Part of me knew I was babbling. That would have been the part that saw Uncle Henry and Aunt Vi exchange looks, and the part that noticed Uncle Henry helping me up out of my chair and Aunt Vi escorting me to the guest room.
"You need to rest. You've had a bad shaking," she said. "Why don't you lie down for a while? You went to the police. It's all over now." She sat me down on the bed.
"I'll rest for a minute," I said, easing my head onto the pillow. She covered me with the quilt. "Aunt Vi?" I curled up and pulled the quilt closer. Weights seemed tied to my eyelids.
"Yes, child?"
"Paul knew Valerie, I'm certain of it. I've been so afraid he had something to do with her death – afraid because, you know, Delores would be upset."
Aunt Vi sat on the edge of the bed and stroked my hair. "He was here all Saturday afternoon and evening until Juliet phoned, except for an errand he ran for Henry. Don't bother yourself about that."
"But he didn't come here after he took me to my car at the airport when he dropped me off. I watched him go up Avenue D. He didn't turn."
I expect he went to the grocery store. That's where he was headed when I talked to him after Juliet called."
"Oh. Aunt Vi? Paul seems to have some connection with Greg, too."
"He'll have to tell you that, dear. All I know is there's no love lost between them."
She closed the drapes against the lightening of the sky and shut the door behind her as she left. I reviewed the things I knew, and tried to sort through the pieces, but my mind kept drifting. It didn't matter.
It was over.
I let go and drifted toward sleep.
Chapter Twenty
My first conscious thoughts puzzled over why I was at my aunt and uncle's, in bed, in my clothes, with daylight illuminating the drapes from behind. Not knowing what day it was also bothered me-along with some other vague worry I couldn't name.
I washed my face, went into the kitchen, and mumbled a greeting to Aunt Vi and Uncle Henry, who were finishing lunch. I sat, lump-like, in my usual spot at the kitchen table. Before I knew it a steaming cup of tea appeared in front of me. I inhaled the sweet perfume of the Earl Grey, and sipped it slowly.
"Did you get enough sleep?" Aunt Vi asked.
"I think so." I yawned. "What day is this?"
"Friday, love. Are you hungry?" I shook my head. "Juliet called a little while ago. She wanted to know where Delores is."
"I don't know." The events of the previous evening and early morning sorted themselves out in my mind. "She didn't tell me her plans for today. Juliet's sure she's not somewhere at Copper Creek?"
"Yes, she said she's been missing all morning."
"She's not in her house?"
"I think they checked. Everyone's worried."
I thought again, sipping more tea. Coffee would kick-start me faster. My head was still woolly. Perhaps she had gone to the sheriff's office. But she'd told me to go. I couldn't think of any possible explanation. I'd have to look for myself.
I left my aunt and uncle's, promising I would call them should I learn anything, and drove home. I brushed my teeth, changed clothes and drove to Copper Creek. Juliet watched my approach from the office window, her arms folded and a frown on her face.
"Have a nice nap, sleeping beauty?" she snapped as I walked in.
"Gee, I'm sorry, Juliet." I laid on the sarcasm. "I was up late and then at the Sheriff's Office at four this morning."
"Delores is missing, and no one knows where she is. You saw her last. Where is she?"
"Give me the key to her house."
She scowled, but went to her desk and got the ring of keys from the top drawer. "I already checked. She's not there." She threw them at me and missed.
"Well, I'm going to check anyway." I plucked the key ring off the floor.
Delores's home, a single-story modern rambler at the far edge of the Copper Creek property, was quiet and tidy. Someone had washed the breakfast dishes and lined them up to dry on the drain board – most likely Delores. Mail was stacked neatly on the desk. I went into each of the two spare bedrooms and checked the closets – why, I couldn't say. My mind offered numerous possibilities I didn't want to consider, even briefly. I found nothing there. I checked the bathroom, then went to Delores's bedroom. The bed was made, so I had no way of telling if it had been slept in or not. Just to say I had, I looked under it, found a pencil, but that was all. On the vanity in her bathroom stood several prescription bottles, a plastic pill case, and a small zippered kit of some sort. The pill case had fourteen little compartments, with the day of the week and AM or PM printed on each lid. The lid of the Friday morning compartment was up and it was empty, so she had taken this morning's dose of whatever. I peeked inside a closed compartment and counted six pills. I had no idea she took so much medication.
The zippered case contained a log book, and two small items, neither bigger than the palm of my hand. The wider of the two was equipped with an LED screen and a couple of buttons. I looked in the log book. It was filled in, but not copiously, with a range of numbers in the low one-hundreds. The column that caught my attention was the one titled, "Additional Blood Glucose." Evidently, Delores was diabetic. I never knew. From the number of other pills in her case, I guessed there were other health issues, too. The labels on her prescription bottles didn't tell me anything except the name of the drug, how much to take, and when. If I had any medical background I could have guessed what they were for. It distressed me that I'd always thought she was healthy. Why didn't I know? I left the house, locking the door behind me, and returned to Juliet.
"I didn't know Delores was diabetic," I said.
"Yeah. She has to eat regularly, and she takes a bunch of pills for that and other things."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"What? You want a rundown on everybody's medical history?"
We glared at each other until I broke the standoff.
"It is not my fault she's missing. I'm trying to help. Where are the guys?"
Her expression didn't soften. "They're on the afternoon schedule."
The hardly informative answer meant they were anywhere on the property working on whatever projects Eric has assigned to them.
I tracked them down. They were worried, but had no clues. I talked to the instructors, something Juliet hadn't done. Only Anne had seen Delores. She'd driven out close to nine o'clock. I went to Miguel and Maria's house, but only Miguel was there and I'd just talked to him.
"Maria went to the store," he said.
"Have her call me when she gets home."
There was nothing more I could do at Copper Creek, so I went home and called Detective Thurman.
"Delores is missing," I told him without preamble.
"Since what time?" he asked.
"A little before nine this morning. She was at the office early. One of the instructors saw her drive out."
"She hasn't been gone that long. She'll be back when she's finished running whatever errands she's got."