“Why the hell not?”

“Because, Lita, the caffeine’s bad for your heart, and the acid upsets your stomach.”

“Girlie, my stomach is just fine, no thanks to you.”

“Lita, now don’t you start getting nasty—”

Decker said, “Why don’t you just take this away? It seems to be creating a problem.”

“What doesn’t cause a problem with this one?” Tonya took the coffee cup and left.

“Bitch,” Lita muttered, watching the young nurse go. “I don’t suppose you’d sneak me a cup.”

“I follow orders, Lita.”

“So I order you to get me a cup.” She wheezed a spasm of laughter. “Who did you say you were?”

“Sergeant Decker of the Los Angeles Police. My partner, Detective Dunn, came out yesterday to talk to you. She asked you questions about Marie.”

Lita looked blank.

“Detective Dunn’s a tall blond woman with brown eyes. She asked you all about Marie, her history, her friends….”

Lita waited a moment, then said, “I haven’t seen Marie for a while. Where is she?”

Decker paused. He was sure Marge had informed Lita of her daughter’s disappearance. “I don’t know. She seems to have…gone somewhere.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Lita, do you remember talking to Detective Dunn at all?”

“Sorta.”

“What do you remember?”

She didn’t answer, and Decker didn’t push it. Start from scratch—taking into consideration that the woman might have Alzheimers. It made all her answers suspect. “Any idea where Marie might have gone, Lita?”

“Nope.”

“Did Marie have a favorite place to go to think when she needed some time alone?”

“Marie lived alone. Check her condo.”

“We did. She isn’t there.”

Lita frowned. “Doesn’t make sense that she’d just up and disappear. Marie turned out to be the stable, dependable one. Just like my first husband, Henry, except Marie wasn’t his. Funny how things like that work out. Marie became a nurse. Said Jesus told her to become a nurse.”

“Did Marie often talk to Jesus?”

“You mean was she crazy? The answer is no. But she was always a little fanatical in her beliefs.”

The old woman was silent for a moment.

“First it was drugs was God. Then it was gurus was God. She wound up with Jesus. Better him than a cow. So you can’t find Marie, huh?”

The old lady didn’t seem concerned. Decker asked, “Has she ever done this before. Just disappeared?”

“Not that I can remember.” Lita burped. “But I don’t remember so good anymore. Least that’s what they tell me.”

“Lita, could Marie have gone camping?”

“Camping?”

“You know…go out to the woods, pitch a tent…sleep in the wilds?”