Authors: Karin Salvalaggio
“It’s the least I could do. How are you feeling?”
Grace holds the bear close to her chest. “Fine, thank you.”
Elizabeth lets out a heavy sigh. “Quit lying, Grace. You’re not fine.” She looks up at Dustin. “You know she’s lucky to be alive. She saw the killer.”
Dustin gazes directly at Grace. “Is that true?”
“I didn’t see him properly,” she says, her face reddening. “He was too far away.”
Elizabeth huffs about, looking on the floor for her handbag. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything else about him?”
Grace wipes some tears from her face. “I could tell he was big because he made my mother look really small.”
Elizabeth offers a mint to Dustin before popping one into her mouth. “Big, as in fat?”
“I’m not sure. He was wearing one of those puffer jackets.”
Dustin sits down on the edge of the bed and pats Grace’s leg. “Weren’t you scared?”
Grace closes her eyes. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
Elizabeth takes her niece’s hand and tells her not to worry. “Grace, I’m going to get something to eat. You want anything?”
Grace imagines lumpy mashed potatoes and says a quiet no.
Trying to stand, Elizabeth fights like a child trapped in a stroller. Her arms and legs reach forward, but gravity keeps her rear end trapped in the seat. She shuffles one hip at a time before pushing up with her chicken-winged arms until she’s standing solid in her beige orthopedic shoes.
Elizabeth breathes heavily. “What about you, Dustin?” She slings the thick strap of her handbag over her shoulder and manages a smile. “Would you like to join me?”
Dustin glances over at Grace. “If it’s okay with Grace, I’ll stay here and keep her company until you get back. She shouldn’t be on her own.”
Elizabeth leans over and kisses her niece on the forehead. “I won’t be long,” she says before heading for the open door.
Dustin sits quietly for a few minutes. His head is dipped and Grace thinks he might be praying. He looks up and his eyes are moist.
“I’m really sorry,” he says.
Grace watches his hand settle on her leg again. “You shouldn’t be. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
5
Flying like goose down, snow swirls around the hospital’s parking lot in dizzying spirals. Even though it’s not yet noon daylight is dying. There is nothing to guide Macy to the main entrance. She slowly makes her way along the row of parked cars, stopping every so often to look around. A cold wind blows hard, kicking up more snow. Ahead of her the large gray building emerges from the gloom before vanishing just as quickly. She drops her head into the wind and plows through the parking lot toward it.
Ray calls her when she’s halfway there. “I’m at the hospital now,” she says, holding the phone to her ear and carefully making her way along what feels like a raised walkway.
“What did you find out from Grace Adams?”
“I just got here, Ray. I’ve not had a chance to interview her.”
“It’s nearly eleven. What have you been doing?”
“Have you seen the weather forecast? It took me a half hour to drive two miles.”
The hospital is a large, six-story structure, but the snow is so thick she can’t see it anymore. A horn sounds, and she jumps, almost dropping the phone. The iced-over headlights are just a few feet away. She waves and keeps walking, taking hold of the side of a pickup truck parked nearby and edging along it so she won’t get off track again.
“I’m going to have to call you back,” she says, slipping the phone into her pocket. She stands up straight and glances around. There’s a low rectangle sign in the distance. She’s nearly on top of it when she realizes she’s arrived at the emergency room entrance. Somehow she’s missed the main entrance and come to the far side of the building.
Outside on the pavement a woman wearing a private security uniform stands hunched smoking a cigarette under an overhang. Her thick body is bundled in a dark jacket and hat. In her large, bare hands the cigarette she’s holding looks like a matchstick.
The woman laughs, setting off a coughing fit. “I was just about to come out and rescue you.”
Macy dips her chin into her coat and tries to smile. She can feel the cold seeping through her thick boots. “It’s really blowing now.”
“Just wait. We’re supposed to have a real storm move through the valley in a couple days’ time.”
Macy shivers. “It’s nice to have something to look forward to.”
“You’re the detective they were talking about on the news?”
Macy draws herself farther into her jacket and does a three-quarter turn. She looks the woman over for a few seconds and decides it’s best to keep it friendly. “Guilty as charged,” she says.
“Going in to have a little talk with Grace?”
