“Is he going to be all right?” She looked terrified.
I took pity on her. “He ingested some of the filthy water, so they’ve put him on anti-something. But yes, he’s going to be fine. He was a hero, Liz. Cool as a cucumber. He saved three lives—including his own.”
Her eyes filled with tears. She wiped them away with an impatient hand.
“Why don’t you go in? He’d like to see you.”
“You really think so? He was so angry with me after the dinner party. He said I treated you unfairly. Have I, Kate? If I have, I’m sorry.”
Liz rushed off toward the nurses’ station. Was that an apology?
DS Cliffe was waiting to drive me back to Rose Cottage.
Now that Tom was going to be fine, all I wanted was to hear my mother’s voice.
I slipped out of my muddy shoes. Third pair I’d ruined in the UK so far.
Vivian was waiting up for me. Someone from the police had called her, which was thoughtful.
“Oh, my dear. Sit down. Have a cup of tea, and tell me all about it.” She was practically vibrating with curiosity.
“Vivian, do you mind if I don’t? I’m ready to drop.”
“Of course.” Vivian also has a kind heart. “You take a nice hot bath and climb into bed. I’ll bring you a tray in the morning.”
“No need for that.” I yawned. “Ivor’s being released from the hospital in the morning. I’ll be up bright and early to visit him at The Willows.”
I climbed the stairs and peeled off my wet, filthy clothes, laying them out on the bathroom rack to dry. The sour smell of mildew and plaster dust would probably never come out of them. Small price to pay. Tom was going to be all right.
I had no idea if Colin would be all right—or if the police would find enough evidence to convict him of murder. All they had at the moment was circumstantial, but he had admitted to being there when Evelyn Villiers died.
I pictured Lucy lying alone in her hospital bed and wished I could comfort her. The shock of learning that Colin was her half brother would be harder to overcome than any strange organisms floating around in that filthy water.
After a hot bath, I put on my Mickey and Minnie Mouse flannel pajamas, my comfort pajamas—the ones the kids bought me years ago at Disney World—and slipped into bed, feeling almost human again.
I dialed.
“Linnea Larsen here.”
“It’s me. How’s Dr. Lund?”
“Sweet of you to call, darling. He’s so much better. The attack was serious, but the doctors were able to limit the damage to his heart because we got him to the emergency room so quickly. I think he’s going to be all right.” She laughed. “Maybe no more Sea-Doos.”
“Oh, Mom, I’m so glad.”
“Kate, I’ve been thinking.”
“About what?”
“About catching monkeys.”
“Catching monkeys?” I had to laugh. “Why?”
“It’s how you catch them. If you want to catch a monkey, you cut a hole in a gourd, just big enough for the monkey’s little hand to fit inside. Inside the gourd you put something the monkey likes—nuts or fruit. The monkey smells the treats, puts his hand in to grab a fistful. But then he can’t get his fist out because it won’t fit through the hole. He’s stuck because he refuses to let go.”
“I know the feeling.”
“What I’ve really been thinking about is life—life and alternatives. Sometimes life gives you two paths, two choices. You can’t have them both.”
“You’re talking about James. He’s asked you to marry him.”
“Yes. Before his attack.”
“What did you say?”
“I haven’t answered him yet, but I’m going to say yes. Do you mind?”
“Of course not. I’m so happy for you.” It was the truth.
“Kate—you sound tired. Is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine—or it will be. We can talk again tomorrow.”
It wasn’t the time to tell her I’d almost lost Tom—or that she might have lost me.
She’d chosen a new path in life, and I hoped the view was amazing.
Chapter Forty-Five
Thursday, May 23
Ivor was back in his old room at The Willows, dressed in his paisley dressing gown and ensconced in the big leather armchair near the French window. The nurse’s aide, Jay’den, was serving us tea and getting Ivor settled back in.
“Thought you’d got rid of me, did you?” Ivor teased Jay’den.
“You know what they say about old pennies,” she chirped back. She poured two cups of tea and placed them between us on the table. “Have a lovely visit. I’ll be back to wheel you down for your dinner at one.”
Once Ivor had regained full consciousness, Dr. Chaudhry had been impressed with his recovery. Now all he needed was to regain his strength and stability so he could resume physiotherapy.
Every muscle in my body ached. Even so, I couldn’t have been happier. Tom had been discharged from the hospital with a load of pills to protect him against the noxious substances he’d swallowed in the Hapthorn cellar. I was to meet him that afternoon at police headquarters to give my statement. Not only that, he’d gotten an entire week off, starting Monday. If the Stour had receded enough, we’d spend one of those days taking the river walk he’d talked about.
I spent twenty minutes bringing Ivor up to speed on all that had happened while he was (in his words) “napping.”
“I’m sorry for pretending to be you with Professor Markham.”
“You can pretend to be me any time you please, dear girl. I just wish I’d been able to help.”
“The professor is a bit—well, eccentric.”
“Completely barking, but harmless enough.”
The sun picked out the silver cloud on Ivor’s head. His face was a healthy pink again and his eyes that electric blue I remembered. I felt a lump in my throat. I might not have seen those eyes again.
Ivor chose a finger of Vivian’s shortbread. “What will happen to Martin Ingram, or Colin What’s-it—”
“Wardle.”
“Will Colin Wardle be charged with murder?”
“I might find
