* * *
“GET OUT OF HERE, EVE. The doctor said Beth’s going to be fine,” Kendra said as she came into Beth’s hospital room. “You’ve been hanging out here for the last thirty-six hours. You should go to a hotel and get a good night’s sleep. I’ll stay with her if you like.”
Eve shook her head. “I promised I wouldn’t leave until she did.”
“I should have expected that.” Kendra smiled. “I did, really. And, of course, Joe won’t leave you.”
“He’s busy anyway. He’s trying to get a permanent release for Beth from the mental hospital. It’s not easy. The board is all in a turmoil because of Pierce’s death, and they hate the idea of saying they were criminally negligent.”
“In this age of lawsuits, you can’t blame them.”
“I do blame them,” she said fiercely. “I blame everyone for not paying attention to what was happening to her. They just drifted along, and time passed. There should have been tests and reviews of Pierce and his staff.”
“Hindsight.” Kendra put up her hand to stop her protest. “I agree. I’d feel the same if I were you.”
“Eve…”
Eve’s gaze flew down to Beth’s face. Her sister’s eyes were open, and she was looking up at Eve. “Back with us? How do you feel?”
“As if I’ve been hit by a gun butt,” she said hoarsely. “And most of the time, I haven’t been sleeping. I’ve just been lying here thinking. I’m sorry, Eve. I’m to blame for everything. And I wasn’t much help to you.”
“What are you talking about? You almost took Drogan’s eye out. If I’d been faster, we’d have stopped him in his tracks.”
“I should have done something before that. It was just that I felt as if I was in some kind of terrible fog.” She drew a deep breath. “But that’s an excuse, and I don’t have the right to try to excuse myself when I should have been there for you.” Her gaze fell on Kendra. “You were at the shack. You helped me.”
Kendra nodded. “I’m Kendra Michaels. I’m glad you’re better.” She smiled and turned toward the door. “And now I’ll go try to find Joe and see if I can help him. My mother is wonderful at cutting bureaucratic red tape. She gets a vicious pleasure doing it. We’ll have you out of here in no time.”
Beth looked at Eve when the door closed behind Kendra. “Red tape?” She moistened her lips. “Trouble, Eve?”
“Nothing we can’t handle.”
“I won’t go back there.”
“I’d never let you go back.” She smiled as she clasped Beth’s hand. “So stop worrying and start thinking about what you want to do with the rest of your life.”
“Live.” Her face was suddenly lit with an emotion that was amazing in its intensity. “I want to do everything, see everything. There’s not one experience I don’t want to explore. I told you that the first night I met you.”
“Yes, you did.” She looked down at their joined hands. “But I wondered if Rick’s death had made a difference. It may be a while before you can come to terms with it.”
“I may never come to terms with it.” Beth’s eyes were glittering with tears. “I think I’m trying to hold it at bay. I loved him so much, Eve.”
“I know you did.” She was silent. “And I think he loved you, Beth.”
“That was hard for you to say.” Her lips twisted. “But he did love me. I know it. But not as much as I loved him. If the situation had been reversed, I would never have accepted what they told me. I would have fought for him. I would never have stopped. He wasn’t what I thought he was, but maybe there was a way I could have helped him, changed him. You don’t give up on people because they’re not what you want them to be. Not if you love them.”
“That’s right,” Eve said. “Not if you love them.” She leaned back in her chair. “Now see if you can go back to sleep until they bring you your lunch.”
She shook her head. “I’ve slept enough. I want to—”
“May I come in? I had to see how you were, Beth.” Nelda Avery was standing in the doorway. She was dressed in a gray designer suit, and her makeup and hair were perfection. She didn’t wait for an answer. “The nurses said that you weren’t seeing visitors, but I told them that family was different.” She came toward the bed. “After all, I’m your grandmother, Beth.”
Beth was staring at her, stunned. “What?”
“This is Rick’s mother, Nelda Avery,” Eve said. “I’ve never met her myself, but I’ve seen photos. I’m sure you have, too, Beth.”
“Yes.”
“But we’ve never seen each other in person, have we, Beth?” Nelda said. “You don’t recognize me?”
“No, I’ve never seen you, but Rick talked about you. He loved you very much.” Beth was still gazing at her. “You look so young and beautiful.”
“It’s not natural, I assure you. I go to the very best people.”
“Why are you here?” Eve asked bluntly.
Nelda smiled. “You’re Eve Duncan. You’ve caused me a great deal of trouble.” For a moment the smile faltered. “I understand you were there when my son was killed by that maniac. I don’t know if I can forgive you for not preventing that from happening.”
“Are you mad?” Eve asked. “If anyone is to blame, it’s you. You’re the one who persuaded him to be the bait in the trap to lure Beth.”
“I have no idea what you mean,” she said. “But if I did, then I’d tell you that everything would have been fine if you hadn’t been with Beth. It should have been a smooth transaction. My son shouldn’t have died.”
“No, Beth should have died,” Eve said bitterly. “Wasn’t that the plan?”
She didn’t answer directly. “No one died but my son and the maniac who killed him. Drogan obviously had some grudge against Rick and took the opportunity to have his revenge.”
“You know that’s not true,” Eve said. “You were behind this entire horror. How on earth do you think you can get away with a story like that?”
“Can you prove that it’s not true?” Nelda looked her in the eye, and said coolly, “Try it. I have money and power. I’ve built a reputation that can withstand almost any attack. Besides, nothing can be traced to me.”
“What about the money you gave Pierce for keeping Beth at that hospital all those years?”
“I was only a compassionate grandmother trying to save her grandchild. Look at all the money I poured into getting her cured. My son begged me to do all I could for her, and I did it.”
“You lied to him about me,” Beth said. “Didn’t you?”
“Perhaps.” Nelda lifted her chin defiantly. “He couldn’t expect to have everything. I had to protect myself. I had to protect him.”
“But mostly yourself,” Eve said. “Joe told me you were a broken woman the night that Rick was murdered, but it didn’t last long, did it? You bounced back, and you’re on the attack.”
“What do you know?” Nelda said harshly. “Rick was the center of my life, and he was taken. But I won’t let the rest of my life be trashed. I deserve the chance to build again.”
“You’re not going to get it,” Eve said flatly. “There will be a way to connect you to Drogan and the murders.”
“Find it. And I’ll have a battery of lawyers and investigators working to disprove it. I had a reason once to avoid publicity, but that died with Rick. The litigation will go on and on until you finally drop it.” She took a step closer to the bed. “Don’t listen to her. You wouldn’t want to waste your time like that, Beth.” Her voice was soft, persuasive. “The whole world is opening for you. Did you know you’re going to be a very rich woman? Rick inherited a trust fund from my husband’s mother. It’s a very large trust and actually makes you a bit richer than even my husband. I was surprised to find out that Rick had left it to you in his will. He never told me.”
“Perhaps because he thought you’d try to talk him out of it,” Eve said. “You effectively erased Beth from his life.”
“It was necessary,” Nelda said. “But now we’ll make it up to her.”
“If I don’t cause you any trouble?” Beth asked. “Tell me, did you provide those young girls to Rick?”