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“Did he know you were there, hearing this?”
Georgia shrugged again. “Most of the admin staff ignore us. We’re old so we’re no threat. They think we’re deaf and addled. And some of us are, but I’m not. Not yet.”
“You most definitely are not.”
Georgia smiled. “Thank you, Detective.”
Kit smiled back. “You’re welcome. When was this?”
“Around two years ago? It was autumn and Benny’s wife Martha was still alive. So, yes, two years ago.”
“Thank you. Do you think that Crawford was stealing from the facility?”
“He was getting it from somewhere, although I think he had investments. Archie told his friend on the phone that he’d asked Crawford about the car, who said his—expletive deleted—broker had made him rich. He used a homophobic slur that I won’t repeat, but it starts with an f and ends with a g.”
Kit winced. Dave the financial advisor hadn’t thought that Crawford had a problem with him. “Good to know. So did Archie ever get a new car?”
Georgia blinked. “I don’t know. He must have gotten a new one or fixed the old one, because he gets to work, but I’ve never seen him driving. I only knew about Crawford’s car because he made such a big deal of revving his engine when he passed us waiting at the shuttle stop.”
“Got it. So…Mr. Dreyfus. What can you tell me about him?”
Georgia sighed. “I stayed with him all day yesterday and into the evening, except for meal breaks. They moved him out of the nursing ward at about eight last night. They’d been monitoring his heart. I figured he was fine because they let him go back to his room.”
“Did he wake up?”
“Yes, but I was at dinner at the time. Nurse Roxanne said he woke up and was talking normally. No sign of slurring or memory loss. They had someone with him most of the night, but when the shift changed, I guess they thought he’d be okay on his own. Nobody was with him when I went in to get him for breakfast. I do that every morning. He didn’t answer the door, so I used my key.”
“Key or key card?”
“Key card. Both Frankie and I had one for Benny’s room. Crawford didn’t want to give us one, but Benny’s family filed a special request and threw their weight around. We worried about him and so did Carla and Vanessa. Once we got key cards, Frankie and I took turns checking on him. Devon Jones—she’s the nursing assistant for our floor—she does a good job, but Benny’s known us for years. Devon’s only been here about a year and Benny sometimes forgets who she is.” She sighed again. “He sometimes forgot. I have to get used to this new normal of past tense. I hate it.”
“I know,” Kit said quietly.
Georgia studied her for a moment. “Yes, I suppose you do. Benny hadn’t started coffee or anything, so I figured he was still asleep, but he didn’t like to miss breakfast. He was an early riser. Usually up with the sun. I was surprised no one was in there with him, so I checked his bedroom.” She swallowed hard. “He was cold. I checked for a pulse anyway.” She shook her head. “Nothing.”
“I’m so sorry, Miss Shearer. I just need to ask a few more questions. Did you notice anything out of place?”
“No. His meds were on the bedside table, along with a bottle of water.”
“Was the water bottle opened?”
Georgia frowned as she thought. “Yes. It was about half empty. His meds were in one of those seven-day pill minders. He hadn’t taken this morning’s, but he had taken last night’s.”
“So he’d woken to do that.”
“Or the nurse woke him.”
“Who was with him last night?”
“I don’t know. Roxanne was with him until I went to dinner, but I think her shift was over earlier than that. She stayed late because she was worried about him.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to her, too. Do you know if anyone came into his room this morning?”
“I don’t know, Detective. I took a sleeping pill last night because I didn’t want to be awake at three a.m. when all the anxiety strikes.”
“Oh, I know all about the three a.m. anxiety strikes.”
Georgia smiled wearily. “Detective, I appreciate that you’re being thorough. I really do. But Benny’s heart was bad. It was only a matter of time. I really think you’re wasting your time investigating his death.”
