Once back at the Charleston Harbor Inn, Lorelei and Bindi ran upstairs. Bindi went straight for her food and fresh water. Lorelei stripped, leaving a trail of clothes behind her as she made her way to the shower. She did not want to show up at the hospital all wind blown, sandy, and wet, as she struggled getting out of her sweat pants.
Once clean, she dressed in Levi’s and a sweater, pulled on her boots and went in search for her hairbrush. She was torn between getting her long red curls cut off into something fashionable or just keep tossing it up in a messy bun. She found the brush with her hair dryer. After letting out a long sigh, she resigned herself to blow drying her hair. It would take a bit more time, but if she was going to keep it long, she needed to remember it was high maintenance.
Lorelei leaned out the bathroom door, checking the clock on the living room wall. She’d been home for almost an hour. She had not heard any more sirens, but she didn’t know if they would use them while taking Dee to the hospital, or, if they had, she wouldn’t have heard them while in the shower. She left her hair half damp, pulled it back up into a messy bun and ran for the door. Bindi followed.
“You’re staying home this time,” she said as she caught Bindi in mid jump. “Protect the fort!” She tossed Bindi down before grabbing a squeaky toy to throw for her. She then reached for the sweats that lay on the front room floor where she had left them, and pulled out the keys she took from Dee’s house. She locked up and headed down to her car. As she unlocked her Honda she tried to remember the way to the hospital.
CHAPTER TWO
OFFICERS SMITH AND Holloway watched the paramedics and the firemen hoist Dee Brown up the well worn trail on a stretcher. Officer Smith offered to help but was told that too many would make the task that much more difficult, so he left them to carry her up to the waiting ambulance.
“What are your thoughts on this one?” Officer Smith asked as they were alone on the beach.
“I think we need to go up there and look around,” Officer Holloway said, turning to her partner. “I think something happened up there that either frightened her, or bothered her enough to run, but not for help.”
“Yeah, something isn’t right,” Officer Smith said as he started making his way back to where Dee Brown slid down the embankment. Craning his neck, he looked up the hundred feet Dee had come down, seeing freshly disturbed dirt. “I’m going to guess she came down feet first, those ruts look like heel marks to me. And she’s lucky she came down where she did since it’s slightly sloped. If she’d been ten feet on either side, she would have come straight down, broken herself up good, if she survived at all.”
“It looks like this washed out a while ago. I don’t know why anyone would want a home so close to the cliffs the way these banks are eroding,” Officer Holloway said, looking around the cove’s walls.
“Let’s have a look from above,” Officer Smith said and they walked south, back toward the trail.
The large house sat away from the bluff but still had a magnificent view, unobstructed by trees. There was a well-worn path that went along the bluff, in front of the properties, connecting all the homes along the way. Officer Holloway walked around the house, looking for signs of a break in, or anything out of the ordinary that would frighten Dee Brown. She could see nothing out of place, no open doors, no broken windows.
“Here’s where she went down,” Officer Smith called to her, “and there seems to be foot prints on top of hers.”
Officer Holloway made her way back around the house and found the foot path that lead to her partner.
“You can see where she tripped,” Smith said, pointing to an exposed root, “and when she fell, she went right over the edge. That must be what she was able to hang on to, to stop her from sliding all the way down at once.” He pointed to another exposed root, a quarter of the way down the slope. “And here are another set of footprints, over hers, that had stopped here, and the person was either looking at the view, and not seeing Dee Brown hanging on for dear life, or it was just one of the home owners walking along who stopped to admire the view, and didn’t see Dee Brown, lying in a heap at the bottom of the bluff.”
“You’d need to lean over pretty far to see where she was,” Holloway said, “and by where these tracks are, they could not see her on the beach.”
“But they would see her hanging onto that root,” Smith said.
“Do you think she was pushed?” Holloway asked.
“I’m not sure what to think at the moment. She’s scared and she’s hiding things. We need to get to the hospital and question her again, let her know she’s safe talking to us, and maybe we can get some answers.”
They arrived at the hospital only to find Dee Brown unavailable. She was down in X-ray but the paramedics who brought her in were standing in the hallway next to her room.
“Alan, Cat,” Officer Michael Smith started, “how was Ms. Brown on the way in?”
“Hey Michael,” Cat said, “funny you should ask that. She was protesting a bit too much, just kept saying she was fine and she wanted to go home. I told her she was lucky to be alive after falling down the bluff the way she did.”
“Did she tell you anymore about what happened?” Amy asked.
“Nothing,” Alan said, “but as we were looking her over, before she was taken out of the cove, she kept looking up, like she was waiting for someone up there, but as far as I could tell, there was no one there.”
“I didn’t see anything up there either,” Cat said.
“We are going to stick around, have a talk with Dee Brown again, and see if we can’t get some answers,” Amy said.
“Good luck,” said Alan before he and Cat made their way down the hallway, and out of the Emergency Room.
