Page 58 of A Forgotten Mistake

I watch as he looks over at the woman who still hasn’t woken up, and I see that he’s clearly in detective mode. “What are you hoping to find?”

He stares at her for a minute before pushing her head this way and that. Then he tosses the blanket back and scrutinizes her some more. “I was hoping the killer signed their name on her body. Like ‘I pushed her lol,’ signed The Killer.”

“Oh yeah? That ever happen for you? Especially with the ‘lol’?”

“Fingers crossed.”

I walk over to the bedside table where a vase of flowers sits. Spotting the tag, I flip it over and see a very generic “Get well soon” on it. “I wonder who sent her these.”

The nurse comes in just as Liam is flipping her leg this way and that before dropping it and doing the same to her arm.

“Umm… do you need something?” she asks. She knows we’re with the police since only approved people may enter.

Liam drops her arm. “I thought she had a different tattoo right here,” he tells me as he taps her wrist. “Looks like she got a coverup if it was here.”

“When?” I ask.

“When she was sixteen. She came home with it and our foster parents lost their minds,” he says. “She was grounded from everything they could ground her from. I told her she might as well stop breathing the air I wanted since she wasn’t long for this world.”

“Do you remember what it looked like?” I ask.

Liam is thoughtful for a second. “Maybe. She needs to wake up. Doesn’t she know how annoying this is?”

I’m not quite sure why this is relevant, but Liam seems to think it is, so it’s probably something I should keep an eye on.

“Excuse me, do you know who brought her flowers?” I ask before the nurse can leave.

“They came right from the flower shop. They had to be approved to enter,” she says. “I don’t know anything beyond that. The only visitors she’s had have been police.”

“Thank you,” I say, taking a picture of the tag as Liam stops fiddling with her arm to come over. He examines the flowers before flipping the tag this way and that.

“What a fun threat.”

I look at him. “What do you mean?”

“She’s allergic to pollen, and specifically to high pollen-producing plants like this one. I remember our foster parents had a big tub of chrysanthemums just like this that would set her off, and they had to get rid of them.” He pushes one to the side before grabbing the vase and flowers.

“We don’t have any allergies down for her,” the nurse says as she hurries over to her computer.

“When her mother couldn’t even take care of herself and her father’s enjoyment came from seeing her be miserable, why would either bother to register her for it?” Liam asks. “Honey bun, let’s go.”

My eyebrow quirks at that, but I dutifully follow him as he heads out the door with the flowers. I can’t fathom they have any evidence on them—they came directly from the flower shop, so it’s not like whoever purchased them touched them—but maybe we can get something out of it.

As we head out to the car, Liam calls the flower shop on speaker and a young woman answers.

“This is Detective Paige from Timber PD. I’m calling about some chrysanthemums that were delivered to Grant Hospital, room 323. Can you tell me if you have a name or contact on the order?”

“I… don’t. I wasn’t here when the order was made, so I’ll reach out to an employee who was and see if she knows anything.”

“Do you have cameras on the premises?”

“I don’t. And I have it written here that it was paid with cash and no contact information was left,” she says. “I’ll see if my employee remembers anything. Is this the number I should call back?”

“It is,” Liam responds before hanging up without a proper goodbye. “Useless people.”

“You didn’t even give them a chance.”

“They’re all useless,” he says as we reach the department. “But not you. How does it feel to be the only human in the world who isn’t useless?”

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