Macy wraps her arms around her body for warmth. “That’s the idea.”
“Well, good luck with that. She’s an odd one.”
Macy leaves the woman alone with her cigarette and heads inside. In the waiting area a few people sit scattered among the rows of seats. Each time Macy’s eyes fall on someone they turn away. Some stare at the floor, some at a television playing music videos, and others turn back to their newspapers. Macy asks the nurse standing at the admissions counter where she can find the elevator. Instead of answering right away the nurse makes Macy wait while she finishes reading a report. The woman’s name tag is decorated with hearts, and her hair, which is pulled back in a severe ponytail, is secured with a bright pink ribbon. She closes a file and puts it to one side before staring at Macy blankly.
“Sorry,” says Macy. “I’m a little lost. Could you please direct me to an elevator?”
The nurse points a pink fingernail at Macy’s cell phone. “You can’t use phones in here.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m leaving.” Macy smiles, but her eyes are cold. She tilts her head and shows more teeth. “The elevator?”
On the second floor Macy stops outside the cafeteria doors and peers in through the windows. Warren sits at a table holding a cup of coffee aloft like he’s reading what’s written on its base. A petite woman occupies the chair across from him with her back to Macy.
As Macy approaches, Warren rises from his chair and reaches out a hand to greet her. “I see you found your way here easily enough.”
The woman sitting across from him doesn’t look up from her meal. She raises a small bite of food to her mouth and stares straight ahead. She chews slowly and carefully. When she’s finished Warren clears his throat and introduces Macy to Elizabeth Lamm.
Macy observes Elizabeth closely. It’s impossible to reconcile the woman in front of her with the one she met previously. Eleven years earlier Elizabeth had a helmet of hair and wore tailored jackets and skirts. Loyal to the end, she always appeared at her husband’s side whenever he was called in for an interview with the police. Macy shrinks back and prays she isn’t recognized.
Elizabeth Lamm’s cornflower blue eyes snap up and catch hold of Macy. “I remember you,” she says quietly, holding out a hand. “It’s been a long time.”
Macy takes hold of the hand. It is warm and powder dry but there is none of the strength in the grip that was there before.
Elizabeth withdraws her hand and drops her gaze. “And now I suppose you’re here to pick apart my family again.”
Macy peels off her scarf. “I don’t have a lot of choice. Leanne was your sister.”
“Please don’t call her my sister. Leanne lost any claim to sibling fealty years ago.”
“Regardless, nobody deserves to die like that.”
The blue eyes catch Macy again. “We’re all entitled to our own opinion.”
“What about Grace?” she says, taking an empty chair. “Does she have an opinion?”
Elizabeth Lamm puts down her fork and stares at Macy without speaking.
“You know I’m going to have to speak to her.”
Elizabeth drops her eyes to her plate. “That’s out of the question. She needs to rest.”
“Has she said anything to you?”
“She said she didn’t get a good look at him.”
Macy waits, but nothing more is forthcoming. She tries a new angle. “I understand you only just started going back to work.”
“Yes, it’s only a part-time job but I’d taken as much time off as I could while Grace was recuperating from her operation. Yesterday was my first full day in weeks.”
“How did Grace seem when you left the house?”
Elizabeth hesitates. “She seemed excited, which was a nice change. She’s been given a new lease on life. Some days she’s euphoric.”
“And other days?”
“Less so. It’s been a huge adjustment for her.”
“I can imagine.”
“With all due respect, I don’t think you can.”
Macy slips her notebook out of her bag and puts it down in front of her. The room is empty save a table in the far corner. The doors open and Jared and the nurse she’d spoken to earlier walk into the room and head over to the self-service area. Even from a distance Macy can tell they’re a couple. For some reason she’s relieved to see that Jared looks miserable. The woman next to him is chatting gaily while he’s slumped so low it looks as if he’s trying to disappear.
Macy turns her attention back to Elizabeth. “Are you comfortable speaking here or would you rather go somewhere more private?”
“Here is fine. I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“Tell me more about Grace’s state of mind. You’ve said she was excited yesterday morning. Did you know she was wearing a red nightie when they found her out in the snow? According to the first responders she was nearly naked.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks redden. “I truly have no idea. It belonged to her mother.”
