Page 99 of What the Wife Knew

The stain on her dress grew. The drops turned into a splotch. More blood. This time hers.

My attention shot to the doorway, expecting to see the police pour in. One woman stood there—Mom. Tense shoulders and stiff arms. Blood matted in her hair and her shirt torn at the shoulder. She looked like she was two seconds from falling over but her eyes were bright and clear.

Mom lowered her gun. “I told her not to come here again.”

Chapter Sixty-Five

Her

Present Day

Another first. I’d never been in a hospital before and didn’t enjoy being in the middle of the sensory overload now. The halls had a distinctive chemical smell. The fluorescent lights buzzed. Machines pinged. Monitors and sensors went off every few minutes.

I sat in the waiting room in a too-small, uncomfortable plastic chair that dug into the underside of my thighs. A constant parade of people rushed by. Doctors and visitors. A few in tears.

Elias joined me with two cups of coffee. He sat down and handed me one. The rich smell tempted me, but I’d already heard someone complain about the harsh taste. I settled for cradling the cup, trying to force warmth into my chilled body.

I’d been checked out and declared fine. The word meant nothing because tremors still moved through my hands and my heartbeat refused to slow down. The fight with Kathryn aggravated the injuries from the fight with Thomas.

So many attacks. Thinking about the last few days turned my brain to mush.

“Any more from the doctor about your mom?” Elias looked every inch the concerned father. He wore what for him probablyqualified as casual clothes. Dress pants and an oxford. He hadn’t stopped frowning since he rushed into the house and stopped Kathryn from killing me.

“She has a minor skull fracture.” Interestingly, a mild version of what killed Richmond. That likely meant Kathryn hit him harder than she hit Mom, and I had no idea how to interpret that. “It’s a serious diagnosis but treatable.”

The doctor said a severe break could have resulted in all sorts of horrible things, like brain bleed and fluid on the brain. The CT scan and MRI didn’t show any of those potential issues, but she’d be in the hospital a few days for observation and treatment and then have whatever follow-up appointments the specialists recommended.

“I got worried when she started slurring her words.” Elias sounded exhausted but refused to leave the hospital until we knew more about Mom’s status.

I’d been so sure she was faking but then she started throwing up. “The doctor said we got lucky. With knocks to the head many people don’t know they’re injured until it’s too late.”

Elias made a humming sound. “She’s going to be fine.”

The word made my head pound. “She’s like a vampire. Impossible to kill.”

“Even vampires have a weakness.”

“I’ve never found hers.”

He stretched his legs out in front of him and let out a long exhale. “Normally I’d say you, her daughter, were her weakness.”

“But you’ve spent some time with her and know that’s ridiculous.”

He laughed. “Basically.”

He really was a smart man. He picked up on cues and crypticphrases meant to cautiously steer him in a certain direction. I liked him and I didn’t like many people.

Detective Sessions walked into the quiet room. For once, I didn’t dread seeing him. He had a bit of a swagger. Catching Thomas and Kathryn, and potentially blowing apart Richmond’s decades-long hero story, made him look like a genius.

You’re welcome.

He stopped in front of me. Not towering over me or using other amateur intimidation tactics this time. He genuinely looked concerned. He hadn’t blamed me for anything or threatened to drag me in for questioning in days. Clearly we’d reached a turning point in our rocky relationship.

The detective didn’t waste time with small talk. “Kathryn is still in surgery. She was shot in the lower chest. There’s lung and spleen damage but the doctors are hopeful for a full recovery.”

That was good news. Well, for Wyatt and Portia’s sake it was.

“She needs to be in perfect shape to go to prison.” She had a long list of criminal charges ahead of her. Her reputation in the community had plummeted. No one rushed in to defend her. She’d need to run through her bank accounts and other resources to clear her name. Lie, guilt-trip her kids into helping, and generally be a pain in the ass.

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