Gently, I lifted Pandora's torso so I could get a better look. Her eyes were wide open in a death stare. She wasn't breathing. There was a syringe with a small amount of liquid still inside stuck in the vein at her elbow. A glass vial was on the table, and under her chair was an empty plastic syringe wrapper.
"Call 9-1-1," I shouted, which seemed to spur Ruby into action.
She fumbled in her bag to pull out her cell phone, speaking into it in short, sharp bursts.
I maneuvered Pandora onto her back on the floor, kneeling next to her to perform CPR, the chair she'd been sitting on clattering down beside us. Placing one hand over the center of her chest and the other on top, I used my upper body weight to perform chest compressions. There were still no signs of life, so using a head tilt, I gently lifted her chin to open her airway. She wasn't breathing. I gave one mouth-to-mouth rescue breath, pinching her nostrils shut. Her chest didn't rise, so I gave another, then resumed chest compressions, arms aching, adrenaline coursing wildly through me, before going through another cycle of breathing.
When I saw two paramedics rush into the room, I finally sat back onto my heels and blew away a braid of hair that had become plastered to my forehead with sweat. I told them how we'd found her and what medical intervention I'd done, and they took over.
"Poor Pandora." Ruby shook her head while the paramedics worked on her.
I hugged Ruby toward me and watched until they stopped, knowing any further attempts to revive her were futile. Finally, they stood. One of them spoke into his radio while I wondered what had happened to Pandora. A drug overdose? Was she diabetic and miscalculated her insulin? No, that couldn't be right since the needle was in her vein. Whatever it was, I hoped it was quick and painless for her.
My gaze caught on the two tumbler glasses sitting on top of the table next to the glass vial. One was half full of clear liquid. Another, in front of where Pandora's head had been resting, was empty, but the remnants of the same liquid coated the glass. An almost empty bottle of white rum stood in the middle of the table.
"Police are on their way," one of the paramedics said to us as they packed away their equipment.
"Police." Ruby nodded vaguely, then sniffed. "It was Tim. I know it. Tim Baxtor killed her. He was just here."
"We don't know what's happened yet. You'll need to talk to the officers when they get here," the other one said. "I'm sorry for your loss."
I noticed the rear patio door that led to the garden was open. Suddenly wanting to gulp in some fresh air and get away from the sad sight of Pandora, I grabbed Ruby's hand, which was cold, and pulled her into the garden, being careful not to touch anything else. "Let's wait out here." I guided her into a gray mesh chair around a glass-topped table under an umbrella. "Why do you think it's this Tim person?" I asked Ruby. "Why would he want to hurt Pandora?"
"It's a long story." Ruby bit her lip.
I squeezed her hand.
"About twenty years ago, Pandora's daughter, Jenna, disappeared. I wasn't in town at the time. I was at a yoga retreat in Bali when it happened, and I didn't know Pandora at that time. It was years later when I met her, after she began doing her holistic treatments again, probably ten years ago or so."
I sat down next to Ruby.
"Anyway, Jenna was engaged to Tim Baxtor, but apparently she was having second thoughts about him and had decided to break it off. It was the night of the Danger Cove Fourth of July fair, so most of the people were on the other side of town in Main Street, where various stalls and attractions had been set up and fireworks were going off. Jenna told Pandora she was going to meet Tim and tell him it was over between them. Then she'd catch up with her back at the fair. But Jenna never returned. No one ever saw her again."
I gasped. And before Ruby could say anymore, my worst nightmare appeared.
CHAPTER TWO
Detective
"Call 9-1-1," I shouted, which seemed to spur Ruby into action.
She fumbled in her bag to pull out her cell phone, speaking into it in short, sharp bursts.
I maneuvered Pandora onto her back on the floor, kneeling next to her to perform CPR, the chair she'd been sitting on clattering down beside us. Placing one hand over the center of her chest and the other on top, I used my upper body weight to perform chest compressions. There were still no signs of life, so using a head tilt, I gently lifted her chin to open her airway. She wasn't breathing. I gave one mouth-to-mouth rescue breath, pinching her nostrils shut. Her chest didn't rise, so I gave another, then resumed chest compressions, arms aching, adrenaline coursing wildly through me, before going through another cycle of breathing.
When I saw two paramedics rush into the room, I finally sat back onto my heels and blew away a braid of hair that had become plastered to my forehead with sweat. I told them how we'd found her and what medical intervention I'd done, and they took over.
"Poor Pandora." Ruby shook her head while the paramedics worked on her.
I hugged Ruby toward me and watched until they stopped, knowing any further attempts to revive her were futile. Finally, they stood. One of them spoke into his radio while I wondered what had happened to Pandora. A drug overdose? Was she diabetic and miscalculated her insulin? No, that couldn't be right since the needle was in her vein. Whatever it was, I hoped it was quick and painless for her.
My gaze caught on the two tumbler glasses sitting on top of the table next to the glass vial. One was half full of clear liquid. Another, in front of where Pandora's head had been resting, was empty, but the remnants of the same liquid coated the glass. An almost empty bottle of white rum stood in the middle of the table.
"Police are on their way," one of the paramedics said to us as they packed away their equipment.
"Police." Ruby nodded vaguely, then sniffed. "It was Tim. I know it. Tim Baxtor killed her. He was just here."
"We don't know what's happened yet. You'll need to talk to the officers when they get here," the other one said. "I'm sorry for your loss."
I noticed the rear patio door that led to the garden was open. Suddenly wanting to gulp in some fresh air and get away from the sad sight of Pandora, I grabbed Ruby's hand, which was cold, and pulled her into the garden, being careful not to touch anything else. "Let's wait out here." I guided her into a gray mesh chair around a glass-topped table under an umbrella. "Why do you think it's this Tim person?" I asked Ruby. "Why would he want to hurt Pandora?"
"It's a long story." Ruby bit her lip.
I squeezed her hand.
"About twenty years ago, Pandora's daughter, Jenna, disappeared. I wasn't in town at the time. I was at a yoga retreat in Bali when it happened, and I didn't know Pandora at that time. It was years later when I met her, after she began doing her holistic treatments again, probably ten years ago or so."
I sat down next to Ruby.
"Anyway, Jenna was engaged to Tim Baxtor, but apparently she was having second thoughts about him and had decided to break it off. It was the night of the Danger Cove Fourth of July fair, so most of the people were on the other side of town in Main Street, where various stalls and attractions had been set up and fireworks were going off. Jenna told Pandora she was going to meet Tim and tell him it was over between them. Then she'd catch up with her back at the fair. But Jenna never returned. No one ever saw her again."
I gasped. And before Ruby could say anymore, my worst nightmare appeared.
CHAPTER TWO
Detective
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