Gin Jones - Helen Binney 01 - A Dose of Death by Gin Jones Page A

she liked them. 
    “ She’s definitely gone,” Jack said. “You think she might come back?”
    “ I’m sure she will,” Helen said. Probably not tonight, though. 
    “ Want me to stick around?”
    “ No, I have to handle this on my own.” Helen crossed the living room and unplugged the radio. “Starting with this. Would you mind taking this away until I’ve gotten rid of Melissa?”
    “ Anything for you, Ms. Binney,” he said, wrapping the cord around the radio.
    “ I think you should call me Helen, after all you’ve done for me.”
    “ You’ve got your new phones where you can get to them, right?”
    Helen patted one of the tiny phones, safely tucked into her pocket, and shrugged her shoulders until she could feel the spare one that she ‘d tucked into her bra. “I have them. Melissa might confiscate one of them, but I doubt she’ll think to look for a second one on me.”
    “ Why don’t you put my home phone number into the memory?” Jack said, writing it on the back of a business card. “I wouldn’t mind if you called me in an emergency. If you can’t get through to dispatch, just call me at home. I’ll come get you, even if it’s my day off. Might not be a fancy car, but at least you can get away from here if you need to.”
    “ That’s very kind.” Helen withdrew the first phone from her pocket and keyed in his number to reassure him. “I’m sure it won’t be necessary to call anyone except the police, though. If Melissa comes back, she’s going to wish she’d never met me, even more than I wish I’d never met her.”
     
    *  *  *
     
    Before Helen went to bed, she wrestled the recliner against the front door to keep Melissa out until the locks were changed.
    The next morning, while waiting for the locksmith Jack had recommended, Helen settled at her desk to finish sorting through the pictures of her nieces. Her hip was less irritated than she ‘d expected after yesterday’s escapade, but she was still grateful for the excellent lumbar support of her desk chair.
    While she waited for the computer to boot, Helen glanced out the window at the overcast day and noticed something on the grass, about thirty feet away, halfway between the woods and  the stairs to the back deck.
    Helen pushed herself out of her chair and moved closer to the window. It wasn’t some thing . It was some one . She looked again. A woman, lying face down, wearing white clogs, blue pants and a bright pink top. It had to be Melissa. The damned woman must have hidden out there last night, waiting in the shadows for Helen to return and Jack to leave. The joke was apparently on Melissa, falling asleep and missing her chance to impose her will on her patient again.
    Helen shoved the window open. “Melissa! Wake up and go home.”
    Melissa didn ‘t move, as oblivious to Helen’s wishes as ever.
    “ Give it up, Melissa,” Helen shouted. “You’re fired, and I’ve barricaded the doors until the locksmith gets here to change the locks. You’re not getting inside here ever again.”
    The sun came out from behind the clouds, and in the bright light, Melissa ‘s hands looked deathly pale. It could have been a trick, but Helen didn’t think so. No one slept that heavily.
    Helen reached for the phone in her pocket and dialed 911.
    “What is your emergency?” a reassuringly calm male voice said.
    “ I’m not sure,” Helen said, “but I think there’s a dead body in my yard.”
    “ What’s the address?”
    She told him, and he said, “The first responders are on the way. What happened to the person?”
    “ I don’t know. She’s just lying there.”
    “ Is she breathing?” 
    “ I don’t know.” Even as she said it, Helen realized how foolish that sounded. She should have checked. “Give me a minute, and I’ll go find out.”
    Helen pushed the recliner away from the front door and went outside, across the side yard to where Melissa was still lying, unmoving. Helen had to suppress the feeling