Oliver said, “Right now, we’ve got a blank between eight in the morning and two in the afternoon.” The head nurse appeared troubled. Oliver asked her what was on her mind. “Now’s not the time to hold back.”

Hilly bit her thumbnail. “The day of Adrianna’s death, the two of them were having coffee together…in the cafeteria. So it’s not like it was a secret or anything.”

Marge shot Oliver a look. “Do you remember the time?”

“It was morning. I remember smelling the bacon.”

“Did you say anything to them?”

Hilly looked down. “This is so strange to remember this just now. I didn’t say anything to them, but I was annoyed. Mandy shouldn’t have been on break. It was actually my break time. I remember being short-staffed because I couldn’t find her. I figured she just went to the bathroom because she’s usually so responsible. So I went downstairs to grab a bagel. I was starving. When I saw her talking to Adrianna, I was peeved. I pointed to my watch and Mandy got up right away. She apologized later on and I told her to forget it. I knew she was working a double shift and chalked it up to fatigue, that maybe she needed a caffeine pit stop.”

Marge was scribbling on her notepad. “Is there any way you can approximate a time?”

“Let me think…I signed back in at nine-fifteen. So it was around then. Does that help?”

“We just gained another hour!” Marge said in triumph.

“Any idea what they were talking about?” Oliver asked Hilly.

“No. But I do remember Mandy looking sheepish when she saw me, probably because I had silently reprimanded her.” Again, Hilly paused. “You know, now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t know what they were talking about, but the conversation was intense. When I first walked in and saw them together, Mandy didn’t even notice. And when she saw me, she blushed. Clearly, she knew she shouldn’t have been on break.”

“Intense in what way?” Marge said.

“Mandy was leaning over the table and Adrianna was talking with her hands. But I only had a chance to observe them for a couple of seconds.”

“And Adrianna was doing the talking?”

Hilly nodded. “She seemed upset. Maybe that’s why I didn’t come down too hard. Mandy, as usual, was trying to help.”

“Would you have Mandy’s home address?” Oliver said. “If Adrianna was upset, maybe Mandy could tell us what was upsetting her.”

“Didn’t you already talk to Mandy?”

Marge said, “We did. But Mandy didn’t mention having coffee with Adrianna. Now we’re curious why.”

Hilly said, “It was out in the open. It wasn’t clandestine or anything like that.”

“Which makes us all the more curious why she didn’t mention it to us,” Oliver said.