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The eyebrow over the one eye lifted slightly. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s doing well. She misses Nora, of course.”
The door closed and the chain rattled before the door opened again. The petite blue-eyed lady looked up at Finley with curiosity. “What is it you want to know?”
“I’m looking for information on the person Nora was involved with before her death.”
“You mean that Casanova she fell head over heels for?” Rantz shook her head. “I told her he was a gold digger. What young stud wants a woman more than a quarter century older than him? Please. Once we pass sixty, we need to get real. If a younger man comes sniffing around, it’s about money. Poor thing, she was devastated when he left. No matter how I tried to tell her he was gone for good, she just wouldn’t listen. She called him constantly. Went to his place looking for him. I swear, she’d take an Uber and just sit on his doorstep until he showed up or—if he was home—finally came out and talked to her. It was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Finley could only imagine how awful it had been for Duncan. “Ms.Rantz, you’re certain it was a man. I was told by one witness that Nora was involved with a woman.”
Rantz made a puffing sound. “No way. Nothing against women who love women—I have a good friend whose partner is a woman. But I met the guy. He was all she talked about. Ned this and Ned that. Ned, Ned, Ned.” She gave Finley a look. “Trust me, he was a man.”
Finley pulled out her cell and showed a pic of Jarrod Grady. “Do you recognize this man?”
“That’s him. Ned Beale.” She pointed a finger at the picture. “Wily bastard. He should be in prison for breaking her heart the way he did and taking her for every dime she had. She just couldn’t get over him. Wouldn’t let go. It was like she couldn’t live without him.”
So, Winthrop had straight-up lied. Finley resisted the urge to shake her head. She had sensed their client was hiding something. This changed everything. Every. Single. Thing.
The little blue-eyed lady’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “Why are you asking about him? Did Laney finally go to the police like I told her to?”
“No, ma’am, I don’t think so,” Finley said. Pettit had only gone to her friend Winthrop, who had obviously followed through on her promise to Duncan’s mother. Frustration and no shortage of anger simmered inside Finley. She held it back to keep Rantz talking. “I’m here because the man in the photo you identified as Ned was murdered.”
Rantz smiled. “Well, that’s the best news I’ve heard in ages. I hope it was a painful death.”
Despite her mounting irritation with their client, Finley smiled at the feisty lady. “I believe it was, for a little while anyway.” She hesitated a moment, reminded herself to stay focused, and then: “Did you by chance ever see this woman?” She displayed a pic of Lena Marsh.
Rantz made a face as she studied the image. “She looks like that nurse who came to see Nora in the last couple days of her life. Maybe she wasn’t a nurse. She might have been one of those delivery people.”
“You only saw her once?”
“Wait. No. Twice. Yes, that’s right. Twice. Maybe a week before Nora passed was the first time.” She studied the photo again. “I’m sure it was her. I remember all those blonde tufts of hair. My grandson used to have one of those little troll dolls. He cut its hair really short, and it looked just like that.”
Finley supposed the image was as good a comparison as any. “Do you recall the second time you saw her?”
The older woman’s forehead folded into deep thought. “It was the day before or the same day Nora passed, I think. She’d gotten to the point she wouldn’t even leave the house. It was just pitiful. She had everything delivered.” Rantz snapped her fingers. “Wait, I remember now! She dropped off Nora’s medication. I saw her go in, and then she came out about half an hour later.”
Finley had a bad feeling about Marsh visiting. “Are you talking about a medication from her therapist, Dr.Mengesha?”
“That’s the one. Nora knew this woman from his office.” She nodded. “Yes sirree. That’s right.”
“Did you see Nora after that delivery?”
“Absolutely,” Rantz assured her. “I went over there to check on her. Personally I don’t like strangers coming inside my house. I worried about Nora letting a stranger in, especially after what happened with that turd Ned. But Nora said the woman was from her doctor’s office. She’d brought her prescription. She even brought her favorite lunch from that sandwich shop she always stopped at when she went to her therapist.” She frowned. “I can’t remember the name of it.”
Alfred’s. Finley knew the place. Anticipation joined the other emotions starting to boil inside her. “Was Nora okay when you spoke to her after the woman left?”
Rantz shrugged. “I think so. She said she needed a nap, so I didn’t stay long.”
“She was sleepy?” Cold rushed through Finley, making her heart start to pound. If this was the day Duncan had overdosed, it seemed quite the coincidence that the event occurred right after Marsh’s visit.
“She was. I helped her to bed, tucked her in, and then I came home. The next morning Laney found her ...” Rantz didn’t say the rest, but she didn’t have to.
“I’m confused,” Finley said, every instinct on point. “Did Nora generally need help getting to bed?”
Another moment of concentration. “I don’t recall that she ever did. Before she got her heart broken and fell into that deep depression, she was as healthy as a horse. But you know, people can die of broken hearts.” Rantz shook a finger at Finley. “It’s true. I read about it on the internet.”
Finley nodded, too focused on the theory taking shape in her brain to comment on the remark. “Do you remember the name of the medication she was taking? The one the woman delivered?”
