“Judith said that?” says Ceepak. “To Dr. Rosen?”
“Several times. Then, after you people helped Christine beat that restraining order, embarrassed her sister in court? Man, oh, man. Judith tore into poor old Arnie that night something fierce. Wish I’d recorded it. Maybe you two could’ve arrested her for elder abuse.”
“What happened?”
“She came over to Dr. Rosen’s house, her breath stinking like she’d been gargling with her Pinot Grigio. I’m right there. Kind of hanging back in the shadows. I was so afraid of what that crazy woman might do, I started wondering what I could grab-a vase or a statue or a fireplace tool. Something to knock her silly if she tried to strangle Dr. Rosen right there in his hospital bed.”
“And what did Judith say?” asks Ceepak.
“‘How dare you let that little tramp treat my sister like that,’ she says. ‘You embarrassed her. You embarrassed me! I’m done, I’m done, I’m done with you.’ She kept saying she was done but, believe you me, she was just warming up. ‘You will never, ever see your grandson again-your one and only grandson-not as long as you have that, that, creature living under your roof.’”
“She, of course, meant Christine?” says Ceepak, who is furiously taking notes.
“That’s right. Dr. Rosen says, ‘What would you have me do, Judith? Toss the poor girl out into the streets? She has nowhere else to go.’ Judy says, ‘Fine. You make your choices, choices have consequences.’ She was really slurring her words when she said that. ‘I am so effing pissed off at you right now, I’ll probably have a stroke. I’ll probably die before you do.’”
“How did Dr. Rosen react?”
“He never even raised his voice. He says, ‘Oh, I hope not, darling.’Judith just keeps on ranting at him. ‘My death will pre-decease yours,’ she says. ‘You have ruined my effing life.’ Judy likes to use the F-word a lot when she’s been drinking. ‘We’re done,’ she screams for the millionth time. Then she stomps toward the front door, shouting, ‘I hope you’re happy, Christine, wherever the hell you’re hiding! You ruined my sister’s life! You ruined mine. You’ll get yours!’”
“You heard all this?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Christine?”
“She was locked in her room. But I’m sure she heard most of it. That Judy gets loud when she gets drunk.”
Monae shakes her head.
“I sure wouldn’t want to be her husband when he got home that night. Can you imagine what she said to him?”
We hurry back to Sea Haven in Ceepak’s hot wheels detective car because it’s time to sit down with Christine and her lawyer.
“Ceepak. Boyle.” This from the pit bull Harvey Nussbaum.
“Mr. Nussbaum,” says Ceepak, extending his hand.
I’m checking out Christine. Her eyes are bugging out of her head like a Muppet’s Ping-Pong eyeballs. She is, to quote Judith, effing pissed.
I remember something else Judith said: “Be careful. That girl has an extremely short fuse. It’s only a matter of time before she hurts somebody else.”
Is it true?