“Good morning. You are up early. Have you been out? From my window it looks like a glorious day. I thought I’d take a quick stroll through the gardens before breakfast. Sharpen the appetite, as it were.” He noted that I didn’t react. “Jessica, is something wrong?”
I nodded. “Yes. Something has happened. It’s Willis. I need to find Dolores. Do you happen to know where her bedroom is?”
“Yes, of course.” He took me by the elbow, led me down the hall, and stopped. “This is Dolores’s door. Her room is right next to Willis’s. I believe the rooms are adjoining, although I have never been inside. Oh, listen to me babbling on and on. I’m so sorry. I get nervous when there is trouble, and from the look of you, there is trouble. I guess I should ask, can I help in any way?”
“No, thank you, but I do appreciate the offer.”
“In that case, I will leave you to it.” As Norman headed to the staircase, I realized he’d neglected to ask me what had happened to Willis. First Clancy, then Norman. It seemed no one cared about Willis at all. Well, that’s not true. There was one person, and I was about to give her the terrible news.
Dreading the conversation we were about to have, I stood outside Dolores’s bedroom door, lifted my hand, and knocked.
Chapter Five
There wasn’t a sound from the other side of the door. I waited a few seconds and knocked again, slightly harder. This time I heard something, a slight rustling of fabric. “Dolores, may I come in?”
“Oh, Jess, of course. The door isn’t locked. Come on in.”
Dolores was sitting up in bed, leaning on a pile of pillows. I couldn’t quite make out what she had in her hands but whatever it was, it had her annoyed. “Look at this mess. When I heard the knock, I thought it was Willis. He is so polite. Even though we have adjoining rooms, he never barges in. And I’m happy that he never sees me wearing a hairnet and eye mask, which I call my ‘old lady’ look. After all, there are some secrets a woman should keep.”
She held up a pink satin eye mask with a set of eyelashes embroidered on each eye patch and a jumbled blob hanging from the back strap.
“When I heard the knock, I woke, ripped off the hairnet and mask, and somehow managed to get the hairnet caught on the mask’s Velcro strap. Looks like I’ll have to tear the hairnet and toss it.”
I moved closer and stood by the side of her king-sized bed and waited for her to finish. I was in no hurry to break the news.
She tossed the mask toward the foot of the bed and looked at me. “Sweats and sneakers. You aren’t going to ask me to join you for a run, are you? You know my rule about exercise. I don’t like it, so I don’t do it.”
When I didn’t scoff at her oft-repeated exercise denial, Dolores sensed that I was bothered and she looked at me keenly. “Jess, what is it?”
I sighed, leaned down, and took her hands in mine. “I’m afraid the news isn’t good. It’s about Willis.”
Dolores widened her eyes and grasped my hands tightly, as if preparing herself. “Okay. I am ready.”
I spoke as gently as I could. “While I was out jogging this morning I found Willis on the driveway by the koi pond. He had been . . . there for a long while.”
“Is he hurt?” The hope in Dolores’s eyes was agonizing to see.
“I am afraid it is worse. Much worse.”
“No.” Dolores lurched backward, pulling her hands from mine, and her eyes welled with tears. “That’s not possible. We’re still practically newlyweds.”
I picked up a box of tissues from her night table and set it on the bed beside her. “I’m so sorry. I wish it wasn’t true but, unfortunately . . . he’s gone.”
Dolores began sobbing uncontrollably. I sat down on the edge of the bed and she flung herself at me. I hugged her while she wailed. “Why Willis? Why now? I was finally happy. We were happy.”
She pulled her head back and began mopping her face with some tissues. “Oh, Jess, what am I going to do without him?”
I hated to see Dolores’s pain, and remembering how desperately bereft I had felt when my husband, Frank, died, I knew it would continue for many years to come.
Dolores struggled to hold back her tears and began sniffling. “I am ready to hear more. How did it happen? Did he fall and hit his head? Was it a heart attack?”
I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. The sheriff—”
“Sheriff? Why the sheriff? Shouldn’t there be a doctor? An ambulance?” She threw back the covers and leaped out of bed, and for a second I was afraid she was going to run to the koi pond in her rose-colored nightgown, but her mind had made a quick turnabout.
“Abby. Willis was the only true connection she had to her mother, and now he’s gone, too. I have to go to her.” Dolores grabbed a robe from her chaise longue and crouched down to peer under the bed. “Where are my slippers?”
“Dolores, please. Clancy was outside this morning, so he knows about Willis. He went directly upstairs, and I am sure he will take care of talking to Abby.”
“Clancy is an inconsiderate, indifferent lout. I can’t trust him to tell Abby with the least bit of sensitivity. Don’t even get me started on all the things Willis told me about his behavior while poor Emily was sick.” Dolores looked even more stricken, if that was possible. “Oh, Jess, what will I do if Clancy decides to take Abby away from me? I
