Death of a Hot Chick (33 page)

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~

Kaye had claimed the mini-lobby closest to
the emergency room. “Lizzie’s awake, but they’re doing tests,” she
said.

“
Tests?” I asked. “That doesn’t sound
good.”

“
They assured me it’s the usual
evaluation when breathing has been assisted. They’ve got the whole
team to check out her heart, her brain, her lungs, and maybe
something else. They asked if she had insurance.”

“
Oh.” Who would know if Lizzie had
insurance? Maybe Medicare. She was old.

“
I told anyone who would listen that
they need to have a guard. I wanted to sit right beside her bed,
but they kept telling me hospital security could handle
it.”

Inside the hospital, with the lights, the
polished floors, an occasional nurse or doctor passing—it all
looked so normal. So much like things were not dissolving. What had
happened to me? Shock? Hysteria?

I answered Kaye. “Hospital security.
Yeah.”

Gregory said, “We got into the hospital
without any problem. Just how secure is that?”

“
Right now, with two doctors and three
nurses and an orderly in there, at least the killer would not be
among friends. I had to admit that it was unlikely anyone could
kill her and get away, so that’s all we have got at the
moment.”

Finally, I contributed to a logical
conversation. “Would that stop a determined killer?”

“
They didn’t listen to that argument
either.”

We heard a door somewhere slam and running
feet, Gregory said, “Here come the police.”

Except, it wasn’t. Teddy trotted into view,
wearing a sports bra, bicycle shorts, and huge athletic shoes, her
tape recorder in hand. “Who was it? Lizzie?” she asked. “Was it the
killer? Who did it?”

“
Yes, yes, and don’t know,” Kaye
answered.

Gregory said, “What’s the get-up? You’re
into all-night biking?”

Teddy sat down beside us. “Hey, protective
coloring for research on tomorrow’s Teddy Tonight.” She punched a
button on her recorder and started talking. “I’m in Smith Harbor
Hospital with Cyd Denlinger, Kaye Schroeder, and Gregory Norris.
May I ask all of you a few questions?”

“
You remember my name, do you?”
Gregory said. “So what were you researching for
tomorrow?”

“
High school wasn’t that long ago,”
she replied. “Was that a yes? Or a yes from all of you?”

“
Teddy, do you have to shove that
thing in our faces right now?” I asked.

“
It’s news,” Kaye said. “How about a
nice calm discussion?”

I shrugged as Teddy glanced my way. Gregory
said, “Why not?”

“
Nothing like cooperation among
friends,” Teddy said. “I just heard the state patrol all-points
bulletin describing a car of a person of interest in an attempted
drowning at Smith Harbor Marina. I understand the alleged victim
lives on a boat in the marina. Could you tell me more?” Then, after
pushing a button on her mike, she said, “Hey, this recording gets
archived. Can we be official here?”

After she pushed the button again, I
answered. “Her name is Lizzie, but you know that.”

“
And her last name is Howe, Elizabeth
Howe, nicknamed Lizzie. Is that right?” Teddy asked.

“
You know her last name?” I asked.
“Nobody knows Lizzie’s last name.”

“
Obviously you’ve done a bit of
research since we last talked to you,” Kaye said, “I find that, let
me say....”

Kaye didn’t finish her sentence, but
despite a feeling that my head didn’t belong to the rest of my
body, years of sisterhood clued me in on her thought processes.
Something like,
“...just in case she gets
killed, you’ll be prepared.”

“
How did Lizzie end up in the water?”
Teddy asked.

“
Well, duh,” I said. “The killer
dumped her in and held her under.”

Kaye added, “Then Cyd jumped in and chased
him away.”

“
Not before he tried to hold me under,
too. You chased him away with your honking, and yelling, and
lights.”

Kaye turned to Teddy. “Then Cyd kept diving
until she brought Lizzie to the surface. Gregory pulled her out
and.... Why were you there Gregory?”

“
Finley told him we’d be there. At
least, that’s what he said.”

