Chapter 6 - The Woman in the Blue Dress
Her name was June Mercer, and her hands shook long after she told the police what she had seen. Elena met her by the empty bar while officers spread through the hotel. June wore a simple blue gown and the face of a person who'd been swallowing words for years.
"Victor paid my husband's medical bills," June admitted. "He made sure I knew that every Christmas. If I disagreed with him, he mentioned the hospital."
"You don't owe him silence," Elena said.
"I owe him money. That's different."
June glanced toward the balcony. "Three months after Marcus died, I heard Victor arguing with Celia. He said the traffic light on the bridge had changed and they couldn't rely on the old report. His mother said, 'The report is all anyone will ever see.'"
Elena's stomach turned. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because my husband was getting chemo. Because I was scared. Because every night I found one more reason to wait until morning." June brushed tears from her cheek. "I don't have a good answer."
"You have an answer now. Tell Pierce."
June nodded, but a man in an earpiece approached before she could move. He said Celia wanted a private word with her. June went white.
"She's giving her statement to the police," Elena said.
"Mrs. Ward, stay out of family business."
"That's the problem," Elena replied. "You turned everyone else's lives into family business."
The detective appeared beside them, and the man retreated. June followed Pierce to a quieter room, where she could speak on the record.
An hour earlier Elena had imagined leaving the ballroom in triumph. Now her feet hurt, her gown hem was dusty, and she hadn't eaten since breakfast. Triumph felt too small a word for what she needed. She wanted Marcus back. She wanted Noah's sister to go home without flinching when an elevator chimed. She wanted thirty-eight people to remember the difference between wealth and right.
Noah came running from the sculpture display. "The ice is gone," he said.
"Gone?"
"The whole sculpture. Someone wheeled it out twenty minutes ago."
May you like
He showed her a grainy still from his phone: a catering cart disappearing down the loading ramp. On its side, under the hotel logo, was a sticker for Northstar Civic Partners.
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