Page 128 of Call Back

Chapter 25

The next morning, I woke up in the recliner in Momma’s hospital room with a stiff neck, a sore back, and an overwhelming sense of grief.

My mother wanted to die. She was leaving me.

She’d slept most of the night despite the fact that the nursing staff had come in to check on her every hour or two, but my own sleep had been sporadic.

I grabbed my phone to check the time and saw a text from Brady.

How’s your mother?

I texted back: Sleeping.

His reply came back seconds later.

Want to meet me for coffee in the lobby? Fifteen minutes?

He’d been worried about where I was staying last night, so I’d told him I would be at the hospital with my mother all night.

Sounds good.

I got out of the chair and stretched, then walked over to Momma’s bed to check on her. While they had turned off the constant beeping of her monitors, I found it reassuring to watch the steady beat of her heart on the screen. Proof that she was still alive.

After I went to the bathroom and washed my face, I headed downstairs. I’d just walked out of the elevator into the sunny lobby when I saw Brady walking through the front doors carrying two cups of coffee.

I met him in the middle of the lobby with a grateful smile. “When you mentioned getting coffee, I thought you meant here. There’s a coffee cart by the cafeteria.”

His face lit up when he saw me. “I decided the two of us have enough risks in our lives at the moment. No sense playing Russian roulette with coffee.”

My smile felt somewhat convincing. “Good point.” I gestured to the leather chairs spread around the lobby. “Would you like to sit and talk for a bit?”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “I would.”

The lobby was nearly empty at seven in the morning, giving us plenty of seating options.

“So has your mother’s condition changed?” he asked as we settled into two chairs next to each other.

I took a sip of my coffee. “No, but it’s about to get worse. She’s been fighting cancer for several years, and her doctor thinks this is it.”

His eyes widened. “Really? I can’t believe it. I just saw her a few days ago.”

“She has an infection. It’s taking over her whole body.”

“Maggie, I’m so sorry.”

I didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say about my mother. She’d made her choice. But there were plenty of other things to talk about.

“Are you certain about Bill James?” I asked.

He set his cup on the table between us and leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Yeah. He was in Las Vegas. Your brother provided his alibi for the trip.”

“And you’re sure about his alibi for the night Emily was killed?”

“Yeah, there was a woman at his house when the Nashville police dropped by. She says she’s his girlfriend. Swears he was with her that night.”

“So you’re no closer to finding the killer than you were before?”

“We’ll catch him, Maggie.”

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