Page 30 of Too Old for This
“I figured.”
Archie did not think the bullying was his fault. Or mine, for that matter.
Maybe it was the new school, the new friends, and being in a place where the kids weren’t calling his mother bad names, but Archie decided the way he was treated in Spokane wasn’t my fault: I hadn’t done anything. Everybody else had just lost their mind.
That night, Archie showed me what loyalty looks like.
CHAPTER 16
The line at the pharmacy is outrageous. There ought to be a fast track for those of us who don’t have fifty-seven questions to ask and just want our meds. Normally, I order online and have them delivered, but the internet pharmacy ran out because of shortages. This is the only place in town I could find my brand of cholesterol pill. Good thing I don’t need anything else, or I would be running all over town.
Eight people are in front of me. Most stare at their phones or at the screen mounted above the counter. The pharmacy knows two cashiers are not enough, so they’ve installed a TV to entertain everyone. A big indication that I’ll be waiting for a while.
A news anchor is talking about something that happened in Portland. I don’t know the details, but it has nothing to do with Plum. She hasn’t been mentioned since the original missing persons report. And I haven’t heard from Cole at all. If he’s smart, he has lawyered up and shut up.
No dead body, no sign of a crime, nothing more for the police to investigate. Plum Dixon will end up another person who disappeared and was never found, and she’ll stay that way. I believe that all the way up until I’m back home.
The knock at my door is not a surprise. But it is unwelcome.
Detective Kelsie Harlow hasn’t given up yet. She stands on my porch, again dressed in workout clothes and sneakers. I donot like the smile on her face. She may not look like Detective Burke, but she reminds me of him.
I fling open the door so hard it bangs into my walker.
“Detective, welcome back. I hope this means you found Plum?”
“We have not.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“Yes. It is.”
“Please, come in.” Today, I lead her straight into the formal sitting room. No more cookies for Kelsie.
“This won’t take long,” she says. “Just a few more questions.”
“Of course. Anything I can do to help.”
She waits for me to get settled on the couch. The mood between us is different than it was the last time I saw her. She is all business, not even pretending to be friendly. And once again, Tula is nowhere to be found.
“May I ask why you use that walker?” she asks.
“I’m sorry?”
“You always use it at home, but when I saw you at the grocery store, you weren’t using it. You didn’t even have a cane.”
She slides her phone across the coffee table, showing me a picture of myself. I’m in the parking lot of the store, loading groceries into my trunk. It was taken yesterday when I bought food for this week’s church social.
Inside, I smile. She can follow me all she wants, but Kelsie still won’t find Plum.
“I have arthritis,” I say. “It’s the kind of thing that flares up.”
“So it ‘flares up’ when you’re at home?”
“Sometimes. Going up and down the stairs doesn’t help. But to answer your question…No, I did not have it with me yesterday. Perhaps you don’t realize this, but a shopping cart can also be used as a walker, so I don’t need to bring mine to the grocery store.”
The look on Kelsie’s face tells me she did not know this. She’s too young and able-bodied to think about such things.
“And as I’m sure you know, older people like me are always a target for muggings and purse snatchings, which is another reason why I don’t use it outside. I hate to look weaker than I already do.”
