“Not for long if you call any more audibles like that. I don’t like cowboys.”
Neither of us said anything for a few seconds. I broke the silence. “You know, I liked it better when you were building me up.”
Susan managed a small, frustrated laugh.
“Tell me, genius,” she said, “now that Nora knows we’re about to dig up her fiancé, what’s your next move?”
“That’s easy,” I answered. “We wait for the results. If our lab says foul play, we’ve got our killer.”
“You’ll still need evidence that she did it.”
“Which happens to be a lot easier to find when you know what you’re looking for.”
“What if the lab doesn’t find anything?”
“Then I tell Nora the good news and work that much harder to trip her up.”
“You’re forgetting one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“She might actually be innocent.”
“This coming from someone who thinks everyone’s guilty.”
“I’m just saying…”
“No, I understand. Anything’s possible. But the woman has been involved with at least two dead guys in two different states. If it’s a coincidence, then Nora Sinclair has had some serious bad luck with men.”
“Silly me,” she said. “Let’s strap her to the electric chair.”
“There we go, much better. I thought you were someone else for a second.”
“Speaking of which, what are the odds Nora develops eyes for your alter ego?”
“Nah. Craig Reynolds isn’t in her league,” I said. “He doesn’t make enough money.”
“You never know. You’ve been telling me how much she thinks you’re on her side. Based on that, she might want to slum it for a change.”
“Then I’ve got just the apartment. Perfect for slumming.”
“You’re not going to start on that again, are you?”
“No, but if I end up spending too much more time in that dump, I’m going to put in for hazard pay.”
“O’Hara, should that turn out to be the hardest part of this assignment, you’ll be a lucky man.”
Chapter 53
NORA GENTLY PUSHED through the door of her mother’s room at the Pine Woods Psychiatric Facility and tried her best to smile. She was in a horrible mood and she knew it. So did anyone else who came into contact with her—Emily Barrows and that new nurse, Patsy, being the most recent, when she had arrived on the psych ward.
For a little while, she pretended as if she had never met Craig Reynolds for coffee the day before. She acted as if he never told her that Connor’s body was going to be exhumed.
“Hello, Mother.”
Olivia Sinclair was sitting on top of the covers in her yellow nightgown. She glanced at Nora with a blank smile. “Oh, hello.”
The clouds that were hanging low for most of the day had begun to clear. Sunlight now sliced its way into the room through the horizontal blinds. Nora grabbed the chair in the corner and pulled it to the bed.
“You’re looking well, Mother.”
Any daughter would’ve said that. The difference with Nora was that she actually believed it. She no longer used her eyes to see her mother. Only her memories. If anything, it was force of habit. After Olivia was sent off to prison, Nora was never allowed to visit. As she grew up, her mother stayed frozen in time. Nora went through a series of foster homes, and her idea of Olivia was one of the only constants in her life.
“I like to read, you know.”
Oh, shit. “I know you do, Mother. I’m afraid I forgot to get you a book this time. Things have been… well, they’ve been—”
A lawn mower started up on the grounds outside. The raw churning of the motor penetrated the room and gave Nora a jolt. She suddenly felt paralyzed and out of breath. The only thing working was her tears. Her facade crumbled, and the outside world came pouring in. She wiped her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Mother.”
For the first time, Nora told her mother about a recurring dream of watching Olivia shoot her father. How vivid in her mind the night remained. What was said, what everyone was wearing, even the smell of sulfur.
What does it matter? She doesn’t even know who I am.
Nora grabbed a tissue from the bedside table. It was as if the dam had burst. Her tears. Her emotions. Everything pouring out. She was losing control. There was an overwhelming compulsion to talk to someone.
Nora drew the deepest breath, coaxing her lungs to expand. Finally exhaling, she closed her eyes and spoke. “I’ve done some terrible things, Mother. I need to tell you about them.”
Nora opened her eyes, the truth on the tip of her tongue. But that’s where it stayed. Something awful was happening to her mother.
Springing from her chair, Nora ran to the door. She burst out into the hallway and screamed, “Help! Hurry! I need help! My mother is dying!”
Chapter 54
NURSE BARROWS’S EYES left the page of the medication log, her head whipping in the direction of the scream. She recognized Nora’s voice right away.
Hurriedly navigating the corner of the nurses’ station, she yelled out for Patsy, who was in the supply room.
Reaching the hallway, Emily saw Nora frantically waving her arms. There were about thirty yards separating her and Olivia Sinclair’s room, and Emily began covering them faster than her chunky frame should’ve allowed.
“What is it?” Emily yelled out. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” cried Nora. “She’s—”
Emily ran right by her and into the room. What she saw was a scene straight out of The Exorcist. Olivia Sinclair was convulsing on the bed, her body fully extended while her arms and legs trembled and twitched with spasms. The rattling of the metal-frame bed was now a near deafening noise.
But for all that was happening—including Nora’s complete state of panic—Emily Barrows instantly became calm. She glanced over her shoulder to see Patsy just arriving at the doorway.
“Give me a hand,” she said to the younger nurse.
Patsy joined her with quick, nervous steps.
“Is this your first seizure?” Emily asked.
Patsy nodded.
“All right, here’s what you do. First, you roll her on her side so in case she vomits, she won’t choke on it,” said Emily. She folded her arms and nodded at Patsy, who again seemed frozen. “Don’t just stand there, dear.”
Sputtering into action, Patsy lifted Olivia onto her side. “Okay, what now?”
“Now you wait.”
“For what?”
“For it to stop.”
“You mean, this is all I do?”
“Exactly. Don’t try to restrain her in any way. Simply keep track of the clock. Nine times out of ten it won’t last more than five minutes. If it does, we call for a doctor.”
Nora stood there, her shock doubled by the fact that Emily had turned her mother’s seizure into a teaching lesson. “There’s got to be something more you can do!”
“There really isn’t, Nora. Trust me, it looks a lot worse than it is.”
“What about her tongue?! Isn’t there a chance she can swallow her tongue?!”
Emily shook her head, trying to remain patient. “That’s a myth,” she said. “It’s not even a possibility.”
Nora was still not satisfied. She was about to insist on getting a doctor when suddenly everything stopped. The bed, the noise… her mother’s convulsions.
The room fell silent. Emily eased Olivia over onto her back again, propping her head on the thin pillows. Nora rushed over and grasped her mother’s hand, giving it a squeeze.
For the first time she could remember, she actually felt a squeeze back.
“Everything’s okay, Mother,” said Nora softly. “Everything’s okay.”