“We think she might be drugging him.” I told the officers about my father’s strange phone calls and Elyse’s rather suspect explanations.
“Sleeping pills have been known to cause unpredictable reactions in the elderly,” Officer Stankowski said. “My grandmother fell and broke her hip because she got disoriented after taking what’s considered to be a very mild and safe sedative.”
“We think Elyse murdered our mother,” Tracy said, clearly not interested in the officer’s relatives.
That got their attention.
That Elyse might have been responsible for our mother’s death was a theory Tracy had voiced before, one I’d tried to convince myself was a product of her overactive imagination. Hadn’t our father always insisted that he and Elyse had been having breakfast together at the time of our mother’s fall?
“That’s a pretty serious accusation,” Officer Lewis said. “Do you have any evidence to back it up?”
Tracy quickly elaborated on the circumstances of our mother’s death.
“But you don’t think it was an accident,” the officer stated when she was through.
“We think she might have had help,” Tracy said. “That she might have been pushed.”
Do we?I wondered, noting the look of skepticism that passed between the two policemen, a look that told me they were no longer taking our concerns—or us—very seriously.
“Again, do you have any evidence…?”
“No, but…”
“Do you have any evidenceat allthat your father is in danger?”
“No,” Tracy said again. “But…”
“He’s lost a lot of weight,” I offered. “He’s confused. He looks disheveled. He was always so fastidious about his appearance—”
“Does your father share your suspicions about his wife?” Officer Lewis broke in to ask.
“Not that we know of,” I admitted.
“Has he voiced to you that he’s afraid for his safety?”
“No. But when he phoned, I could tell…”
“Tell what? Has he told you that he fears for his life?”
“No, but…”
“Look. We understand your concern. We really do,” Officer Stankowski said, “but his wife’s explanation for your father’s behavior makes perfect sense, and unless your father makes a complaint, our hands are tied.”
“So…what?” I asked. “Can’t you at least go over there, check things out for yourselves?”
“We have no grounds,” Officer Lewis said. “We just can’t go barging in on private citizens…”
“Look. If you’re asking my advice,” Officer Stankowski offered, somewhat reluctantly, “I would say to keep in regular contact with your father, maybe even drop over unexpectedly from time to time. If Elyse refuses to let you see your dad, then you have grounds for us to interfere. Other than that…”
“…our hands are tied,” I said, finishing the sentence for him.
“I’m afraid so.”
Tracy and I rose to our feet.
“Thank you for seeing us,” I said.
Tracy walked toward the door, then stopped. “If something happens to our father,” she said, “don’t say we didn’t warn you.”