Page 182 of Hidden Nature

Drea came out in the cuffed, off-the-shoulder dress with its full skirt, lacy bodice, and subtle white-on-ivory embroidery. The quick sparkle of sequins.

Not sleek, Sloan thought, but classic and graceful.

“Oh, I love it.” Tears gathered in Drea’s eyes. “I just love it. Mom!”

“Yes, yes, yes. There’s my girl on her wedding day.” Elsie rose quickly, hurried over to hug.

“I was so sure I wanted… I want this. It’s not simple like I thought.”

“Yes, it is.” Sloan rose, made a circle with her finger so Drea turnedone. “It’s simply classic, simply gorgeous, and simply perfect for you. That’s plenty of simple.”

“I found my dress.” With her hands crossed over her heart, Drea turned to the mirror again. “This is my wedding dress. I’m getting married in this dress. Let’s find yours! Then I’m taking my mom and sister to lunch.”

After the choices, decisions—Sloan went for the plum—the bride’s first fitting, they reaped a bonus with Elsie’s find of her mother-of-the-bride dress.

High on success, they had their celebration lunch. And talked weddings. Flowers, table settings, music, menu.

While her mother and sister indulged in more champagne, Sloan stuck to sparkling water. Not only was she driving, but she hoped to make one more stop.

“I need to ask a favor.”

“The way I feel right now?” Drea tossed back her hair. “You could ask me for anything. Except Theo.”

“I’ll take him off the list of favors. I’d like to make a stop, well two. At two WVU hospitals.”

“Are you all right?”

“Mom, I’m fine. It’s about the missing. Two of them went to hospitals here. I just want to see if I can talk to one of their nurses, doctors, an orderly. Since we’re so close.”

“Of course.” Elsie put a hand over Sloan’s. “We’ll wait in the car for you.”

“Or,” Drea said, “you can drop us off at the mall. I want to look at hair accessories, shoes, and I need the right underpinnings for my dress. And that way you won’t feel you have to rush it.”

“Thanks. Really, thanks. I’ll text you when I’m done, you’ll tell me where you are.”

And they’d have more fun without her, Sloan thought when she dropped them off. She liked shopping, but she liked it when she knew just what she shopped for. Then anything over that equaled bonus.

She’d checked with the helpful neighbor, so knew what room Celia Russell had been in post-surgery. She made her way up and to the nurse’s station and took out her badge.

“I’m Sergeant Cooper with the Natural Resources Police. I’m assisting in an investigation that involves a former patient. Not about her medical condition,” Sloan added. “Celia Russell, she had surgery on a heart valve.”

She gave the nurse what information she had.

“We see a lot of patients, and since you’re talking about last year, I’m not sure how I can help you.”

“I was hoping to speak to someone on staff who remembers her, who tended to her during her recovery.”

One of the other nurses stopped by, pushed up pink-framed glasses. “Did you say Celia Russell? I remember her. Plus, the police came in not long ago to ask questions.

“You had that week off, Ally. Didn’t I tell you about it?”

“No. Why did they come in about her?”

“She’s missing. Has been for months now. She was a really good patient. You should remember, Ally, she showed us pictures of her little dog. She brought us in cookies after she went home. And I remember especially since I read she went missing, and then they came in to ask. They haven’t found her?”

“No, we haven’t found her.”

“That’s just awful. She brought us a big tub of chocolate chip cookies and flowers. The flowers were sweet, but those cookies were even better.”

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