“In that case, I was washing my hair. I decided to stay in that night. I watched
“Was anyone there with you?” Peggy continued, letting Angela think she was with the police. “Can anyone back up your story?”
“No. I was alone all night. I didn’t know I needed an alibi. What possible reason would I have to kill Mark? He owed me. We had an understanding. Now I have to start all over with a new executive VP. Mark being dead isn’t good for me at all.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you talking with me.”
“Do I need a lawyer?”
“No. We just needed a few answers.” Peggy opened the office door. “But don’t leave town until the investigation is over.”
The sultry brunette frowned. “Not like I can go anywhere. At least not until I know if I can keep my job. This new VP is coming in from Ohio. I hope to God I don’t have to sleep with him to have some influence again.”
Peggy finished up her plant care with a nervous eye on the elevators. If Angela decided to call the police, she’d be in trouble. Not that she actually told the woman she was with the police. But she’d allowed her to think it. Al and Jonas wouldn’t like her talking to Angela.
But no officers came up to the floors where she was working. She met Sam at the truck outside in the parking lot when she was finished. He smiled at her and asked, “How’d it go?”
“The plants were in pretty good shape,” she told him. “How about you?”
He pulled two pieces of pink memo paper from his jeans pockets. “Two phone numbers. Stockbrokers like college men.”
She understood. “I always wondered what kept you working for me.”
“Not the guaranteed dates, sweet as that may be. Do you know what it costs to become a doctor these days? Do you know how much Home Depot pays? I was lucky you didn’t have any idea what you were doing when you got started. You pay me way too much for what I do.”
“Aren’t you worried about telling me that?”
“Nah. You need me now. You couldn’t do it without me.”
Peggy’s cell phone rang while she was laughing at him. It was Lenore Prinz. She wanted to know if Peggy could meet her at the hospital. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. What’s wrong?”
“Who was that?” Sam asked as she closed her cell phone.
“It was Lenore. Keeley’s in the hospital.”
SAM DROPPED PEGGY OFF at Presbyterian Hospital. “I’ll be back in about an hour. I’m going to drop these plants off at CPCC. Will you be all right?”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll see you then.” She got out of the truck and walked up the long, narrow sidewalk into the large brick building. The sound of ambulance sirens filled the morning air. She hadn’t been to this place since John died. They’d brought him here after the shooting.
Peggy sighed and tried to put it behind her. She’d held a grudge against the hospital for too long. John was dead before they brought him in. Al told her there was nothing they could do. She believed him. To go on feeling there was some kind of dark cloud hanging over the place was ridiculous. Still, she had to swallow hard as the revolving door closed behind her, pushing back the sunshine.
She asked the receptionist at the front desk for Keeley’s room number. With her own doubts and memories tucked firmly away, she took the elevator to the second floor.
Lenore met her in the lounge. Her usually placid face was agitated. Thick, dark hair sprang up around her head like a lion’s mane. She’d never found a way to tame her coarse, curly hair. She reached for Peggy’s hands and squeezed them. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course.” Peggy sat down beside her friend on the green plastic chair. She and Lenore grew up next door to each other. Lenore’s parents owned the tobacco farm that bordered her parents’ farm outside Charleston. They went to school together and dreamed of where their lives would take them. Somehow, they both ended up in Charlotte. “What happened?”
Lenore looked away. Her dark eyes, so like Keeley’s, closed. “She was pregnant, Peggy. She never even told me. Something happened. She lost the baby.”
“How is she?”
“She’s okay. She was only about ten weeks. The doctor said the baby wasn’t viable.”
“I’m so sorry,” Peggy said. “I didn’t know Keeley had a serious boyfriend.”
“I didn’t either. Apparently, he wasn’t someone she was very proud of. Probably one of those tattooed, pierced types. I don’t know what young people are coming to these days.”
“Keeley’s a good person and a hard worker. Even if she wasn’t sure about introducing him to her family and friends, it doesn’t mean she was ashamed of him. Sometimes you just want to make sure. Can we see her?”
Lenore sighed. “I could’ve seen her an hour ago. I don’t know what to say to her. I was hoping you could talk to her. She thinks so much of you. Sometimes I think you should’ve been her mother. She and I have always had problems communicating.”
Peggy patted her hand. “Only if you’ll take Paul. He and I have the same problem. But you know what it’s like trying to live your own life, not just doing what your parents expect of you.”
“Maybe. I don’t know if I can remember back that far. Mama and Daddy have been gone for so long. You’re lucky to still have your parents.”