“
Hey, I’m the good guy here. Right,
Cyd?”

Teddy didn’t give me a chance to respond.
“So what happened after Gregory pulled Lizzie out of the
water?”

We told her more than she could possibly
want to know, about chasing down a car, about the ambulance, the
police, and Dad all showing up after Granny’s collision with the
killer, and how Dad left with Doug to chase down a paper with the
license number.

Teddy said, “What is Lizzie’s outlook for
recovery?”

“
They’re just doing routine checking
to be sure she doesn’t have any problems. She needed help.
Gregory....” Kaye paused. “What did you do, Gregory?”

“
Pulmonary assist.”

“
Got it.” Teddy started dictating
story into her cell phone while the rest of us tried to be quiet.
We didn’t have to try very hard. I was rather enjoying the fact
that Gregory was holding my hand. He squeezed it a time or two and
I might have smiled at him if I’d had the energy. Teddy finished
relaying all the facts to someone at the newspaper. “I’m staying
here for a while,” she said. “There might be more to this
story.”

We’d been waiting almost another hour before
a nurse came out. “You’re here for Elizabeth Howe?” she asked. “One
of you may see the patient for five minutes.”

Kaye stood. “Cyd, you go. Ask her....”

“
I know,” I said.

When I entered the room, Lizzie lay on the
bed, a thin blanket pulled up to her chin. “This ain’t half bad,”
she said. “Lots comfier, especially after all those people left.”
She wiggled her head on the pillows. “They don’t tell me nothing.
Like, why am I here. Do you know?” she asked.

“
They thought it was best for you to
be checked out for any problems. To be sure nothing was wrong, you
know. To be sure your lungs were working and all that.”

“
I thought I was so damn healthy. What
was it? Heart attack?”

“
No. You don’t remember? You were
nearly drowned by the killer.”

“
What killer?”

“
Nicole’s killer. Remember, we thought
he’d come Sunday night, but he didn’t.”

“
Well, sure. I was at your sister’s
house. Now, she’s got a nice house and all, but she keeps it too
hot.”

“
But last night,” I said. “I stayed
with you and the killer came in and....”

“
The killer didn’t come. I was at your
sister’s house.”

“
You don’t remember somebody dragging
you out of your boat and throwing you in the water and holding your
head under?”

“
If I don’t have a heart attack or
something, why don’t they let me go? They don’t even have a TV in
this room.”

Was Lizzie being her usual, devious self?
“If I tell everyone, the newspapers and the cops that you don’t
remember, will you tell me?”

“
Who’s paying for this hospital room?
I’m not rich, you know.”

I figured I could be devious too. “If we
find the killer, he’ll pay. He put you in here.”

“
Oh, hell. That means I’ll have to pay
for myself.” Lizzie threw back the cover. “Tell them to bring my
clothes. I’m going home.”

“
They want to observe you over night.
Besides, your clothes are wet.”

“
Then I really was in the water.”
After I nodded, she leaned back and pulled her cover up. “I wish I
could remember. I’d get that....are you allowed to swear in the
hospital?”

I swooped to hug her. “Oh, Lizzie,” I said.
“I’ll bring your clothes tomorrow. That is, later today, since it
must be tomorrow already. In the meantime, you may see a police
person or one of us guarding you.”

“
A guard? What for?”

“
Just in case the killer tries
again.”

“
You’re telling me the truth? I really
was in the water?” she asked again.

I nodded. Back in the lobby, I walked over
to the group, waiting anxiously. I shook my head. “She doesn’t
remember anything. Not since staying at Kaye’s last night.”

“
Then she didn’t tell you who tried to
drown her?”

“
That’s a rhetorical question, I
hope.”

Teddy said, “At the boat, she was
unconscious? Or did she wake up? She didn’t say anything then?”

“
No, nothing. She blinked her eyes,
that was all.”

“
And Cyd, you didn’t see
anything?”

“
A couple of blobs going off the boat.
Then I was under water. I felt someone’s head.” I turned on Kaye.
“You got the best view, of him running away.”

