Page 81 of Ruthless Cross

Callie's heart sank as she moved next to the bed. "How are you, Mom?"

"It's about time you came to see me, Callie."

"I was here yesterday, but you were sleeping. Didn't the nurse tell you that?"

"No. And I was sleeping because they drugged me."

"You needed to rest. You were hysterical."

"I can't believe you brought me here. You know how much I hate being in the hospital."

"I didn't have a choice. You were not yourself."

"Because my husband died right in front of me."

"I know. It was horrific. You had every right to be upset. I was just worried about you, and I didn't want you to hurt yourself."

"I wouldn't do that."

She wanted to remind her mother that she'd tried to do exactly that, but she didn't know if that would be helpful at this point in her recovery. So, she changed the subject. "How did your session go with Dr. Clarke yesterday?"

"It was all right. He's better than some of the doctors I've had. He actually listens and at least pretends to respect me."

"I know he respects you. He wants to help you. It's difficult for anyone to get through something like this. But I can see you're doing better."

"I don't know how I'm doing. When I first wake up, before I open my eyes, I think everything is normal. I can almost feel Arthur's body next to mine, his breath on my neck, his arms around me. He loved to hold me when we slept." Her mom wrapped her arms around herself. "He said he would miss me if he didn't. God, I miss him now."

It was difficult to see the pain and love in her mother's eyes, not only because Arthur was dead, but because he'd cheated on her.

"But then I come fully awake and I see this bare room," her mother continued. "This place that is not my home. And I'm alone."

"You're not alone. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you." She put her arms around her mom and gave her a hug. It scared her a little at how thin her mom was. Even before this horrible weekend, she'd been losing weight, a sure sign that she wasn't as happy as she needed to be to keep her mental problems at bay.

"You're a good daughter, Callie. But sometimes you listen to the doctors when you should listen to me."

"You weren't making sense, Mom. And I was worried, because there was an FBI agent in the house. He wanted to talk to you. I didn’t think you were in any condition for questions."

"Has he found Arthur's killer?"

"Not yet. But there are a lot of people looking. They want justice for Arthur. You don't have to worry about that."

"Of course they want justice. Arthur was such a good man. And he died so young. I can't believe it, Callie. I'm alone again. I thought it would be years before I'd have to feel like this. It reminds me of when your father died, how lonely the world got."

"It's hard to lose someone you love." She licked her lips, knowing she needed to talk to her mother about some difficult subjects. Seeing how alert and lucid her mother was, she had to assume that Dr. Clarke would give Flynn permission to speak to her as early as this afternoon. "Mom, we have to talk about a few things."

"Like the funeral? Who's planning that? I should be doing it. I hope Moira isn't trying to take over. She can get very territorial when it comes to Arthur. She's just his assistant; I'm his wife."

"Nothing is happening yet. It's early days. There's no rush. Arthur wanted to be cremated. I saw that in his trust."

Her mom's lip trembled. "Is he really dead?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have said it that way. But, yes, he is dead. I'm very sorry. We will talk about his funeral when you're ready and I will help you plan everything. But the most important thing right now is to find the person who killed him. Do you know of anyone who was angry with him or threatening him? Did he talk to you about cases at work or something happening within the art world? Any small detail could be important."

Her mom stared back at her, her gaze contemplative. "Arthur was acting strange all week. He took Wednesday off and went to Palm Springs on a whim. He never does that. And then he wanted to go back again on the weekend. I couldn't understand why he was so insistent about that. He was also on the phone a lot, but he would stop talking when I came into the room. I'm pretty sure he was talking to Gretchen Vale. She was at the museum event. I ran into her in the ladies' room. I actually asked her why she was bothering Arthur with so many calls."

Her mother's words surprised her. "You confronted her about calling Arthur? What did she say?"

"She said she was selling Arthur some paintings and the deal was complicated. But then she gave me a funny look and said that maybe I shouldn't ask questions, because I might not want to know the answers."

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