“Did she say if she was meeting anyone? Had anyone been coming to the house?”
“She’s only been out of the hospital a couple of weeks. No one has visited aside from my girlfriends.”
Macy looks at Warren. “Did you tell her about the roses?”
Warren clears his throat. “No, not yet.”
Elizabeth looks up at the sheriff. “Roses?”
Macy keeps her voice low. “We found a bouquet in one of the garbage bins. They were still wrapped in their packaging. If you don’t know anything about them, we have to assume the killer brought them with him.”
Elizabeth’s hands start to shake. “I don’t understand. Why would he bring roses?”
“Grace might have a stalker.” Warren presses his palms flat onto the table. The knuckles on one of his hands are swollen and bruised. “Leanne may have come across him spying on Grace. Maybe she confronted him.”
Elizabeth drops her voice to a whisper. “So this may not have had anything to do with Leanne?”
“We’re just speculating at this point.”
Macy opens her notebook and flips through until she finds what she’s looking for. “I heard there was an incident with a teacher named David Freeman when she was fourteen.”
Elizabeth sighs. “The whole thing was blown out of proportion.”
“So what did happen? There’s usually some grain of truth to these things.”
“There’s really nothing to tell. It was an innocent schoolgirl crush.” Elizabeth shifts awkwardly in her chair. “There was talk that Grace was having an affair with a married man but thankfully his name was never revealed.”
“Charges were filed.”
“And charges were dropped. They both denied the whole thing. The only mistake he made was thinking he could handle it on his own. He didn’t know how to cope with Grace. She could be very needy with anyone who showed her kindness. The doctors weren’t sure how long she had left to live. It was a difficult few years for her.”
“Does she have any friends we could speak to?”
Elizabeth remains silent.
“You know I can find out who Grace’s friends are without your help.”
Elizabeth closes her eyes. “Grace has no friends.”
Macy writes down the words “no friends” in her notebook and underlines it three times. “So why don’t you tell me about Grace’s present state of mind?”
“She seems calm but really, it’s hard to tell.”
“I need to talk to her.”
Elizabeth looks at Warren for support but he agrees with Macy. “Sorry, Elizabeth, there’s a killer out there and Grace is our only witness.”
Elizabeth stands up with difficulty and tells them she wants to go upstairs to prepare her niece. Warren offers to go with her.
“Grace knows me,” he says. “I’m sure she’ll be fine if I offer to sit with her.”
Macy turns to face Warren. “I didn’t realize you were so close to the family.”
Elizabeth takes Warren’s arm. “Warren and Arnold were both deacons at the church.”
Warren leads Elizabeth away. “Arnold was the one who took it seriously. I was a lapsed deacon at best.”
A female doctor meets them as they’re leaving the cafeteria and they stand huddled together in the open doorway speaking in low voices. Macy strains her ears but there is too much noise coming from the kitchen to hear what is said. For a second it looks like Elizabeth might cry. She holds on to the doorframe for support and is eventually led away by the doctor. The doors swing shut and Warren is left standing alone.
Macy walks over to him. “What’s going on?”
He runs his fingers through what’s left of his hair. “Grace has had a panic attack. They’ve had to sedate her.”
Macy stares at the closed doors. “What’s the name of her doctor? I should probably speak to her.”
“Dr. Sonya Gibson. She’s been looking after Grace for years.” He pauses. “You probably won’t be able to interview her until tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I figured that. I think I’ll head over to Wilmington Creek. I want to speak to David Freeman.”
“You know he has an alibi for yesterday. He was teaching all morning.”
“I’ve got to start somewhere. From what I’ve read about the complaint made against him, David Freeman is the closest thing Grace has had to a friend in the last ten years. She may still be in contact with him.”
“I’m going to head upstairs to look in on things. I’ll let Dr. Gibson know you’d like to have a word with her.”
Macy walks back to the table and sits down. Resting her head in her hands, she tries to think through everything she knows about the original case. Unable to sleep in the strange motel room, she’d combed through the files, making fresh notes on her laptop for hours and only stopping when the grinding noise of truck traffic along Main Street announced a new day. Her thoughts on the killer’s motives keep snagging on the bouquet of roses and baby-doll nightie.