Hazel sat quietly on the couch in reception. Her husband paced behind it. They both smiled at me as I sat down. It was too early for words.
She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and her long-sleeved shirt rode up her forearm, revealing bruising. They were dark purple and ran along her wrist.
“You okay?” I whispered.
“Yes, fine,” she answered. She looked up at me and I looked at the bruises. She pulled her sleeve down.
“It’s nothing, dear.”
The rest of the travelers arrived, as did Sonny, and we headed for our morning game drive. I tried to look at Hazel’s other wrist, without success.
I attempted to sit next to her on the second row but Jack pushed me out of the way. “I’ll handle seating today. You like to sit up there. Go there.”
It was too early to speak, never mind argue, and he was right. I did prefer to sit on the top tier. The better to watch the suspects.
“Charlotte, good morning, my dear,” he greeted my sister. “Why don’t you sit up front?”
“Okay,” she answered, looking him up and down.
“And Mr. Zonah, how are you this fine morning?”
“Fine,” he answered. He looked still asleep and didn’t find the effusive greeting as odd as Charlotte and I had.
“Why don’t you sit here? Next to our lovely Charlotte.”
Charlotte turned and gave me a look. I shrugged.
Mr. Vankey sat next to his wife and Jack held his hand out for Sabrina. He nonchalantly guided her to the middle row. The youngest of our group was left to sit in the first row.
Jack sat in the middle seat of the top tier and poked me and his wife, who sat on his other side. “Let love bloom!” Jack said.
Geri squeezed his hand and kissed him on the cheek. She was as equally pleased with him as he was with himself.
Charlotte was going to kill me.
When we stopped for a short break, Zonah held his hand out for Charlotte.
“Isn’t that sweet!” Geri whispered.
I nodded and smiled. If Charlotte found out I was responsible for this, in my sleuthing to find Dr. Higgins’ murderer, I’d be the next victim.
“Why are you suddenly about the love?” I asked Jack, when his wife was out of earshot. She was too busy trying to find more signs of young love.
Jack pointed at Geri. She had her hand on Zonah’s arm and was whispering in his ear. Love advice, I wondered.
“If she’s distracted, she’ll get off my ass.”
“I hope you don’t mean that literally,” I mumbled. Without my coffee, I didn’t have a filter.
He laughed heartily. “Rookie, I like you!” He walked away and headed toward Ray, who was pouring everyone a glass of juice.
With him out of the way, Charlotte walked up to me, sipping her orange juice. “I don’t want to get you started on that whole”—she looked around to see if anyone could hear her—“that whole thing, but Jack was acting funny this morning.”
“Really? I didn’t notice.”
“He was…I don’t know…different. Who’s that cheery at five in the morning?”
“Drugs…blame it on drugs.”
“Drugs?” she asked. “You think he’s on drugs?”
I shrugged. “He spends a lot of the time in the bar. Maybe he’s still drunk.”
She preferred that answer and nodded agreement.
We came upon a pair of giraffes walking along the grass. “One cow or female and one bull or male,” Sonny informed us. The male giraffe, several feet taller than the female, slowly trailed behind the female until the female stopped. He sniffed once at her bottom, while she stood still, with only her tail flicking back and forth.
“I hope you’ve had the birds and bees chat with Zaden, Sabrina,” Jack said. Sabrina and Zaden ignored him, while one or two others giggled. “If not, Giraffe King here is going to demonstrate it for us.”
On cue, the bull mounted the female. She walked away. He tried again and she again walked away, showing no interest in the mating.
“She told him, didn’t she,” Charlotte commented. The rest of the ladies in the group laughed, including me.
“Is that how it goes in your home, Jack?” Colin asked.
“No, quite the opposite!” Geri answered. There were a few snickers in the group. Jack wasn’t among them.
The cow craned her neck for leaves and began munching. The bull slinked off, leaving the female in peace. “In search of another love, I’m sure,” Geri whispered to me. “When you’re in the mood, you’re in the mood.”
I looked at Jack, who didn’t appear to hear her. Or maybe he pretended not to?
Maybe she was known to look for love where she could find it. She certainly flirted everywhere she could. I’d yet to see her have a conversation with a man and not touch him at some point.
Perhaps she went looking for love in suite five.
I looked over at Jack. And maybe he put an end to it.
After breakfast, I got up at the same time as Hazel.
