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late hour?
    â€œHello?”
    There was a brief moment of silence before Sadie spoke in a hushed, frantic voice. “Krissy, there’s something strange going on here. I saw a body being wheeled into the infirmary. You have to come quick!”
    Kris tried to let the words register. “Is an ambulance there?”
    â€œNo, Krissy. There’s no ambulance. Would I have called you if there was?”
    â€œI suppose not,” Kris muttered.
    Was this just another shadow in Sadie’s mind? Sadie probably had a nightmare and was confusing her dream with reality.
    But she sounded so upset.
    â€œI’ll be right there.” Kris hung up, quickly dressed, then grabbed her purse and ran out the front door to the old Honda Civic parked at the curb. She started the engine and as the motor heated up, she used her cell to dial Gabe.
    â€œHello?”
    â€œHi, it’s me.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong?”
    Warmed by the sudden edge in his voice, she said,“Sadie just called me all upset. She…” What? Saw a dead body? “I’m on my way to see her.”
    â€œIt’s kind of late for visiting hours,” Gabe commented.
    â€œYeah, well, Sadie needs me.” She decided to be straight with him. “She thinks she saw a dead body.”
    â€œI’ll meet you there. Don’t do anything until I arrive.”
    Emotion clogged Kris’s throat. “Thank you.”
    She hung up, glad to know that Gabe was on his way.
    At this late hour, Kris saw only one other vehicle on the road as she drove to Miller’s Rest. Thankfully, the van that pulled up behind her and whizzed past as she rounded the bend right before the retirement center wasn’t a police car, or she’d have been ticketed for sure.
    Kris didn’t usually break the speed limit, but Sadie’s agitation formed a ball of concern in Kris’s chest. Sadie was relatively healthy, but you just never knew. Kris’s heart squeezed tight.
    She parked and hurried toward the front entrance. She glanced around, expecting to see the security guard patrolling the grounds.
    â€œPsst. Over here.” Sadie waved from a side entrance. She wore the thick terry robe Kris had given her for her eightieth birthday this past fall and rubber-soled bootie slippers. Her gray hair was a mess, as if she’d just rolled out of bed.
    Kris hurried over. “Shouldn’t this door be equipped with an alarm?”
    Sadie shrugged. “It didn’t go off when I opened it, so I’d say no. Come on.”
    â€œWait. Gabe’s on his way here.”
    Sadie’s eyes widened. “Who?”
    Kris’s stomach clenched. She couldn’t have forgotten him, could she? “Detective Burke.”
    â€œThat’s good thinking, Krissy girl. But I have to show you. Now.”
    Sadie rapidly shuffled away, leaving Kris no choice but to follow. The darkened center sent a chill creeping up Kris’s spine. Dim lights along the edges of the floor illuminated the hallways.
    Sadie took Kris to the infirmary. “They wheeled a body in here.”
    â€œA body?” Kris repeated, not sure she really wanted clarification.
    â€œYou know. A body under a sheet. A dead body.”
    Kris swallowed back the distaste that image brought and told herself it was just another of Gram’s shadows. A nightmare she mistook for reality. Sadie pushed open the door and Kris peered over her head into the medical room. Glass-paned cabinets lined the walls, a desk with a stiff-backed chair occupied one corner. A gurney had been pushed against the far wall.
    Kris sighed with relief. No body. “Well, it’s gone now. And who are they? ”
    â€œMs. Faust and a man.”
    Odd. Ms. Faust hardly seemed the type to go sneaking around at night. “Grams, you probably had a nightmare.”
    Sadie’s chin jutted out slightly. “I couldn’t sleep.”
    Kris raised an eyebrow. “So you went