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Ivy dropped off the Millers and Scout at Flora's house. Kat and Flora looked frightening with their yesterday's hair and luggage sized bags under their eyes. "When was the last time you all slept? Really slept?"
Flora and Kat laughed in unison. Their cackling worried Ivy. She hoped she didn't grow into the present version of her mom friends. For a moment, she considered taking Scout with her. However, a madhouse filled with caring kids and mothers was better for an infant than the police station and hospital.
She fed Scout her mid-morning cereal before scooting. Emily was waiting. Her phone call convinced Ivy to step in. Emily's promise to go to the police filled in any questions she had about the situation. A fast text to Lydia eased her worries.
After the last conversation with Emily, Ivy wondered if there was anything more she needed to add in her talk with Sheriff Everett. Ivy steeled herself for anything.
✽✽✽
"Overdosed?" Gus puffed out his cheeks. The week was crashing around him and his boss. Ethan headed to Ashton to have a more in-depth conversation with the coroner. Though Ethan trusted his staff, eavesdroppers were continually calling in. He didn't want anyone to hear the news or part of the news and twist it to fit their lopsided theories.
"That's what they said," Ethan relayed.
"On what?"
"They'll tell me when I get there."
"On purpose," Gus asked.
"Again, they'll tell me when I get there." Ethan tightened his belt and caught a glimpse of himself his office mirror. He looked awful. Raking a comb through his hair and splashing aftershave over his five o'clock shadow would have to do for his trip.
"But Mario Muggs? He wasn't that kind of man. Suicide? Nope. Recreational drug use? Nope. It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe it will after my visit. Keep Joe fed and away from the public. I'll check in on the way back." Ethan slid into the front seat of his vehicle and hurried to Ashton Hospital.
✽✽✽
"What was Cordelia doing, right before she lost it?" Dr. Lawrence asked, helping himself to Jacqui's tea kettle. The steamy water cascaded over the chocolaty mound of hot cocoa mix. Little powder cluster islands drifted to the surface of his mug. The doctor shuffled through Miss Jacqui's kitchen drawers until he found a spoon.
Jacqui's eyes locked on the ceiling as she dug through her mental files retrieving the memories. "First, I tried to get her to eat something. She would have none of it. She turned down my famous Shepherd's Pie and even snubbed Oatmeal Scotchies. Finally, I convinced her to have some hot chocolate. I figured empty calories were better than nothing."
Dr. Lawrence frowned and stirred his drink. "Cordelia isn't supposed to have chocolate."
Jacqui's eyes widened. "Allergic? Is that what made her crazy?"
The doctor reassured Jacqui with simple shakes of his head. "No. She's not allergic. It sends her heart racing. I'm surprised I didn't notice any abnormalities when I was here."
"As I was saying, she had hot chocolate and went to bed." Muffin pawed at the doctor's leg. He reached to pet the shaggy pup and was greeted with a slimy lick. "Muffin went with her."
The doctor wiped his hand on a napkin and examined the faked medication containers. He took a big swig of his drink and immediately spat it back in his mug.
"Was it too hot?" Jacqui leaped up and retrieved a bundle of paper towels, handing them to the doctor. He took them and wiped off his face while collecting the hot cocoa. He dumped the powder on a clean paper towel and sifted through it with his finger.
Abnormal clumps of brilliant blue decorated the Dutch chocolate and sugar mixture. "What are those?" Carrie asked.
Doctor Lawrence picked up a chunk and inspected it at close range. "Looks like Adderall!"
✽✽✽
Lydia arrived at the Brandes house only moments after Ivy left. She'd hoped to check in on the teen. It had been days since she'd sat down with Ivy for a visit. Last time they chatted, it was over Emily's dramatic last few weeks.
It surprised Lydia. She started to see Ivy as more of a daughter than a house guest. She craved a conversation with her. Almost as much as she longed to talk with Joan. If her current situation ever solved itself and life returned to basic and boring, she was planning a date night with her young friend.
Flora charged Eloise with supervision duty and bribed the bunch with freshly baked cinnamon buns, after lunch. The cluster of children herded into the basement-slash-playroom, giggling with every step.
"Okay, where should we start?" Kat bounced from foot to foot. Flora dug through a wheeled tote and pulled out decorative papers and a scrapbook. "That's not what I had in mind." Kat scoffed at her friend.
Flora's face went from hurt to smug in a series of micro-expressions. "Give me a moment. I do have something to say."
Scout played with a plastic key ring in the portable crib next to the couch, while Enoch slumbered in his Moses basket. Flora spread the thirteen by thirteen fabric-covered book out on the kitchen table. The first few pages hosted empty paper frames and a scattering of stickers. Kat huffed. Her impatience wore on Flora. She spun, quickly, to the middle section.
Lydia whistled. "Look at you!" She praised the craftiness of her artsy friend.
