(Continued from Feb. 21, 2010)
About ten minutes later, there was a third phone call; it was from Elsie, who had driven Alice’s car to the shopping center where Thea and I were bonding. “Elsie will be joining us shortly. She is a bit nervous about the ongoing business, so she needs our moral support.”
Elsie had no difficulty finding us at the designated area. From there, we walked to a nearby cake shop, where Elsie ordered coffee and Thea and I ordered a big pot of tea. We then spent ten minutes in choosing a slice of cake. Thea was happy about my partiality for chocolate cake. Her father had also been very fond of anything made with chocolate.
When we were comfortably settled in a corner of the shop, Elsie told us that Alice would go with the gardener to aunt Dorothy’s estate. Her belongings would temporarily be stored in the four-car garage, which, because of the Audi’s departure, had a vacant spot. While she spoke, Elsie looked nervously around the shop. She explained her edginess: “Someone from the apartment building might see us together.”
“I don’t believe that we have to worry to such a great extent,” I assured her. “If Alice was with us, the chances of being recognized by someone would be much greater. As for you and Thea, very few folks would still remember you after all those months.”
Thea declared her agreement with my way of thinking: “If one gets too paranoid about situations that may possibly be dangerous, one loses a precious dimension of one’s freedom. We should not let our fears affect our lifestyle too much.”
Elsie seemed reassured. She went on to supply us with more details about the storage of Alice’s belongings: “When the gardener walked into the café, he was on the phone with your aunt. She had told him to call her as soon as he had parked his vehicle. She instructed him to tell Alice that she would personally take care of the cleanliness of the proposed area.”
We heard later that aunt Dorothy and the bodyguard had walked to the garage to inspect the space and they had decided that some improvement was needed. So, he mopped the spot, dried it with a powerful blower and spread a large blanket all across the area.
“Aunt Dorothy is having fun,” Thea proclaimed with a chuckle. “And, the bodyguard is glad that he could do something that is not in his job description. He thanked my dad numerous times for advising aunt to keep him on the payroll. He doesn’t have to worry about his job security anymore; aunt now realizes that the man is exceptionally competent.”
When I asked why Alice hadn’t considered taking her things to her father’s house, the girls informed me that the man was very controlling. There would be all sorts of problems getting away from him again. Therefore, Alice would try to find an apartment near her place of work. Since her salary was substantial, she could afford a place with a secure parking spot.
(To be continued)