Chapter 8 - The Price of Staying
The retired nurse who had worked Mateo's emergency shift lived above a bakery in Little Village.
Her name was Ruth Bell, and she opened her door holding a baseball bat.
“If you're selling religion, I have enough,” she said.
Marisol showed her father's picture. Ruth lowered the bat.
“I remember him. He kept asking about the young woman in the back seat. He kept saying he tried to turn, but the car wouldn't stop.”
“Why did he die?”
Ruth swallowed. “He was stable when I left to call the surgeon. By the time I returned, a man in a suit had cleared the hall. Thirty minutes later, the doctor pronounced him dead.”
“Who was the man?”
“I saw a silver ring. A lion.”
Marisol leaned against the wall. She had spent three years defending her father from strangers. Now she was learning how precisely his last minutes had been stolen.
Back at the mansion, Elias found her on the rear steps. She told him what Ruth remembered. He listened, then said, “I can get the doctor's records.”
“By threatening him?”
“Usually works.”
“That's the problem with you. Every answer has a gun attached.”
He sat beside her, leaving a careful distance. “My father taught me fear was the only thing people respected.”
“And your sister?”
“She used to hide my guns in the piano.”
Marisol almost smiled. “Smart woman.”
“She was. She still is.” He looked toward the house. “I just forgot how to let her be one.”
Inside, Giata had called an independent rehabilitation clinic herself. She had scheduled an assessment, ordered a wheelchair ramp for the garden, and told Mercer she would no longer accept appointments without her consent.
For once, Elias didn't cancel anything.
That night, Dr. Mercer arrived carrying a replacement prescription. Giata examined the label before taking it.
“Who approved this increase?” she asked.
Mercer glanced at the bottom of the form. “Your brother did.”
Giata held it up when Elias entered.
May you like
His signature was there. Under it was an authorization to keep her sedated whenever she became “agitated or inquisitive.”
Elias stared at the page. “I've never seen this before.”
