Page 1 of Silent Smile

PROLOGUE

The tires of Sheila Stone's SUV screeched as she pulled into the parking lot of the Coldwater County Jail. The call she'd received just twenty minutes ago echoed in her mind: Eddie Mills had tried to kill himself.

Eddie Mills. The man she'd arrested just last week for her mother's murder. The man whose car had been spotted fleeing their home that terrible night ten years ago when Sheila's world had been shattered.

After a decade of dead ends and false leads, she finally had the man responsible in custody. The key to unlocking the truth about that tragic night was finally within reach.

Unless, of course, he took those secrets with him to his grave.

Sheila burst through the jail's main entrance, her badge already in hand. The night guard, a young man named Tyler, whom Sheila recognized from previous visits, seemed startled by her sudden appearance. He fumbled to buzz her through the security door.

"Deputy Stone," he stammered, "I wasn't expecting—"

"Where is he?" Sheila said, her voice tight with barely contained emotion. Her fingers instinctively touched the small heart-shaped locket at her throat—her mother's, found on the living room floor that night, its delicate chain broken in the struggle.

The guard swallowed hard. "They've taken him to St. Luke's. It's the closest hospital equipped to handle—"

"How did this happen?" Sheila demanded, her eyes sweeping the room like they had swept her childhood home that night, searching desperately for answers among the evidence markers and blood stains.

The guard cleared his throat uncomfortably. "It happened during the night shift change, ma'am. Mills was in the high-security wing, cell block D. He'd been there since his arrest."

Sheila nodded impatiently. She knew this. She'd insisted on the highest security measures for Mills, worried that he might somehow slip away before she could get the truth from him.

Tyler continued, his words coming faster now. "During the shift change, there's a brief window when the guards are switching posts. Mills must have been waiting for this. He..." Tyler hesitated, his face pale.

"Go on," Sheila urged, steeling herself for the details.

"He managed to create a makeshift noose from his bedsheets. Tied it to the upper bunk. By the time the new shift guard made his first round, Mills was already..." Tyler trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Sheila felt her stomach lurch. The image of Mills hanging there, of all the answers she sought slipping away, made her feel physically ill. Ten years of investigation—following leads with her father Gabriel, tracking down Mills' vehicle, piecing together how he'd targeted their home that night—all of it could be for nothing.

"How long?" she managed to ask. Her voice sounded strange in her ears, reminiscent of that night when she'd called 911, trying to explain through her tears that someone had shot her mother.

"We're not sure exactly. Could have been anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. The guard immediately called for medical assistance and cut him down. There was a bit of an… accident."

"An accident?"

"The guard was so focused on getting Mills down, he didn't quite brace himself. Mills may have… bumped his head on the way down."

Sheila closed her eyes, holding back her frustration. There was no use throwing around blame just now.

She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and nodded to herself, coming to a decision. "St. Luke's, you said?" she asked.

***

Sheila barely remembered to lock her car as she rushed toward the hospital's emergency entrance.

"Eddie Mills," she said breathlessly to the nurse at the reception desk. "He was brought in from the county jail. Where is he?"

The nurse eyed Sheila's badge and tapped at her computer. "He's in the ICU, ma'am. Are you family?"

"No, I'm with the sheriff's department. I need to speak with his doctor immediately."

The nurse nodded, reaching for the phone. "I'll page Dr. Reeves. Please have a seat."

Sheila paced the waiting room, unable to sit still. Her mind raced with questions. How bad were Mills' injuries? Would he survive? And if he did, would he be in any condition to finally give her the answers she'd been seeking for so long?

"Ms. Stone?" a voice called out. Sheila turned to see a tall woman in a white coat approaching. "I'm Dr. Reeves. I understand you're here about Eddie Mills?"

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