A Plain Malice: An Appleseed Creek Mystery (Appleseed Creek Mystery Series Book 4) (33 page)

I closed the door behind me in the hallway so
I could talk to Timothy without waking Becky. Although I didn’t think a foghorn would wake her at that point.

Timothy sat on the carpet.

“Timothy, you’re exhausted. You’re not spending the rest of the night sitting outside of my door.” I gave him my hand and pulled him to standing. His blue eyes were bloodshot, dark circles gathered under his pale lower lashes. I wished I could wipe the dark circles away.

His mouth quirked up in the corner
s. “Is that a direct order?”

My heart melted. “Yes.”

“Hmm… So you can tell me what to do, but I can’t tell you what to do. Is that how it works?”

I
wrapped my arms around his waist. “That’s exactly how it works.”

“And what if I don’t agree to this arrangement?”

“You don’t have any choice.”

I watched him until he disappeared down the staircase.

Becky snored softly as I stepped into the room. I climbed into the bed and lay my head on the pillow, but just as I knew I would be, I was wide awake for the rest of the night.

When I stepped out of my room
a few hours later, Timothy was back at his post.

* * * * *

Because of the late night, I pushed the bus departing time back to noon. For once, no one protested. As consolation, Jane and Ivy had made a lovely brunch for everyone in the dining room.

After my narcissus cocktail, the thought of food mad
e me want to bolt for the closest bathroom. I pulled my Beetle keys out of my jacket pocket as Becky came down the main stairs with her overnight bag.

“I can take Becky home,” Timothy said.

I shook my head. “No. I don’t mind. I have to get away from the smell of that food.”

He smiled. “I can come with you.”

“No. You spent the entire night sleeping on the floor in front of my door. The least you deserve is a decent meal. Stay and eat. You can keep Officer Nottingham company. I think he’s starting to buckle under the relentless questions from the tourists.”

“They are persistent
,” Timothy said.

Becky dropped her bag at my feet and yawned. “I don’t think I have been this tired since I left home and had to get up at four every day to help
Mamm
in the kitchen.” She stretched. “I’m happy to be working the lunch and dinner shifts tonight.”

I picked up her bag and nearly toppled over from the unexpected weight. “Becky, what do you have in here?
Bricks?”

She thought for a moment. “Six pairs of shoes and four outfits, plus makeup and hair products.
The basics.”

“You created a monster,” Timothy said with a smile.

“Don’t blame me for this.” I handed Becky her bag. “I should be back in half hour.”

Timothy frowned.

“I promise. I’m just going to drop her off, feed Gig, and come straight back.”

“
Okay.” He hit a button on his watch. “I’m timing you.”

Becky dozed in the front seat as I drove the few short miles to our rented house. I poked her in the arm. “Wake up
, sleepyhead.”

She muttered about five more minutes. She sounded like me. I was the one who hated mornings.
Finally, I coaxed her out of the car.

A bouquet of
red tulips sat on the cement step in front of our door. I froze.

“Oh look, flowers!” Becky dropped her bag in the middle of the yard, ran, and knelt next to the bouquet.
“I love tulips. You love them too.”

I made a face.

“Oh, right.” She covered her mouth. “You got sick in the tulips yesterday.” She plucked a florist’s card from bouquet. “They’re from Curt,” Becky said. “Do you want me to read the note to you?”

“N—”

“Red, I’m sorry about yesterday. What I told you was the truth. Curt.” She held the card between her thumb and index finger. “What does that mean? What did he tell you?”

“It’s not important.” I gave her a hand up.

“It’s that weird he chose the flowers you got sick on? Someone needs to tell Curt that’s poor etiquette.”

I laughed trying to cover my dismay over the flowers. “What do you know about
etiquette?”

“They had a special about i
t on television a couple of months ago. I know what a fish fork is now. Do you?”

“Nope.”

“Didn’t think so.’

Becky placed the flowers in the kitchen window while I fed Gigabyte
and listened to his grievances about being abandoned for a night. As I left, the cat followed me all the way to front door meowing and snarling. It was going to take more than a can of tuna to make up for this, and he wanted me to know it.

The bus wasn’t leaving the inn for another two hours, and I told Timothy I
’d drop off Becky and return to the inn, but what about Pearl?

I sent him a text before I headed to the county hospital.

Chapter Thirty-
Seven

Inside the hospital, I stepped up to the receptionist. “I’m here to see Pearl Kennerwell.”

She clicked on her keyboard. “She’s in room two eleven.”

I thanked her and headed for the elevator. As soon as I exited the elevator, I saw Officer Riley standing outside of a room to the right. He folded his arms when he saw me coming. “The chief’s in there.”

“Can I go in?”
I asked.

He looped his thumbs through his duty belt.
“Nope.”

“Come on, Riley, maybe I can help. Pearl’s my friend. I helped Chief Rose talk to her before.”

He grunted and opened the door just a crack. Through the narrow opening, I spotted the police chief sitting below an IV drip. The tubing from the drip stopped at the top of Pearl’s thin frail hand. Pearl’s pink nail polish was chipped. It was all I could see of her.

“What is it, Riley?”
the chief asked.

“Humphrey is here, boss,” her officer replied.

A sideways smile spread across the chief’s face. “Send her in.”

Officer Riley pushed the door in
for me. After I cleared the threshold, he closed the door again. I pulled a second chair up close to the bed. Pearl’s eyes were closed, her cheeks sunken in. Her complexion was the color of a cinderblock.

