Free Wiped Out by Barbara Colley Page A

them HHS.
    Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut and bowed her head as deep regret washed through her. She should have trusted her instincts and stayed with Mimi until Gordon came home. She shouldn’t have left the poor woman alone. If she had stayed, Mimi might still be alive.
    She sighed deeply, opened her eyes, and stared at the black and white picture. Undetermined causes.
    Remembering how Mimi had looked when she’d first seen her on Monday morning, Charlotte frowned as she read the first paragraph of the article again. Charlotte had thought she was ill, but then later, after Mimi had dressed and left for her luncheon date with Gordon, she’d seemed just fine. It was only during the HHS meeting that she’d truly become ill.
    Charlotte shook her head. On the whole, Mimi had seemed healthy enough, and except for not feeling well during the Monday HHS meeting, she hadn’t complained of any ailments. She’d also seemed like the type of woman who would be vigilant about medical checkups, the type who would take care of herself. So why didn’t they know what she’d died of? And why were funeral arrangements pending? Unless…
    Charlotte felt a sudden chill. Was it possible? Could undetermined causes mean that the police suspected foul play? Even as Charlotte tried to deny the possibility that Mimi could have been murdered, even as she told herself she was letting her imagination get the best of her, deep in her gut she knew that it was possible.
    Stop jumping to conclusions.
    What else then? Once again, visions of how Mimi had looked and acted on Friday reeled through Charlotte’s mind. A virus, a rare virus of some kind. Surely that was the explanation.
    The kitchen timer buzzed, and Charlotte jumped. Only then did she realize how long she’d been sitting there lost in a fog of disbelief and numbed by the dreadful realization that her newest client was dead.
    What, if anything, should she do? she wondered, still staring at the picture. She could call the Adams’s house.
    And say what?
    She could express her sympathy to Mimi’s husband.
    Yeah, right. Just the thing to do. A complete stranger calling in the middle of his grief.
    Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Maybe she could call June Bryant instead.
    And say what?
    Again she shook her head. What she should do is mind her own business. She should get dressed, go to work, and wait. Surely someone, a member of the family or a friend of the family, would eventually get in touch with her.
    Her mind still reeling, by sheer willpower Charlotte pushed away from the table and stood. On legs that felt weighted with lead, she headed for the shower.
    Â 
    An hour later Charlotte was ready to walk out the front door when the phone rang. Her hand on the doorknob, she paused. The phone call could be from someone at the Adams household.
    Charlotte hurried over to the desk and picked up the receiver on the third ring. “Maid-for-a-Day, Charlotte speaking.”
    â€œHave you got a minute?”
    Recognizing her son’s voice, Charlotte smiled. “Of course, hon.”
    â€œYou doing okay?”
    Charlotte hesitated, tempted to tell Hank about the death of her newest client, and even more tempted to ask him if he could find out what had happened to her. As a doctor, he could inquire about the incident easily enough, but asking for his help would mean explaining all about how Mimi had been acting on Friday.
    She glanced at the cuckoo clock on the wall behind the sofa. Explaining it all would take too much time, so she said, “I’m fine, son.”
    â€œCarol and I were wondering if you have any plans for Friday evening.”
    â€œHold on a minute, hon, and let me check.” She wedged the receiver between her shoulder and chin to free up both hands, then rummaged through her purse until she found her Day-Timer. She flipped through it to Friday’s date. “I have an appointment to get my hair