Lifeless in the Lilies by Dale Mayer

Author:Dale Mayer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Cozy, Mystery
ISBN: 9781773363615
Publisher: Valley Publishing Ltd.
Published: 2021-01-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

She didn’t know why she was so unsettled, but this whole Isaac thing was getting to her. And she didn’t even have any proof that anything was wrong, which just added to her frustration. Surely there could be something wrong. But still, nothing popped up that she could do anything about, and that was even more frustrating still. She got up and poured herself another cup of coffee, then walked back outside again.

Just as she sat down, Nan called. Doreen smiled in delight when she saw the number. “Hi, Nan,” she muttered.

“Are you okay?” she said.

“Of course I’m okay,” she said. “I’m fine.”

“You sound a little shaky.”

“Yeah, that’s okay. I’ve just had a long visit on the phone with Mack, and now I’m sitting outside with a cup of coffee.”

“Maybe it’s the coffee,” she said. “Maybe you’re drinking too much caffeine.”

She stopped and stared at the phone. “Please don’t try to talk me out of my coffee,” she said. “It’s the one true joy in my day.”

At that, Nan sighed. “You know how sad it is to hear a woman of your age say that?”

Doreen winced. “Let’s not go there. We’re not talking about relationships.”

“We don’t even have to talk about relationships. Let’s just talk about men.”

“How about we don’t?” she said, fully aware that Nan had lived a fun and varied life that in no way compared to the life that Doreen currently lived.

“Have you eaten?”

“Not in a while, but I’m fine. I’m not terribly hungry today.”

“Oh dear, maybe that head injury is hitting you harder than we thought.”

She winced at that. “You and Mack seem to think that, if I’m not hungry, I’m sick.”

“Well, honey, you’ve almost always eaten everything under the sun that was in front of you because you’re nearly always starving.”

“Well, maybe I’m finally getting full,” she said. “Now did you ever find anything out about Isaac?” She was hoping to distract Nan and to change the subject.

“I did, indeed,” Nan said, “and the answer is that nobody knows anything about him.”

Doreen stopped and stared. “Nobody in that whole place?”

“Nope. Nobody. I’ve talked to all kinds of folks here, and they all say that it’s not a name they know.”

“That’s unusual.”

“It’s more than unusual.” And the older woman’s voice lowered to a whisper. “So, we’ve started some bets.”

“Bets about what?” she asked in surprise.

“Who he is, and how long it’ll take you to get to the bottom of it, of course. So you need to keep me in the loop, in case I need some insider information.”

“You can’t just bet on my success or failure in this,” she protested.

“Why not?” Nan asked in surprise. “I’ve bet on you every time. I mean, I know that, at some point in time, you’ll probably fail at something,” she said, “but, if you’ve got your heart set on finding out who this Isaac is, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. And I’ll be right there to cash in.”

Doreen stared at the phone, hating the pressure, yet realizing Nan would never change.

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