Page 78 of Too Old for This

TheDo Not Disturbsign is no longer up; I took thatdown yesterday. The room has been cleaned, the bed made, and towels replenished. Now I have to mess it up again.

I pull down the bedspread, throw around the pillows, and pick the desk phone.

“Room service.”

“Yes, I’d like to order a hamburger and french fries.”

“How do you want that cooked?”

“Medium rare, please. No tomatoes, and I’d like kale instead of iceberg lettuce, if possible. And lots of mustard and mayonnaise for the fries.”

Pause. “Anything to drink?”

“Orange soda, if you have it. Room 322.”

“It will be about twenty minutes.”

“Thank you.”

Bet she doesn’t forget that order.

Next, I remove the little plastic container from my bags. It’s about the size of a sandwich. Inside is the only thing that will open the phone.

Norma’s finger.

The first attempt doesn’t work. Her finger is too wet and cold; it must not feel alive enough. I dry it off and try again. Still doesn’t work, so I wait a bit longer and let the finger thaw out. While pressing it against the screen the third time, I place my own finger beside it, giving it that I’m-still-alive feeling.

Success.

The first thing I do is change the security settings.

Now I look into Norma’s life. Over the past twenty-four hours, she has received a reminder about an upcoming dental appointment on Monday and two texts from someone named Tammy. It takes a minute to sort through their conversations.There are lots of texts about schedules. They both work in a distribution warehouse for a big-box retailer.

Tammy:How’s it going down there? Still coming back this weekend?

Norma:Not sure yet. I’ll let you know.

After dealing with Tammy, I text the dentist to reschedule the teeth cleaning.

The rest of Norma’s message history is overwhelming, like she’s never deleted a thing. I feel like her house is probably the same way. I bet Norma was a pack rat.

Next, I look for any texts with the detectives. Kelsie isn’t there, but I do find Tula’s number in her call history. Most of the calls were very short, as if he had sent her to voicemail.

Norma’s email is a flood of spam and advertisements. I scan through, looking for anything real, and find one from a private investigation company. My heart skips a beat as the email opens.

Dear Ms.Dixon,

Thank you for your interest in our company. Our prices are as follows…

Expensive. But Norma did not hire them, and I move on to the rest of the emails. So far, this is better than I expected. I can’t find anyone who is desperate to get hold of her, there’s no sign of a significant other, and it doesn’t look like anyone has been helping her search for Plum.

Small things. I’m still working on appreciating the small things. It’s a lifelong endeavor.

CHAPTER 43

Once I’m back at home, it takes a minute for my brain to adjust. I’m not used to pretending someone I killed is still alive. This is a bit like having a new job. The last time I had one of those, I could still get pregnant.

Once was enough for me. My pregnancy wasn’t an easy one. From the morning sickness to the preeclampsia, I felt bad the whole time. In my most delirious moments, I started to wonder if Gary was haunting me and our baby from the grave.