Best Place to Die Read Online Free PDF Page B

She’d met her twice, last fall and then again this past winter. Both times in Delia’s light-filled office, the first time with Ada, who’d grilled the director about the workings of Nillewaug, and then with Ada and Rose. Delia, with her every hair in place, seamless make-up and pressed skirt suits, was one of those people who was always camera ready. Like a pitch woman on the Home Shopping Network, or a beauty queen twenty years after the pageant. Lil filmed her dead face, half pressed flat to the ground the other eye open as though staring off into space.
Who was she?
Lil knew little about her other than she was an outstanding salesperson who met a prospective resident’s every objection – and Rose Rimmelman had more than a few – with quick answers, humorous anecdotes and direct eye contact. Whether real or feigned, Delia deftly communicated caring and that hard-to-fake belief in the inherent goodness of what Nillewaug offered. ‘
We take care of everything,
’ she’d said, at the December meeting where over the course of two and a half hours she’d clinched the deal with Ada and Rose. ‘
It’s called the Promise Plan. And we keep the promise. Once signed on, a resident is assured that their every need, whatever it might be, will be seen to for as long as they remain at Nillewaug.
’
    Rose, and to a lesser extent Ada, had picked away at Delia’s assertions like a pair of crows on a tasty bit of roadkill. ‘
And if I get sick? Or God forbid,
’ Rose had said, ‘
Alzheimer’s?
’
    Delia had merely amped up the volume on her warm and pearly smile. ‘
Excellent questions. Our goal is to keep our residents in their own apartments. Our twice-yearly resident surveys show this to be the strong preference. In rare occasions this is not possible.
’
    â€˜
And you ship the poor sucker to some hell-hole nursing home,
’ Rose had shot back.
    Delia had laughed as if Rose were a professional comic. ‘
Brilliant! But no, we are licensed to run both intermediate and fully skilled nursing facilities. If a resident needs a rehab stay, or permanent placement the care and comforts in Nillewaug’s extended care units are unparalleled. And this isn’t just a sales pitch, but for the past five years we’ve ranked in the top fifth percentile of nursing homes – and those are national surveys. We have only private rooms and our Alzheimer’s and Dementia complex is state of the art. All of which gives us tremendous flexibility. The Promise is truly a promise. We will take care of you
.’ And she’d artfully turned to Ada. ‘
We will take care of your mother, regardless of what the future brings.
’
    â€˜What the hell?’ A man’s booming voice startled her. ‘Lil, what are you doing? You shouldn’t be here.’
    â€˜Hi Hank,’ she said, and, with the camera on, she unobtrusively let it pan up the Chief of Police – mid sixties, full head of silver, square jaw and broad shoulders, belly a bit bigger since his wife Joanne died of breast cancer five years back, but all in all still robust and not bad on the eyes in his jeans and navy parka with the Grenville logo on the right breast.
    He walked to her side and looked at Delia. ‘Shit! I’m assuming you checked a pulse.’
    â€˜Yes, she’s dead, Hank.’
    â€˜You took pictures?’ He stared at the camera, which she was holding at her side, the lens trained on his face.
    â€˜Yeah.’
    â€˜It’s still going, isn’t it?’ He sounded tired.
    â€˜Yeah,’ she said, knowing what was coming.
    â€˜Lil, shut it off. You’re going to have to give it to me; it’s going to be evidence.’
    â€˜Hank, we’ve been friends forever, but I work for the paper now. You want these images, which I am more than happy to share, but if you want the original you’ll need a court