“About the same as usual,” Helen Louise replied. “Do you have any update on Alex? I’ve been praying that whatever treatment they’re doing is already making a difference.”
“I talked to Sean a few hours ago,” I said. “Alex is home now. Sean seems to think she has improved. She slept for over twelve hours, he said.”
“I’m so glad,” Helen Louise said. “I’ve been so worried about her. I tried talking to her one day last week, but she got upset, almost hysterical, and it was all I could do to calm her down again. She kept talking about Rosie being colicky. She seemed so worried that the baby wasn’t getting enough to eat. It’s a good thing Sean acted when he did.”
“I’ve been worried, too. I would never tell Sean this, of course, but I had hoped he would do it sooner, before Alex got quite this bad,” I said. “But I think she finally frightened him badly enough he did what had to be done.”
“To be fair, I don’t know that Sean was thinking all that clearly himself,” Helen Louise said. “From what I gathered, he wasn’t getting more than a few hours’ sleep a night. That kind of sleep deprivation can wreak havoc with your thinking processes.”
“Yes, you’re right,” I said. “He was not in the best shape himself last night when I got there. Thank the Lord that Azalea’s cousin’s daughter Cherelle was looking for a job. Sean says she’s great with Rosie.”
“I believe that’s Lurene’s daughter,” Helen Louise said. “She worked for me for one summer a few years ago, and I was sorry when she left. Hard worker, always on time, learned quickly. But she left when school started again. She had saved enough money to get her through the school year, and she wanted to concentrate on her education.”
“She seems to have a way with babies,” I said, “and for that I’m powerfully grateful.”
“Change of subject here,” Helen Louise said. “What’s the latest on Gerry Albritton’s murder? I’ve been itching to call you all day, but we were too busy.”
I brought her up-to-date on my discovery of Gerry’s house purchases, my conversations with Kanesha and Melba, and my spotting Jincy Bruce coming out of the building where Jared Carter had his dental practice. I did not mention my conversation with Milton Harville. He had spoken to me in confidence, and I didn’t feel comfortable sharing that with anyone, not even Helen Louise, until Milton either told Kanesha about it or gave me permission to tell her.
If Milton had talked to Kanesha, the investigation might soon end. If Kanesha determined that Tammy was the killer, that is. I hoped Milton had made the call, but I had no way of knowing unless he told me himself or Kanesha shared the news. I considered going by the pharmacy the next day to check in on Milton. He would surely tell me then, unless he was afraid to face me after his confession today.
What would I do if I found out he hadn’t called Kanesha?
TWENTY-FIVE
Wrestling with that question and the ethical dilemma it posed kept me tossing and turning in the bed for a couple of hours. Diesel, disturbed by my restlessness, meowed a few times and sat by my shoulder. Finally, he jumped off the bed and trotted out of the room. I figured he was going downstairs to visit the kittens and give me time to settle down.
I didn’t want to violate Milton’s confidence, although he had never asked me not to tell anyone else. If Tammy hadn’t killed Gerry, then what she did that night was none of my business. That was a matter for her and Milton to work out. If, however, Tammy had killed Gerry, she should be arrested, and the due process of the law would follow. At least the court might take her long history of addiction issues into account during the trial and particularly the punishment phase.
I finally decided that I would go see Milton again in the morning and talk to him. If he hadn’t called Kanesha, I would urge him to do so. If he refused, then I would have to tell him that I felt I had no choice but to talk to her myself. Unless she told me that she had solved the case and was confident that she had identified the murderer, I would have to reveal what I knew about Tammy.
With that decision made, I was finally able to settle down and go to sleep. When the alarm went off at the usual time the next morning, I woke with a slight headache from the tension in my neck and shoulders. Diesel had returned sometime during the night. He regarded me sleepily when I sat up and turned on the bedside light.
I checked my phone to see if I had missed an announcement for a new video, but I had not. Perhaps the child would appear this morning. I wondered if the app could be set to ping when it started recording, not only when it finished. I would text Frank later to ask. I should have thought of it sooner. If it pinged when it started recording, and I was home, I might be able to get to the door in time to see the child directly.
I could take my time this morning. Normally I would have to get ready for my volunteer day at the Athena Public Library. The library was closed today until after Christmas, however, so I had a free day. I had a few last-minute errands to run, in addition to a stop by the pharmacy to talk to Milton, but I didn’t have to rush out the door as early as I usually did on a Friday.
I pulled on a robe over my gym shorts and T-shirt and headed downstairs for coffee. Azalea would arrive soon to cook breakfast. Besides coffee, I wanted to feed the kittens and take care of their litter boxes right away. Thankful for automatic coffeemakers, I poured myself a mug and doctored it with the usual mix. After a few sips I felt able to face the kittens and their litter boxes.
Ten minutes later I was done with kitten care. Diesel refused to come out of the cage when I finished. I left him with the playful quintet and went to fetch the newspaper. The note I had left last evening remained in place. Back in the kitchen, mug in hand, I ignored the ping from my phone. I was in no hurry to see a video of my bathrobe-clad self.
Azalea arrived soon after, while I was still engrossed in the newspaper—the comics, actually. I was one of the dinosaurs who still enjoyed reading the newspaper in print every morning. I discovered that Azalea already knew about Alex’s progress in the hospital. Sean had told Cherelle, Cherelle had told her mother, and Lurene had told Azalea. The small-town grapevine at work.
Azalea, knowing that I wasn’t working today, made biscuits for breakfast. By the time they were ready, Stewart and Haskell, fresh from the gym, joined me at the breakfast table. I asked Haskell how the investigation was progressing. I knew any information he shared would be only whatever Kanesha approved. I was intrigued when he mentioned that they had a new lead.
“Someone called yesterday to give information that might be pertinent to the case,” Haskell said. “Kanesha will be following up on it today.” He regarded me blandly, and I wondered whether he was referring to Milton Harville, who might have told Kanesha he had talked to me before calling.
“That’s good,” I said. “I hope it will lead to an arrest, if it’s really pertinent.”
“You know my boss,” Haskell said. “She doesn’t get excited over anything. This new lead could be a blind alley. Until she has the autopsy and toxicology reports, she can only do so much.”
“Once she knows how Gerry was killed,” I said, “that should narrow down the suspects, I should think. It would be a matter of who had access to the particular poison used, right?”
Haskell nodded. “We can make an educated guess. A couple of witnesses saw her take the last drink from the glass and her reaction. Whatever it was, it hit her fast.”
Haskell probably knew more than he was telling, but I wouldn’t press for details. If Kanesha hadn’t wanted me to know even as much as he had shared a moment ago, he wouldn’t have told me. My heart sank, however, because it sounded to me like cyanide poisoning, and I remembered Milton’s confession that Tammy knew how to make it herself. Looked to me like the evidence was piling up strongly against her.