Page 29 of Under Fire

They waited in silence until the medical team left the room. From their body language, Matt knew the result of the battle for Michelle’s life and his heart ached for the woman in his arms.

The doctor left the room, his gaze zeroing in on Delilah.

“How is my mother?”

“I’m sorry. We did everything we could, but Mrs. Holloway is dead.”

Matt wrapped his arm around Delilah’s waist. “Do you plan to do an autopsy?”

“She had liver cancer. It was only a matter of time before she lost the fight.”

Holding the doctor’s gaze, Matt said, “Delilah, you should request an autopsy.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think your mother’s death was from natural causes.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Delilah’s breath caught at Matt’s words. Someone had murdered her mother? Her mind flashed back to the moment when she and Matt had entered her mother’s hospital room. Randy standing over his wife with a pillow in his hand and the alarms signaling an alert. Did Randy kill her mother?

Why bother? All Randy had to do was wait a few more days. From Matt’s careful phrasing when Delilah asked how long her mother had to live, the medic believed her mother had hours to live. Looked like he was correct.

Delilah drew a deep breath. “Do an autopsy. I want to know what killed my mother.”

The doctor frowned. “Very well. I’ll see that it’s taken care of immediately.” He strode off, his back ramrod straight.

She’d ticked off the local doctor. Tough. Delilah trusted Matt. If he said something was fishy about her mother’s death, she would follow up on it.

Matt cupped her cheek with his palm. “Do you want to spend a little time with your mom?”

She nodded, grateful he understood her need to see her mother one more time before the autopsy.

Sasha squeezed Delilah’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Delilah.”

Cade patted her shoulder. “We’ll do what we can to help.”

“Thanks.” She wanted to say more but couldn’t speak past the knot in her throat. They were good friends.

Matt returned to the room with her. She braced herself for an ugly scene with Randy to obtain a few minutes with her mom, but her stepfather sat in the chair at the foot of the bed, staring at his wife, a dazed look in his eyes.

As objectionable as he could be, Delilah sympathized with him. They’d both suffered a loss today. “Randy.”

He didn’t respond.

She laid her hand on his shoulder. “Randy.”

He blinked and slowly turned his head toward her. “Did you say something?”

“I want to sit with Mom for a few minutes.”

“Okay.” He struggled to his feet and headed for the door. “I didn’t think she’d be gone today, you know? I thought we had more time.”

“Did she have funeral arrangements planned?” Matt asked.

“No arrangements necessary. Michelle didn’t want any kind of service. She left instructions to cremate her remains immediately and get on with our lives. I guess I better call the funeral home.”

“The hospital won’t be releasing the body for a day or two,” Delilah said.

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