Page 18 of Hidden Trial

“Nothing. The authorities in Venezuela suggested I change my life around to make me harder to find. Just in case.”

“Right. Just in case. What about the American authorities? What did they think about all of this?”

Will’s phone rang. He checked who it was and gave Maddy a grave look before turning to Charlotte. “I have to take this. Excuse me.” He walked to the door and muttered. “Saved by the bell.”

Charlotte moved closer to the bed. “I’m sorry to come here and upset you. That’s not what I wanted. I’m here to make sure you’re okay, but I can go.”

Maddy closed her eyes and looked like she had fallen asleep.

Charlotte had been right to tell her mom she shouldn’t come. This had been a mistake. At least she’d tried, but nothing had changed between them, and not even a near-death experience had been able to soften her sister.

She headed for the door, but Maddy said, “No. I’m sorry. Stay. Please. Being stuck here like this is making me grumpy. And my face hurts. It’s all made me very cantankerous. And then there’s the drugs.”

“You sound lucid to me.”

“That’s because I’m taking only as much as I need. So not only does everything hurt all the time, but the medication still muddles my mind enough to be annoying. And you’re not my favorite person, so I’m taking out all of my frustration on you, and I’m sorry for that. It’s not helping anyone.”

“You’re in a lot of pain?”

“Yeah. Everything hurts.”

“Why not take more? Or are the doctors being stingy?”

“No. It’s my choice.”

“If it’s all so terrible for you, wouldn’t you rather sleep your way through this than suffer through it? There’s nothing you can do from bed. You may as well be comfortable.”

“I don’t need to be comfortable. I’d rather have the ability to think straight. They’re searching for who did this, but it’s hard not being on the case myself, and I want to help however I can. Not to mention Will and I have an ongoing operation.”

“You said you didn’t know if this was work-related. You don’t think it’s connected to the work you’re doing now?”

“No. It has to be a separate thing. At least we think it is. But it could be related, I guess. Who knows? That’s why I don’t want to fill my head with more cotton than necessary. The drugs make it harder to sift through the evidence to find the truth of what happened.”

“If anyone can withstand the pain, it’s you. You always were hardheaded.”

“My greatest strength is my greatest weakness, as Dad used to say.”

“Yeah. I remember.” Charlotte would have smiled at the mention of their dad, but talking about him always wound Maddy up. It was best to move off the subject. “It was nice of Will to be here with you.”

“He should be. It’s his fault.”

“What?”

“I’m kidding. Kind of. I shouldn’t have gone without backup. I couldn’t get ahold of him, so I went anyway. I guess I should have waited.”

Charlotte looked at the door. “How long have you two been working together?”

“We’ve been working this case almost a year. I knew him a little before that. We are so close to getting this guy, too. And now this happens.”

“But Will can keep working, right?”

“I don’t know. I hope so. I was the face of the operation, and right now, I have no face. I must look horrible.”

“It’s not so bad.”

“Don’t you lie to me too. I asked Will to get me a mirror so I can see for myself, but he refuses.”

“You don’t have your phone?”

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