“I didn’t hear a click, either,” Vi said. She rested her elbows on the now spotless table. “I knew something was wrong.”
“You weren’t anywhere near Rafe. How would you have heard a click?” I turned to her, realizing I was now interrogating my own partner.
“He said there should have been a click.” She waved her hand toward Daron. “It sounds like it should have been pretty loud. Spring-loading makes a loud click. I didn’t hear a click.” She crossed her arms and nodded at Daron.
He smiled at her but it disappeared when he looked back at me. “I think the paramedics took the EpiPen with them when they left. Maybe they kept it with his things when they brought him to the hospital.”
I nodded, thinking that Mac and Charla had probably already covered that base. Plus, I had no authority to inspect the EpiPen. I’d be lucky if Mac never heard of my interview with Daron.
“Anything else strike you about that night?”
Vi coughed.
He shook his head. “No, it was a pretty classic allergic reaction. It was a really rapid response but it’s not unheard of. It’s why they often tell you to bring two EpiPens just in case one malfunctions.”
Vi shuffled her feet.
I turned to her. “Do you have something you’d like to ask?”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “Do you have any pets?”
Daron’s eyes grew wide and he glanced at me.
“No, ma’am. No pets.”
“You don’t like animals?”
Daron shifted in his seat. “I like animals. I had a dog growing up. I live in an apartment now, so it’s not allowed.”
The pretty receptionist poked her head in the door. “Daron, they need you in exam room three.”
He nodded to her and stood. “I hope that helps. I can’t think of anything else right now.” He stole a quizzical glance at Vi and skirted around her to the door. “Tell Diana I’ll come by and see her soon.”
We watched him leave and then I turned to my germophobe aunt.
Before I could speak, she said, “That went great! We make a good team. We should do more of this. We could go into business.” She started ticking things off on her fingers. “We could help find things, locate lost animals, or solve burglaries. I’ve been studying up on how to tail someone without getting caught.”
Hoping to distract her from this conversational direction, I said, “Why did you ask about pets?”
“I thought I could get corroboration from a dog or a cat. But we’ll just have to take his word for it that he tried his best to help Rafe.”
16
Violet was quiet on the ride home. It worried me. She was only quiet if she was sick or plotting something.
“You should go see Neila right now.” She turned in her seat to give me the benefit of her full stare.
“Now? I’m right in the middle of trying to help Dylan and Diana. I don’t have time to wander memory lane with one of grandma’s old friends.”
“I’m getting a feeling you don’t have time not to. Drop me at home, and I’ll cover for you. You know how to get to her house?”
I nodded. I hadn’t agreed to her plan, but she plowed on ahead as if I had.
“I’ll tell them you had to run an errand for Diana.”
“Vi, I do have to run some errands for Diana. I don’t have time for Neila.” I also didn’t want to go to her spooky house all by myself. I thought if I had to go I would drag Alex or Seth with me.
Vi shook her head. “You have to go alone. She won’t talk to you if you bring anyone else.” It never ceased to annoy me when Vi seemed to read my mind. She always knew when I was planning to ignore her instructions. I suspected she was picking up on some sort of cues I was sending out but I’d never identified exactly what it was that tipped her off. Of course, she would claim it was all part of her talent.
I breathed out slowly. Maybe it would be easier to make a quick trip up there, say hello, and be done with it than to continue to dodge Vi and her “feelings.”
“Okay, I’ll drop you off.”
A few minutes later, Violet stood on the gravel driveway outside my Jeep. “If I don’t hear from you in two hours, I’m coming up there searching for you.”