Part 24 (1/2)
”You know that's true.” I felt her bones as I tightened my grip. ”And Oscar will get better.”
”I don't know.” The words leaked out of her.
There are all kinds of pain in the world, but the jolt of hurt that slammed into me almost made me stagger. Tinkie was the heart of Delaney Detective Agency. She believed in miracles, in real love, in the doctrine of the Daddy's Girl manual, and in the goodness of at least 10 percent of the human population. To see her stripped of those values was unbearable.
”Tinkie Bellcase Richmond, snap out of it.” The only thing I could do was shame her out of her blue funk. It's exactly what Jitty would do for me--or to me, depending on your point of reference.
”It's the truth.” She grew defensive, which in my book was a step forward.
”Oscar's hung on this long, I can't believe you'd let him slide away now.”
”I'm not letting him.”
”When you give up hope, you are. You're the anchor that holds him here. Madame Tomeeka said as much. You're the guard against Death. You, Tinkie, are his salvation.”
She bit her lip and it popped out in an old gesture that made grown men beg for mercy. ”You sure know how to make a girl feel bad.”
I kissed her forehead. ”That's what friends do. When necessary. And this time it was necessary. Now get back to watch so you can kick the Angel of Death in the a.s.s if he dares to show up here.”
She nodded, and there was firm commitment to the set of her chin. ”Let me know if you hear anything about anything.”
”Roger that, Captain Tink.”
Cece's room was on another wing, but the food was still hot when I got there. She appeared to be dozing, so I hesitated.
”If you leave with that food, you're a dead woman, dahling,” she said without opening her eyes. ”They say people with a broken nose can't taste because they can't smell. Now that's a crock of she-it if I've ever heard one. I can taste those dumplings from here.”
What ever else was wrong with Cece's nose, she could still smell. I put the food on her rolling table and sat on the edge of the bed to feed her. While her face looked worse, with all the bruising and swelling, her overall color was better.
”They're going to do a rhinoplasty ASAP. What do you think of Nicole Kidman's nose?” She pushed up in bed and opened her mouth like a little bird so I could put a fat, juicy dumpling into her mouth. Cece was enjoying the role of invalid.
”I think Nicole would be really mad if you took it.”
”Ha, ha,” she drawled. ”I asked for a caterer and they sent a comedian. And not a very good one, but one with an impressive rock on her left hand. Let me see that.”
Cece had bounced back like a red rubber ball. I perched on the bed and took a deep breath and held out my hand for her to examine the ring.
”Very nice, Sarah Booth. The man is not cheap, I'll give him that.”
”The ring suits me to perfection.”
”And you slipped it on without being prodded by your friends. Which tells me a lot.”
”He's a good man.”
”And he has a very elegant nose, dahling,” she said. ”If I were a man, I'd want his nose.”
It was nice to visit a sick person with a good prognosis and a healthy ego. ”Speaking of noses, what about Erin Carlisle's? I thought it was cla.s.sic yet pert. That would suit you. If you go too prissy, it won't match your personality.” I stopped. ”What?” She was giving me this look like I'd sprouted a halo--or horns.
”What are you talking about? Erin Carlisle's nose is aristocratic, that's true, but I don't think the upswept tip works with my bone structure.”
Now I was the one trading strange looks. ”What are you drinking? Erin has a straight nose. More Sandra Bullock.”
”Not the Erin Carlisle I met in Jackson.”
And there it was. Just like a sledgehammer to the temple.
”s.h.i.+t,” we said in unison.
I called Dewayne. ”Can you find a picture of Erin Carlisle from the driver's license bureau or maybe an online Jackson newspaper and bring a copy by Cece's room?”
”Sarah Booth, I--”
”I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. Hurry, Dewayne. Where's Coleman?”
”He said something funny about some boll weevil studies at Mississippi State University. He had to make some calls about them.”
My fingers clutched the phone. ”Please tell him to come by to see Cece as soon as he can.”
”What, you're calling a departmental meeting?”
Ah, another comedian. But Dewayne was trying. ”Maybe a break in the case, but it sounds like Coleman is pursuing the same theory.”
”Should I place a bet?”
”You're frisky today for a man who's had six hours' sleep in the past week.”
”I'll tell him. And I found a photo of Erin Carlisle on her studio Web site. It's printing now.”
When I closed the phone, Cece looked at me. ”Where is the real Erin Carlisle?”
”A d.a.m.n good question.” Likely one with a tragic answer, but I didn't say that. ”You were supposed to meet Erin at her studio. What happened?”
Cece was now feeding herself, tired of waiting for my distracted attention to return to her gastrointestinal needs. ”I called her when I got back from Memphis and asked for a meeting.”
”And she agreed, even as late as it was? What time was it?”
”One in the morning.” Spoon in midair, Cece paused. ”She didn't even blink at the time. And I didn't consider it strange. I had a ten a.m. deadline, dahling, and I had bait to entice her. Jimmy Janks told me more about his development plans, which was what precipitated the argument in Memphis. I told her enough to whet her appet.i.te and she instantly agreed to talk with me.”
”Why at her studio?”
”She said something about being on her way there anyhow--some phone call or something.” She frowned in concentration. ”I got there a little early. The studio was locked tight, and then she arrived in the parking lot. She was slow getting out of her vehicle and waved me over, so I went to meet her.”
An empty parking lot in the middle of the night in a city with a problem with violence. Right. Cece had been set up. But why? ”I'm thinking whoever this woman is, she had Erin inside the studio. She'd already grabbed her.”
Cece nodded. ”My thoughts exactly. There was something strange going on. The front of the studio is plate gla.s.s, and I kept trying to see inside. I thought I saw movement in the back, but it wasn't clear.”