Page 86 of Shattered Dreams

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Zane idles next to my truck, and Baby and I hop out. At the last minute, I grab Max’s journal. I need to keep tabs on it. There’s too much information inside to lose it.

The interior of his SUV is blessedly warm, and I tuck Max’s journal under the passenger seat and press my hands to the vents. “Stella’s got some things for you at the hotel. What did you find out?”

“Wait until we get to the Crowne. I want to tell her, too.”

He frowns but says, “Okay.”

At the hotel, Zane parks in the back, and we use the staff entrance. I’ve only been here once before—the morning I met Zane for breakfast. It seems so long ago now.

Housekeepers push loaded carts down the hallway, but no one pays us any attention. The air smells like lemon, and I inhale, trying to get the acrid scent of smoke out of my nose.

Stella hugs me the second we step into the suite. “I ordered lunch. Sit and eat.”

I don’t want to disappoint her and tell her my stomach is too queasy to eat anything, but the soup and sandwiches win me over, and she offers me a mug of coffee. Zarah’s out there and I feel guilty eating anything, but I have to keep my strength up. I have no idea what we’re going to find at Jerricka’s lake house, and I need to be prepared for anything.

I eat a few bites and change into the clothes Stella ordered. Just like I thought, she bought Baby supplies too and she pours kibble into a new bowl and in the bathroom, fills a matching dish with water. I feel somewhat back to normal wearing dry socks, food in my belly, and my dog taken care of.

We sit, and I go over what I know. Mom’s affair, the location of the lake house. That I know who Ash Black was talking about.

Every single piece fits together.

“Except one,” Zane says. “Why would Cook want his own son dead?”

“Why risk killing Ingrid for revenge? Why pay to abuse Zarah when he could have, and probably has, any woman he wants? Why invest in a dementia and Alzheimer’s drug? He owned Quiet Meadows and he knew what they were doing there. Now they’ve taken Zarah to finish their testing.”

“Finishtheir testing?” Stella asks.

“Jerricka said Zane and her doctor gave her their approval, and she prescribed Zarah a new medication back in November. That’s why she was suddenly having memory lapses. Because of the new drug.”

Stella bites her lip. “The breakdown at your apartment.”

“I didn’t give my permission for her to take anything. Her doctor is in control of all that,” Zane says.

“Jerrickalied, Zane. She told Zarah she had your approval, and Zarah believed her. Why wouldn’t she? She trusted Jerricka. Trusted her enough to go with her yesterday.”

He scrubs his face, and Stella rests a hand on his knee.

“She had some other memory issues she didn’t want to tell you about. One morning she forgot Baby’s name, and she said she hated watching Netflix with you, Stella, because she couldn’t follow the plot of a show.”

“She seemed a little off the evening we got married,” Stella admits, and Zane scowls. “But I thought she was just nervous it would change things.”

He glares at us. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Stella and I speak at the same time.

“What am I supposed to say? I told you I didn’t like Jerricka—”

“I wasn’t sure—”

“We fired her—” Zane says, defending himself.

“It wasn’t enough. She thought Jerricka was helping her recover. I told Zarah point blank that her seeing Jerricka made me uncomfortable andit didn’t matter,” I say, my voice rising.

“Hey,” Stella says.

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