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The next morning, I heard Holly downstairs early. It sounded like she was organizing things; putting things into drawers, cabinets, and closets. I knew she’d taken back a small pile of stuff from Frank’s house. I felt like I needed to get up and see if I could give her a hand.
Grayson was still asleep, and when I went downstairs, I saw that Holly’s golden retriever was still looking sleepy, too. Murphy’s tail knocked on the floor a few times in greeting, but he was too tired to raise his head.
Holly snorted. “Grayson sure did a good job wearing Murphy out yesterday. He must have walked for miles. And then played ball on top of that.”
“Grayson did a good job wearing himself out, too,” I said wryly. I gestured to the pile of photos and other memorabilia in front of Holly on the kitchen table. “Can I give you a hand with any of that?”
Holly shook her head. “I just wanted to take a quick glance through them. I’ve already put some other stuff away. I flipped through a few of the pictures when we were at Frank’s house, and grabbed the whole stack because I thought they looked like they might be good. There’s a great picture of Frank and Lindy in there.”
She held it out for me to see. Frank was grinning more than I’d ever seen him grin. Lindy looked happy too, a broad smile stretching over her pretty features.
Holly said, “Want to run this by the dental office with me? Grayson, too, if he’s up for it. I thought it might be a good excuse for me to see Carl and maybe ask a few follow-up questions. Especially since he bolted out of the funeral service like the hounds of hell were after him. Why do you think he was so eager to escape?”
“He seemed to feel really uncomfortable. Maybe because he and Frank weren’t getting along as well as they had been.”
“Which is exactly why I’d like to talk to him,” said Holly grimly.
“I briefly spoke to Lindy yesterday, too. She said she was going to quit her job—something she hasn’t told Carl yet. Anyway, she’s running by the office early this morning to get some stuff done. Maybe even to collect her things, since it didn’t sound like she was going to give two weeks’ notice. So now might be a good time to see her.”
Holly nodded. “And Grayson?”
“I’m thinking he could use the sleep.”
A few minutes later, we set out. Holly was in a quiet, tense mood, so I was quiet too, letting her mull over her thoughts. Whatever they were, they were clearly troubling her, judging from the frown on her face.
We pulled up to the dental office. “Looks like Carl isn’t here yet,” said Holly, “but that’s Lindy’s car. She’s here early, like you said. We can always grab coffee after we see Lindy and lurk until Carl shows up.”
We walked into the office, which was unlocked. It was silent inside.
“Lindy?” called Holly. “It’s Holly and Ann.”
There was no response.
“Maybe she’s in the restroom or something,” I said.
But Holly seemed increasingly anxious. “Lindy?” she called again.
No answer.
Lindy had clearly been working—there were papers on her desk. Holly went straight through to the exam rooms, sticking her head in each one and calling for Lindy.
I went to the restroom and saw no one in it. On my way back out, I saw something on the floor behind the reception desk. Feeling a cold fissure up my spine, I cautiously craned my head until I saw what I feared I’d see.
Lindy Baker was sprawled behind her desk, lying in a pool of blood.