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Kit smiled at him gratefully. “Thank you, but no. I’m okay. At least we’re not dealing with dead teenagers this time.” Not like they had six months before.
“Small mercies.” He pointed to the office door. “After you.”
But Miss Evans wasn’t in the office. A uniformed officer was, however. Kit recognized him from the day before. He’d been standing guard outside Frankie Flynn’s apartment.
“Officer Stern, right?” she asked.
The officer nodded. “Detectives.”
“What’s going on?” Connor asked. “I thought CSU took the server to the lab.”
“They did. I was assigned to watch this room while the lab guys did their thing.”
“Did CSU find something suspicious?” Kit asked.
Stern shrugged. “I don’t know, ma’am. I’m here to make sure nobody makes off with any paperwork. Not everything was stored digitally. These drawers are filled with paper copies of patient financial info and personnel records.”
“Good to know,” Kit said. “We should expand the warrant to include the physical files.”
Stern looked curious but, to his credit, asked no questions.
“Where is Miss Evans?” Connor asked.
Stern sighed softly. “They had a death this morning. Benny, the man who my partner was watching yesterday? He had a heart attack during the night.”
Fucking hell. We’ll never get to talk to him now.
Then Kit flinched. That this was her first thought made her feel dirty. Have some compassion.
She’d never met the man, but it was clear to see how much Benny Dreyfus had been loved by his fellow residents. “Poor Georgia.”
Stern nodded sadly. “She found him just after eight. Called 911.”
That sounded odd. “She didn’t call Miss Evans or the nurse?”
“No, ma’am. I was here on duty by then and all hell broke loose when the medics showed up. Someone must have called Miss Evans, because she rushed in around eight thirty. She was crying.”
“For Benny or for Crawford?” Connor whispered to Kit.
Kit nodded, wondering the same. “Officer Stern, where is Mr. Dreyfus’s body now?”
“I don’t know, ma’am. The funeral home arrived a few minutes ago. They came in through the back.” He pointed at the security monitors. Sure enough, there was a hearse parked at the service door.
Connor huffed out a frustrated breath. “I don’t mean to be crass, but we can’t talk to him now.”
Which was terribly convenient, she thought, hating that the notion had to be considered. “Let’s see what’s happening.”
Luckily Sam was no longer playing “Amazing Grace” when she and Connor went back into the main hall. Kit could breathe again.
But Connor paused as they passed the closed common room doors. “Oh,” he whispered.
Kit turned to find him looking uncharacteristically sad. “What’s wrong?”
“ ‘I’ll Be Seeing You.’ ” He pursed his lips hard. “My mom’s folks are still alive, but my dad’s parents are gone. This was their song. They loved Sinatra’s version. Damn, Sam plays it just like they loved to hear it.”
Kit opened the door just enough to let the music escape. And to peek in on Sam. He was hunched over the keyboard, his shoulders bowed, occasionally shaking. Like he was crying. But his hands flowed over the keys, never missing a note.
Dammit, Sam. Kit wanted to go to him, to give him comfort because he’d cared about Benny, too. But she couldn’t. She was working.
