Page 96 of Royal Caleva: Luis

Fear and worry slashed through Eve, making her stomach roil. Thallium could do severe damage to various systems and organs if the dosage was high.

Raul spun on his heel and went over to stand in front of a plate-glass window, his arms crossed tightly. Eve wanted to put her arm around him in comfort, but she didn’t know how the prince would feel about it coming from her.

Instead, she leaned over to whisper in Grace’s ear. “Go be with Raul. He needs someone to talk to right now. Try to reassure him that thallium poisoning can be treated effectively.” Talking to her half brother would also give Grace something to do other than worry about her father.

Grace nodded but turned to hug Eve, murmuring in her ear, “You may have saved Dad’s life.” She gave a tiny sob and let go, wiping the back of her hand across her cheek before joining Raul.

Eve watched until Raul let his arms drop to his sides and shifted to look at Grace as they conversed in low tones.

“May I speak with you privately?”

Eve jumped as Mikel spoke from right behind her. “Of course.”

Mikel gestured toward an open door across the room, his expression bland.

She accompanied him into a small conference room containing a long wooden table on which were arrayed several laptops. Mikel held a rolling leather chair for her to sit in. After closing the door, he sat across from her.

“What do the doctors really say?” she asked, since Raul and Grace couldn’t hear them.

“What doctors always say,” Mikel said with a grimace. “That they won’t know until the treatment has had more time to work.”

Eve nodded, but panic tightened its fist around her heart.

“I know you are worried about His Majesty, but I need to ask you some questions,” Mikel said. “My apologies.”

Puzzled, she nodded.

“Have you had any digestive issues since you came to Caleva?” he asked.

“Digestive issues? No.”

“Has Grace complained of any health problems?”

The truth dawned on her. Mikel was already trying to track down Luis’s poisoner.

“No, she’s been fine.”

“You have spent some time alone with His Majesty,” Mikel said. “Did he eat or drink anything during those…encounters?”

Eve felt heat rising in her cheeks. Of course Mikel would know there was something going on between them. After all, she had been alone with Luis tonight when he’d collapsed. “I… Let me think.” She reviewed the times they had been together and shook her head. “He didn’t eat anything that I saw.”

“And you didn’t give him any food or beverage that came from outside either the palace or Casa en las Nubes? Perhaps as a gift?”

“That would be like bringing gold to King Midas,” Eve said before she stiffened in outrage. “You can’t think that I poisoned Luis!”

“It is my job to explore all possibilities.” Mikel’s voice held no inflection.

“Why would I tell you what I thought the poison was if I wanted to kill him?” She was furious and baffled.

“You regretted your action when you saw the effect. You wanted to be the hero who saved your daughter’s father and the king. One never knows how a murderer will justify their crime,” Mikel said.

“Seriously?” She couldn’t believe he would think that. “How would I get my hands on thallium? Thallium-based rat poison has been illegal in the U.S. for decades.”

“You said you have seen its symptoms in dogs, so clearly it can still be found there.”

“Leftover in some random farmer’s barn! I wouldn’t know how to find any myself,” she protested. “And I would have had to carry it all the way to Caleva with me. Why would I even think to do that?”

He looked at her in a way that said he was picturing her as a murderer. “Perhaps you resented having the king sweep into your daughter’s life and take her away from you. Did you give him anything at all, perhaps a gift of some kind?”

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