“How do you want to handle this?” Amy asked Michael.
Going though his notes, Micheal said, “I remember the woman on the beach, Lorelei Silence, telling me Dee Brown was afraid and didn’t want to be left alone. She left her little dog with her while she ran for help.”
“I wouldn’t want to be left alone either,” Amy said, “especially if I had just slid down that bluff.”
“But you would want help, wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you hope the person who found you would be able to get you the help you needed?” Michael asked.
“I see your point, but Ms. Brown may have been in shock, or was confused.”
“She had her faculties about her when we arrived, but we don’t know her mindset when Lorelei found her.”
Amy looked quizzically at her partner at the informal mention of the witness’s name. Michael was still looking at his notes, a hint of a smile crossing his lips. Amy didn’t care for the smile, it was unbecoming of Michael to smile at a witness’s name.
“Michael,” Amy warned, “we don’t need you screwing things up because the witness is a cute red head. We have to keep a clear head and find out what happened.”
“Excuse me?” Michael did look up from his notebook this time.
“When you call a witness by her first name with that smile on your face, I see potential for a disaster in the making.”
“I’m not pulling a Rossi here by dating the witness, or the coworkers, or anyone else he manages to fancy that day,” Michael said, his cheeks flushed, “and I will not be doing anything that could be considered inappropriate that will put the defense on high alert.” Officer Rossi had been a member of the police department until their Captain found Rossi in a compromising position with a witness.
“If you say so,” Amy laughed. She never knew her partner to act on his emotions when dealing with a witness. His gut feelings, which were usually spot on, were another story, and she was sure his gut was telling him something was off on this one. She felt it too. Dee Brown was not telling them the whole story.
“Excuse me,” the technician said as he wheeled Dee Brown, in her bed past the officers, back into her cubicle in the emergency room. Both Michael and Amy stepped to the side so the tech could maneuver the bed back into positio
n and get Dee set back on her machines.
After the technician left, Michael Smith and Amy Holloway went back in to talk to Dee Brown.
“I don’t know what more I can tell you,” Dee said after listening to Officer Holloway ask again if there was something else Dee remembered. “I tripped over a root and slid down the bluff.”
“Ms. Brown, we noticed foot prints over the top of yours from where you slipped. Did you see anyone above, after you had fallen?” Officer Smith asked.
“No, but it’s a trail that is used often by people, and I couldn’t see the trail from where I landed. And if I did see someone, you can bet I would have called for help.” Dee stared at Officer Smith for a moment before breaking eye contact and looking away again.
“Okay,” he said, closing up his notebook and putting it back the breast pocket of his uniform.
They stepped out of the curtained room Dee Brown was in and walked down the hallway, out of earshot.
“She’s hiding something, but until we can get her to talk to us, we have nothing to go on,” Michael said.
“I agree,” Amy said, “we are just going to have to wait until she’s ready to open up and tell us what she saw. We can’t force her to talk. We need to leave her our cards and hope she will come forward.”
CHAPTER THREE
LORELEI PARKED AND ran into the Emergency Room. She went to the admission desk to get information.
“I am here with the woman who was brought in, the woman found at the beach.”
“Slow down,” the elderly woman behind the partition said.
“Dee Brown,” Lorelei said, taking a deep breath, “she was brought in not long ago, I would like to know if I can go back and sit with her.”
“Just a moment, please.” The woman called back to the ER nurse station. “Hello, yes, I have…” she looked at Lorelei with raised eyebrows.
“Lorelei.” She let her name hang in the air.
Back into the phone she said, “I have Lorelei here to see Ms. Brown. Yes,… okay, I’ll send her back.” She hung up and pointed to the big double doors that started to open. “Through there and you want number twelve.”
“Thank you!” Lorelei made her way into the emergency room and started looking for numbers above the closed curtains for each room. She turned back to head back up the hallway and nearly ran into the cops from the beach.
“I’m trying to find Dee Brown’s room”
“This way,” Officer Smith said, leading her down the hallway.
“I told her I would be here before she arrived and I am late. I had to get cleaned up.” She could feel her cheeks flush as Officer Smith turned to look at her.
Officer Holloway gave her a small smile. “You’re here now, no need to worry. I am guessing the doctor is still with her so she won’t know that you’re late.”
“I just wanted to get to her before she got worried.”
Smith led her past the nurses station and to the corner room. He pulled back the curtain and said, “Ms. Brown, your friend is here.”
Dee’s soft blue eyes lit up at the sight of Lorelei. She reached up, searching for her hand, a hospital band hung loosely around her wrist. Lorelei reached for her and held tight.
“Your hands are much warmer than they were before,” she laughed.
“I thought you weren’t going to make it,” Dee whispered to her, looking past her to Smith and Holloway.
“I told you I’d be here. I had to get changed and cleaned up so they would let me in to see you. I didn’t think I’d be taken seriously if I showed up in beach clothes.”
