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“Not at all.”
Mrs. Valor was staring at her plate of food that looked virtually untouched.
“Do you want me to warm that up for you?” I asked.
“I’m afraid that I don’t like eating alone.” She frowned. “At least, I think I don’t like eating alone.”
I glanced at Maggie’s plate. “How about I eat Maggie’s with you? I didn’t get a chance to eat yet, and I’m pretty hungry.”
Mrs. Valor beamed at me. “That would be nice, but what about Maggie?”
“I’ll stop and get her a sandwich on my way to see her. Trevor and his fiancée are going to stay here with you while I get things figured out.”
She eyed Trevor as I put her plate in the microwave. “So, you’re engaged?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Trevor said and grinned. “And we have a little boy. You’ll get to meet him in a few minutes.”
She turned to study me. “And you? Are you married?”
“No, Mrs. Valor, I’m not.”
“But you like Maggie? Don’t you? You kissed her forehead before the police left with her.”
I swallowed. “I do like your daughter. I like her very much.” Maybe way too much, I said the last bit to myself as Trevor smirked at me.
“And does she like you?”
I forced myself not to look at Trevor. “I don’t know. You’d have to ask her.”
The microwave dinged, and I removed her plate before I began to warm up Maggie’s plate. Trevor stepped out of the kitchen to call Davina, and when he came back, I was halfway through the plate of food.
“Davina will be over in a few minutes. She just finished bathing Devon.”
“Okay, and you really don’t mind staying here to keep Mrs. Valor company?”
“Not at all,” he said as he took a seat on the other side of the table. “Go find out what’s going on. Why do you think they suspect her of being involved?”
“I have no idea,” I fretted. “I can’t think of one thing that would suggest that she was involved, other than she’s Maggie, and she is always getting herself in trouble.”
“Well, hopefully, they will tell you something.”
“Yeah, I hope so.” I took my plate to the sink. “Mrs. Valor, it was nice to see you again. I’ll make sure that Maggie gets home safely tonight.”
“Alright, thank you,” she replied and tried to smile at me.
What must be going through her mind? She didn’t know any of us, or she did, but she couldn't remember us. What did she think of all of this? Of dead rats delivered in boxes without labels, and a woman who was supposed to be her daughter arrested? Or even of strange men being in her house?
I could not comprehend how confusing all of that might be to her. As I drove toward the police station, I wondered how Maggie handled it day after day. On my way, I stopped at the deli and picked Maggie up a sandwich, a small bag of chips, a big chocolate chip cookie, a small bottle of orange juice, and a large bottle of water. I was starving when I had arrived at her house; I could just imagine how damn hungry she might be after today.
Inside the station, I waited behind another man who was talking to the desk sergeant through the thick glass. When he finished, I shuffled to the window. “I’m Gregory Blaire, I’d like to speak to Detective Highmore about the woman he is interviewing, Maggie Valor.”
“If he’s interviewing her, then he won’t be able to speak with you. You can have a seat over there and wait until he’s available.”
I lifted the bag of food. “You are going to want to bring this food back to him right away. I know for a fact that Maggie has not eaten today and has blood sugar issues. If you don’t feed her, you’re asking for trouble.”
He pursed his lips and pointed to the side door. I met him at the door and handed over the bag, where he immediately looked inside. “I’ll take this back to him. Have a seat.”
I wanted to push him out of the way and find Maggie myself, but I didn’t. Instead, I took a seat and pulled out my phone as it vibrated to see a text from Jake.
