Mina’s voice had deepened with the late night, and I thought I recognized something in the timbre. Or maybe it was the way she tilted her head an inch to the right that was so familiar.
Putting the pieces together, I asked, “Are you any relation to Doris Davis? As in Miss 1962?”
Mina’s features relaxed at the mention of the older woman, who’d been a sassy balm for my soul during the pageant investigation during the summer. “She’s my grandmother.”
Of course. She looked just like the younger photos I’d seen of the 1962 Rose Palace Queen, Doris Davis. My mouth turned up at the recognition of her features in this younger version.
“When I saw the job posting for this gig, I thought I might get the chance to come back to where she’d won. I never expected…” Mina’s voice trailed off.
“Have you been here, to The Rose, before tonight?” the deputy asked.
“I grew up in California but every summer I would stay with Gram during the month of July, so I could come to the pageants with her. It’s how I recognized Mr. Brinkley’s hometown when he was onSmall Town, Big Romance.”
“I understand that you both performed CPR on Mr. Brinkley?” Charlie said, bringing us back to the real issue. He was sitting on one of the wingback chairs, his pad and pen ready to record anything of note that we said.
“I began CPR,” I answered. “And Mina jumped in to help.” As I spoke, I noticed that Mina’s chin quivered as she inhaled, like a kid trying to contain her emotions.
“I’m sorry.” Mina wiped at her eyes and tried to catch her breath. “I feel bad because I’m sad for Brett, I am, but my grandmother…” Mina began to cry softly.
“It’s okay, take your time,” Deputy Wright broke in, extending a reassuring hand to Mina’s shoulder.
It took several moments for Mina to collect herself. Finally, she took a tissue that the deputy had pulled from a pack in her pocket and blotted her eyes and nose with it before continuing. “I think I’m even more emotional because my grandmother decided this week not to continue chemo.” Mina took a couple of deep breaths and put both hands in her lap. She sat up straighter, trying to regain her composure.
“I’m sorry. Illness can be… devastating,” the deputy offered, her voice steady and calm.
“Miss 1962 is quite a personality,” I added to break the silence, suddenly recalling how it felt to get the news of my mother’s diagnosis. Doris had seemed immune to such things as cancer, but of course, none of us were. My heart ached for her and Mina. “Your grandmother gave me all kinds of advice during the pageant.”
“That sounds like her.” Mina gave a small chuckle. “I wouldn’t be such a mess except that I’m really the only one thatGrammy has left. And now I’m stuck here this weekend instead of being with her.”
I caught myself warming faintly at hearing the pragmatic judge called something as endearing asGrammy.
“Where is your grandmother now?” Charlie asked.
“At a hospital in Richmond, but they’re supposed to be discharging her soon. I’m going there as soon as I leave. I want to speak with the hospice nurse to see if we can get her home in time to…” Mina began crying again, and I felt her pain like a tear in my own chest. I knew this feeling too well—I’d wanted Momma to die at home, but an emergency had landed her in the hospital and then in the hospice facility instead. She never saw our house again.
“Are you living with her right now?” the deputy asked.
“Kind of. I have an apartment in L.A. since that’s where I get most of my gigs. After Grammy was diagnosed, I flew back once every couple of months for her appointments, but recently, I’ve been staying with her. That’s why I was glad that Brett wanted to film nearby for a few weeks.” Mina seemed to suddenly realize to whom she was speaking and covered her mouth with one hand before letting the words rush out of her. “This is not what you need to know for the investigation. I’m so sorry to bother you with my family stuff.”
“Is this your first time at The Rose? I mean, in recent years?” Charlie asked patiently.
“No,” she answered, concern furrowing her brow. “Grammy invited me here when she was judging the pageant two or three years ago. I actually helped pass out programs.” She smiled at the memory. “It was quite a circus.”
That was an appropriate way to describe the hustle and bustle of pageant weekend.
Charlie sat up and glanced at the deputy before recording something in his notebook.
“I’ve also filmed a couple of things on-site, one of them being Brett’s home episode forSmall Town, Big Romancetwo years ago.” Mina looked from him to me to the deputy, her nerves obvious. “Why? Is it bad that I’ve been here before?”
“He writes down anything and everything,” the deputy said as she smiled at him in a way that felt too familiar. “It’s how he works.”
It was like she knew him better than I did.
“It’s true. I’m a stickler for details. It drives some people crazy,” Charlie said, his eyes fluttering to me before going back to Mina. “I’ve already spoken to Dakota, but Miss Davis, can you tell us in your own words what happened this evening?”
Charlie had his pen ready, and in that moment I thought I understood something. Maybe he had brought me here not to question me but to be privy to one of his interviews. Not that he thought Mina was guilty, necessarily, but maybe he wanted me to see the kinds of things that he and the deputy asked, the kinds of things he needed to know. When we’d been thrown together in our first case at the pageant this summer, he had learned that as a layperson I could get information he couldn’t, and enhancing my skills now could only increase the kind of intel I could provide.
Mina began detailing things just as I remembered them, everything from the coughing to the passing out to me beginning CPR and her joining me on the ground to take over every other round of compressions. But then she added something that I hadn’t noticed at the time.
