“She’s okay now?” Daniel wanted to know. He had returned to the hospital, and he and Eve were driving back to the hotel.
“They got her stabilized, but she was really upset.” Eve pulled on the strap of her seat belt. She turned to Daniel. “She thought I was Dorisanne,” she explained. “She got all hysterical because she thought I was in trouble, that somebody, a he, that was all she’d say, knew it was me and was looking for me. It was like she was trying to warn me against something or somebody.”
Daniel seemed to consider Eve’s report. “Do you think she was talking about Steve? Do you think she’s worried that her boyfriend will come after you, I mean, Dorisanne, next?”
Eve shrugged. She hadn’t figured out Pauline’s warning. When she was allowed back into the hospital room, her sister’s neighbor was even more heavily sedated than she had been earlier.
“I don’t know. I guess that makes sense. If Steve was mad at Pauline for helping out Dorisanne, he’d be mad at Dorisanne for getting her involved.” She blew out a breath. “But what would Dorisanne have gotten Pauline involved in? Why would Steve be mad about that?” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to think. I just know Pauline was beaten really badly and that she was truly frightened that something was going to happen to Dorisanne next.”
There was a pause in the conversation as Daniel headed out across the intersection, moving away from the hospital and back toward the Strip.
“What about you? What did you find out? Were you able to get in and see Steve?”
Daniel took one hand off the steering wheel and propped his arm on the door. “James got me in. I talked to the boyfriend for a little while. It’s no surprise that he claims he didn’t do it.”
Eve waited for more. She watched as Daniel moved in and out of traffic. She was starting to recognize points of interest, the casino with the dancing fountains and the one with the pirate ship.
“He says he got drunk and stayed at a friend’s house last night, fell asleep there, and didn’t go home today. He says he hasn’t seen Pauline since yesterday morning when she got home from the previous night’s shift.”
“Has anybody checked out his story?”
Daniel shrugged. “It turns out that nobody is in a real hurry to let this guy out. He has a couple of outstanding warrants for past grievances, and they’re not really interested in proving his innocence. They want to let him stew a while.” He glanced over at Eve. “The Las Vegas police like to prioritize their assignments, and this one is at the bottom of the pile.” He turned back to the road. “But James has promised to call me if he finds out anything.”
“Do you think he’s telling the truth?”
Daniel stopped at a light and turned back to Eve. “I do,” he said softly. He waited for the green light and moved ahead. “He said he and Pauline have had fights in the past, that he’s hit her and he feels bad about that, but he swears he didn’t do this. And he seems really upset about what’s happened. He kept asking me to call the hospital and see if she was okay.”
“But that’s not that unheard of,” Eve noted. “The women who come to the abbey say there’s nothing like the concern they get after the husband or boyfriend realizes how badly they’ve hurt them. Flowers, candy, jewelry, they call them guilt gifts. Some of the women laughed about it.”
“I know,” Daniel agreed. “But he didn’t seem guilty. He acted more jumpy than anything. It’s almost like he wanted to get out of jail to protect her, not to keep her from talking or try to make amends.”
“Well, if his alibi proves solid, then I suppose he didn’t do it.” She didn’t think it would be that difficult to find out the truth. “You can’t be at two places at once.”
“He admits he has a bit of a problem with that.”
Eve waited for the explanation.
“He said his friend left his house early this morning. He doesn’t really have anybody to back up his story.”
“What about the apartment manager, Mr. Whitehorse? Did you get back to the complex to talk to him?”
Daniel nodded. “He says he didn’t see any strangers around the place this morning.”
“He doesn’t remember the motorcycle coming in or going out?” Eve was still bothered by the familiar mustached man she had seen earlier and wondered if he had anything to do with what had happened.
“He claims there are a couple of tenants who ride bikes. Both Harleys, he says. Didn’t recall hearing one before the police arrived, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have thought anything about it because he’s used to hearing one leave every day after lunch. Guy goes to work about the time we were there.”
“And would he give you the names of these Harley owners?”
Daniel turned again to Eve.
“What?” she wanted to know.
He shook his head. “You,” he answered.
“What about me?”
“You just have the instinct for this kind of thing,” he replied.
Eve couldn’t help herself, she smiled. It pleased her to hear her father’s former partner giving her such praise.
“And no, Mr. Whitehorse didn’t care to share the names of his tenants. He’s pretty protective of the place.”
“A little too protective, if you ask me,” Eve commented, remembering how he didn’t want to let them into Dorisanne’s apartment, how he questioned who they were and why they wanted to get in there. “He seems a bit hypervigilant for an apartment manager.”
“Yeah, well, maybe he loves his work.” Daniel made the turn into the hotel parking lot. “You want to get something to eat?” he asked.
Eve glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It was well after seven. She was pretty hungry. “Let’s go back to that diner,” she suggested.
“You hoping to find that Caesar’s waitress again?” Daniel asked. “Talk to her, see if she knows anything?”
Eve glanced over at her friend. She shook her head and grinned. “No, it’s not anything like that. I just enjoyed the meat loaf.”