“Good. Cause if people knew…” He lowered his voice, even though no one was present except me and Dooley. “The thing is, Kirsten, that I did some bad things in the past. Some things that would shock a sweet-natured girl like you. And the only reason I’m telling you this is because I know Ican trust you.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Kirsten decidedly. “I don’t believe you have a bad bone in your body, Henry.”
“Well, you better believe it,” said Henry. “Oh, this was all a long time ago now, of course. I was young and stupid, as they say, and thought I was going to teach them all a lesson. Well, the only thing I did was put myself into an impossible situation, and hurt a lot of people in the process.”
“That’s all fine, Henry,” said Kirsten, clearly not believing a word the man was saying. “Now if you don’t need me anymore…”
“Wait,” said Henry, suddenly sounding urgent. He had reached out a hand and grasped Kirsten’s arm. When she frowned, he immediately let go. “You didn’t ask me what I did.”
“That’s because I don’t think you did anything bad, Henry,” said Kirsten kindly as she patted his shoulder.
He shrugged.“The reason I did what I did was because I wanted to be rich, you see. Like a lot of people I thought having money was going to solve all of my problems. It was going to make me happy. But what I discovered was that it didn’t. On the contrary, it made me deeply unhappy, since now I couldn’t see the people I loved anymore. My family, my friends…” He got a faraway look in his eyes as he gazed out the window for a moment. He wasn’t looking at the trees that had been planted in the garden, though. He was looking at a long-ago past, that only he could see. But then he snapped out of itagain. “The thing is, I did get rich, even though the way I did it wasn’t exactly kosher. And one day I’m going to make you rich, too.”
“Of course, Henry,” she said with a light laugh. “Now you won’t forget to take your medication this time, will you? You know how cranky you get when you forget.”
“Just you wait and see,” said Henry, wagging a crooked, bony finger in Kirsten’s face. “I’m going to make up for what I did. And when I do, you’ll be amazed.”
“That’s fine,” said Kirsten, and then quickly walked out. Unfortunately for us, she closed the door as she did, which meant we were now trapped in there with this strange old man!
“Do you really think he’s rich, Max?” asked Dooley, who hadn’t noticed yet that we couldn’t get out.
“I don’t know,” I said, glancing to the window but seeing that it was tightly shut. And even though the heating was on full blast, the man was still dressed in a thick sweater. I was starting to get too hot, and wondering why this room felt like the inside of an oven and the man didn’t seemto notice!
“It’s possible he’s rich, of course,” said Dooley. “But it all sounds a little suspicious to me. If he’s so rich, why is he staying at Happy Home? Rich people, even when they’re old, live in their own homes, surrounded by a hundred-strong staff who cater to their every need. I saw that in a documentary last week. It was about this media mogul who’s ninety-something, but he’s still running his company, and jetting across the globe, and only recently got married for the fifth time or something. He doesn’t have time to spend at a retirement home in Hampton Cove. He’s busy busy busy.”
“Maybe Henry is a rich man who likes the peace and comfort of a retirement home?” I suggested. “Not all rich people like to keep busy until their dying day.”
“Mh,” said Dooley. “It still sounds pretty fishy to me. And then the way he was acting with Kirsten just now. All very suspicious, if you ask me.”
I agreed with him wholeheartedly. All this talk about being rich, and going to make her rich, too.“Looks like Kirsten’s mom was right to worry about her daughter,” I said. “This Henry is clearly working up to something. And if Kirsten doesn’t watch out, he’s going to jump her in the bathroom one of these days.”
“He doesn’t look as if he’s capable to jump anyone in any bathroom, though,” said Dooley as he studied the lonely figure slumped in his brown leather barcalounger.
“Looks can be deceiving,” I told my friend. “He might look old and weak now, but I’ll bet that once he gets going, he’s a lot stronger and more agile than you think.”
“It’s all part of the ruse, you think? Of the trap he’s setting?”
“Yeah, to lull Kirsten into a false sense of security. And then suddenly, when she least expects it, he’s going to pounce.”
“Like a cat catching a mouse.”
Just then, Henry turned a pair of lizard eyes on us, and his face crumpled into an expression of anger.“What are you doing here? Who let you in? Get out of my room! Get out!”
We wanted to get out, we sure did, but the door was locked. Lucky for us suddenly it opened, and Gran’s face appeared.
“Oh, there you are!” she said. And then turning to Henry, “I’ve been looking for those two everywhere. They must have snuck out when I wasn’t looking.”
“Who are you?” Henry demanded coolly.