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Goddard nodded. “Did he write the code down?”
“If he did, I never saw it. I don’t think he did because when he’d forget it, he’d call his daughter or granddaughter. Carla or Vanessa.”
“Did his family come when he called?” Goddard asked.
Devon nodded. “Always. Sometimes it would take a while and he’d get agitated, but I was able to calm him down.”
“How?” Sam asked, giving her an encouraging smile, ignoring the pointed look from Goddard. Because Devon did not do this thing. Sam was positive.
“His daughter would sing to him when he was agitated, so I asked her to teach me the song. ‘Mi Shebeirach.’ It’s a Jewish song of healing. It’s really beautiful. I’d sing it to Mr. Benny when he got upset and it did help calm him. At least until someone in his family could arrive, then I’d leave.”
“And you never saw him open the safe?” Goddard asked, skepticism in his voice.
Devon held herself straighter. “No, sir. I did not.”
Go you, Sam thought, proud of her.
“Devon, where were you between midnight and eight a.m. Saturday?” Goddard asked.
“Here. I was on duty. I worked a double that day.” She looked Goddard in the eye. “I work for my money, Detective. I don’t steal it. I was in the nursing ward all night. When I took my break, it was in the break room here. I signed out at seven thirty Saturday morning and was home by eight. My mom can vouch for my arrival time, as can two of her friends. Mom was watching my daughter that night and had a couple of her friends over for breakfast. I’m happy to give you their names. Dr. Sam, should I offer to let him search my house?”
“Not yet. If it comes to that, we’ll talk first, okay?”
Goddard made a noise that sounded like a soft growl. “Dr. Reeves.”
“She has an alibi. If she left the nursing ward, the cameras would have caught her going to her car and those cameras were functioning. How tall are you, Devon?”
Because the person leaving Shady Oaks with the box containing Benny’s coins had been around five-ten.
“Five-two. Why?”
Sam gave Goddard a pointed look and the detective sighed. “Fine,” he grumbled. “She’s too short to have been on the video. Miss Jones, where were you this morning between three and six a.m.?”
Devon’s eyes flashed fire. “I did not hurt Mr. Benny.”
“I know,” Sam said softly. “But McKittrick and Robinson will ask, so you might as well answer it now.”
She swallowed hard. “I was in the emergency room with my daughter. Mila was running a fever. I’d just gotten her home and into bed when I had to come in here to start my shift. I work another double tonight.”
“Devon,” Sam said, concerned. “You haven’t slept all night and you’re going to work a double?”
She shrugged. “It’s my life, Dr. Sam. Mila still gets sick a lot. Don’t tell Miss Georgia. I don’t want her to feel like she has to pay my doctor bills again.” She looked Goddard straight in the eye. “I have an unshakable alibi, Detective. The nurses in the ER will swear that I was there, and there were cameras everywhere around the hospital.”
“Thank you, Miss Jones,” Goddard said. “I’m sorry I had to ask, and I hope your daughter gets better soon.”
“Thank you.” Devon was visibly trembling. “I need this job.”
Goddard appeared subdued, but also respectful. “I’ll make sure everyone knows that you’re not a suspect, if that will help.”
She nodded once. “It would. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Goddard smiled at her, a much gentler smile than he’d turned on everyone else. “Before you go, who else knew about the coins?”
“His friends, I suppose—Miss Georgia, Mr. Frankie.” She looked uncomfortable. “And Mr. Crawford. He asked me about them. Said he’d read about them in a magazine and asked if I knew about them.”
Goddard leaned in. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him that I knew of no such thing.” She started to wring her hands again. “I lied to him. I should have told Janice. I know that I should have, but…Mr. Crawford made me…nervous. He watched me, watched a lot of the nurses and nursing assistants. I avoided him whenever I could.”