“
I have to admit, he didn’t look like
Mr. Joline.” She hesitated. “It’s possible...it must have been
Rolf.” She shook her head.

“
Rolf threatened me this morning. That
is, yesterday morning,” I added.

“
He did? We didn’t tell Doug that.”
She started punching numbers, then did a bunch of yakking I
couldn’t concentrate on.

After she hung up, she said, “They traced
the license plate number and found the car abandoned. It belongs to
an elderly couple on a cruise. It was parked in front of their
house, but it disappeared on Sunday. Neighbors noticed but didn’t
report it.”

Chapter 28

Late Tuesday morning, August 1

I knew I’d bounce back with three, maybe
four hours of sleep. When Kaye said, “You’ll come to my house for
the rest of the night,” I didn’t argue. When I woke some time
later, the sun was glowing at the corners of the drapes in her
spare bedroom, and my mouth felt like it was full of seaweed.
Probably the smell from my unwashed body. Right after I flushed the
toilet, Kaye popped in.

“
You had two visitors already, but I
told them to come back later. One was Gregory. The other one was
Arthur Estep. You know who....”

“
Pop. Why? How’d he know I was
here?”

“
Who knows? He probably followed
Gregory. Anyway, he came about the title to
Snapdragon
. He has your check ready. I alerted
your lawyer, but naturally, he’ll hold up for your personal
instructions.”

“
Oh.”

“
And Gregory came by three times,
actually.”

“
I was sleeping
that
hard?”

“
They did give you a sedative at the
hospital. Don’t you remember? They wanted you to sleep for hours,
and you did.”

“
But it’s still today, isn’t
it?”

“
Did you just listen to what you
said?”

“
Tuesday. It’s still
Tuesday?”

“
Yes.”

“
And they still don’t know who killed
Nicole, right?”

“
Come have breakfast. Or, in this
case, a late brunch.”

I didn’t bother with a shower, or do
anything more than brush my teeth, stick my feet into a pair of
Kaye’s slippers, and push the hair out of my face with my hand.

Kaye put food in front of me. I ate. When
I’d finished my breakfast, I still felt groggy. I put my elbow on
the table, leaned my chin on one fist, and closed my eyes.

In the distance, I heard bells, but didn’t
connect it until Kaye said, “Oops, there’s the doorbell.” I didn’t
open my eyes.

So, it was a surprise when someone kissed me
on the cheek. I opened my eyes and looked up.

“
Hi, CeeCee,” Gregory said. “They must
have given you some kind of knock-out medicine. Don’t tell me you
didn’t get enough sleep yet.”

“
Um,” I said as he sat beside me. I
didn’t feel at all kissable—not in my borrowed PJs, my hair a mess,
and reeking of tidal flats. “Where’s Kaye?”

“
I know exactly what you’re thinking,”
Gregory said. I shook my head. Gregory continued. “You’re not all
dolled up, you have sleep in your eyes, and you’re not too alert,
and I turn up, right?”

“
No,” I said, although that was
precisely what I was thinking.

“
Okay, how about, your boat is sunk,
and you need a job.”

That was even closer. I shook my head.
“Nothing.”

“
And you’re mad because I called you
CeeCee again.”

He was right about everything, but I didn’t
admit it. “The killer got away.”

“
I was so sure it was Mr. Joline,”
Kaye said. She added, “I’ll be in the next room if anyone wants
me,” and left.

Now I was worried. My sister and chaperone
had left me to Gregory. “I’d better go get a shower, and all that
stuff you said about being dolled up.” I started to rise, but
Gregory put his hand on my arm.

“
You know, I wouldn’t mind waking up
every morning to see you looking exactly like you look this
minute.”

“
Gregory,” I said shaking my
head.

“
Okay, I didn’t say that. Forgive me.
I...I don’t know, but...just accept that I’m trying to remember
that I lost, and that’s the end of it. But I am waiting for you to
take your test and start working for me as a certified captain. I
think you need to add CPR yet. Am I right?”