Nestled in the centerfold, Flora had created a timeline. It started two months back with the disappearance of Mario Muggs. Kat choked on her self-righteous frustration. Words wouldn't come to explain her rudeness. Flora smiled in quiet forgiveness and victory.
"I backtracked a bit. I remember when Cordelia first reported Mario missing. She asked me to sit with her and Ethan. I wrote everything down. His last few inspections and where he was headed the day he disappeared." Flora pointed to photos and notes on the timeline that corresponded with Mario's trips.
She flipped a couple of pages and revealed a timeline pertaining to the trash smashing fiascos. Details, dates, and car descriptions labeled each entry. Finally, she revealed her work regarding Hobo Joe's attack.
"I haven't had time to add Braden and Lucas to the timeline since I was at Jacqui's."
"This is amazing, Flora." Kat did not hold back. She praised Flora's organization skills. Flora beamed, happy to be a help and pleased to be a part, once again. Lydia flipped through the pages. "Uh oh," Kat said. "I recognize that look."
"Help yourself to the coffee," Flora waved Kat to the kitchen. Kat obeyed, hurrying to supply Lydia with liquid brain food.
✽✽✽
Ethan spotted Ivy in the hospital hallway. He was too tired to be surprised. Ivy shifted in her shoes. Ethan noticed her discomforted attitude.
“Let me guess," he said. "You smuggled Emily here?" Ivy nodded speechlessly. "I need to talk to that girl."
"Yes, you do. She's planning to see you, right after talking with Lucas."
"I'm not going to ask if Lucas' father cleared her for visits. I'm not here to see Lucas." Ivy scratched an imaginary itch on her elbow, trying to avoid eye contact. She didn't want to lie to Ethan. He understood and chose not to ask any further questions. "Text me, when you're on your way to the station.”
"Will do." Ivy sighed, diffusing the unspoken tension. Ethan patted her shoulder. The tenderness he felt for the teen shocked him. In six months, she'd morphed from houseguest to surrogate daughter. Though she looked nothing like his Joan, when he looked into her innocent and worried eyes, he saw his girl smirking back at him.
Ethan headed for the elevator. Ivy's neck muscles relaxed from Ethan's reassuring contact. It was a weird feeling, having a father figure looking out for her. Ivy wiped away a rogue and unexpected tear before resuming as a lookout for Emily.
✽✽✽
"Who was Mario inspecting the days before his death?" Kat paced around the table. It gave Flora goosebumps and wore on Lydia's nerves.
"Um, that would be Victor Cotton, Berna at the Hive, and Davis Goldberg." Flora read without inflection or inference. Her voice stayed flat. She sipped at her lactation tea and wished it was double strength matcha.
"Mario was found in the Goldberg trash. He's it. Got to be."
"Except it's not him," Lydia said, rubbing her frown lines. Kat hurried to her purse. She tossed Lydia a bottle of peppermint oil. "Not again."
Kat snorted. "Don't be a baby. Sniff the lid if you're afraid to touch it. It will help you stay awake. Drop some in your coffee."
Lydia twisted the lid and sniffed. Cooling breath iced her nasal passages and her throat, filling her lungs with winter, and kick-starting her brain. She passed the bottle back.
"How do you know it's not him?" Flora's eyes tingled from the peppermint fumes.
"Hard to explain. He's far too impressed with the whole thing. He's excited to be a part of the town's drama."
“What a weirdo!" Kat spat.
"He's lonely," Lydia explained her conversation with Mr. Goldberg from the weak brew to the tire tracks.
"Very lonely," Kat said.
"Did you get a picture of the tracks by any chance?" Flora was not participating with Kat's judgment of Mr. Goldberg.
"Yes. On my phone." Lydia dug in her bra and handed over the device. "Sorry, "she said when Flora's nose wrinkled.
"Mind if I print it out?" Lydia shook her head, and soon, the printer was whining through sheets of paper and slowly assembling pixels into pictures.
✽✽✽
"Well," Dr. Lawrence stood from the table. "While we're waiting for the Sheriff, I think I'll check in on Cordelia. Carrie, will you join me?"
The medical professionals were upstairs only a few moments when Dr. Lawrence called for Jacqui. His tone stirred Jacqui's internal alarm, and she hurried to the doctor's side. He stood in Jacqui's guestroom. The opened door revealed Carrie Garrett standing by an empty bed, an open window, and no Cordelia.
"Where is she?" Jacqui burst into the room, looking behind the door and in the closet.
"That's what we'd like to know," Carrie said as Jacqui leaned out the window and scanned the street.
✽✽✽
Ethan felt torn. He was halfway back to the office when his cellphone whined. He answered through the Bluetooth speaker. "What is it, Gus?"
"We've received a missing person call." Ethan listened as Gus detailed the call.
"Dear Jesus," Ethan called out for help as he cranked his steering wheel and pointed his headlights back to Ashton.