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A fter Doreen shared that info, Sandra had been beside herself, not able to talk very much. So Doreen had quickly taken her leave, adding that she would call her in the morning—which may not be an optimal solution to this mess either. But Doreen needed answers, and Sandra seemed to quite possibly be the best place to get them from, at least for the moment.

As Doreen walked out to her car with the animals, Mugs sniffed the air and started to growl. She turned and looked around but couldn’t see anything wrong. “What’s the matter, sweetie?”

He was still not happy, but he got into the vehicle willingly enough. Not sure what that was all about, but not willing to stick around to see if something would jump out of the shadows, Doreen intended to head home but instead pulled up to Riverdale, the other senior home. She sat in her vehicle for a long time, wondering just what had caused her to stop here. Getting out, she turned, looked at the animals, and said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Mugs didn’t like that at all. He barked and barked, jumping up against the window glass. She frowned. “Okay, fine. I don’t know what this is all about, or why you’re so upset, but I’ll take you. I guess you all might as well come along.”

And as soon as she put him on the leash, he calmed down, and Doreen led the way to the receptionist and frowned. “Are you Tabitha?”

The woman nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m Doreen. You look a little different today.”

Tabitha laughed. “I had my hair done.”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry, I should have recognized you right away.”

“No, I’m quite happy that you didn’t,” she replied, looking around carefully. “I was attempting to change my whole look.”

“You certainly did that, and you succeeded quite nicely,” Doreen said, with a bright smile.

“What can I do for you?” Tabitha asked in a formal tone of voice.

“I heard that Lilybeth spoke to a couple people the same morning she died.”

“I think it was, jeez, who was it?… I think it was old Buck. Did you want to talk to him?”

“I don’t know. Do I?” Doreen asked.

“Probably not,” Tabitha replied, with a laugh. “He’s definitely one of our crankier inmates.”

She rolled her eyes at her. “ Inmates , huh ?”

“Ooh, ouch.” Tabitha laughed at the instinctive term. “I shouldn’t have said that,” she muttered. “But I’ve got to tell you, in his case, he’s definitely one of the crankier people we have.”

“Of course,” Doreen agreed. “Where would he happen to be just now, do you know?”

“He’s around terrorizing somebody I’m sure,” she said, with a smile. “Let me take a look and see if he wants to visit with you. I presume it’s about Lilybeth’s death?”

“I would certainly appreciate talking to somebody about it.”

“Of course. I hadn’t realized you were such a close family friend.”

“And, even then, I wonder how close I was.”

“That’s the way of family,” she noted.

“And the way of friends,” Doreen muttered.

As Tabitha rang Buck’s room from the receptionist’s deck, Tabitha frowned and shook her head. “He’s not answering.”

“Okay, that’s fine,” Doreen replied, casually looking around the empty hall. “It’s not as if I was expecting to see him.”

“Maybe not, but I’m sure if he knew you were here, he would talk to you.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because he prides himself on being a detective himself. He mentioned that he should talk to the police about something.”

“Now that is interesting. A confession?”

She burst out laughing. “Oh no, he’s not the kind to confess on his own, but he is the kind to make other people pay for stuff,” she muttered, with a shake of her head.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, he’s not the easiest person to get along with. We’ve certainly had that discussion with him about multiple issues in the past.”

“Ah, well, I wouldn’t want to set him off.”

“No, I don’t think you would, but he was spouting long and loud about the fact that, being where he is, where all of them are, makes him quite vulnerable, and he was using Lilybeth as an example.” Doreen frowned at her, and Tabitha nodded. “Of course we all know she died of a heart attack, but he was still carrying on about it.”

“And is he carrying on as someone who got away with murder, or does he sincerely believe he needs protection, and somebody should be doing more about it?”

“That’s also fascinating because it was more of the second way.”

Doreen just stared at her, stumped.

Tabitha nodded. “I know, right? Almost everybody in this home would have thought it would be as you first said, but he was seemingly much more upset that she was gone.”

“So, maybe he had a little soft spot in his heart for her.”

“Maybe,” Tabitha conceded, “but I don’t think she had a soft spot in her heart for him.”

“Ooh, ouch.”

“Exactly. That’s the reaction from all the women here.”

“So maybe Lilybeth spoiled his advances, and hers may not have been so nice of a rejection either.”

“I think she probably did,” Tabitha nodded, with a smile. “And there’s nothing you can do about any of it.”

“Maybe not,” Doreen admitted, “but I definitely want to speak with him.”

“Let me try him again.” This time someone came on the other end. Tabitha explained that Doreen was here. Then Tabitha nodded and hung up. “He’s ready to see you.” Tabitha gave Doreen the room number and simple directions on how to find him.

Doreen moved past the front desk, and Tabitha didn’t say anything about the animals, which was also fascinating and a little difficult. She looked down at Mugs, trotting at her side, seemingly without a care in the world. Goliath was a different story. He was slinking along, not happy to be here at all. But the smells in the home were definitely not ones that she would expect him to be very comfortable with either, although they weren’t any different from Rosemoor.

Buck’s room was not very far away, and, as she knocked, a voice called out, “Come in.”

She opened the door to see an old man, but the grin on his face revealed absolutely nothing good about him. She left the door open, and, stepping inside, she nodded. “Hi, I’m Doreen.”

“I know who you are,” he stated, with a wave of his hand. “You’re the one who killed my lady.”

She stared at him, nonplussed. “I’m what?”

“You’re the one who killed Lilybeth.”

“And how do you figure that?” she asked, staring at him in shock. “I wasn’t even here when she died.”

“Maybe not, but she was devastated that it was all about to come out.”

“Interesting, and was she really your lady?” she asked him. “Because, according to one of the people I talked to, you didn’t have a lady friend, and Lilybeth in particular had rejected you.”

“Oh, she didn’t say no,” he argued. “She was just playing hard to get. They all play hard to get.” He shrugged. “Everybody does, and they don’t mean it, but that’s just the way they act. Women, they’re really useless.”

Then he gave Doreen that same smile, and she had to admit it almost terrorized her, and she didn’t even know the old man. “So, that’s what you do? You just terrorize people here?” she asked, staring at him. “You’ve got nothing better to do?”

“Been doing it all my life, so why would I stop now?” He snorted, as he glared at her. “And who are you to tell me what to do?”

“Nobody, apparently,” she said. “I was under the impression that you are the one who killed Lilybeth.”

He stared at her in shock, and she watched as a foaming spittle formed at the corners of his mouth. “I would never,” he roared.

And she had to admit, based on his reaction and the way he spoke, she believed him. So, if not him, who did?