I stepped in the room to see Lexi with a syringe in her hand. “So you’re the receptionist and the nurse. Honey, you got some explaining to do because I don’t think you’re qualified to be giving anybody what’s in that needle.”
“Eugeena, thank goodness you’re here. I really want to go home, but no one will take me.”
Lexi frowned. “What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be in here.”
“Well, why don’t you get Ms. Saunders? Louise and I have to have a talk with her.”
Lexi looked unsure and I was not happy with her holding up that syringe. I took my phone out. “I will call social services if you don’t put that syringe down. I see something that looks suspiciously like elder abuse to me.”
Louise rose up in the bed. “That’s exactly what it is, Eugeena. You get her.”
Lexi looked at Louise like she was going to stick her with the syringe anyway, but she moved past me. She threatened, “I will be back.”
I turned towards Louise and watched as she blinked back tears, “I don’t like her. She’s not very nice. Something has happened to Pat. I haven’t seen her in days.”
This wasn’t the time to upset Louise. “I know your favorite nurse is Pat. Now, how are you doing?”
Louise pointed to a notebook by her side. “I have William’s funeral planned out. It’s been hard to do because I seem to sleep all the time.”
I smiled and reached for the notebook. “I’m sorry I haven’t been here for you. You should have had someone here to help you.”
“Have they found out anything about my William?”
“Not that I know of. Did you two get a chance to talk on Sunday?”
“A little. I kind of wasn’t listening to him. I had other things on my mind.”
“You know he had someone buying the house.”
Louise tilted her head. “Yes, I remember him saying there was a buyer. I hope they would change their mind and not want the house. That’s my house, Eugeena.”
“Mrs. Patterson, you need to leave the premises.”
I looked up to see Ms. Saunders at the door. The large male nurse I had seen earlier was behind her.
I started to protest, but Louise changed my mind.
“Jacqueline, why would you ask Eugeena to leave? She’s my friend.”
Jacqueline stepped in the room as if she was coming to remove me herself.
Louise kept talking. “Eugeena, did you know William has been in love with this woman since they were teenagers?”
“No, I didn’t. I would love to hear more about this.”
Jacqueline froze looking from Louise to me.
“Oh yes, during high school William was so in love with her. They went to the senior prom together. I still have that photo somewhere, not sure where it is now.”
I decided to help Louise speed up these revelations. “So do you think William still had a thing for Ms. Saunders?”
“Oh yes, that’s why he was all cleaned up last week. I think they have been going out together.”
“No!” Ms. Saunders shouted. “You’re wrong. There was nothing going on between William and me.”
I thought back to Sunday.
It’s just the way I remember it. That strange comment from the female buyer of the house made sense now. Jacqueline knew that house. “So, Jacqueline, you must have spent a lot of time at the Hopkins house. Louise, did you know that Jacqueline loved your house so much she wanted to buy it?”
Louise looked at Jacqueline. “You? Why would you buy my house?”
“A better question is why did she shoot William?”
Jacqueline turned a shade of red that I wanted to say looked dangerously close to purple. “I did no such thing.”
“But your brother, James Nelson, just said you borrowed his car. That would be a Mustang, right? The police were just asking him about the car. He must be real upset with you that you took his car and used it as a getaway car.”
Jacqueline roared, “I knew I should have taken care of you. You just don’t quit. All of your questions.”
“Like Pat. Who probably didn’t really quit either?”
With that Jacquelyn turned around and fled the room. She pushed past the big male nurse who was standing behind her.
I yelled at him. “What kind of nurse are you? Protect your patients. That woman is a murderer. Go get her.”
The man looked at me like he was crazy but took off down the hallway.
Louise looked bewildered, “What just happened?”
“We just called out a killer?” My phone rang and I saw it was Amos. I answered the phone and yelled, “She’s getting away. What should we do?”
Amos responded, “No, she’s not. We got her.”
I smacked myself on the head. “You did! That was fast.”
“Detective Wilkes was already on it. Apparently, she’d asked James Nelson to wear a wire when he was talking with his sister earlier.” When he left, that was the cue for the police to enter the nursing home.
I inhaled deeply and then blew out a breath, feeling tension leaving my body. “That worked out pretty good. I managed not to get into too much trouble.”
“I told you to let God handle it.”
I laughed, but I still wanted answers. What exactly was Jacqueline Saunders trying to hide that cost William and Pat their lives?