There was no upside to this, no redeeming quality. Everyone lost.
There were a lot of people to pity, today. I stood alone and shocked while Brad made some notes and prepared to interview other witnesses.
“Roe, Roe!” It was Robin, being held back behind a thrown-up barricade at the main entrance to the hospital parking lot.
I had never been happier to see someone in my life. “Can I go home?” I said. I would have pleaded, if necessary.
“Yes. We may have to talk to you again,” Brad said. “Good-bye, Ms. Teagarden.”
“Officer Rodenheiser,” I said, bobbing my head. After that curious formality, I hurried over to my husband. Maybe I should have gone back inside to check on my mother and John, but what Cathy had told Mr. Redding was true: the people inside the building had been the safest people in town.
Chapter Fifteen
By that night, the town had exploded with news trucks and reporters and curiosity seekers.
I was glad to be at home with my family. I was not going to talk about the shooting to anyone. I was very upset about Susan Crawford. I saw her fall, over and over again.
The next morning, I ran down my list of acquaintances to find someone close enough to Susan’s family to have reliable information.
The wife of the brother of Susan’s baby daddy worked at my mother’s real estate agency. Mother had sold the majority of the firm to a group of her agents, though she kept a small percentage of the profit. And from time to time she dropped in, just to remind them she was still around and watching.
The new receptionist buzzed Brenda instantly. Brenda said hello with that pleased anticipation that told you you were going to make her day.
“Brenda, this is Aurora,” I said.
“I’m glad to hear from you. How is John doing?”
“He’s better, thank you. Hanging in there. I called to ask about Susan.”
“She had to have an operation yesterday,” Brenda said. She sighed heavily. “But she’s going to be okay, and the baby’s going to be okay, at least … we think. She’ll be off work for quite a while. Her shoulder’s pretty messed up.”
“Is she very … shaken?” I couldn’t find exactly the right word.
“She hasn’t been talking much because of the pain meds. I think every law enforcement person in the county has stopped by or sent flowers or a card.” Brenda paused. “I couldn’t ever do that job. I admire her.”
“Me, too,” I said. “Please let me know if there’s anything I can do. I saw … I saw it.” I felt tears welling into my eyes at the remembrance. Yes, I was shaken up plenty.
“Oh my God,” Brenda said. “Oh, Roe! I’ll tell Susan you asked about her.”
“Thanks.” I felt better after I hung up.
The papers and the TV were raking into Duncan Carson’s life, leaving no stone unturned. His “mentally ill” mother and his absentee father were presented as negligent parents who “let” Duncan live in a world of fantasy and violence. Naturally, a lot was made of the fact that the shooter’s aunt was a police detective and had actually been on the scene.
Cathy did not talk to the press.
At least momentarily, the public focus veered off the death of Tracy Beal and the disappearance of Virginia Mitchell to explore the hospital shooting. Though public attention may have wavered, the police did not. Levon Suit called me that afternoon and asked me to come down to the police station with Robin.
“Why?” I was very reluctant to go anywhere close to SPACOLEC, with the media scrutiny so intense.
“There’s someone I want you to see,” he said.
“And you’re not telling me who that someone is? I don’t know why I should oblige you, frankly.”
Robin, who had been vacuuming his office, drifted into the family room and waited for the end of the conversation.
“Roe, we want this situation to end as much as you do,” Levon said. “Cathy’s got to focus on her family for a couple of days, but she’s still monitoring the case. I’m trying to keep the momentum going.”
What momentum? I would have liked to know what he considered forward progress.
Solely because Levon Suit had been my friend for many years, I very reluctantly agreed to do as he’d asked.
“Come at five, please,” he said. “Both of you.”
“If Phillip is home to keep the baby,” I said.
Phillip, who now almost envied the kids who had been at the party last Saturday night, got home in time to watch Sophie, who had just filled up. Robin was not happy about this meeting, or whatever it was. “Maybe we should get a lawyer,” he said, as we climbed in the car.
I tried to explain that Levon had framed the whole request in terms of Cathy’s personal disaster, but Robin didn’t think that made any difference. To me, it did, but to Robin, Levon was playing emotional dirty pool.
We were glad to see that the press seemed to be away from SPACOLEC. Maybe they were having a happy hour. I cheered up, and so did Robin. We scooted in the front door of the station and asked for Levon. He came out to greet us, and led us back into the detectives’ area. We paused by his desk while Levon talked to another officer, who’d been standing before a door with a small rectangular window embedded with wire mesh. An interrogation room.
“Here you go,” Levon said, beckoning. He opened the door with a flourish and gestured for me to walk in first. I looked at the man sitting at the scarred table.
He was younger than me by at least ten years, and he had a lot of curly black hair and a noble mustache. He stood politely, and I saw he was dressed in a nice shirt and khakis. He was looking at me with as much curiosity as I’d shown him.
Robin came in right on my heels. Levon had stepped to one side, and he was looking from one face to the other.
“Hello,” I said, at a loss.
“Carlos Rivera, ma’am,” the stranger said.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Aurora Teagarden, and this is my husband, Robin Crusoe.” The other shoe dropped. “Oh, are you Virginia’s half brother?”
“Yeah, that’s me. You the lady she was working for?”
Robin reached around me to shake Carlos Rivera’s hand, and they nodded at each other in a manly way.
“I know you must be so worried. Your poor mother!” I shook my head in commiseration.
“She’s very upset.” He looked down at the gray metal table. “We both are.”
I sat down opposite him, so he could resume his seat. “How could you be any other way? We think so highly of Virginia. I’m praying she shows up soon, safe and sound, and explains what happened.”
“You don’t think she’s dead?” He seemed hopeful.
“I’ll believe the best until I find out different.”
Now I understood why I was here. Levon had wanted to verify that Robin and I had never met Carlos, and that he had never seen us.
I met Levon’s eyes. He looked down.
It was impossible to separate Levon’s job from his behavior. I couldn’t be his friend and, at the same time, his suspect.
Our old friendship was simply dissolving, and I couldn’t think of any way to save it.