Chương 6
Evelyn looked toward the bassinet and then at me again.
“I called him back after that.”
“Did he answer?”
“No.”
“How many times?”
“Seven.”
That sounded like Evelyn.
“And then?”
“Then Vanessa called me.”
Richard went still.
My pulse accelerated.
“What did she say?”
“Almost nothing.”
“Evelyn.”
“She was crying.”
“People can cry and use nouns at the same time.”
Richard gave me a quick look.
Evelyn did not appreciate the sarcasm.
“She asked whether Preston had spoken to me.”
“What did you say?”
“I said yes.”
“And?”
“She asked what he told me.”
I waited.
Evelyn swallowed.
“I told her he said you fell.”
“What did Vanessa say?”
Evelyn’s hands stopped moving.
“She said, ‘That’s not what happened.’”
My skin went cold.
“Then what?”
“She hung up.”
“Did you call her back?”
“Of course.”
“No answer?”
“No.”
“Why come here?”
Evelyn glanced toward the door.
“Because thirty minutes later I received a call from a man at the hospital asking whether I was related to you.”
Richard frowned.
“No one should have called her.”
“He wasn’t hospital staff.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“He asked whether you had any allergies.”
That made no sense.
Evelyn continued.
“When I asked his name, he hung up.”
Richard was already typing something into his phone.
“What number?”
“I saved it.”
She took out her phone.
Her hands were shaking badly enough that Richard had to read the screen himself.
He entered the number and walked toward the window.
I watched Evelyn.
“Why did you tell us you knew what Preston did?”
Her eyes filled again.
“Because Vanessa called me a second time.”
“When?”
“Ten minutes before I came upstairs.”
My body tensed.
“From the hospital?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did she say?”
Evelyn looked at Eli instead of me.
“She said Preston pushed you.”
The room seemed to tilt even though I was lying still.
Richard turned from the window.
“Did she say she witnessed it?”
“Yes.”
“Did she say where Preston is?”
“No.”
“Did she say where she is?”
“No.”
“She’s in this building,” I said.
Evelyn looked at me.
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because she told me not to let Preston find you.”
Richard crossed the room.
“What else?”
“That was almost all of it.”
“Almost?”
Evelyn rubbed her thumb over the edge of her phone.
“She said she had made a terrible mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“She said she thought Preston only wanted the insurance money.”
I stared at her.
“That sentence makes no sense.”
“I know.”
“What else would he want?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“She wouldn’t tell me.”
Richard crouched slightly in front of her.
“Mrs. Vale, listen carefully.”
She stiffened at his tone.
“Did Vanessa say anything about the body found in the ravine?”
Evelyn’s face emptied.
“What body?”
He looked at me.
I answered.
“They found a man below Ravenstone.”
Her mouth opened.
“Preston?”
“They haven’t identified him.”
“No.”
She stood too quickly.
The chair scraped backward.
“No, Preston called me.”
“About an hour ago,” I said.
“When was the body found?”
“After that.”
Evelyn gripped the back of the chair.
Richard reached for her elbow.
She pulled away.
“I’m fine.”
She was clearly not fine.
Eli began crying.
The sound cut through everything.
I tried shifting him.
My incision burned.
Richard moved immediately.
“Give him to me.”
“He’s hungry.”
“I can’t help with that.”
“Congratulations on identifying your limitation.”
Even Evelyn gave a weak, startled laugh.
The nurse entered less than a minute later and helped me position Eli.
No one spoke while he fussed and latched.
It was absurdly ordinary.
Three adults stood around discussing attempted murder, a missing husband, a terrified mistress, and fifty million dollars while my newborn became furious because dinner had been delayed.
That ordinary need steadied me.
The nurse finished adjusting the pillow.
“You’ve got him.”
“Thank you.”
She looked around the room.
“This is a lot of people for someone who needs rest.”
Evelyn immediately opened her mouth.
The nurse raised one finger.
“I wasn’t inviting debate.”
Richard turned toward the window to hide a smile.
Evelyn looked offended enough to recover several years of her personality.
“I’m his grandmother.”
“And she is my patient.”
The nurse pointed toward the door.
“Five minutes.”
Evelyn sat again after she left.
“I dislike that woman.”
“I love her,” I said.
Richard’s phone buzzed.
He checked it.
“Security found the woman in the gray coat.”
My heart jumped.
“Vanessa?”
He read the message again.
“No.”
Disappointment and fear arrived together.
“Who?”
“An insurance investigator.”
Evelyn frowned.
“At the hospital?”
Richard’s expression darkened.
“Not one of mine.”
A knock sounded.
This time nobody spoke.
Another knock followed.
Then Detective Ortiz entered without waiting.
She closed the door behind her.
“We’ve identified the body.”
Evelyn stood.
Ortiz looked at me first.
“It isn’t Preston.”
Air left my lungs.
The relief frightened me.
“Who is it?”
“Name is Daniel Mercer.”
I looked at her.
The surname took a moment to register.
“Vanessa’s husband?”
Ortiz nodded.
Evelyn whispered something I could not hear.
I had known Vanessa was married.
Preston once mentioned her husband at a company Christmas party.
Daniel taught high-school history.
He had spent that evening near the dessert table making polite conversation with people who earned five times his salary.
I remembered him holding Vanessa’s coat when she complained she was cold.
“What was he doing on Ravenstone?” I asked.
“That is now a very important question.”
“Does Vanessa know?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Ortiz looked toward Evelyn.
“Mrs. Vale, I need your phone.”
Evelyn clutched it.
“Why?”
“Because Vanessa contacted you.”
“That doesn’t mean you can take my phone.”
“No, but you can voluntarily give it to me while we arrange the proper process.”
Evelyn looked ready to argue.
I interrupted.
“Give it to her.”
She stared at me.
“Madison, it has personal information.”
“So did my marriage.”
That shut her up.
She handed Ortiz the phone.
May you like
Ortiz placed it in an evidence bag.
“Daniel Mercer’s vehicle was found at a scenic turnout two miles from where Madison went over the cliff.”
