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“Medieval,” he said, making a face as he ate his way through the delicious omelet Hannah had made.
“We need medieval back again,” Hannah huffed. “All the things people get away with these days, not to mention what politicians get away with. And why is our country being run by a bunch of senile old men anyway?”
“Hannah!” Abby exclaimed. “We have a number of really fine older men in politics, and they do a world of good.”
“I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about the noisy scalawags who are always in front of a camera, running down people with opposing viewpoints!”
“You should stop watching the news,” Abby advised. “Find a nice old movie to watch instead.” She sighed. “Living in Catelow is the best we can do, to live like old-fashioned people did, when they were closer to the earth and God.”
“Amen,” Hannah said.
“Well, we have to live with what we have,” Cody said philosophically. “I’ll miss breakfast tomorrow. I’ll miss all of you as well.”
“I hope you find something that will help you with the case,” Abby said.
“So do I.”
He didn’t say, but Abby knew, that he’d spend some of that time reminiscing about Debby, who’d died at the hospital in Denver. It would be familiar to him, because he’d visited her there, though not often. She hoped it might help him heal. He was still living in the past with his beautiful ghost. No living woman could compete with the perfection of a memory. Abby would have liked to, but she was gun-shy, just as he was. He was friendly now, but only friendly. Maybe a visit to Denver would help him to forget, finally. It would certainly get him away from home, where he still grieved for Anyu.
“I hope you have a nice trip, despite the reason for going,” Abby said as they all waved him goodbye on the front porch.
“I won’t be away long. If you need anything, you call my undersheriff. He knows what to do.”
“I will. You be careful,” Abby advised.
He smiled. “I’m always careful. See you in a few days.”
He was gone, with a wave of his hand. Abby stayed and watched him drive away, until he was out of sight, while the other two people in the house went back to the kitchen for more biscuits.
ITWASLIKEgoing back in time for Cody when he drove into Denver. He’d only been here to visit Debby at work a handful of times during their marriage. He remembered the hospital where she’d died most of all. He’d been out of his mind with grief, lashing out at everybody around her as nurses and residents worked to save her life. He’d lashed out at Abby and Lucy, too, and left scars, something that still shamed him.
In the hospital they’d done the best they could, but Debby couldn’t be saved. Her last words had been incomprehensible. Odd, that he’d remember them now, as he pulled into the parking lot of a motel near the hospital. She’d said for Honeybear to remember to feed Muttsy. Who the hell was Honeybear? And who, or what, was Muttsy?
He hadn’t thought about that in six years. Now, it came back into his mind with a vengeance. She’d been delirious with fever, of course, and that had probably clouded her thoughts. It could have been something from her childhood. He remembered, so vividly, his last sight of her as she lapsed into unconsciousness. At least she’d recognized him. She’d managed a tired smile and said she was sorry. What was that about?
It had been so long that he’d lived with Debby’s memory. He’d been buried in his grief for years, without questioning anything in the past. But now that he was here in Denver, he was remembering strange things, strange behaviors, that he’d buried with Debby.
One of the biggest was Anyu. She’d come with a note that only said Debby meant her for the most precious man in her life. Of course that meant Cody. He was sure of it. So he went looking for the nurse who’d been keeping the puppy in her apartment temporarily. Cody had gone to see her to get it. He was overwhelmed with the little dog, absolutely delighted. Debby had left him this beautiful bundle of soft fur and blue eyes, and he fell in love at once.
The nurse had behaved oddly when he went to get the dog. He’d handed her the note and said that an aide at the hospital had told him that a surprise was waiting for him at this nurse’s apartment, and that Debby’s last wish was that Cody should have it.
The nurse had regained her composure and said of course Debby meant the dog for her husband, although she’d been shocked when Cody spoke of their marriage and her ambition and his grief. The nurse had known Debby well, and she was grieving, too. The puppy made up for a lot for Cody. He took it home with him after Debby’s funeral and named it Anyu, and it had been his confidant, his treasure, until her recent death. Losing Anyu was like losing Debby all over again.
He signed in at the motel and thought about why he’d come. He had questions that he wanted answers to about Debby, but he was here to do a job, so he’d better get to it.
His first visit was to a woman named Violet Henry, and it was worrisome to get her to answer even the most basic questions.
“I killed my sister,” she said bluntly after she’d refused to answer any of Cody’s careful questions. She wasn’t a pretty woman. She was slight and thin and had a few gray hairs mixed in with the warm brown of her long hair. She was fidgety and uneasy, even now, talking about what had happened.
“Miss Henry, life happens,” Cody said quietly. “We all do things that we wish we could take back, and we can’t. You can’t rewind life. You just have to put one foot in front of the other and go on. And no, you didn’t kill your sister,” he added curtly. “You fell in love with a man who turned out to be the worst sort of person. That was beyond your control.”
Tears stung her eyes. She lifted her coffee cup to her lips. She’d offered Cody a cup, but he’d refused. He was still full of coffee from breakfast.
“He seemed like the answer to a prayer,” she began. “He was so handsome. It shocked me that a man like that could see anything to love in me.” She flushed. “I’m not pretty,” she said, and smiled. “But he made me feel pretty. He brought me little presents, took me to restaurants and dancing.” She laughed sadly. “I never noticed that he was letting me pay for all those things. I even staked him in a high-ticket casino game and he lost thirty thousand dollars on a spin of the roulette wheel.” She grimaced. “My sister, Candy, didn’t like him and told me so. She said he was after my money. She even hired a private detective. At least she said she did, I never knew about that until after she was...after she died. The police told me there had been an investigation and that he was involved in some criminal behavior. It was too late by then. Poor Candy.” She stopped and put a handkerchief to her eyes. “She loved me. She was the only family I had left, and he took her from me.” Her brown eyes blazed with revenge. “I’d love to see him in the electric chair, if they still have those things, and I’d pull the handle if they’d let me!”
“It’s lethal injection these days,” Cody replied. “But just as effective.”
“I guess.” She drew in a long breath. “I have all Candy’s things.” She looked at him with dead eyes. “She was right all along. I wish I’d listened to her.”
