Derek and I walked out of the room, just as another security guard approached. I was surprised to see that it was George from Derek’s office. He had been undercover security when I worked on a television show several months earlier.
I looked at Derek. “I forgot that Robson told me you hired your own team for Trudy.”
“Gabriel’s men are busy at the caves, so it made sense to recruit a few of my own people. George is in charge of the security detail for as long as Trudy’s hospitalized. He’s doing a great job.”
“Of course he is.” George had worked undercover with me at my television studio gig last month. I had complete confidence in his abilities and knew Trudy was in good hands. It didn’t surprise me a bit that Derek had gone the extra mile on this. But it did make me love him even more.
Smiling at his boss’s words, George greeted me with a hug. We talked for a moment, then turned to leave, just as a woman dashed up the hall toward us in a state of complete panic.
I did a double take. “Elizabeth?”
She skidded to a stop. “Brooklyn?” She whipped her head around, looking for something. “Where’s Trudy? I have to see her.”
I stood my ground, unwilling to let her pass. “Where have you been for the past thirty hours?”
She seemed taken aback. “I was . . . I was out of town for a few days. Trudy knew I was going away. I was supposed to return tomorrow but . . .”
“But you’re here now.”
She shook her head as though confused. “Yes, because I happened to check my voice mail and heard a cryptic message from a police detective that something had happened. I rushed back home to Trudy’s and saw the crime scene tape and called the detective back. She refused to tell me where Trudy was, so I tried to contact you, but there was no answer. So I called your mother.”
“My mother?” I was getting dizzy from the twists and turns of her story. Frankly, I hadn’t checked my messages since the attack occurred, so I rifled through my purse for my phone. Sure enough, there was a missed call. “Okay, it looks like you tried to call me. But where were you? When did you leave? How did you get my mother’s number?”
“From, um, your sister Savannah.”
“Savannah?” That was weird, but possible, I supposed. She’d met Savannah when we all had dinner at her restaurant the other night. “And my mother told you what happened?”
“She just told me that Trudy was in the hospital, so I raced over here as fast as I could. Will she be all right? I want to see her. What happened?”
“She was shot,” I said bluntly. “Why did you disappear?”
She shook her head a few times as though she hadn’t heard me correctly. “Brooklyn, I didn’t just disappear. I’ve been out of town since Saturday. What in the world happened while I was gone?”
“Somebody shot Trudy and killed Amelia,” Derek said. “Can you confirm where you were on Monday?” He was being blunt, too.
“Monday?” Elizabeth swallowed nervously. “You mean yesterday?” Her gaze was diverted to something behind us. I turned and saw Robson standing at the door to Trudy’s room, listening to every word she said.
Elizabeth blinked and looked back at Derek. “I—I was out of town. I told you.”
“Can you be more specific?”
She scowled. “No.”
“So that’s all you have to say?” he asked.
“Yes. Are you accusing me of something?”
“Not yet. I’m simply gathering information. Can anyone corroborate your story?”
“You mean, do I have an alibi?”
“Yes.”
She stared at the floor for a long moment, then glared up at Derek. “It’s none of your business where I’ve been or who might’ve seen me. I don’t have to tell you anything. You have no authority over me.”
I almost sputtered. The man had authority written all over him. And as far as the town of Dharma went, Robson Benedict was the supreme authority, although the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department might’ve balked at that description.
“True,” Derek said mildly. “You don’t have to tell me a thing. But you will have to tell the police.” He pulled out his cell phone and made the call.
*
Derek dropped me off at the house and drove off to keep his rescheduled appointment with Noland Garrity. After all the excitement at the hospital, I spent the rest of the day sleeping and recuperating. I barely managed to do much else but sip from a bowl of soup that night.
The following afternoon, Derek returned home from yet another meeting with Garrity. As he fixed a pot of tea, we returned to the topic of Elizabeth’s brief disappearance and her reluctance to tell us anything.
“She was right, of course,” Derek said as he pulled two teacups out of the cupboard. “We can’t force her to talk to us. But we weren’t exactly interrogating her. We just wished to know where she’s been for the past few days.”
“I’m glad you called the sheriff.” I was still miffed that Elizabeth wasn’t willing to tell us where she’d gone. I’d been so worried, but now I was just suspicious.