“When did Regina and Luann get sick?” Cece asked.
“That same day. Later in the evening.”
“And Gordon?”
Tinkie looked so lost. “He went out to the Carlisle place around six o’clock. From what I understand he checked the house, walked the area, then went home to change clothes. He called in for medical help from there. He was nearly unconscious by the time the paramedics got to him. The only strange thing he said was that the cotton at the Carlisle place was extremely high, like a late-August crop instead of newly planted. Oscar had told Margene the same thing.”
“And Regina and Luann? Were they at the Carlisle plantation?”
“Coleman has confirmed that. They went out, hoping to list the property.” Tinkie rubbed at her eyes.
“High cotton,” I mused. “That would seem to be a good thing. A farmer might get two crops a year instead of one if there was a variety that developed this fast.”
Tinkie fumbled in her pocket and brought out a tissue. “As far as we know, neither Oscar nor Gordon saw anything unusual except the cotton. Of course, they’re not talking now.”
I relayed the news about the CDC to both of them. Cece met it with a frown. “Are we positive that it’s the Carlisle place that Oscar, Gordon, and the realtors have in common?”
That was an excellent question, and one that needed an immediate answer.
Cece picked up Tinkie’s hand. “You’re going to have to help us with this, Tink. We can’t do it without you.”
The blank look she gave Cece concerned me. “It doesn’t matter where he got it, Cece. The only thing that matters is that he gets over it.”
That wasn’t my partner talking. That was exhaustion and desperation and fear. Tinkie loved Zinnia and the people of Sunflower County. She hadn’t yet projected this illness to other residents. In her mind, it was contained within the walls of the hospital, within the room where her husband and three others lay dying.
“I’ll get the food and Chablis,” I told them.
“I’ll stay here,” Cece told me. “Just hurry.”
Wishbones Page 29