“This is a fishing community, honey, people will be here dressed much worse,” Dee said.
Dee finally looked at the police who had come in with her.
“Ms. Brown, where are the people who’s house you were checking on?”
“Paris, visiting their first great grand baby, and I’ve been feeding their cat.”
“I just need to make sure we have everything.” He turned to Lorelei. “And can you remember anything else, see anything out of the ordinary?”
“I wouldn’t know what is ordinary since I just moved back to the area. It was only my second time down to that cove.” Lorelei squeezed Dee’s hand.
“So you aren’t from around here?” he asked.
“My family moved from the area about sixteen years ago. My grandparents passed away a few months ago, and I just recently found out they left me their house.”
The cop looked down at his notebook for a moment. A smile briefly reached his lips before saying, “Where are you staying again?”
“I’m staying at the Charleston Harbor Inn, have been there a few days.” Lorelei wondered why he needed this information.
“Please don’t go too far, we may have more questions for you.” He closed his notebook.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay with Dee until she’s either in a room or released.”
The curtain was pulled back and a man walked in. He was older, with salt and pepper hair, wearing a white coat. “I’m Dr. Jamison, and I’m afraid I don’t know when we will be releasing Ms. Brown. We are waiting for some test results to come back.”
“I told you I feel fine, just a little sore from sliding down the bluff and embarrassed for needing to be brought in by ambulance.” Dee sat herself up in bed.
“Your vitals are fine, I am waiting for the X-rays, to know if there is any injuries we can’t see,” Dr. Jamison told her.
“How long will that be?” Lorelei asked.
“We should have them anytime. Are you sure you want to go home tonight?” Dr. Jamison asked Dee.
“I would do much better if I could sleep in my own bed,” she replied.
The cops left the room. The doctor started to leave but turned back to Dee. “Do you have anyone staying with you?”
“I’ll be staying with her,” Lorelei said before Dee could respond.
“Okay, then I’ll be back as soon as I have some answers.” He left, pulling the curtain closed behind him.
“Would you be okay with me staying with you?” Lorelei asked Dee once they were alone.
“I would appreciate you staying, I don’t want to be alone, and I really don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to.” Dee turned her head from Lorelei, and let out the deep breath she’d been holding in.
“What are you not telling the police?” Lorelei asked as she pulled a chair close to Dee and sat down. She grabbed her hand again and held it tight.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dee whispered as she kept her face turned away from Lorelei.
They sat in silence for a moment.
“Were you able to put my dog inside and lock my house?” Dee finally asked, breaking the silence.
“I did, and I grabbed the keys off the small table in the foyer. I didn’t know if you had keys with you and didn’t want you locked out of your house.” Lorelei realized she was rubbing the back of Dee’s hand, trying to comfort her.
“I have a key hidden outside my house, I’ve locked myself out one too many times not to have a hidden key.”
“Okay, I’ll get your keys back to you once you’re home.”
“I’d appreciate you keeping a set of keys,” Dee said.
“As much as I can understand that, you really don’t know me. For all you know I am a fugitive running from the law and using you as a way to hide out.”
Dee let out a laugh, “Yes, and I am on the FBI’s ten most wanted.”
Lorelei laughed at this. “You and I will do well together.”
“You look just like your mom,” Dee said after a few more moments of silence.
“You know my mom?” Lorelei tried to picture the woman’s face, but couldn’t.
“I didn’t recognize you at first, I haven’t seen you in quite some time.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember you,” Lorelei said.
“When you were little, your mom would bring you and Thomas over to play.”
“We did, and I’ve known your mom most her life. We lost touch when Harry, my late husband, and I sold our little store and moved. How is your mom doing?”
“She’s out traveling,” Lorelei said, “with her best friend.”
“And your dad?”
“He passed away a few years ago.”
“I’m so sorry,” Dee said. “You’ve grown into a beautiful young lady. Where is Thomas now?”
“He’s in Seattle, with his wife, Jessica. They have a financial advising business. They are doing pretty well”
They sat in silence again, listening to the sounds of the hospital as machines beeped, soft shoes padding on the floor outside in the hallway, the silent sobs of a family member in a next room to them, and down the hallway a drunk begging for a Subway sandwich.
The doctor opened the curtain again, leaving it open as he walked to the side of Dee’s bed.
“Your X-rays show no damage. Your test results came back fine. You are in remarkable shape for a woman of sixty-five.”
“And other than some bumps, bruises and scrapes from sliding down that bluff, I feel great,” Dee said.
Lorelei looked at Dee. She had a healthy glow to her, looking younger than when Lorelei found her on the beach a few hours ago. Her long hair was out of her face, and she had been given a washrag to clean up. Lorelei was surprised. She thought Dee was an old woman.
“I’ll be staying with her for the next few days, so if she needs to see her doctor I will be happy to take her to any appointments.”
The Case of the Stolen Art Work Page 2