Page 40 of Fatal Witness

“It’s late.Ishouldn’t even be here—I only stopped by to talk to your nurse, and she thought I might help you relax. Dani should be here first thing in the morning. So try to get some sleep.”

“I will.” She gripped Alex’s hand. “How does she look? Are you certain she wants to see me?”

“Stop worrying. She looks good—favors you and Neva. And she definitely wants to see you.”

Mae winced as the blood pressure cuff inflated. “Confounded thing pumps up every thirty minutes. Don’t know how they think a body can rest with that going on.”

Alex watched the numbers on the monitor as they changed. And not for the better. She’d thought about questioning her about what made her call 911 earlier, but her blood pressure had gone up slightly. She didn’t want to make it worse. She leaned over andkissed the older woman’s cheek. “I’m going so you can rest. See you in the morning.”

“Thanks for telling me Danielle is here.”

“I would have wanted to know.”

“Then thanks for not treating me like an invalid.”

“You’re welcome.” Alex pulled the sheet up on Mae’s shoulders. “Good night.”

The nurse looked up from a chart as Alex stepped outside the door. “She should be tired enough to sleep now. I told her that her granddaughter from Montana will be coming to see her in the morning.”

“That will be wonderful. The first visiting hours are between six and seven a.m.” The nurse glanced at the clock and winced. “If that’s too early, I can leave a note requesting that her granddaughter be allowed to help her with breakfast at eight. How’s that?”

“That’s great. Her name is Dani Collins.”

“Good. I’ll get Mrs. Richmond to sign a HIPAA form before she goes to sleep, allowing us to give the granddaughter information about her condition.”

Alex left her SUV parked in the hospital lot and walked across to the hotel. Once in the lobby, she texted Dani she was there and immediately got an answer to come up to the room. She’d barely knocked when the door opened.

“How was she?”

“Amazingly well. She’s alert and she’s looking forward to seeing you tomorrow,” Alex said, entering the room.

“And Mark?”

“They’re admitting him for observation.”

Lizi stood at alert until Dani released her, then the dog circled and plopped down at her feet. Alex nodded at the dog. “What kind did you say she was?”

“Hungarian Puli. You may be more familiar with the Komondor—it’sa larger dog.” Dani chuckled. “And I see the ‘why’ question on your face. When my uncle saw a Puli win the Westminster dog show, he decided he wanted one. He got Lizi, whose name is about this long”—Dani held her forefingers a foot apart—“from a Hungarian breeder who trained her in his native language, but she quickly adapted to English.”

“She’s such an unusual dog,” Alex said. “So your uncle bought her for you?”

“Uh, no.” Again she chuckled. “For some reason, Lizi bonded with me in spite of Keith’s attempts to win her over. He finally gave up when I went away for a weekend and he insisted she stay home. Lizi didn’t eat anything the whole weekend.”

“Dogs are funny that way.”

Lizi looked up and thumped her tail. “And she knows we’re talking about her.” Dani rubbed Lizi’s ears. “Before I forget, what time could I go visit Mae tomorrow?”

“The nurse said you could come at eight.”

“Good.” Dani stared into space for a second. “I just wish I could remember her.”

19

By eight the next morning, Dani had dressed and eaten and taken Lizi to the pet area at the hotel for exercise. She’d tried to call Keith last night, but he hadn’t answered, and it was too early to call him now. She would try him again after she saw Mae. It was time to discuss her past.

She approached the ICU doors and pressed the call button like Alex had instructed. After she identified herself, the door buzzed and she pushed it open. Dani hadn’t known what to expect, but not this maze of hallways.

“Can I help you?”

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