know her real name? Who would visit her? Who would come, bringing flowers to her grave?
Sissy plucked Casey’s sleeve. She seemed at a loss for words, so Casey shook herself back to the present and squatted in front of the Parkers, who seemed to be aging right in front of her. “We’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Do you need help getting to bed?” She put her hand on Mrs. Parker’s arm, and the older woman jumped.
“No, we’ll be fine. He’ll…he’ll help me.”
Casey really didn’t want to say that her husband seemed worse off than she, but figured once they were alone, the two of them might be able to get themselves moving. She squeezed Mrs. Parker’s hand and stood.
It wasn’t until Sissy and Maria were in the hallway and Casey was closing the door that Andrea’s mother looked up. “Excuse me?”
Casey paused. “Yes, Mrs. Parker? Can I get you something?”
“I was just wondering…do you know when he’s going to get here?”
Casey glanced at Death, who shrugged.
Maria looked uncertain, as well. “Who, Mrs. Parker?”
“Why, him, of course. You know.” She looked back and forth between Casey and Maria. “Andrea’s fiancé.”
Casey’s mouth dropped, and Death did a little dance. “Hee, hee, the plot thickens.”
Sissy stood in the hallway, frozen. Casey leaned toward her and whispered, “Andrea was engaged?”
Sissy shook her head. “I didn’t…I never heard anything about it before. And she…she…” She slumped, her face falling. “It’s all so horrible!”
“Oh, boy,” Death said. “Here come the waterworks.”
Sissy’s eyes filled and overflowed. She put her hands to her mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She gulped once, loudly, and rushed away.
Casey watched her go. If Sissy was that upset, it could only mean one thing. Well two things. Either she was upset that she as the building manager hadn’t known this good news about a resident, or—more likely—she suspected that Andrea was engaged to a man Sissy thought was hers.
This Brandon fellow had a lot to answer for these days—women were crying all over the place. He’d only been gone a couple of weeks and all hell was breaking loose. Assuming he was the one Andrea had been “engaged” to, she was dead, Laurie and Sissy were complete disasters, and who knew how many others there were, weeping into their pillows. She’d seen the one—Bernie—in her class today. And if there were that many, it only made sense there would be more. Casey wished she could have a few minutes alone with this Brandon person.
She at least needed to see a picture of the guy, so she’d know what all the fuss was about.
Casey stepped back into the room, brushing past Maria, who stood in the doorway, silent and frowning. Casey went to the Parkers. “Did you know her fiancé? What was his name?”
Mr. Parker looked blankly at the floor, and Mrs. Parker lifted her hands slightly off of her knees. “We’d never met him, and she only talked about ‘him.’ She promised to bring him home at Christmas, but said things were a little tricky, so they were keeping it quiet until then. But she seemed so happy, until…” Her mouth twitched, and she looked at her hands.
“Until what?”
“Until just a couple weeks ago. She sounded tired, like she wasn’t sleeping. And she stopped talking about…about him.”
Casey glanced at Maria, who had gone pale, as if she’d had a shock. She was no help at all. But Casey was remembering Binns’ words about Andrea’s phone. The unidentified phone number had stopped two weeks before. Right when Andrea stopped talking to her parents about ‘him.’ Right when Brandon left the Flamingo. “May I look around a little bit, to see if I can find his information?”
Mrs. Parker waved weakly. “Whatever you want.”
“I really don’t think we should snoop around.” Maria’s voice was firm, but Casey wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass her by. The police had obviously been through everything, but it was certainly possible they missed something.
Casey made a quick sweep through the apartment. Andrea had only a few family photos—one in the living room, and a couple pinned to the refrigerator with magnets. There were no pictures that could possibly be of her and a fiancé. Casey went through the desk in the corner of the living room, in case Andrea had kept an address book, but if there had been one, the police must have taken it. The same with any computer she might have owned. There were a few letters, but they all were from back home in Oregon,