Chapter Forty-Three Her

Chapter Forty-Three Her

Present Day

Elias arrived at the house the next morning with two to-go coffee cups and chocolate croissants. If he was trying to win me

over, he’d found the right combination. I didn’t even care if he added the total café charge to my next legal bill.

“Why didn’t your mom want anything?” Elias asked as he sat across from me at the kitchen table.

“She’s getting her own coffee because, and I quote, I can’t stay locked up in this shithole forever .” The first words she said before storming out today. The house had been blissfully quiet since. “Lizzy does not impress

easily.”

“She’s been here for four days.”

Was it only four? “An eternity.”

“Are you okay?” He shook his head. “You really should have gone to the hospital.”

“Sore and grumpy. Penned in and frustrated.” I took a sip of coffee. “So, the usual.”

“Well, I have good news for you.”

“That would be a nice change.”

“The DNA on the bat was compromised, and I think we know why. So does Nick.” Elias shrugged out of his suit jacket and took a full minute hanging it on the back of the chair next to him before finishing his thought. “There’s no proof you did anything, though it’s clear you found a bat and cleaned it. Without getting fingerprints on it, which is interesting. Not a great look but not a theory they can make into a criminal charge without more.” He slowed down to take a sip of coffee. “For the record, if you had left the bat as it was the police might have been able to find DNA from the actual killer.”

“You think the person who used my bat to kill Richmond and planted it on my property for the sole purpose of framing me left

their DNA?”

“Good point.”

I had one every now and then.

“Between the lack of forensics, the house security camera footage from the day Richmond died, including you racing around

calling the ambulance when you found him, and the information from the diner, Nick knows unless he can find an accomplice,

he doesn’t have a case against you.”

That was a load of good news but nothing had been solved. I didn’t feel an ounce of relief. Not after the last few days. “Does

he have a case against anyone?”

“Not that I can tell.”

Talk about perfect timing. I dropped the baggie with the listening device, or what Mom insisted was a listening device, on

the table in front of Elias. “Maybe he should look harder at Kathryn.”

He frowned but didn’t touch it. “Where did this come from?”

“Apparently Kathryn planted the device in this very room on a previous visit. I’m assuming during her drop-in after the police

searched the house.”

“You’re sure it was her? Why would she do that?”

Excellent question. “Ask her. She’s your friend.”

“She actually isn’t.” He studied the bag. “I’ll turn this over to the investigator and see what he can figure out.”

That felt anticlimactic. “I’m stuck in my house with my mother. It feels like we’re not getting anywhere. For the record,

I’m not enjoying these early newlywed-widow days.”

“This might help. My investigator found our missing doctor, August Christopher.”

That time a gentle wave of relief rolled over me. Not huge and not all-encompassing. More of a trickle. “You love to hold

back information then drop it for dramatic effect.”

Elias smiled but otherwise ignored the shot. “The man is in town. I spent an hour with him last night. He didn’t say much

except that he ran because he was afraid of Richmond. With Richmond dead, now he’s afraid he’ll be accused of murder. But

he wants to talk with you. He’s willing to answer questions about Ben Cullen’s surgery but only to you.”

Just like that the bit of relief I’d enjoyed vanished. If I trusted Detective Sessions I would have suggested August go to

him, but that wasn’t an option unless I wanted the doctor to run scared again. “When?”

“Now. He’s at the gate behind the greenhouse.”

“Remember what I said about you and drama? You thrive on it. Is that a lawyer thing?”

“I was giving him time to walk around to the gate. He’s waiting with my investigator.” Elias shrugged. “I worried August would

get nervous and run, so I dragged him here and brought armed reinforcements.”

The idea of meeting this guy and potentially hearing about a new, horrid thing Richmond had done should have had me jogging to meet him. Instead, excuses and reasons to stall jammed up in my head. “That entrance doesn’t open.”

“No, but there’s a window in the door that we can unlatch from this side and talk through it. The barricade of sorts is safer

for you anyway.” Without warning, Elias stood up. “Ready?”

Abrupt. Serious. Quick. A restless agitation moved through me. Finding August had happened both too fast and too slow, but

the reality of seeing him face-to-face hit me in a way that started alarm bells ringing in my head. I’d lived long enough

and close enough to the edge—spent too many years ducking and hiding from Mom—not to listen to that incessant chiming.

Elias took off, and I was tired of waiting around for news, so fine. After a change from bunny slippers to sneakers, I followed

Elias out the back door. We walked across the lawn in silence. There were a thousand questions I should have asked about this

runaway-doctor guy and the investigator, about whatever topics Elias and August had discussed and why, but I couldn’t call

up the right words to spit out any of them.

After last night’s brisk rain, the recently seeded grass sunk beneath my shoes. A slight wind blew across the yard, snapping

off those last tenacious leaves and sending them dancing to the ground. We got within a few feet of the gate before I heard

the low rumble of voices. Two men talking. Neither sounded familiar.

I inhaled, steeling my nerves for incoming news while Elias reached for the small window and cracked it open.

No! I put my hand over his and slammed the opening shut again. I backed away as the scent of tobacco hit me. Another sharp note

seeped into my consciousness. One I couldn’t identify but remembered.

Elias rushed to my side, keeping his voice to a low whisper. “What’s wrong?”

“That smell.” The memory of it haunted me.

“What are you talking about?” Elias glanced around. “The cologne? I think its’s from—”

“August Christopher.” That scent. The attack. “I smelled it right before I got thrown into the tree.”