Page 7 of Fury In Death

“What time did you get home?”

“Oh, I don’t know exactly. Um, oh, Lisa—she and Pilar live next door. Such a nice young couple. It’s good having a nice young couple as neighbors. Lisa was just getting home, so maybe she knows. We chatted for a minute, the way you do. She made me laugh.”

Marleen frowned now. “I can’t remember why, but I was laughing when I came in the house. I called out to Dave. I was going to tell him what made me laugh that I can’t remember now. And then I saw . . . I saw . . . No. God.”

“Take your time.” Peabody closed her hand over Marleen’s.

“Blood. There was blood, and I ran over. More blood, and the ladder, and glass broken. Lightbulbs. Why did he think he had to change the lightbulbs up there when DJ’s coming? Or we could ask Mike, right next door.”

“Lisa’s next door. Lisa and Pilar.”

“The other side, the other. But whenever I say he should wait for one of the boys, Dave gets huffy. Do I think he can’t take care of our home?” Tears leaked again. “And I say: ‘Listen, old man, we’ve earned the right to tap the younger crowd.’ But I see the ladder, and I think I’m going to give him hell, but there’s too much blood. So much. He must be really hurt. Maybe he ran to urgent care. I think, and I think I’ll call his ’link, but then—then.”

Now she covered her face with her hands. “The basement door’s open. Haven’t I told him a thousand times to always close that door? But it’s open, and Dave . . . I ran down, but he won’t wake up, and there’s so much blood. Someone’s screaming. It’s me. I’m screaming, but he won’t wake up. I have to call for help. The police came and the ambulance, but they said he was gone.”

Tears spurted out of furious and grieving eyes.

“I can see him, right there! He’s not gone. They mean dead, but he can’t be dead. We’ve been married sixty years and we’re supposed to have more. His parents are a hundred and twelve! He’s going to the ball game tomorrow.”

“Ms. Pressley. Marleen. Is there someone I can contact for you? Someone to come be with you now?”

“I want Dave.” She lowered her hands, stared at them. “Are you married?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Do you love someone?”

“Yes, I do. I love him a lot.”

Marleen nodded. “Married or not, it’s not till death. It doesn’t stop, if you love someone, at death.”

In the end, Peabody contacted the daughter.

“Officer Arnette, would you stay with Ms. Pressley until her daughter gets here?”

“Yes, sir, Lieutenant.”

“Peabody, check the security feed. I’ll talk to the neighbor.”

“It’s going to verify her statement.”

“Yeah, but we check the boxes.”

When it was done, and the day fading, they stood on the sidewalk.

“The ME’s going to rule this accidental death.”

Eve nodded. “Yeah. But death’s death, Peabody. We don’t shortchange it because the stubborn man gets on a ladder in house skids that should’ve been retired a year ago. He deserves, and his wife, his family deserve, full attention.”

“You gave me the lead, right?”

“I did, and you checked the boxes.”

“Still another to check. I’ll go in, write it up. We’re already, hell, about two hours past end of shift. No point in you going all the way downtown, then up again. I’ve got to go down to get home anyway. To my amazing house where we’re soon having a big-ass whoop of a party.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“And you’ll get to meet more Peabodys!”