Chương 5
Through the glass, Julian watched Elliot sit beside the bed. Elliot did not touch Clara at first. He leaned forward, speaking softly. Clara stared at the blanket. Then Elliot reached for her hand.
She allowed it.
Julian felt something ugly move through him. Not doubt exactly. Resentment. He wanted Clara to recoil, to confirm the simpler story in which danger announced itself clearly and gratitude followed rescue.
Instead, she listened.
Elliot took a tissue from the bedside box and wiped his eyes.
Julian walked to the waiting area before he did something that would make the hospital remove him.
Beatrice arrived ten minutes later with an attorney.
She had changed into a gray wool suit. Her pearls were gone. The burgundy handbag was gone too. The attorney introduced himself as Samuel Dorsey and offered Julian a business card.
Julian did not take it.
“Where is Clara’s phone?” he asked.
Beatrice looked toward the officers near the elevators. “Not here.”
“Where?”
Dorsey stepped in. “Mrs. Ashford has been advised not to answer questions concerning potential evidence outside the presence of law enforcement.”
Julian looked at Beatrice. “You brought a lawyer before you brought her phone.”
“She asked me to keep it safe,” Beatrice said.
“Then give it to the detective.”
Dorsey touched her elbow. “Beatrice.”
She pulled away from him. “It is in my bedroom safe.”
“Why?”
“Because Elliot wanted it.”
Julian paused.
For the first time since the medical bedroom, Beatrice looked directly at him. “I did not know how far this had gone.”
“You knew enough to shut off the cameras.”
“I knew Clara had documents on the phone. Trust records. Messages. Photographs.”
“Photographs of what?”
Beatrice’s gaze moved to his pocket, as though she knew the clasp remained there. “Of herself.”
Julian felt the corridor narrow.
“How long have you known?”
“Three months.”
“You knew he was hurting her for three months?”
“I knew she said he was controlling.”
“Controlling.”
“She never used the word assault.”
“Did you need the correct vocabulary before you believed the bruises?”
Dorsey said quietly, “This conversation should stop.”
Beatrice ignored him. “I tried to arrange a separation. I contacted a matrimonial attorney. I found her an apartment. Elliot threatened to challenge her position at the trust and release records from her treatment.”
“So you told her to wait.”
“I told her to protect herself.”
“You told her not to go to the police.”
“I told her to think about what would happen next.”
Julian laughed once, without amusement. “That is what cowards call silence when they can afford lawyers.”
Beatrice’s face tightened. “And what do architects call it when they build museums for men they despise?”
He did not answer.
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Elliot diverted money through three consulting firms. I approved two of the contracts. I believed they were legitimate. If Clara accused him publicly without securing the records, he would say she was unstable and I was complicit. The board would remove us both. The trust would freeze. Hundreds of employees and grant recipients would be affected.”
“Clara was bleeding.”
“And I brought her home.”
“You trapped her there.”
“I was trying to stop her from walking into a police station sedated and incoherent with no evidence in her hands.”
“She had the evidence on her phone.”
“Which Elliot was trying to find.”
“So you took it.”
“To protect it.”
“And called a doctor who drugged her against her will.”
Beatrice’s composure cracked for an instant. “Eliza said Clara was medically unstable.”
“Did Eliza tell you to stand in the doorway?”
“No.”
“Did she tell Marcus?”
“No.”
Dorsey stepped between them. “That is enough.”
Julian leaned around him. “Bring the phone to Detective Ortiz. Today.”
Beatrice’s eyes filled but did not spill. “Your father would have understood.”
“That is not the defense you think it is.”
He walked away before she could answer.
Clara refused to see Julian for the rest of the morning.
She allowed Elliot to stay twenty-three minutes.
When he emerged, his eyes were red and his voice controlled. “She wants space.”
“From you?”
“From everyone.”
Julian stood close enough to smell Elliot’s cologne. “Did you hit her?”
Elliot glanced toward the nurses’ station. “No.”
“Did you hold her wrists?”
“No.”
“Did you steal from the trust?”
Elliot’s face remained still, but his breathing changed. “Beatrice is blaming me for contracts she approved.”
“Clara has records.”
“Clara has screenshots she doesn’t understand.”
“You seem very informed about what is on a phone you haven’t seen.”
Elliot adjusted the cuff of his shirt. “My wife has been ill. She stopped sleeping. She became convinced everyone was conspiring against her.”
“Did she become convinced before or after the bruises?”
“She attacked me.”
“Show me where.”
A small pulse moved in Elliot’s jaw.
Julian continued. “Roll up your sleeves.”
“This is not one of your construction sites. You don’t give orders here.”
“You’re right. On construction sites, people document injuries.”
Elliot moved around him.
Julian caught his forearm.
The contact lasted less than a second. Elliot jerked away with enough force to attract attention from the nurses’ station. Detective Ortiz appeared from a side corridor.
“Mr. Ashford.”
Julian raised both hands.
Elliot smoothed his sleeve. “You see what this family is like.”
Ortiz looked between them. “Mr. Ward, I need you in Interview Two.”
“I have already spoken with you.”
“And now I have additional questions.”
“Am I being detained?”
“No.”
“Then send them through my attorney.”
He collected his coat and walked toward the elevators.
Julian watched him leave.
Ortiz said, “Do not touch him again.”
“He’s leaving.”
“Yes.”
“You’re allowing that?”
“I am investigating an assault, not staging a satisfying ending for you.”
“He could destroy evidence.”
“He could. So could your stepmother. So could you.”
Julian lowered his voice. “What do you need?”
“For you to stop behaving as though your anger is evidence.”
May you like
Beatrice delivered Clara’s phone at two in the afternoon.
The device was sealed in a clear evidence bag. Its screen was cracked near one corner. Detective Ortiz obtained Clara’s permission before asking for the passcode. Clara refused to provide it while Elliot remained in the hospital.
