It seemed strange to get ready for bed and then climb into Tolliver’s.

“We don’t always have to sleep in the same bed,” he said. “Some beds are going to be narrow and even lumpier than this one. But I want to sleep with you. Really sleep.”

I wanted to really sleep with him, too, and it was easier than I thought. In fact, hearing his breathing beside me seemed to help me doze off faster than I normally did. I hadn’t slept in the same bed with anyone for a long time; and maybe not for a whole night since I’d shared a bed with my sister Cameron. When I’d stayed with a guy, I often hadn’t made it through till morning.

I did wake up a few times during the night, record my new situation, and fall right back to sleep. On one of these moments of wakefulness, I saw that my phone was vibrating against the floor by the bed. I reached down and scooped it up.

“Hello?” I said quietly, not wanting to wake Tolliver.

“Harper?”

“Yes.”

“She died, Harper.”

“Manfred, I’m so sorry.”

“Harper, maybe someone killed her. I wasn’t in the room.”

“Manfred! Don’t say that out loud. Don’t say that where anyone can hear you. Where are you?”

“I’m standing outside the hospital.”

“Why do you think that?”

“I think that because she was getting better. The nurse even said she thought Grandmother was going to speak. Then she died.”

“Manfred, you need us to come in?”

“Not until morning. It’s too bad out there. There’s nothing you can do. You stay in bed. I’ll see you in the morning. My mother should be here then, too.”

“Manfred, you need to go back to the motel and lock the door. Don’t eat or drink anything at the hospital, all right?” I tried to think of more advice to give him. “And don’t be alone with anyone, okay?”

“I hear you, babe.” He sounded barely conscious. “I’m getting in the car now, and I’m going to drive to the motel.”

“Hey, call me when you get there.”

He called again within ten minutes to tell me he was safely locked in his room. Furthermore, he’d seen some reporters who were up drinking, and he’d told them someone had been following him. So they were as alert as drinking people could be, and they all professed to be disgusted that someone was following him around on such a sad night. Somehow they all knew already that Xylda had passed. Maybe they were paying one of the hospital staff to be a news clearinghouse.

None of this woke Tolliver, which surprised me until I recalled he’d been outside helping Ted Hamilton earlier. Plus, we’d had our own share of vigorous indoor exercise.