Easter Bonnet Murder by Leslie Meier

Author:Leslie Meier
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-10-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

After the morning’s excitement, Lucy found a somewhat eerie afternoon calm had settled on Heritage House where everyone seemed to have disappeared. There were no signs of life when she pulled into the driveway apart from a handful of official police vehicles that were parked in the circle out front, indicating that the investigation into Agnes’s death was already underway. Lucy parked in the side lot and made her way inside, wondering how extensive the investigation was going to be. At a bare minimum she guessed a forensic team would examine the stairwell in an attempt to discover evidence indicating the manner of Agnes’s death, and investigators would interview the residents for information about the days leading up to her disappearance. There was no indication that there was anything suggesting foul play, so Lucy figured the investigation would be rather perfunctory, a matter of dotting i’s and crossing t’s.

The sense of a deserted ghost town continued when she went inside and found the cozy chairs and sofas in the lobby, normally occupied by a handful of residents awaiting rides or greeting visitors, were unoccupied. Security had been stepped up, however, and the receptionist apologized but insisted on checking her ID and making a note of her arrival before allowing her to enter. Continuing on through the hall to the skilled nursing section she didn’t see a single soul, everyone seemed to have holed up in their own private units and shut the doors tightly behind them. Finally reaching the skilled nursing unit, Lucy presented herself at the nurses’ station where two aides were whispering together.

“Hi, I’m Lucy Stone, here to see Miss Tilley,” she said, startling them. They suddenly pulled apart, staring at her wide-eyed. “Can you tell me which room is hers?”

“Oh, certainly,” said one, checking a list. “I don’t see her here,” she confessed. “Are you sure you’ve got the right section? This is skilled nursing.”

“You must know her,” said Lucy, puzzled. “She was here on this floor until just a few days ago. She was transferred to assisted living but had a fall and came back here, maybe an hour or so ago. . . .”

“We’re both new, we’re still trying to learn the ropes,” explained one CNA. “We do have a new arrival, but I guess her paperwork hasn’t come through. She’s just down the hall, in two-oh-five.”

Lucy trotted off and found the room, the door closed like all the others. Weird, she thought, remembering how the doors were usually left open for the convenience of caregivers and to welcome visitors. Faced with the blank expanse of blond wood, Lucy knocked.

“Come in,” someone invited, and Lucy cautiously pushed the door open, unsure what she would find. “We’re just getting settled,” announced Juliana Gutierrez, tucking a blanket around Miss Tilley, who was reclining in the bed. She turned to greet Lucy, revealing a growing bruise on the right side of her face and another on her right arm.

“My goodness,” exclaimed Lucy, shocked at the extent of the ugly purple bruising.

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