Chương 5
Daniel: Rachel had a little spotting. She says it stopped.
Margaret: Then she needs a physician.
Daniel: She spoke to the office.
Margaret: Is she going in?
Daniel: No.
Margaret: Unacceptable.
Daniel: For once we agree.
Margaret: Do not alarm the guests until we know what is happening.
Daniel: Nobody is talking about guests.
Margaret: You are having a wedding at my home with two hundred people and press outside the gate. Of course I am talking about guests.
Daniel: Mom.
Margaret: I am bringing Sloane in.
Daniel: She hates Sloane.
Margaret: She does not have to like him.
Daniel: Do not do anything without telling me.
There was a gap.
Then 12:47 p.m.
Margaret: Sloane can be here within fifteen minutes if needed.
Daniel: Rachel will not agree to that.
Margaret: If she begins bleeding again, agreement becomes secondary.
Daniel: Absolutely not.
Margaret: You are not going to let a frightened woman make a medical decision in front of photographers.
Daniel: She is not a child.
Margaret: Then stop behaving like one yourself.
Rachel stopped reading.
Her hands were trembling.
Vasquez said nothing.
Rachel continued.
At 5:38, during the reception:
Margaret: She went upstairs.
Daniel: I know.
Margaret: Evan says she looked unwell.
Daniel: I’m coming.
Margaret: Keep her there until Sloane arrives.
Daniel: What?
Margaret: She will try to come back down.
Daniel: I’m not locking her in.
Margaret: Daniel.
Daniel: No.
Then three minutes later:
Daniel: Where is the key?
Margaret: Your jacket.
Daniel: Why?
Margaret: Because if she insists on walking through a ballroom while bleeding, you will stop her.
Daniel: This is insane.
Margaret: Five minutes.
Daniel: I hate this.
Margaret: Five minutes may keep an ambulance from driving through your wedding.
Daniel: This is not about the wedding.
Margaret: Everything today is about the wedding.
There were no messages after that.
Rachel placed the paper down.
“Did he lock it?”
Vasquez asked the question gently.
Rachel almost admired the precision of it.
“He had the key.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“I heard the lock.”
“Did you see him do it?”
“No.”
“Who else was outside?”
“Margaret.”
“Anyone else?”
“Not when I got there.”
Vasquez nodded.
“We’re reviewing security footage.”
“There are cameras?”
“In the corridors and exterior areas. Not inside the suite.”
Rachel looked at the messages again.
“Who called 911 before me?”
“We’re working on that.”
“You know.”
Vasquez paused.
“We have a phone number.”
“Whose?”
“I’m not prepared to identify that person yet.”
Rachel laughed once.
“Everyone keeps deciding what I’m prepared for.”
“That’s fair.”
The detective’s lack of defensiveness irritated Rachel more than defensiveness would have.
“Did they poison me?”
“At this point, we have no evidence that you were poisoned.”
“The dispatcher told me not to drink anything.”
“The earlier caller expressed concern about a drink being brought to the suite.”
“By who?”
“That part wasn’t clear.”
“What did they say?”
Vasquez considered.
“They said, ‘Don’t let her drink what Mrs. Monroe sends upstairs.’”
Rachel’s skin prickled.
“There was water.”
“Did you drink it?”
“No.”
“Do you know who brought it?”
“No.”
Vasquez rose.
“Investigators collected everything left in the room.”
“Do you think Margaret tried to hurt me?”
“I think there was a locked door. I think she knew you were medically vulnerable. I think your husband had a key. I think someone was concerned enough to call emergency services before you did.”
“That is a very detective answer.”
“It’s the only kind I should give you right now.”
Rachel looked down at Daniel’s messages.
“Can I see him?”
Vasquez did not react.
“Do you want me to ask him to come?”
“No.”
Rachel breathed.
“Yes.”
Daniel entered twenty minutes later.
He had changed out of his tuxedo shirt, but he still wore the black trousers from the wedding. Someone had given him a gray hospital sweatshirt several sizes too large.
He looked younger in it.
Not innocent.
Just young.
Rachel hated that distinction.
He stopped inside the doorway.
“You can leave,” she told the officer accompanying him.
The officer looked toward Rachel.
Daniel said, “He should stay.”
Rachel looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want you thinking I’m trying to control what happens in this room.”
“That would be a refreshing change.”
He absorbed it.
The officer stayed by the door.
Daniel pulled a chair closer but did not sit until Rachel nodded.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Finally Rachel said, “Did you lock the door?”
Daniel stared at the floor.
“Yes.”
One word.
No excuse.
It hurt more than a paragraph would have.
“Why?”
“My mother said Dr. Sloane was two minutes away. You were trying to go back downstairs.”
“I was trying to find Leah.”
“You said you were fine.”
“So you imprisoned me?”
“No.”
Rachel looked at him.
Daniel rubbed both palms over his knees.
“Yes. I did.”
“When did you know I was bleeding?”
“When you came upstairs. There was blood on the back of your dress.”
Rachel’s throat tightened.
“You saw it before I did?”
“Yes.”
“And instead of telling me—”
“I tried.”
“No.”
“I said we should stay upstairs.”
“You told me my hem was torn.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I panicked.”
“You lied.”
“I thought if I said blood, you would panic.”
“And apparently only one of us is allowed.”
He nodded faintly.
“That’s fair.”
“Stop agreeing with me like you’re in therapy.”
His head came up.
A flash of anger crossed his face.
Good.
She wanted something real from him.
“Do you want me to fight with you?” he asked.
“I want you to stop doing whatever you think will make this conversation easier.”
“Nothing is going to make this easier.”
“Then answer me. Why did you lock it?”
He breathed in slowly.
“My mother said Sloane was coming through the service entrance. She said there were photographers by the west gate and that if an ambulance came through the lawn there would be pictures before we even knew what was happening.”
May you like
Rachel stared.
“And that mattered to you?”
