He got to his feet, and Mugs returned to sit by Doreen again. “I’ll head back inside.” Xavier looked over at her and added, “You know what? Maude said something too.”
“Maude?”
He nodded. “Over at the home. She said something about it served her right.”
And Doreen thought about that. “Yeah, Maude’s had some interesting times in her world.”
“She sure has, and she’s not the nicest of people, so, in a way, I expected that.” Then he stopped and added, “You know something else? One of the women I used to see before Chrissy”—he flushed slightly at that admission—“she worked in the kitchen.”
At that, Doreen just stared.
“I’ve always liked women. Younger or older. It didn’t matter to me.”
“Sure,” she noted quietly. “And, if that were the case, then maybe the younger ones didn’t understand you choosing an older woman.”
“Peggy is maybe sixty-five,” he shared. “No, maybe sixty-eight. I know she was supposed to retire but couldn’t live on the money that she had. Anyway, we had a lot of fun together, yet it wasn’t a serious relationship,” he noted. “Once I met Chrissy, honestly, it was all over for me.”
Right,” Doreen said. “And how did Peggy take it?”
“Terribly, but that was months earlier.”
“Right.”
“Months and months earlier,” he stated, with a wave of his hand. “No way it would have been her.”
Doreen just stared at him for a long moment.
And he added, “At least I hope there’s no way it would have been her.”
“I’ll probably find out soon enough,” Doreen noted. With that, they made their way to the side door.
“I’ll go lie down.”
“Are you all right?” she asked. “You look a bit shaky.”
He stared at her. “You do realize the conversation we’ve just had for the last hour, right? I have a right to be shaky.” And, with that, he stepped smartly inside, leaving her outside with the animals.
She looked down at Mugs and said, “Guess what? We’re heading back to Rosemoor.”
And she and her pets returned to her vehicle.
Chapter 15
Instead of going to Rosemoor directly, Doreen headed home and had lunch and a chance to update her notes. As she sat here wondering about what to do next, yet knowing where she needed to go, Mack called.
“Hey,” he said. “I got this really weird feeling about you.”
“Oh yeah?” she asked brightly. “I hope it was a nice one.”
“It was one that said you’re in trouble,” he noted in a dark voice.
“Oh, those.” She frowned. “You should be used to them by now.”
He snorted. “Fun-nny.”
She grinned. “I’m sitting at home. I just had a sandwich, and now I’m thinking about going to see Nan.”
“So you haven’t done anything wrong? You’re not in any trouble? I won’t get any phone calls saying that you’re doing something illegal, right?”
“Not that I know of,” she replied, with a bright smile. “Why?”
“Oh, just something I was thinking about.”
“In what way?” she asked. “What could I possibly be getting into trouble over?”
“Depends which of these cases you think that you should be investigating,” he replied.
“All of them,” she stated. “Anything new on the young man who died?”
“No.”
“What about the kid who worked at the grocery store with him and was the neighbor to the old man?”
“I talked to the kid today,” Mack admitted. “He was working with the guy, Alan. The kid did know him, and they both worked at the same grocery store, which I find odd. The kid has been living at home with his mom and hasn’t yet moved out, although his mother has told him to several times.”
“Ah, and he hasn’t moved out, why?”
“Because he doesn’t have enough money to live on his own, apparently.”
“Well, I understand that, but, if I can make it, he can make it. He at least has a job. And what was his relationship with this Alan guy like?”
“According to him, it was great. They were buddies.”
“Interesting,” she noted. “Did they hang out much?”
“Yeah, usually at the kid’s place though.”
“Interesting. Any particular vibes going off on this one?”
“Lots,” Mack stated cheerfully, “but none that I want you interfering in.”
She sighed. “That’s fine. I’ll stick to my case then.”
At that, he got suspicious. “The only reason you’d do that is if you thought you had something.”
“I have a couple lines to tug,” she admitted. “But do I have something firm? Nope, no such luck.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. And, by the way, if this guy was friends with Alan, any chance a girl came between them or something?”
“Not that I know of,” he said, “but I can find out today.”
“I suggest you do. Seems to be one of the biggest reasons for a fallout among friends.”
“Yeah, love is one of the big reasons for murder too,” he stated, “but for a young man like this kid, he must have one good reason to throw his life away.”
“And maybe …” She stopped, thought about it a bit. “You know what? Could be something as easy as this Alan guy agreeing with the kid’s mother that she should kick him out of the house. That would upset his lifestyle and the apple cart.”
“Well, I think it would have been a lot more than that,” Mack stated. “Remember. This Alan guy was being poisoned over time.”
“Yeah, I find that interesting,” she noted, “because it’s like Chrissy too.” She paused, then asked, “And how much poison’s required to poison someone over time?”
“I guess it depends on the weight of the person and how soon someone wants to kill them, yet not be obvious that it was murder. Alan just thought he was being poisoned. He didn’t say how long or by whom or in what way.”
“Probably didn’t know any details yet,” Doreen suggested.
“Maybe not, at least not enough to share with anyone.”
“So nothing on my intruder yet?” she asked.
“Not yet. Anyway,” Mack added, “I have to go.” And, with that, he hung up.
Doreen stared down at the phone, thought about it for a long moment, and then contacted Nan. Her grandmother answered in a bright, cheerful voice. “Good,” Doreen said. “It sounds like you’re feeling better.”
“I’ve been playing bocce balls,” she shared. “Outside of a bit of a headache from the sun, I’m doing fine.”
Doreen frowned at that.
“Stop frowning,” her grandmother ordered through the phone.
Doreen laughed. “How did you know I was frowning?”
“Because I mentioned a headache, and immediately you went quiet. I knew you would start to worry.”