213
Deanna was due to arrive at noon, to oversee the flowers and shrubs.
The original sod had dried out, and Noreen hadn’t wanted to pay for another load, so she opted instead to buy grass seed. The look definitely wouldn’t be the same, but there was little I could do about it.
I’d seen her first thing that morning but not since. I hoped she was off eating something because she looked like she’d lost ten pounds in two days.
I found a quiet spot near the front porch and called the hospital. Mr. Cabrera was having tests done and wasn’t in his room. Riley had stayed the night with him, refusing to leave his bedside. The two had a bond I didn’t quite understand but respected.
Then I called Ana. Again. After dropping me at the hospital last night, she’d taken a taxi home to get her car and gone back to the Blue Zone alone.
I’d yet to hear from her.
Yawning, I clipped my phone to the pocket of my jeans and looked around at all that still had to be done.
It had been a late night. I’d managed an hour of sleep in a hospital chair, not nearly enough, and woken up with a crick in my neck.
My cell rang. My mother.
“
The neighbors being my neighbors. My mother was still overseeing the demo of my bathroom. Promises had been made about a Sunday finish.
“He’s going to be okay,” I said.
“I heard the woman didn’t make it.”
“No.” The doctors had said massive head trauma caused her death.
“What happened?”
214
Heather Webber
The accident had been witnessed by at least a half-dozen Mill residents, but it made it no less bizarre or easy to understand.
“Seems Boom-Boom and Mr. Cabrera had been on their way to the local cribbage game after dinner last night when Boom-Boom started driving her golf cart erratically and yelling about polar bears chasing after her.”
“Polar bears? In the Mill?”
“I don’t understand it either.” Mr. Cabrera had been wearing a polar bear shirt the other day but wore mallards yesterday.
“Mr. Cabrera bailed out just as Boom-Boom jumped the curb and crashed into a tree.”
“Do the doctors think she had a heart attack? Mrs. Daasch mentioned she had a heart problem.”
“When were you talking with Mrs. Daasch?”
“She was walking her cute little fluffy dog this morning.
Very sweet lady. Nasty dog.”
I had to agree. Loofa looked angelic, but had a devilish personality.
“Tried to chew my Jimmy Choos.”
“Mrs. Daasch?” I asked with a smile.
“Don’t be a smart aleck,
Flash Leonard. “Luckily that was all. They’re keeping watch to make sure there’s no internal injuries.”
“Has Boom-Boom’s family been notified?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ll see what I can find out.”
Oh Lord. My mother fit perfectly in the Mill.
“And I’ll organize a committee to make sure Mr. Cabrera is properly cared for when he gets home. He’s going to have a hard time getting around.”
215
“Thank you,” I said.
“For what?”
“For being you.”
“Don’t get me teary. My mascara will run. I don’t need raccoon eyes today. I have too much to do.”
