Chương 12
“I won’t.”
Claire looked at him.
“You’re not in charge of her.”
“I know.”
“Don’t fight with Ryan if he comes back.”
“I know.”
“Daniel.”
“I know.”
Margaret leaned toward the open doors.
“She means it.”
He looked at her.
“So do I.”
The doors closed.
The ambulance pulled away without sirens.
For the first several blocks, Margaret watched the houses pass through the narrow rear window.
Claire sat opposite her with both hands clasped between her knees.
Elena checked Margaret’s pulse again.
Nobody spoke.
At a red light, Margaret said, “You may ask.”
Claire looked up.
“Ask what?”
“About the woman.”
Claire stared at the floor.
“I don’t want to.”
“That has never stopped you from asking anything in your life.”
Claire gave her a tired look.
Margaret waited.
Claire finally said, “Did they kiss?”
Margaret’s eyes dropped.
“Yes.”
Claire nodded.
The answer hurt less than the waiting had.
“Was it obvious?”
“Yes.”
Another nod.
“Okay.”
Margaret reached across the narrow space.
Claire did not take her hand immediately.
Then she did.
“I should have told you.”
“You already said that.”
“I’m saying it again.”
Claire looked toward the window.
“I’m angry at you.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to be.”
“That part I did not know.”
Claire laughed weakly.
Margaret squeezed her fingers.
“I was afraid you would think I was confused.”
Claire’s eyes burned.
“That’s the part I can’t get past.”
Margaret did not answer.
“You saw my husband with another woman and you were afraid I’d trust him over you.”
“I was afraid you’d trust everyone over me.”
Claire looked at her.
Margaret’s face held no accusation now.
That made it worse.
At the hospital, the emergency department waiting room was crowded but quiet.
A television mounted high on the wall showed a daytime talk show with captions running beneath smiling people.
A toddler dragged a plastic dinosaur along the floor.
An older man slept with his arms folded across his chest.
Margaret was taken through triage quickly because of her blood pressure and reported missed medication.
Claire sat beside her while a nurse asked the same questions Elena had already asked.
Margaret became increasingly irritated.
“No, I did not fall.”
“No, I did not strike my head.”
“Yes, I know what year it is.”
The nurse paused.
“That last question is standard.”
Margaret pursed her lips.
“Then I apologize.”
Claire looked at the floor to hide a smile.
The nurse asked Margaret to name the current president, then her location and the reason she was there.
Margaret answered each correctly.
When asked to repeat three words, she repeated them.
A few minutes later, she recalled all three without prompting.
Claire felt a strange rush of vindication, then immediately hated herself for needing proof.
The nurse finished and stepped away.
Margaret saw Claire’s face.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t need to.”
Claire leaned back.
“You’re allowed to be angry.”
“I am.”
“Good.”
“I’m also allowed to be tired.”
Claire nodded.
A physician examined Margaret’s wrist and shoulder, ordered imaging, and discussed the medication issue cautiously.
He would not tell Claire whether missed doses explained the blood pressure elevation.
He only said several things could contribute and that they would evaluate her.
That uncertainty comforted Claire more than false certainty would have.
While Margaret was taken for an X-ray, Claire sat alone in the curtained room.
Her phone contained nineteen notifications.
Three were from Ryan.
Please call me.
I need to explain.
I’m not asking you to forgive me.
Claire stared at the last message.
She did not open the others.
There was one from Daniel.
Locks being changed tonight.
One from an unknown number.
Claire almost ignored it.
Then another message arrived from the same number.
This is Vanessa Cole.
Claire’s fingers went cold.
A third message appeared.
Ryan told me the police are involved.
Claire read the words twice.
Then the phone rang.
Same number.
She let it stop.
It rang again.
Claire stood and stepped into the hallway.
She remembered Martinez.
Do not contact her.
That did not mean Vanessa could not contact Claire, but she had no intention of improvising.
She took screenshots showing the messages and call log.
Then she forwarded them to Martinez at the number he had given her for evidence follow-up.
Vanessa called a third time.
Claire declined it.
A voicemail notification appeared almost immediately.
She stared at the icon.
For thirty seconds she did nothing.
Then she put in one earbud and played it.
Vanessa’s voice was quieter than Claire remembered.
“Claire, I know you have every reason not to speak to me.”
A pause.
“I’m not calling about Ryan and me.”
Another pause, longer.
“I’m calling because he lied to you about the money.”
Claire stopped breathing.
Vanessa continued.
“The company did have cash problems, but not the way he said.”
There was a faint sound in the background, possibly a car door closing.
“I handled the books until last week.”
Claire leaned against the wall.
“Some of Margaret’s money went into the business, but Ryan moved part of it back out through another company.”
Vanessa’s voice shook.
“I didn’t know where it came from at first.”
Another pause.
“I should have asked more questions.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Then came the sentence that changed the shape of everything again.
“The other company belongs to Diane.”
Claire opened her eyes.
For a moment the hospital hallway seemed to narrow around her.
She replayed the voicemail from the beginning.
Vanessa’s voice sounded smaller the second time.
The other company belongs to Diane.
Claire saved the message and forwarded the audio file to Martinez without replying.
Then she stood against the wall until the shaking in her hands eased.
Margaret returned ten minutes later with her left arm supported in a simple sling.
The X-rays showed no fracture.
There was bruising, a mild shoulder strain, and a recommendation for follow-up because of the missed medication and blood-pressure concerns.
May you like
Margaret looked irritated by the sling.
“I look theatrical.”
