Doreen’s lips pinched, as she realized who he was talking about. She nodded. “I did hear that they were trying to get that stopped.”
He laughed. “How do you stop something like that?” he asked. “Those old people can be a menace.” He looked at his lawn mower, back at her, and said, “I don’t know what else I can help you with. There wasn’t anybody in particular in her world. Nobody could have passed her that poison on a regular basis.” He paused. “I didn’t see her all the time. I saw her maybe once a month, but that was it. I should have gone more often.”
“No, understood,” she stated. And slowly, feeling depressed, she lifted a hand and said, “Thanks for the talk.” She gave him a weak smile, as she prepared to leave.
He nodded. “Anytime you want to talk about something other than my aunt,” he offered, “just give me a call.” He flashed that boyish grin again. “Always happy to go out with a beautiful woman.”
Startled, she looked up at him again, but he had already turned on the lawn mower and was back to mowing the lawn. She got into her car and slowly drove home. When she walked inside again, all the animals were barking, meowing, and caterwauling like something crazy had happened.
She stared at them and asked, “What’s going on? What’s going on?”
They all raced to the back door of the kitchen. Even Thaddeus was already there.
So she opened the back door and let them out, and they all ran to the river, even Goliath. She was right behind them and then stopped and stared, as they all halted right at her property line and looked down the pathway toward Nan’s place. They may have stilled in this spot, but they were still trying to tell Doreen something.
Loudly.
She frowned and looked at them, not sure what was going on here. “Okay, let’s go.”
And together, they fast-walked down the pathway toward Rosemoor; only they picked up speed the farther and farther away from her house they got, and thus they got closer and closer to Nan’s. By the time they turned the corner, Mugs flat-out ran to Nan’s patio. So did Goliath. That was a first.
Thaddeus was perched on her shoulder, looking at her, crying out, “Come on, come on, come on.”
Doreen shook her head and picked up her pace. She didn’t know what exactly was going on, but something was. And she dashed to a stop at the lawn outside Nan’s patio. She found Nan sitting there, her eyes closed.
She walked nearer cautiously and asked, “Nan, are you asleep?”
When Nan didn’t answer, Doreen stepped onto the small patio and reached out a hand to check Nan’s pulse, while noting her breathing. Thankfully she had a good solid pulse, but she didn’t appear to even be here. Doreen reached out a hand to gently stroke her hair, trying not to disturb her too much, in case she was in a deep sleep. When she withdrew her hand, it came away sticky and wet.
Doreen stared in shock at the blood. She stepped around her grandmother and took a look at her surroundings. On the ground behind her, on the patio, was a shattered vase.
Somebody had attacked her grandmother.
Now she had to, one, get help; two, call Mack; and three, find out who had a reason for hurting the most important person in Doreen’s life.
Chapter 10
As soon as Mack heard of Nan’s attack, he turned on the flashing lights on his vehicle and exceeded the speed limit getting to Rosemoor, getting there seconds before the ambulance did. Mack hugged Doreen as the two of them oversaw the EMTs working on Nan. She had been unconscious when Doreen had arrived, but Nan was now alert and arguing with the medical staff. She very loudly proclaimed that she wasn’t going to any hospital, that Rosemoor had nurses on staff here. There was no talking her out of that.
“She’s raising her voice, so she must be feeling all right now,” Mack teased, giving Doreen a squeeze.
Doreen looked up at Mack, still crying softly. “Or she’s all bluster.” She shook her head. “You know how she is. She doesn’t complain about her own health. She’s too boisterous about the wrong things.”
Mack nodded, keeping a tight hold on Doreen. Once the EMTs declared Nan out of the woods, Mack and Darren seated Nan and Doreen inside Nan’s little living room, with several Rosemoor residents gathered around. Mack and Darren represented the local authorities. Mack had been assigned as the lead investigator on this violent attack of Nan. In general, Mack served as Doreen’s “handler,” when it came to cold cases. However, this was an active case and an important one to all concerned.
Darren had been assigned to assist Mack with this case involving Nan probably because, as Richie’s nephew, Darren could hopefully handle Richie, who had a close relationship with Nan and could be his own handful as well. Both officials were talking to various residents of Rosemoor to see if they’d heard anything, since Nan’s attacker had broken a vase over Nan’s head. Somebody had to have heard something. Except Rosemoor was a senior living center. Unfortunately that could mean a lot of the residents were hard of hearing.
Mack shook his head, took a sly glance at Nan and Doreen, to see how they were holding up.
Richie sat quietly beside Nan, and Doreen held her grandmother’s hand gently in hers.
“I’m fine, you know,” Nan stated robustly.
Doreen wasn’t so sure about that. She certainly hadn’t been fine when Doreen had first found Nan.
At that look on her face though, Nan leaned over, patted her granddaughter’s hand. “I know you’ll worry anyway, no matter what I say.” She sighed. “But it’ll be all right.”
“I’m not so sure it is all right,” Doreen murmured. “You say that, but there’s no doubt that somebody came up behind you and hit you.”
“I was considering that too,” Nan noted in a quiet tone. She looked over at Richie and asked, “Do you think it’s because of our inquiries?”
At that, Doreen winced. “You know what? It quite possibly is.” At that, both Nan and Richie brightened. She stared at them in astonishment. “That should make you more worried, not pleased.”
“Nonsense,” Nan argued, with a wave of her hand. “It means somebody is getting nervous.”
Doreen stared at the two of them, as they shared a conspiratorial look, with almost glee on their faces. “If that’s the case,” Doreen stated sternly, “you need to back off immediately. Both of you.” She glared at Nan and Richie.
They turned astonished gazes toward her, glaring right back.
Doreen raised both her hands in frustration. “I can’t have either of you getting hurt.”
“Why not?” Nan asked, narrowing her gaze at a granddaughter. “You get hurt all the time.”
She stared, nonplussed. What could she say to that?
“And you know how Mack feels about that too,” Nan added in a gruff voice.
Without Doreen realizing it, Mack had come up behind her, and he added, “Yes, you know exactly how I feel about that, don’t you?” he asked Doreen, his voice hard. “And you ignore me too.”
She turned toward him and glared. “Surely you’re not condoning that these two should continue their investigation?”
He stared at her, frowning, and looked from one Rosemoor resident to the other. “Just what investigation are you talking about?”