with other semi-liquid, semi-solid, mashed and blended foodstuffs. “The pudding actually isn’t all that bad. Most days, anyway.”
“Yeah, I’ll just take your word for it,” he grunted. “Want me ta’ sneak ya’ in a bag of sliders or somethin’?”
I shook my head and pointed toward my stomach. “As good as that sounds, which is odd in itself, I’m not so sure the staples would hold, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I hear ya’. They do that to me too. I think it’s the onions.” My friend sauntered over to a chair beneath the wall-mounted television and parked himself. Nodding toward the nightstand next to me he said, “Nice flowers.”
I glanced over at the arrangement. “Yeah. They’re from the staff in the ICU… Apparently I’m an unforgettable patient.”
“Yeah, no shit. Not every day they gotta bust through a wall.” He tapped out a short rhythm on the arm of the chair and waited. After a moment he said, “Stopped in ta’ see Firehair on the way here.”
“I’m going up to see her after lunch,” I said. “They insist I get up and walk, so I told them that’s where I want to walk. They’ve been good about letting me sit with her.”
“That’s good,” he grunted.
“Any word about the nurse? The one who…you know…”
He nodded. “Yeah, but it ain’t all that good. Forensics found her DNA on Lisa Carlson’s body.”
“I’m not surprised. The necklace had to be exchanged for Miranda to switch bodies. They had to come into contact with one another.”
“Yeah, well the question is whether or not they’re gonna try ta’ connect ‘er to the other crimes then charge ‘er with Carlson’s murder. Under the circumstances, it’d probably end up bein’ some sorta manslaughter deal, but she’d prob’ly see time. Especially after what she tried ta’ do ta’ you.”
“They can’t. She couldn’t have killed her. I was talking to Lisa Carlson when she jumped.”
“Row…you and I already talked about this… You know damn well you were talkin’ to that nurse, not Carlson. She pro’bly got all Mirandized and pushed ‘er off or somethin’.”
“I’m sorry, Ben, but I must have been under the influence of morphine or something because I don’t recall that conversation at all,” I replied. “And, I’ve already refused to press charges against her for what happened in that room.”
He cocked his head to the side and stared at me. “You’re tellin’ me you’d lie under oath?”
“I’m telling you I was talking to Lisa Carlson when she jumped.”
“They’re gonna ask ya’ how ya’ know it was Lisa Carlson.”
“Doesn’t matter. But it wasn’t that nurse. That’s all I know.”
Ben shook his head. “Jeez, you really are the Lone Fuckin’ Ranger, ya’ know that? I need ta’ get ya’ a box of silver bullets or somethin’.”
I looked down and stared at the bandages that still encircled my right hand where the necklace had blistered my palm. I had already been warned that there would be a significant scar. But that was something I could live with. An innocent woman losing everything because of me, I couldn’t.
I finally broke my silence and said, “That nurse lost her job, and from what I hear, she’s not coping with the psychological effects very well. She definitely doesn’t need to be charged with a crime she didn’t commit on top of all that. Miranda has already screwed up too many lives as it is.”
“Yeah. Speakin’ of the bitch, Constance talked ta’ Jante this mornin’. Devereaux… Well, Miranda…is un- fuckin-controllable. They got ‘er locked down and pumped full of psych meds, not that they’re doin’ any good. From what they’re sayin’, she’s gone completely off the deep end.”
“I’m still alive and I have both of the necklaces. She’s trapped again. Annalise is her only portal into this world at this point. She’s angry.”
“Yeah, well that’s an understatement. Apparently she’s bouncin’ ‘er portal off the walls, the way I hear it.”
“I guess I’m not surprised by that.”
“I still don’t get why she came after ya’ when she did. She took a big chance.”
“I doubt she’d be interested in answering that question.”
“Yeah…I bet you’re right,” he grunted then asked, “Okay, so what about you?”.
“What do you mean, what about me?”
“You copin’ okay?”
“Taking it a day at a time,” I replied. “How about you?”
“Pretty much the same, but then I was on the outside lookin’ in,” he said with a nod. “By the way, your dog tore up another one of my towels. I still say the little shit doesn’t like me.”
“Might be the other way around. Maybe he likes you too much.”
He snorted. “Yeah, right. Well, I’m addin’ it to your tab.”
“I figured you would. How are the cats?”
“Fine,” he replied. “I called that buddy of yours…RJ… He’s watchin’ ‘em.”
“Good.”
As the word faded, a heavy silence rolled in like a swiftly rising tide. I stared at the wall, Ben stared at me, and nothing more was said. Seconds folded into minutes, and eventually my friend cleared his throat.
“Okay, Row,” he said. “Are we done with the bullshit small talk?”
“Yeah. I guess we are.”
“Okay. So what’s up? You’re the one who needed ta’ talk ta’ me right away, remember?”
“Yeah, Ben, I remember.” I took in a deep breath and then exhaled heavily. “I know I already owe you more than I’ll ever be able to repay, but I need to ask a big favor.”
He shook his head and shrugged. “No prob, Kemosabe. Name it.”
“I need you to help me kill Miranda.”
Friday, May 12
4:32 P.M.
I-10 East
23 Miles Outside New Orleans, Louisiana
CHAPTER 37
“Exit’s gonna be comin’ up soon. Looks like we’re gonna be about an hour or so early,” Ben called over his shoulder.
“Good,” I replied.
“I know this is prob’ly a stupid question, but do ya’ still wanna go straight there?”
“You’re right,” I replied. “Stupid question.”
“Uh-huh,” he grunted. “Just figured I should ask anyway.”
We had been on the road since before sunup, and the travel weariness was starting to take hold. My doctor wasn’t happy with me making this trip in the first place, but I told him I would take his opinion under advisement, which lasted about ten seconds. I’d been discharged from the hospital for less than a week, and the standing order was for me to take it easy. Even though Ben was doing all the driving, eleven hours in a vehicle was exhausting in its own way. At least we were in his van, so there was plenty of room to stretch out.
I looked over at Felicity. She was belted into the seat next to me, head resting on a pillow as she stared into nothingness. Occasionally she would blink, and earlier when we had stopped for lunch, she had eaten out of reflex and even changed position of her own accord. But that was it. Nothing more. I reached out and took hold of her hand then simply held it in mine.
My wife’s parents were as dead set against this trip as my doctor. Shamus more so than Maggie, but neither of them was happy about it. So far, they hadn’t given up their attempts to assume legal control of her care, but our attorney had stonewalled them pretty well. Now that I was out of the hospital, they were fighting a losing battle for
