Lisa’s father told himself Sabrina was too hysterical to refuse the sedative. He pushed Arthur out of the way and stooped over Sabrina. She struggled against him, but there was no strength in her puny arms. Arthur was too overwhelmed to object. Lisa’s father gave Sabrina the injection, and she lost consciousness.
“Is she okay?” said Arthur.
“Yes, she’s fine,” said Lisa’s father.
Agnes resumed her efforts. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later, and Sabrina was transported to the hospital. Arthur followed, after promising to return to the house in time to explain everything to the children when they got home from school.
As soon as they were gone, Agnes ripped the sheets off the bed and hurled them onto the floor. She pulled off her gloves and glared at Lisa’s father, who was still trying to internalize what had transpired.
“I don’t know why I helped you,” she said. “It was wrong. Sabrina made her choice, and we ignored her. I can’t imagine how she must have felt. We’re just as bad as Peterson.”
“Agnes, we saved her life,” said Andrew.
“What difference does it make?” said Agnes. “It would have been better for us to let her die here in peace with her husband at her side. If she regains consciousness, she’ll find herself in a place she never wanted to go.”
“I’m sure she’ll realize we were just trying to help her,” said Lisa’s father. Looking back, he regretted how he had treated Sabrina, but he refused to reveal his doubts to Agnes. “I know her a lot better than you do, and I’m confident we did the right thing.”
“For her, or for you?” said Agnes.
Lisa’s father felt too guilty to reply.
“That’s what I thought,” said Agnes. “I’m going home. I can’t stay here anymore. I had the feeling things were eventually going to get out of control. This was a crazy idea from the start, and I never should have agreed to help. You’ve got a lot to answer for, Andrew.”
“Agnes, wait,” said Richard.
“I expected more from you,” she said. “I believed you were a man of honor, but maybe you and Peterson aren’t as different as I thought.” With this scathing remark, she packed her suitcase and left without another word. Lisa’s father and Richard watched her go.
“She’s wrong,” said Lisa’s father. “Maybe I was being selfish at first, but when I realized Sabrina was bleeding, everything changed. It’s not the same when it’s someone you know. I started thinking about her kids, and I panicked. How do you tell a bunch of teenagers their mom is dead? What would I even say?”
“Probably the same thing you’ve said on every other occasion,” said Richard. “You’ve been delivering tragic news for the past twenty years. I assume you know how to do it by now.”
“That’s not the point,” said Lisa’s father. “Those words are the divider between joy and grief. Do you know how many people I’ve dragged across that line? I should have suffered with each one of them, but instead, I just went about my day like nothing was wrong.”
“You had a job to do,” said Richard.
Lisa’s father gazed around the room at the medical equipment and the chaos and the blood. He still couldn’t believe Sabrina was gone. She had been his primary focus for the better part of three months, and he had sacrificed everything for her.
“What are we going to do about Graham?” he said.
“Andrew, I hate to say this, but Arthur isn’t going to tolerate my presence here, now that he knows I’m just as suspicious of Peterson as I used to be,” said Richard. “He thinks I’m his enemy, and he’s not going to change his mind. The standard of proof is obviously higher than I thought. I’ll just have to collect more evidence. What I’m basically trying to say is that I probably won’t be around to help you with Graham.”
“You’re not leaving, are you?” said Lisa’s father.
“We’ll see,” said Richard. “I’ll definitely stay until the kids show up this afternoon. There’s something I need to give to Josh. Then, I don’t know what will happen. If Graham thinks you’re vulnerable, he might overplay his hand.”
“But I am vulnerable,” said Lisa’s father. “I’ve already messed up so many times, Richard. I need your help. You can’t walk out on me like this. I wouldn’t even be in this situation if it weren’t for you. What am I supposed to do?”
“Hope and pray,” said Richard.
He hurried out of the room to gather his belongings in preparation for being exiled, leaving Lisa’s father alone with his thoughts. Lisa’s father removed his white coat and dropped it on the floor. As he watched, it absorbed the stray speckles of Sabrina’s blood.
Chapter 14
Josh stood outside the school, waiting for the bus. The conversation with his father on the previous night had reassured him that his mother wasn’t in imminent danger, but he still felt unsettled about the situation. To make matters worse, he couldn’t stop thinking about Lisa. His conversation with her at the park had thoroughly shaken his preconceived notions, and his opinion of her had improved significantly. He was trying to sort everything out in his mind when Shannon hurried over.
“Here, these are for you,” she said, giving him a small bag of cookies. “They cost me a dollar and fifty cents, so I hope you appreciate them. That snack machine is a total rip-off.”
“Why are you being nice?” said Josh.
Shannon shrugged.
“I don’t know,” she said. “You’re always complaining about being hungry. Go ahead. It probably won’t kill you. Of course, it could be the first step on a slippery slope that leads you into an endless cycle of misery and regret, so be careful.”
“Shannon, what’s really going on here?” said Josh.
She turned with a flash of anger in her eyes that made him step back.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she said. “It’s Lisa. I don’t know what
