Across the crowded waiting room another baby started to cry. An ambulance arrived, sirens blaring, and discharged a new gurney along with a new set of stricken relatives into the mix. But Ali paid almost no attention to any of that. She knew without having to be told that Monique Ragsdale's condition had to be grave at best. The only thing that rushed anyone past loyal ER gatekeepers was the reality that someone in one of the back rooms was hanging by a thread between life and death.
'I guess,' Ali said vaguely. 'She was probably just feeling overwhelmed. That was April, by the waythe woman they just took back into the treatment rooms.'
Officer Oliveras exhibited no interest in April, however. She was still focused on Ali, until there was yet another flurry of activity near the front door. To Ali's immense relief, Victor Angeleri barged into the room and stopped just inside the door. With a graceful pivot that belied his size, he took in the entire room at a glance and then strode toward the corner where Ali was huddled with the two cops.
'What's going on here?' Victor Angeleri demanded.
Once again the accidental audience in the ER subsided into a spellbound silence.
'How did you get here?' Ali wanted to know. 'Who called you?'
'That's immaterial. The point is, what's going on with these officers? What kinds of questions are they asking you, and did they read you your rights?'
'You're Ms. Reynolds's attorney, I assume?' Officer Ramsey inquired. The two men were about the same height, but Victor outweighed the younger man by a good third.
'Yes, I'm her attorney,' Victor declared forcefully. 'And until I have a chance to confer with my client, this discussion is over.'
Somewhere a flash went off. Ali had no doubt that every word of the conversation was being recorded for posterityor, more likely, for the evening news.
Edie Larson and Dave Holman rushed through the ER doors and joined the mix. 'Sorry it took us so long to get here,' Edie said. 'I just couldn't figure out how to make the GSP thingy work.'
But seeing her mother's face answered at least one of Ali's questions. No doubt Edie Larson had been the one who called Victor Angeleri into the fray. Some other time, Ali might have reacted badly to this kind of parental interference. This time she was simply grateful.
April staggered through the curtains and reentered the waiting room. She seemed dazed and uncomprehending. Excusing herself, Ali hurried over to her. 'Are you all right?'
'They're taking her to surgery,' April managed. 'The doctor said she hit her head. Her brain's swelling. If they can't relieve the pressure, she may die.'
With that, April buried her head in Ali's shoulder and began to weep. 'How can this be happening on top of everything else?' she sobbed. 'I can't believe it!'
'This would be Ms. Gaddis then?' Officer Ramsey asked, sidling over to them.
Ali simply looked at him. 'Yes,' she said, 'but as you can see, this is not the time to speak to her. What do you want to do, April? Go to the surgical floor waiting room? Go home? What?'
'The surgery will take hours,' April managed. 'I think I need to go home.'
'You can't go home,' Officer Ramsey interjected. 'It's a crime scene.'
'Crime scene?' April repeated. 'My home is a crime scene? What are you talking about?'
'One of our forensics teams is going over it right now. We think it's possible that what happened to your mother is actually a case of attempted homicide.'
'But they told me she fell,' April objected.
'She may have been pushed. Until we complete our investigation, that house is off-limits and no one goes there.'
'What am I going to do then?' April wailed. 'Where do I go?'
'Call your hotel, Ali,' Victor ordered, taking charge. 'See if they have a room available where she can stay.' Then he rounded on Officer Ramsey. 'As far as asking questions of Ms. Gaddis? Right now that's off the table. She's in no condition to be interviewed by anyone. She's pregnant, her fiance has been murdered, and her mother is undergoing emergency surgery. If you ask her even one question, buddy-boy, I'll have you and your partner up on charges of police brutality so fast it'll make your head swim.'
Officer Ramsey seemed ready to object, but Oliveras silenced him with a single but definitive shake of her head. 'All right,' she said. 'We can talk to her later. Just call and let us know where she ends up.'
The cops disappeared shortly thereafter. Their departure removed a lot of the drama from the room. With their attention lagging, the other occupants turned to their own, more pressing physical ailments and bodily concerns.
Ali and company made the return trip to their hotel room in much the same way they had exited hours beforethrough the back door and, with the help of the bell captain, up the service elevator. An hour later April was wrapped in a thick terry-cloth robe and tucked into a bed in the darkened bedroom of a two-room suitethe only room available on that floorjust down the hall from the one Ali was sharing with her mother. Once April was settled in, Ali went out into the living room, closing the bedroom door behind her.
'Is she asleep?' Victor asked.
'Resting,' Ali said. 'Not asleep. She asked the hospital to call my cell once her mother's in the recovery room. Then we'll take April back to the hospital.'
Victor Angeleri was seated at the desk in the corner, staring morosely at the telephone. He nodded absently.
'You were talking to someone on the phone?' Ali asked.
He nodded again.
'Did you find out why those cops are so interested in talking to me?'
'Unfortunately, yes. Somebody's leaked the contents of Grayson's will to the press,' Victor replied. 'That means that now the whole world knows that despite your marital difficulties, you're still your husband's primary beneficiary. As far as John Q. Public is concerned, that makes you a prime suspect in Paul Grayson's murder. And the cops are going to be operating on that same wavelength. I expect we'll be hearing from Detectives Sims and Taylor again real soon.'
'How can information about the will be out in public?' Ali demanded. 'The will hasn't been filed in court, so it isn't a matter of public record. Who would have leaked it?'
'Good question. Presumably one of my erstwhile colleagues from this morning's meeting. I think I can make a fairly educated guess as to which one.'
'But isn't that illegal?' Ali objected. 'Doesn't it violate attorney-client privilege?'
'Of course it does,' Victor returned. 'And once I figure out who's responsible, you can bet I'll have his
'Two?' Ali asked.
'One homicide and one attempted homicide.'
'So now I'm supposedly responsible for what happened to Monique Ragsdale, too? How come? I barely know the woman.'
'By showing up this morning armed with that cockamamie postmortem divorce attorney, Monique Ragsdale as good as declared war on you. That's certainly how it's going to lookas though the two of you were in some kind of a turf dispute. I can see exactly how it'll play out in court, a David and Goliath routine. Monique will be portrayed as a sympathetic character, selflessly trying to protect the welfare of her daughter and her unborn grandchild. You'll be depicted as the greedy ex-wife defending her territory and her pocketbook by taking the bothersome grandma out of the picture.'
'But Monique fell down the stairs,' Ali objected. 'That's not my fault.'
'What if she was pushed?' Victor returned. 'I know how cops think. You're already on their radar as a suspect in Paul's death. They're going to operate on the premise that if you're good for one homicide, you're good for another.'
'But I have an ironclad alibi,' Ali objected. 'I left the house at the same time you did. You and Helga brought me back here to the hotel. I was here in my room all afternoon, first with my mother and later with Dave Holman. How could I possibly be responsible?'
Victor shrugged. 'The cops have already decided that at least two people were involved in what happened to
