“No.” No history in her family. She rolled to her side. She could do this. She pushed to a seated position and leaned against the bed. That was better.
The man was back. He unwrapped a candy and gave it to her. “Suck on this for a minute. Then I’ve got some apple juice for you.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Could I have Dr Pepper?”
“Let’s stick with nature’s sugar for now.”
“Candy qualifies?” But she put it in her mouth and tried to do what he asked.
“If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to give you an IV, too.”
“No thanks.” She hated needles. With a passion. That would make her pass out faster than whatever he'd injected in her. She slumped, praying the sugar would start working.
“We need the tech now.” The nurse’s voice was hitting a strident note. “If this isn’t insulin, we need to know so we can change course. If so, we might need to give Ms. Ellis more glucose. I’m not sure Eliza’s getting enough.” Her voice gentled. “I wish you’d talk to us, kiddo.”
Bridget wanted to affirm the many reasons it would be helpful, but she couldn’t get coordinated.
The one thought she could hold: Todd would be angry.
The principal’shouse was a small Sears home, neat and tidy on the outside with a bright red door and black shutters. After she offered Todd an iced tea, they sat on her small back patio in the sunlight. Todd was glad he had a jacket, but the sun felt good on his face. “Mrs. Hayes, I talked with a friend in the police here. Could you tell me more about the Brandenberg family?”
If he hadn’t been watching her, he would have missed the subtle tightening in her shoulders and the way she held her breath for a moment. “I really don’t have more to tell you. I hate to think you wasted the drive up here.”
He took a casual sip of tea. “The talk with the police enlightened me.” Silence settled between them, and he let it build for a minute. “Did Ryan attend your school?”
“Not while I was here. He was six years older than Eliza.”
“That’s quite a gap.”
“And why his family adopted. Everything I saw indicated she was adored and loved them back.”
“Was there anything that made you think that might not be the case?”
She fluttered her hands around her glass. “What do you mean?”
“Just the way you said it. Everything you saw. Makes me think there were things you didn’t see that made you wonder.”
Her spine straightened. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“Of course not. I’ve learned people often see things they didn’t realize they saw, and those are the most important details. If you have any thoughts along those lines, those would be helpful.”
“Look, your ‘aw shucks’ won’t work on me. No family is perfect, but the Brandenbergs are a loving family. What happened to Ryan was a tragedy I wouldn’t want anyone to experience, but it was truly terrible for them. Everything I’d been told was that he had a bright future in front of him.” She took a sip of tea with trembling hands, ignoring the tea that splashed onto her pants. “He earned good grades at Wayne State and had a good job at the local Runza. He even had a girlfriend who liked him as much as he liked her. There was no reason to experiment with drugs.”
“People don’t need a reason.”
“True, but he really didn’t have a reason.” She met his gaze for the first time.
“What’s his girlfriend’s name?”
“Adora Jones.” She sighed and waved like she was batting the name away. “She moved to Iowa. Needed a fresh start.”
“There’s a lot of moving around after the death of this young man.”
“Maybe that should tell us something.”
“Are there any classmates of Eliza’s I should talk to?”
Principal Hayes pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. “I thought you might ask. This young lady and her mom will be home until five today.”
