Sam had to work that day from noon until five. He rose early to get Adeline squared away with breakfast. He helped her to the living room and started the coffee. With her sheets changed and her freshly washed clothes in the bathroom along with the shower chair, Sam returned to the kitchen to start breakfast.
“Have you checked on your guest this morning?” Adeline asked.
“Yeah, she’s asleep or pretending she is. After breakfast, I’ll get her situated. Tonight, I’ll start the gradual blood draw and rearrange the room. I need a few more tables or armchairs to actually set this up as an enterprise that will support us for a while. I’ll see what’s available at the secondhand shops.”
“How can you handle three girls at once, Sam? They’ll need to eat and use the restroom.”
He smiled. “Have some faith in me. I can do it. Even if I only sell two pints a week, that’s six hundred bucks, and I’d be staying way under the radar. We’d do okay on that much money, Mom. The girls will be given a lot of electrolytes and iron. I’ve researched this, and it’ll be fine. But first I have to set up the room and find a couple more women.” Sam pulled the skillet out of the lower cabinet. “I’m making fried eggs, bacon, and toast”—he looked over his shoulder—“your favorite.”
Sam carried a cup of coffee to the couch where Adeline sat and placed it on a coaster on the side table to her left. He snugged an afghan around her exposed legs.
“Sorry it’s cold in here, Mom, but the electric bill is too expensive. I have to keep the thermostat set below seventy degrees. I can get you another blanket.”
“No worries. I’m fine.”
“Want the TV on?” He handed her the remote and went back to the kitchen to flip the bacon.
“What’s her name?”
Sam responded from the kitchen. “The girl in the room?”
“Yeah, her.”
“Molly Davis, why?”
“They’re showing her picture on the news. You didn’t touch her car, did you?”
Sam came around the corner with the dish towel in his hand. “No, I had no idea which car in the lot was hers.”
“Good, because the cops took it to the evidence garage at the police department.”
He waved away the comment and returned to the kitchen to start the eggs. “They aren’t going to find a body this time, Mom. That ought to confuse the hell out of them. They’ll think her disappearance is linked to someone else. It’s better that way, and it’ll earn us some much-needed cash. Want breakfast out there or in the kitchen?”
“Here is good, then you don’t have to mess with the wheelchair.”
“Sure thing. I’ll sit out there with you.” Sam carried two plates into the living room and placed Adeline’s on a TV tray. He refilled her coffee and put a juice box next to her cup. “After breakfast I’m going to bring Molly in here to use the bathroom, but I’ll blindfold her first. She doesn’t need to see you. Are you all right with that?”
“I suppose for now. I can’t wait until this is over with, Sam. I don’t like other people in our house, and I don’t like what you’re doing to them.”
“I know, Mom, I know.”