Bombshell

He watched Henry slink to Delsey’s bedside, and stand looking down at her knees, not her face, shifting his feet back and forth. “It was really bad, Delsey,” he said, finally looking at her face. “I came by earlier to speak to Agent Noble. Then I wanted to see you, but the deputy outside your room wouldn’t let me come in—”

“You didn’t recognize Deputy Claus?”

“Sure, and he recognized me, too, but he said I still needed permission, but Agent Noble was gone and there was no one to give it to me.” He turned to Griffin. “Delsey talks about you a lot.”

“Not all bad,” Delsey said.

Griffin said, “Why didn’t you go to the party, Mr. Stoltzen? Henry?”

“I wasn’t invited. I’m not pretty enough.”

Delsey said to her brother, “Professor Salazar’s parties always have more women than men.”

Both Griffin and Delsey heard spite in Henry’s voice when he said, “According to what I’ve heard, Salazar doesn’t like competition.”

Then where’s the harm in inviting you? Griffin said, “I know you already told your story to Sheriff Noble and Agent Noble, but please humor me and tell us both again, from the beginning, Mr. . . . Henry.”

“Yeah, okay, I can do that.” He looked down at Delsey. “I heard you pull in at about one o’clock and looked out the window, saw you unlock your door and walk in. I admit it, Delsey, I did wonder if you’d had too much fun at Salazar’s party. You looked like you were weaving around a bit.”

Delsey said, “And I’ll never do that again for as long as I live, so help me God.”

“Good,” Griffin said, then turned to Henry again. “You said you heard something come from Delsey’s apartment and it worried you? How long was this after she came in at one o’clock?”

“Maybe about ten minutes before she walked in. I thought I heard some bumping around, like there was someone in her apartment, a visitor maybe, but then I didn’t hear anything else, and so I thought I imagined it. Until Delsey screamed. I banged on the floor and called 911, and then I listened some more, and then I walked down.”

“Do you remember what time it was?” Griffin asked.

Henry’s eyes darted to Griffin’s face. He popped his knuckles. “You know, it took me a while to decide there really was a problem, Delsey. I didn’t know for sure until you screamed. But I thought maybe you had a guy staying with you, and I didn’t want to intrude.”

Was that a hint of jealousy in his voice?

Delsey snorted. “Come on, Henry, when was the last time I had a guy over for the night?”

“Well, now that I think about it, maybe never.”

“It’s sad,” Delsey said. “Anna’s always telling me to get rid of the bushel.”

“Bushel?” Henry asked.

“As in hiding your light under—”

“Hey, that’s funny, Delsey.” Henry beamed at her.

Griffin said smoothly, “How long did you wait after you called 911 before you went downstairs and through Delsey’s front door, Henry?”

“I heard some more noises, and I banged on the floor again. I was going to wait for the cops to arrive, but after a couple of minutes I didn’t hear anything, and like I said, I went downstairs.”

Griffin said, “Better you waited a bit, Henry, or you might have been hurt. You didn’t see anyone? Hear anyone or anything other than the bumping sounds?”

Henry shook his head. “Nope, not a thing—well, I did hear a car engine when I was already on my way to check on Delsey, but that’s it. I was thinking about her.”

“Did you happen to glance out a window, see the car?”

“No, sir, I’m sorry, but I didn’t.”

“What did you do next?”

“Your front door wasn’t locked, Delsey, so I stuck my head in and called your name. When you didn’t answer, I went on in.”

Griffin asked, “Was anything out of place, Henry?”

Henry said to Delsey, “Yeah, that little Persian carpet you’re so proud of was all crumpled against the table you have for your mail.”

Like someone had dragged a body over it or was in a big hurry.

“I can’t remember anything else out of place. When I looked in your bathroom, there you were lying on the floor, on your side, your clothes in a pile beside you. You weren’t moving, and I thought you were dead at first. It scared the crap out of me, Delsey. It looked like you’d slipped and fallen, hit your head, maybe, because there was blood in your hair and on the floor. I didn’t see the blood in the bathtub until a paramedic pointed it out, said it was way too much to all be yours. I guess one of the paramedics called Sheriff Noble, because he came right away and asked me about it. He let me follow the ambulance to the hospital, but they wouldn’t let me near you since I wasn’t family, so I finally went home.