“So how does that play into Mia’s death and Abby’s disappearance?”
“I’m not sure. But I’m beginning to put some things together.”
“Like what?”
Mars walked me to my kitchen door and hugged me like he didn’t want to let me go. “It might be better if you don’t know.” He turned and walked into the night.
Had Abby told Mars something that he hadn’t shared with me? I wasn’t too concerned about him until that moment. It wasn’t typical of Mars. That hug had told me more than his words had. Just like Wesley and Tilly, I found myself hoping everything would be cleared up when they found Abby.
I locked up the house and went to bed but tossed, wondering what Wolf had discovered. Had they found Abby? Was she in hiding because she was afraid or because she had murdered Mia, and stuffed her in the freezer?
And how was Charlene?
* * *
At six in the morning, I turned on the local news show, hoping to hear that Abby had been found. I was disappointed when the anchor announced that police were currently investigating a person of interest. What did that mean? Was Abby dead or alive? Was she the person of interest?
Reluctantly, I gave up any hope of sleeping and ambled downstairs to make tea. While I waited for the water to boil, I looked through Tilly’s recipes for an apple tartlet I had seen.
Inspired, I mixed the dough and placed it in the fridge according to the instructions. I chopped nuts and sliced apples while it chilled. Still in my bathrobe, I preheated the oven and rolled out the dough. I sprinkled it with nuts and lay the apple slices on top in overlapping circles. The recipe made four tartlets. They looked too pretty to eat.
I half expected Nina or Mars to drop by for breakfast, but neither of them appeared. After a quick shower during which I took care not to aim the water at the spot I had covered, I pulled on a teal cotton sweater, light brown pants, and a scarf that contained shades of teal and brown. I slid the apple tarts out of the oven and left them to cool while I took Daisy for a walk around our neighborhood. It was remarkably quiet and peaceful—so much so that it was hard to believe Mia had been murdered and stuffed into a freezer and Charlene had been badly beaten.
On our way back, I stopped by Natasha’s house. She answered the door in a flowing icy-green bathrobe. She looked like a 1950s starlet who had just stepped off the screen. Except for her eyes. They were tired.
“How is Charlene?”
“Why is there an entire cake in my fridge?”
“Charlene first.”
She cast a glance at Daisy. “I would invite you in if you didn’t have the furball with you.”
“The furball and I don’t need to come in. How is Charlene?”
“They don’t expect her to survive. She has a broken leg, a broken rib, a bruised kidney, and a bruised liver. Her hands and elbows are raw from trying to drag herself across the ground. The doctor says she was bleeding internally and had so much blood loss that it was a miracle she was still alive and managed to make it to my house.”
“No!” I cried. “I’m so sorry, Natasha.”
“Isn’t it odd to feel such devastation over the impending death of someone I didn’t even know? If I hadn’t sent off the DNA swab, she would have died and I would have gone on with my life, never having realized that my sister was in a nearby hospital taking her final breaths.” Natasha broke into tears. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed.
I hugged her. There wasn’t anything else I could do.
When she recovered, she sniffled and wiped her face. “I’ve called in to work and asked them to run some of my old shows. You know, The Best of Natasha or some such. I plan to stay with Charlene to the tragic end. It’s the least I can do for the only sibling I didn’t know I had.”
It occurred to me that she might have other half siblings who had not submitted their DNA. But it didn’t seem like the right time to say that. “Of course. If there’s anything I can do, I hope you’ll let me know.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “You can find the horrible person who did this to her.”
She was serious. “I have nothing to go on. Did the doctors say what they think happened?”
“When she dies, it will be a homicide. Someone beat her very badly. She has swelling on the brain. She’s so dehydrated that they couldn’t believe that she was still alive.” Natasha gripped my arm. “She came to me, Sophie! She needed help and she trusted me because we’re blood. That . . . that means everything in the world to me. She came looking for me because she knew I would help her.”
“You’re a great sister, Natasha. I’m certain Charlene would tell you that if she could. Maybe through the fog she realizes that you’re by her side at the hospital, looking out for her. I hope you’ll keep me posted.”
“Find him, please. Find the person who beat up my sister.”
I nodded. What else could I do? Daisy and I walked down the stairs and went home. I didn’t know anything except Charlene’s name. I had no idea where she lived or what she did for a living or whether she was married or had children. I had nowhere to start.
After feeding Daisy and Mochie, I packed the apple tarts and used them as an excuse to pop in on Tilly.
Tilly seemed glad to see me. She ushered me into the family room. I said hi to Stu Jericho, who hovered around. I was glad Mars had mentioned him to me. He looked like trouble.
Wesley waved at me but kept his eyes on the news program on TV. “Enough of this,” Wesley barked. Looking at me he asked, “Have you heard from Wolf?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“For cryin’ out loud. You heard him. He promised to keep us informed. The news said they have a person of interest. Do you know who that is?”
He was extremely agitated. As calmly as I could, I said, “I’m sorry. I don’t have any information.”
Stu Jericho watched me. Shivers ran down my back. I tried not to show my discomfort.
To break away, I walked to the rear of the huge room and placed the apple tarts on the kitchen counter.
Unfortunately, Jericho followed me. “I’m sure Mars has explained the situation to you,” he said. “Clearly, Wesley’s career can be ruined if aspersions are cast upon him. More than one politician has suffered from false accusations. People only hear the bad and never pay attention when the politician is later cleared of any wrongdoing.”
He fixed those brown eyes on me. “I hear you’re good friends with Wolf.”
I didn’t respond. He was clearly getting at something, and I was certain I wanted no part of it.
“Maybe you could act as our liaison with Wolf. Find out what’s going on and report back to us?”
Why wasn’t he asking Mars? Where was Mars, anyway? He had warned me about Jericho. Was that coloring my impression of the man? “I appreciate the importance to Wesley, but Wolf does his job well. I seriously doubt he’ll share anything with me that he wouldn’t tell Wesley.”
I would have sworn that Jericho’s eyes were boring into me.
Happily, Tilly charged toward us. “What did you bring? Oh, the tarts! We have to try them.”
She chattered as she did what she loved. Tilly was definitely a domestic diva. “You won’t believe what happened, Sophie. With all this business about Abby going on, it’s sort of getting short shrift around here.” Tilly looked over at me. “The station that hosts Natasha’s show wants me to take it over!”