I gestured to the left of the foyer. “This happened in her study?”

“Yes,” Rowe answered. “But Mr. Desmond doesn’t remember if the man had anything with him when he ran off. If so, it wasn’t large. I’m thinking jewelry, maybe? We found a safe in the study. You don’t happen to have the combination?”

I wanted to say, In your dreams, but settled for a simple, “No.” I walked toward the study, but Rowe said, “We’ve got a print unit coming. Please don’t enter the room. You can observe from the door-see if anything jumps out at you as missing.”

What jumped out at me was the utter disarray-the broken window, the overturned desk chair, the scattered papers, the lamp on the floor and the gnarled walking stick-a souvenir from my aunt’s trip to Ireland.

I swallowed, feeling horrible that I hadn’t been here to prevent this. Aunt Caroline had fought hard to protect herself. “Any other rooms look like this?” I asked.

“No, ma’am. Nothing else seems disturbed. I asked Ms. Rose if she disabled the alarm, and she said yes, but after that all she kept saying was like I mentioned before-that the guy took something.”

“She let this person in? Is that what you think?” I said.

“Seems that way, yes,” Rowe answered.

Officer Price said, “I’ll walk Mr. Desmond home, then head to the hospital. Maybe your aunt can tell us more once she’s calmed down. I’ll be back.”

Rowe nodded while I took Mr. Desmond’s spot on the bench. My legs felt rubbery, and I was still having a hard time making sense of this. “I don’t know if anything is missing, but I can tell you that the wall safe in the study is for things like her will, her deed. She keeps her jewelry in her bedroom safe-and that’s well hidden in her closet.”

“Anything of value in the study?” He nodded in that direction.

“Nothing. The desk is ornamental. She has a built-in desk in the kitchen where she keeps her checkbook and bills.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. Her checkbook is still there, and so is her purse with all her credit cards.”

“Maybe the robbery had just started when Mr. Desmond interrupted,” I said, half to myself.

“Unless your aunt was totally confused when she talked to me, whatever this guy took got her very upset.”

I didn’t want to disappoint him by pointing out that if the burglar took so much as a paper clip, Aunt Caroline would be upset. Before I could say anything more, the print unit arrived.

“Do you need me for anything else?” I asked as the two newest officers shuffled in and waited for Rowe’s instructions.

“Not now. Get to the hospital.” He told me Aunt Caroline had been taken to Methodist.

Before I left, I grabbed her purse from the kitchen, thinking she’d need her insurance card. I considered calling Kate, but I decided to wait until I had a better idea about Aunt Caroline’s condition.

I shouldn’t have worried about her health. When I was led to Aunt Caroline’s curtained cubicle in the ER, I found her as feisty as ever, complaining about the service.

She had a few strips on the gash near her hairline, a wound that had rusted her snowy hair. The hospital gown couldn’t hide the purple bruises on her arms or the dried blood streaks on her neck. Good thing there were no mirrors in here.

Officer Price was with her, and I recognized the look on her face. I’d probably worn that same frustrated expression more than once after an hour with Aunt Caroline.

Price stood. “Glad you’re here. Your aunt isn’t willing to talk, and the longer she remains silent, the harder our job gets. Of course, perhaps she doesn’t remember much.”

“What do you think I am? Senile? I remember. But I will not speak of this incident in a public arena. And let me tell you both, there is nowhere more public than this place.”

I closed my eyes, sighing heavily. “Please tell the officer everything you know.”

Aunt Caroline folded her arms across her chest. “No.”

“That’s it,” Price said, clearly irritated. “I’ve offered to interview your aunt in a more private area, and she is an unwilling witness at this time. She wants to file a report, fine. She’s got my card.”

She walked out, and God, how I wanted to go with her. “That woman was trying to help you.”

Aunt Caroline closed her eyes, and I could tell her demeanor had completely changed. “I know. The police and the paramedics were wonderful, but I had to make her leave.”

“What?”

“You don’t understand. I’m being released. When that girl with the clipboard comes back with my paperwork, take me home and I’ll explain.”

“Are you crazy? You’re not going home. You can stay with me until-”

“If you want to find out what happened and why, Abigail, you will take me home.”

“What in hell is wrong with you?” I practically shouted. “You could have been killed today.”

“You have a gun. You can protect us. I have something very important to discuss with you.”

“Does this have to do with the person who hurt you? Because we can have that discussion at my house.” I could be as stubborn as she was.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Take me home or I will call a cab. I won’t be intimidated into leaving the house I’ve lived in for more than thirty years.”

The girl with the clipboard, who happened to be a nurse about my age, arrived with a cheery, “Ready to get out of here, Ms. Rose?”

That was when my aunt said yes and to call her a cab, because her niece didn’t want to be bothered with her.

I choked down my anger and said, “Have it your way. I’ll take you home. But not before I get someone to guard your house.”

“Don’t bother. That stupid, deceitful man won’t be back, if he knows what’s good for him.”

Uh-oh. The only deceitful person on her radar right now was Harrison Foster. Had he attacked Aunt Caroline?

The nurse, meanwhile, was going over the discharge instructions, but neither of us was listening.

“Have you called Kate?” Aunt Caroline asked.

This was worse than I imagined. How could I tell my sister that she was involved with-

“Have you called Katherine?” Aunt Caroline repeated.

“I wanted to wait until I had more information on your condition. Now I can tell her that even a blow to the head doesn’t knock you off course.”

“Very funny, Abigail. They wouldn’t let me use the phone or I would have called her myself. You must tell her to come to my house straightaway and not waste a minute.” She then turned to the nurse, who’d given up on trying to talk to either of us. “Now, young woman, where are my clothes?”

Once we were in my car, I tried Kate’s office and got the answering service. They were gone for lunch. I left a message for Kate to come over to Aunt Caroline’s if she could, that there had been a little mishap. I repeated the same message on Kate’s voice mail. Meanwhile, I had to somehow convince Aunt Caroline that I should be the one to tell Kate about Foster’s scam-but only after I made sure my aunt was protected.

“We’re not leaving this parking garage until I make certain you’re not attacked again.” But as soon as I called DeShay and got his voice mail, I remembered he would be in court today. There was White-but he might be following the notebook lead, and besides, I couldn’t see him agreeing to babysit an obstinate old woman. Jeff had more than enough on his hands, and that left only one person with the manpower I needed.

Aunt Caroline interrupted my thoughts. “Can’t you get that policewoman to sit outside the house?”

“You haven’t exactly been cooperative, and besides, the police are too busy to park outside your house for your convenience.”

When she didn’t snap back at me, I glanced at her. She had a thumb on her cheek and two fingers on her forehead.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“After they scanned and X-rayed me, they gave me Tylenol for this headache, but it’s coming back with a fury.”