“Don’t worry, Humphrey, she’s still with us,” the chief whispered.

I blinked at her.

“You looked like you were about to pass out.” She eyed me. “You didn’t stop for an Italian sausage on the way here, did you?”

I paled.

Chief Rose touched Pearl’s arm. “Mrs.
Kennerwell, Chloe is here to see you.”

Her eyelids fluttered. “Chloe
, it was so nice of you to come. You’re such a dear, sweet girl. I hope my daughter is just like you.”

“Daughter?”
Chief Rose barked. “I thought you didn’t have any children.”

Pearl squeezed her eyes shut.
A tear leaked out from her right eye. “I did once.”

“Did she die?” The chief asked.

I elbowed the police chief in the side.

“Ouch!” She rubbed the spot on her ribcage.

“Let’s talk about the more recent past. What happened last night? What were you doing in the lounge with the bookend?” Chief Rose asked.

The police chief
didn’t seem to realize she sounded like she was making accusation in the board game Clue. I scanned the tiny hospital room for Colonel Mustard.

“
I’ve had trouble sleeping, and I got up to close the curtains. The moonlight was so bright.” She smiled at me. “When I did, I saw your note slipped under the door.”

My pulse quickened.
“Note? What note?”

Her mouth drooped. “There was a note from you saying
you couldn’t sleep, and if I woke up, I should join you in the lounge for a cup of tea. It sounded like the perfect alternative to tossing and turning in bed all night. I went to the lounge but was surprised it was dark. Your note implied you’d already be there, but I thought maybe you ran up to your room for something. That’s the last thing I remember thinking.”

I bent closer to the bed.
“Pearl, I promise you I didn’t leave you a note.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. “Someone tricked me.”

“Do you still have the note?” the chief asked.

“I took it with me to the lounge because the handwriting
was so nice. I wanted to compliment Chloe on it.”

“That proves it wasn’t Chloe. She has terrible handwriting. She’s from the keyboarding generation,” the police chief said.

“Oh, that’s a shame. It was very pretty.” Pearl moved her hand and flinched as the IV pulled at her skin.

The radio at the police chief’s waist crackled.

Chief Rose stood. “We didn’t see any evidence of a note near where you fell. I suspect whoever attacked you took it with him or her, but I will have my officers search the inn’s lounge again to be certain. I’ve got a callout, so I have to go.” She sidestepped my chair to the door.

Pearl’s eyes slid closed again.

Chief Rose opened the door. “You coming, Humphrey?”

I folded my hand on my lap.
“I’ll stay here a little while longer and visit with Pearl.”

She nodded. “Remember what to do if you learn anything significant.”

“I do.”

She left the room.

“Pearl?” I touched her thumb. “You said before that you and Ruby were alone, that neither of you had children, but now, you mention a daughter. Can you tell me about your daughter?”

Her eyes
slowly opened. “Remember when I told you Ruby made all the hard decisions for me. That was the hardest of all.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was the nineteen fifties, and I was nineteen and pregnant.” She looked out the window, which faced a brick wall. “I wasn’t married. In my time, having a child out of wedlock could ruin a girl. My boyfriend didn’t want anything to do with me or the child. He told me to get rid of the baby.” She shuddered. “Ruby was the only other person I told. We were always close, more like sisters than cousins. She took charge over the situation just like I knew she would. Somehow she convinced both sets of our parents we were accepted to a ladies refinement school in Texas. Our parents gave us money to go because they thought we would return to Mississippi fine, cultured ladies and be able to snatch up rich husbands.

“Instead of going to the school, we went to a little town
outside of Austin. Ruby found a job as a waitress, and I stayed in the tiny apartment we rented until the baby was born. It was the worst time in my life. Ruby delivered the baby, a girl. We agreed before the child was born I would give her up for adoption. Ruby found an orphanage in Austin that would take her.” She cleared her throat.

“When it came time to sign the release papers to give the baby up, I couldn’t do it. I was too weak, but Ruby knew it was the right thing to do
. I had to do it if I ever wanted the chance of finding a good husband. It was the right thing to do for the baby too. What kind of life would I give her on my own? Because I couldn’t do it, Ruby signed her name on the papers and claimed the baby was hers to give up.”

My fingers curled around her thumb. “No wonder you were so close to her.”

She turned her face back to me. “She was so strong. She should be the one still here. I don’t deserve to be. I’m the weak one.”

The door opened and Dr. Bryant strolled inside. “Chloe,” he said with surprise. “I thought I told you
I didn’t want to see you around here anymore.”

“I’m not a patient.
Just visiting a friend.”

He chuckled. “
I suppose that makes it all right. How are you feeling, Mrs. Kennerwell?”

“Poorly,” she said.

He nodded as his finger zoomed around his iPad’s screen. “You had a nasty bump on your head, but I’m happy to tell you there is no sign of concussion. That’s a miracle considering your age and heft of the blunt object. You should be released later today.”

“Will I be able to fly home tomorrow?” she asked.

“Certainly,” he said.

“Thank you, Doctor.”
She closed her eyes.

He smiled and pointed his
iPad at me. “Remember, Chloe, I don’t want to have you as a patient again.”

“I remember.”

He left the room.

“Pearl, I
’m going to have to leave for the inn. It’s that last day of the tour here in Ohio.”

“I understand,” she murmured with her eyes closed.

I released her hand. “Thank you for telling me about Ruby and your daughter.”

Her eyes fluttered opened. “You
’re the first person I’ve told that story to in a very long time. I hope my daughter is like you.”