Nursing a Grudge: An Earl Walker Mystery

Chapter 20

Jenny pushed Earl’s wheelchair past the chapel entrance. “This isn’t just another stalling tactic, is it?”

“Who, me?” Earl tried his most innocent look. Since he couldn’t turn his neck far enough, it was a wasted effort. “Like you said, with Candlewick closing, I have to find a new place to live.”

“You are going to call the sheriff though, right?” They reached the end of the hall and turned left.

“Sure, sure. Of course I will. Everything in its time.”

“I would hate to think you’re just putting it off.”

They came upon a couple of residents, an elderly man and woman dressed for tennis, carrying their rackets. The two were sharing a laugh. Earl nodded to them as they passed.

Once the two were out of earshot, he turned and said to Jenny, “Besides, how long could I stall?” They came upon a group of people headed the other direction, a man pushing a walker accompanied by a younger woman and three small children. Earl waited until they passed. Once they were gone, he turned his head again. “Fine. I’ll make the call. We just have to make this stop first.”

They reached the computer room without incident. The light coming through the windows must have created a glare on the monitor screens, because the blinds were almost closed.

Most of the stations were occupied. They headed for the lone open unit, and Jenny moved aside the chair and helped Earl roll his wheelchair into place.

Jenny said, “Do you know what you’re doing?”

“Of course I know what I’m doing! I’m not some senile old man who needs to be put out on the trash heap.”

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“You’re forgiven.” Earl rubbed his hands together. “I guess you can tell me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“How do I use a computer?”

Jenny tried to offer him a disapproving look. But it soon collapsed into a grin. “All right, Mr. Walker. This is your monitor, this is your mouse, and this is your keyboard. You use the mouse like this to move your cursor—that’s the little arrow on your screen there, right?”

Earl grunted. “How do you look something up? This computer is connected to everything, right?”

A voice came from their left. “You can sign up for computer classes, you know.” The man at the next computer was an older gentleman in a snazzy golf shirt and shorts. He adjusted his black-framed glasses. “If you’re interested.”

“I don’t get out much,” Earl said. “I don’t really have a way to get to school.”

The woman on their right butted in. “Oh, they have all the classes right here at Candlewick—all about email, about desktop publishing, about—”

“You’re forgetting one vital, key piece of information,” Earl grumbled. “In a matter of days, this place will be closed down.”

The three stared back at him. Without another word, the man and the woman went back to their respective computers.

Jenny leaned in. “You don’t have to be so rude about it.”

“Who’s being rude? I was just stating the facts.”

“Well, there’s a better way to do it.” She wrinkled her nose. “Now, why are they closing this place again? It seems to have everything!”

“You’ll have to take that up with the state.” Earl pointed at the screen. “Now, how do I look for things?”