Page 44 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“Even if I don’t know their names?”

“We have their address and an approximate time of his arrest,” I said. “We can look up arrest records.”

Her eyes lit up. “Well, aren’t you girls clever!”

Only I wasn’t feeling very clever. We’d come here to see if Miss Adolpha was the source of the vision, and we’d gotten sucked back into investigating.

I shot a glance to Neely Kate, and she gave me a look that suggested the thought had occurred to her too.

The aide from yesterday popped into the open doorway. “Miss Adolpha, it’s almost time for your watercolor class.”

“Thank you, Devin,” the elderly woman said with a smile.

“Watercolor classes and yoga?” Neely Kate said in awe after the aide walked away. “I’m thinking about moving here.”

Miss Adolpha laughed. “As I said, I should have moved in here sooner.”

“Does Miss Mildred take watercolor classes?” I asked, unable to help myself.

She laughed. “No, thank goodness. She’s more into the oil painting classes. She makes a lot of abstract art with red and black slashes across the canvas.” She shuddered. “It’s very violent.”

“That sounds about right,” Neely Kate muttered under her breath, but I couldn’t help thinking that it didn’t sound like her at all. Cranky, yes, but never violent. Not like yesterday.

But we still hadn’t accomplished what we’d come here to do.

“Let me help you pick up the pictures,” I said, reaching for the photos now spread across her bed. I purposely brushed her hand with mine and forced a vision, asking, is Miss Adolpha in danger?

My mind stayed completely blank.

I opened my eyes and shot a puzzled look at Neely Kate, who had to know what I was doing.

“Try again,” she mouthed.

I rested a hand on the older woman’s shoulder.

Does Miss Adolpha go to a warehouse?

Nothing.

Does Miss Adolpha see someone get hurt?

This time, an image appeared, bright and blinding after the darkness.

Miss Mildred was standing on a table, waving her cane and shouting, “You’re not the boss of me!”

“Get down, you old fool,” grumbled an elderly man with a beak-shaped nose. “You’re messin’ up our card game.” He was sitting beside the table she was standing on, and sure enough, playing cards were scattered all around.

She leaned over to smack at him with her cane but lost her balance and toppled onto the man and then the floor.

The old man started bellowing, and Miss Mildred started screaming, “You broke my damn hip!”

Miss Adolpha’s room came back into view, and I said, “Miss Mildred’s gonna fall off a table.”

“What?” Miss Adolpha said, giving me a strange look.

“You need to watch out for Miss Mildred,” Neely Kate said with a laugh. “She’s a wild one.”

We finished packing up the photos, and we followed Miss Adolpha down the hall to the art room. After we gave her quick hugs and sent her off to her lesson, we moved down the hall a few feet out of view of the watercolor class.

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