“I saw the police cruiser at your place again last night.”

“Lily’s in the hospital, Evelyn,” I said, stopping at her front gate.

Evelyn put both hands over her mouth, her wire-rimmed glasses sitting low on her nose.

“Oh, sweet mercy.

Is she sick?”

“She was alone in my house for three days without food or water,” I said.

“Her kidneys nearly failed.”

Evelyn gripped the white painted wood of her gate latch until her knuckles went yellow.