“I was going to sit at the pool, want to join me?” I asked.
“That’s nice, dear, but I think I’m going to go back to the room.”
“Why don’t you come sit with me for a bit? I …I can show you some of the pictures I took today.”
“Oh, that does sound nice. I think you’re better with a camera than I am.” She looked back at her husband for what I thought was approval.
“That’s fine, honey. Go with Naomi.”
I only wanted a few minutes with her, away from her husband. It looked like he didn’t suspect anything. We walked to the pool, where several empty lounge chairs waited. The area was devoid of other guests. Just like I had hoped.
When we each sat down on a lounge, I didn’t waste any time. I asked, “Does he hurt you?”
“Who?
“Your husband.”
She gasped. “Why on earth would you say such a thing?”
I pointed to her wrist and the bruises we both knew were on them.
“Oh no. That’s the Coumadin.”
“The what?”
“The blood thinners. I have atrial fibrillation and I’m on a blood thinner. It thins my blood to keep me from having a stroke, but it has the nasty side effect of leaving bruises anytime I even bump into something just a little.” She rolled up her sleeve to show the bruises. In full view, they didn’t look like her husband had grabbed her or hit her. They were a series of little purple markings across her skin.
“They look like they hurt.”
“Oh no. They look worse than they are.” She pulled her sleeves down and patted me on my arm. “It’s so sweet you care. Colin is the most tender man I ever met.”
“Even with the PTSD?”
“Oh, when he has an episode he’s different, but I know how to handle him. He’d never, has never, hurt a fly.”
At that exact moment, Colin walked up to us. Had he been listening? Had he been spying on me and his wife? Did he know I was on to him? That I knew about his PTSD and that he could have killed Dr. Higgins in a fit of rage? Had he been that angry about his brief altercation with Dr. Higgins that last game drive, when he had called Hazel old?
“Here, honey, thought you might want this.” He handed her a book.
“Thank you, dear.” She took the book from him and returned her gaze to me. “Naomi here was worried about me and my bruises.” He looked at her and then to me, not understanding. “She thought you might be beating me.”
He sat down beside me and grabbed me. My initial instinct was to fight him off but then I realized he was hugging me. “Aren’t you a nice girl! To offer help to an old lady you don’t know.”
“Hey!” Hazel shouted, not liking being called old.
“Well, to her you’re old.” He defended himself with a smile.
Hazel turned her glare to me.
“Nope, I didn’t say that,” I pointed out.
They both laughed. He took my hand. “No, I’d never hurt her. It’s those drugs.”
“The drugs that keep me alive,” she reminded him.
“Yes, they cause all those bruises too. She knocks into something and it leaves a mark.” He got up and kissed her on the top of her head. “I’d never hurt her.”
I smiled and got up to leave. I hesitated. I wasn’t convinced. “But the war, the PTSD, you’ve never been violent?”
His usual demeanor returned. His stern face and set posture was imposing. I didn’t think I’d be getting any more hugs. “How do you know about that?” he asked.
I glanced at Hazel, who looked terrified. She remained silent.
“How does she know about that, Hazel?” he shouted.
“I…I just guessed. The tattoos. I had an uncle in the war. I…I know it can be difficult.”
He stepped toward me and I regretted asking Hazel to a secluded setting. I wished we were in the large common area, where employees or other guests might be. “And your uncle was violent?” he asked.
I did not want to continue my story about a fictitious uncle with PTSD. I wanted to get out of here but he blocked the walkway and the exit. I remembered Sonny’s words, “In the animal kingdom, retreating is a sign of weakness.” I stood my ground and matched his glare. I wondered if this was the last thing Dr. Higgins had seen. Those dark eyes staring at him.
“Colin,” Hazel whispered.
She gently touched his arm and he turned toward her. “She asks too many questions.”
“She was concerned about my bruises, Colin. She was concerned about me.”
“Then why is she asking about my PTSD? If I’m violent? Don’t we have enough problems! I don’t need this right now.”
“Colin,” she said, through clenched teeth. “Not now.” She glanced at me. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about their problems in front of me.
They turned their attention to me and stood silent. Colin stepped toward Hazel, giving me room to exit. I returned their silence and left.
As I reached the exit, I turned back toward them. They were huddled together on the lounge. Hazel had begun to cry.
If Colin thought he had problems before, he had no idea what a problem I could be.