Page 70 of All Along The Watchtower

“Not that I can think of. Now that Ed’s considered stable, I’m gonna try to get her to leave long enough to at least hit a hotel for a shower and a nap.” Just the thought of how exhausted shelooked made me want to bundle her up and tuck her into bed so she could rest. “She’s running on fumes.”

“That’ll help, no matter what. Monty has the Brewhouse under control, so she doesn’t have to worry about that. Everybody’s pitching in.” Sawyer shifted the bags. “The whole island’s got your backs on this one.”

“She’ll be relieved about that when she surfaces long enough to remember life outside this hospital. Any other news from the island? Progress on the Galef investigation?”

Sawyer crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels, his expression grim. “Nothing really. Well, I say nothing. The police haven’t figured out if the break-in at O’Connell’s was related or not. But they totally questioned Hillary Russell in connection with the murder. You remember her from back in high school?”

I thought back through the blur of teenage memories, trying to place her face. “Cheerleader, right? Friends with Cara Conroy. I didn’t realize she was still on-island.” Last I’d heard, most of that crowd had scattered to bigger cities after graduation.

“Yeah. Ended up as the art teacher at the high school. One of the guys from my crew is married to one of her besties. Evidently she’d been dating Galef for a while. Not like getting married kind of serious. He broke up with her less than a week before the murder. Totally out of the blue. She’d apparently been thinking about ending it herself, so she wasn’t too upset about it. At least not until the police hauled her in for questioning.”

“As a suspect?” I tried to imagine the girl I remembered committing murder. Hillary had been Miss Popularity, and Galef had been… well, generally bad news. Maybe he’d grown the hell up somewhere along the way if he’d gotten her attention in the first place. Opposites attract was a thing for a reason. But murder?

Sawyer shrugged. “You know they always gotta look at the partners.”

“Why’d they wait so long to question her? Shouldn’t she have been one of the first people they talked to?”

“I don’t think many folks knew they’d been dating. Once they found out, she got added to the list, but I think it was more procedure rather than any real suspicion that she did it. They’re trying to build a timeline of what was going on in his world in the weeks before he died.”

I considered everything I’d heard. “Lotta changes. Broke up with her, got fired from his job.”

“I think Carson’s trying to figure out who Galef pissed off enough to kill him.”

“Guessing that’s not a short list, given the guy’s reputation. But seems like whoever it was is looking for something. Why toss the apartment after killing him if it was just a crime of passion?”

“Fair question. Either way, everybody on the island is nervy.” Sawyer shifted. “It reminds me of those weeks after Gwen disappeared.”

I’d been trying hard not to think about that, given I now had a child only a couple of years younger. “People want answers. The only thing that’s keeping me settled is that whatever’s going on with Galef has nothing to do with any of us. It seems like something that was personal, so I don’t feel like we’re in danger. Not from that, anyway.”

“Here’s hoping. There’s been no word from Dax yet. But you’ll be the first to hear.”

In all the chaos of Ed’s crisis, I’d almost forgotten that Sawyer’s friend was digging into Casey’s company. “Thanks. I appreciate it. All of it. I need to get on back. I don’t wanna leave Bree for long.”

“Sure.” He pulled me in for a back-thumping hug. “You let her know we’re all praying for her and Ed.”

“I will.” Shouldering the bags, I headed back upstairs.

When I got back to Ed’s room, Dr. Mitchell was there doing her rounds.

“His vitals are holding steady, and the latest scan shows continued improvement. He’s stable, Miss Cartwright. You can take a break.” Her voice was full of compassion.

Bree twisted her hands in her lap. “But what if something changes?”

It killed me to see her without her usual confidence.

“We have your contact information. I promise, the nurses will call immediately if there’s any change in his condition.” She glanced at the chair Bree had been living in. “The best thing you can do for him right now is take care of yourself.”

I set the bags down. “There’s a hotel just down the street. Half a mile, tops. You could get cleaned up, maybe catch a few hours of actual sleep.”

She looked between Ed and me, clearly torn.

“Bree. Honey.” I crouched beside her chair. “You heard the doctor. Ed’s stable. And you won’t do him any good if you collapse. Let me help.”

Her eyes went glassy, but I could see her losing the battle with tears. She nodded once, and that capitulation alone would have told me exactly how exhausted she was.

I helped her up, steadying her when she swayed. Three days of hospital chairs had done a number on both of us.

“We’ll call if there’s any change,” Dr. Mitchell reiterated. “But I don’t expect there to be.” She offered a kind smile. “Go rest.”

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