Chương 10
Daniel took a long breath.
“He said, ‘What happened?’”
“That’s all?”
“At first.”
“Was he touching anything?”
Daniel did not answer.
Mina knew before he spoke.
“He was by the counter.”
“Which counter?”
“The one beside the pantry.”
“What was in his hand?”
“I don’t know.”
“Daniel.”
“A glass.”
Mina sat completely still.
“What kind of glass?”
“A water glass.”
“Evelyn’s?”
“Maybe.”
“Was there water in it?”
“I don’t remember.”
“What did he do with it?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Think.”
Daniel’s breathing became ragged.
“I was kneeling beside my wife.”
“I know.”
“I wasn’t cataloging the kitchen.”
“I know.”
“Stop saying you know.”
Mina flinched.
Daniel immediately lowered his voice.
“Sorry.”
She stared through the windshield.
A teenager came out of the pharmacy carrying a bag of candy and looked annoyed at the heat.
The normality of it made Mina feel briefly detached from her own body.
She said, “What did Thomas tell you to do?”
“What?”
“When you found Evelyn.”
Daniel hesitated.
“He told me to call 911.”
“But you didn’t have your phone.”
“No.”
“So he called.”
“Yes.”
“Did he start CPR?”
“No.”
“Did you?”
“I tried.”
“Who told you she had no pulse?”
Daniel went quiet.
Mina’s heartbeat accelerated.
“Daniel.”
“Thomas.”
The parking lot seemed to sharpen around her.
“He checked her?”
“Yes.”
“Before the ambulance?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“That he couldn’t feel anything.”
“Did you check?”
“I tried.”
“And?”
“I couldn’t tell.”
Mina shut her eyes.
“Did the paramedics find a pulse?”
“No.”
“You know that?”
“They told me she was in cardiac arrest.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“I know.”
“Did they resuscitate her?”
“Yes.”
Mina opened her eyes.
“What?”
“They worked on her for a long time.”
“You never told me that.”
“I didn’t tell anybody much of anything.”
His voice collapsed into exhaustion.
“They got a rhythm back once.”
Mina’s entire body went cold.
“What happened?”
“It disappeared.”
“Then what?”
“They transported her.”
“To the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“And the hospital pronounced her dead?”
Daniel paused.
“Yes.”
Mina rubbed her forehead.
The situation became more complicated, not less.
This had not been only Thomas standing over Evelyn and declaring her dead.
Medical professionals had treated her.
Hospital staff had pronounced her.
There would be records.
Times.
Drugs.
Procedures.
Answers that might still be terrible without being simple.
Daniel said, “I have to go.”
“What happened?”
“A doctor is coming.”
“Call me after.”
“Mina.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want Thomas near her.”
Mina looked down.
“Then tell hospital security.”
“I already did.”
“Good.”
“What if I’m wrong?”
His voice became very quiet.
“What if he didn’t do anything?”
“Then keeping him away for a few hours won’t destroy him.”
“You don’t know my brother.”
“No.”
She paused.
“But I know Evelyn almost got buried.”
Daniel said nothing.
Then the line disconnected.
Mina pulled back onto the road.
By the time she reached the hospital, three television vans were parked near the emergency entrance.
People stood outside with phones raised toward the building.
A local reporter spoke into a camera beneath the hospital sign.
Mina drove past and entered through the parking garage.
Her orange uniform made her immediately recognizable anyway.
A woman near the elevators stared at her, glanced at her phone, then stared again.
“You’re the one from the video.”
Mina pressed the elevator button.
“No.”
The woman blinked.
“It is you.”
Mina looked at her.
“I said no.”
The doors opened.
Mina stepped inside.
The woman did not follow.
On the intensive care floor, a security guard stopped her before she reached the waiting area.
“Name?”
“Mina Park.”
“Relationship to patient?”
“I work for her.”
He checked a list.
“You’re approved.”
“By Daniel Mercer?”
“Yes.”
Mina walked through.
Daniel sat alone in a row of blue vinyl chairs.
His bow tie was gone.
His white shirt was open at the throat.
There was dried blood on one cuff that Mina suspected belonged to Evelyn.
He stood when he saw her.
For a moment neither knew what to do.
Then Daniel crossed the distance and hugged her.
The movement was sudden and awkward.
Mina stiffened.
He seemed to realize it and stepped back almost immediately.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, I just—”
“It’s fine.”
They sat.
Daniel stared at his hands.
“They found something.”
Mina waited.
“Her toxicology screen showed a sedative that wasn’t prescribed to her.”
“What?”
“They’re confirming it.”
“What sedative?”
“Midazolam.”
Mina frowned.
“Isn’t that used in hospitals?”
“Yes.”
“Could she have gotten it during the ambulance?”
“That’s what they’re checking.”
Daniel looked at her.
“But the doctor said the timing may not fit.”
Mina felt pressure behind her ribs.
“Meaning she may have had it before they arrived.”
“Yes.”
The door at the far end of the hall opened.
A physician in navy scrubs came toward them.
Daniel stood.
The doctor looked from him to Mina.
“Mr. Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“Your wife is beginning to respond to stimulation.”
Daniel’s face crumpled before he could stop it.
“Can she talk?”
“Not yet.”
“Is she awake?”
“Not fully.”
The doctor hesitated.
“But she opened her eyes.”
Daniel covered his mouth.
Mina looked through the glass panel beside the ICU doors.
For the first time since the axe struck the coffin, hope felt dangerous.
The doctor continued.
“We need to limit stimulation, and law enforcement has asked us to preserve anything she says when she becomes able to communicate.”
Daniel nodded.
“Can I see her?”
“For a few minutes.”
He took one step, then turned to Mina.
“Come with me.”
The doctor said, “One visitor at a time.”
Daniel stopped.
Mina almost smiled at the repetition of the day’s cruel logistical rules.
“Go,” she said.
Daniel disappeared through the doors.
Mina sat alone.
Five minutes later, the elevator opened.
Claire stepped out carrying a leather overnight bag.
She saw Mina and hurried toward her.
They had met only once before.
May you like
Claire looked smaller than Mina remembered, with gray beginning at both temples and mascara smudged beneath one eye.
She dropped the bag beside the chair.
