank god Mandaline was willing to help get them through this. The faster they did, the faster he could talk to Brad’s doctors and try to get to the root of his problems. He hated the thought of having to put him on more medication. Right now, Brad took an anticonvulsant and that was it. He’d been on a lot of meds early on after the accident. Ellis worried that if Brad needed any drugs for what he was experiencing now that it could mess with his art.
And Ellis wanted to avoid that at all costs. No, Brad didn’t take any interest in the marketing of it, and that was fine. He’d happily handle that for him.
The look on Brad’s face when he’d surprised him with the trip to Miami, to the gallery hosting the show, had been priceless. And the joy on Brad’s features as person after person came up to him and praised his work…
Hell, he could die happy, and he wasn’t even the artist.
Brad liked that he could make people happy, make them smile. The money was irrelevant to either of them. Between the settlement, Brad’s VA benefits, and Ellis’ law firm, they didn’t need the sales of the artwork. Ellis put the money from the art sales into the trust. If Brad wanted to use it for the renovation, they could dip into it as needed. But Ellis wanted to build as large a nest egg for his friend as possible. In case something ever happened to him, and he couldn’t be there to take care of Brad.