well last night and had gotten up early. As a result, I was dragging already, and it was only 3 p.m. I wanted to get my tasks complete, so I could crash out at home tonight, an event that was becoming more common these days. All Danvers’ kiss had done was to make me painfully aware of my lack of social life.
Many of my friends had taken lucrative jobs outside of Capital City. A few stayed in this area, but they were either unemployed, like I had been, or working normal hours that allowed them to stay out past 9 at night. As a result, I’d felt that my social life had dwindled to a few events a month, rather than its former glory of parties every night. I wondered if this meant that I was growing up.
The cafeteria was on the ground floor, so I descended and loaded up on the biggest cup of coffee I could find. The brew was nothing like Land’s coffee. I didn’t know the food truck’s blend, which was another secret that Land was keeping. I wished that my aunt had found someone who was more forthcoming, but at the same time, she’d found a great chef who was punctual and rarely missed a day. I couldn’t fault his work ethic, even if he was taciturn.
I checked my watch and found that nearly 30 minutes had passed. I made it back to the room, and a woman was in the room along with the promised guard outside the room.
I stopped at the door and gave him a big smile. “Detective Danvers told me that Mariel was here. We go way back.”
“You’re not on the list,” he said. He didn’t bother to check any papers, so either it was a very short list, or he told that to everyone.
“You can come in with me,” I replied, thinking that my openness might get me entrance.
He shook his head. “Sorry, you’ll have to get on the list, and then you can visit.”
I was growing frustrated. I wanted to find out what was going on before the police got ahead of me. I leaned around the officer and smiled at the woman in the bed. “Mariel, it’s Maeve. How are you feeling?”
Mariel sat up in bed. “Maeve Kinkaid? Honey, I am glad to see you. I wanted to thank you so much for coming to my aid. I don’t know what would have happened if I’d had to wait to be found by someone else. No one was expecting me anywhere yesterday.” She threw me a big smile.
I was glad of her reaction. She hadn’t become angry that the woman who had called her out of the blue had also broken into her home. I was relieved and hoped that the interview might be fruitful.
Given the fact that I was now shouting around the security officer, he moved and let me in the room. I sat down in a chair far enough away from Mariel that I couldn’t be accused of tampering with her medical equipment in any way. “I’m so glad we finally get to talk,” I said honestly.
Her color looked good. She was wearing a breathing tube inserted into her nose, and she had the typical monitors hooked up to her finger and arm.
She smiled. “Well, after all the build-up and excitement, I’m afraid that I’m going to disappoint you terribly. I don’t know anything about my sister’s death.” Her pale face looked wan. I knew that part of the issue was that she wasn’t wearing make-up today, but she still looked older and more fragile than her 52 years.
I took a deep breath. “Let’s start from the beginning. I talked to some of the neighbors who indicated that your sister had a large influx of cash those last few months. Did you notice that too?”
Mariel fidgeted in the bed. I wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or the wires crossing her. “I did. She went from having just enough to having lots more than she needed. New cars, new boat, all the trappings of suburban life. She wouldn’t tell me where she got it or how much it was. So after that, I just chose not to ask. I figured that she would tell me if she wanted me to know.” The woman dabbed at her eye with the corner of the sheet. I felt sorry for her. I didn’t have any siblings, but I could imagine what
Many of my friends had taken lucrative jobs outside of Capital City. A few stayed in this area, but they were either unemployed, like I had been, or working normal hours that allowed them to stay out past 9 at night. As a result, I’d felt that my social life had dwindled to a few events a month, rather than its former glory of parties every night. I wondered if this meant that I was growing up.
The cafeteria was on the ground floor, so I descended and loaded up on the biggest cup of coffee I could find. The brew was nothing like Land’s coffee. I didn’t know the food truck’s blend, which was another secret that Land was keeping. I wished that my aunt had found someone who was more forthcoming, but at the same time, she’d found a great chef who was punctual and rarely missed a day. I couldn’t fault his work ethic, even if he was taciturn.
I checked my watch and found that nearly 30 minutes had passed. I made it back to the room, and a woman was in the room along with the promised guard outside the room.
I stopped at the door and gave him a big smile. “Detective Danvers told me that Mariel was here. We go way back.”
“You’re not on the list,” he said. He didn’t bother to check any papers, so either it was a very short list, or he told that to everyone.
“You can come in with me,” I replied, thinking that my openness might get me entrance.
He shook his head. “Sorry, you’ll have to get on the list, and then you can visit.”
I was growing frustrated. I wanted to find out what was going on before the police got ahead of me. I leaned around the officer and smiled at the woman in the bed. “Mariel, it’s Maeve. How are you feeling?”
Mariel sat up in bed. “Maeve Kinkaid? Honey, I am glad to see you. I wanted to thank you so much for coming to my aid. I don’t know what would have happened if I’d had to wait to be found by someone else. No one was expecting me anywhere yesterday.” She threw me a big smile.
I was glad of her reaction. She hadn’t become angry that the woman who had called her out of the blue had also broken into her home. I was relieved and hoped that the interview might be fruitful.
Given the fact that I was now shouting around the security officer, he moved and let me in the room. I sat down in a chair far enough away from Mariel that I couldn’t be accused of tampering with her medical equipment in any way. “I’m so glad we finally get to talk,” I said honestly.
Her color looked good. She was wearing a breathing tube inserted into her nose, and she had the typical monitors hooked up to her finger and arm.
She smiled. “Well, after all the build-up and excitement, I’m afraid that I’m going to disappoint you terribly. I don’t know anything about my sister’s death.” Her pale face looked wan. I knew that part of the issue was that she wasn’t wearing make-up today, but she still looked older and more fragile than her 52 years.
I took a deep breath. “Let’s start from the beginning. I talked to some of the neighbors who indicated that your sister had a large influx of cash those last few months. Did you notice that too?”
Mariel fidgeted in the bed. I wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or the wires crossing her. “I did. She went from having just enough to having lots more than she needed. New cars, new boat, all the trappings of suburban life. She wouldn’t tell me where she got it or how much it was. So after that, I just chose not to ask. I figured that she would tell me if she wanted me to know.” The woman dabbed at her eye with the corner of the sheet. I felt sorry for her. I didn’t have any siblings, but I could imagine what
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