\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word came out before thought.<\/p>\n
Jonathan remained silent on the line.<\/p>\n
I looked at the brown medicine bottle sitting on Marcus\u2019s table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI filled Arthur\u2019s organizer from the pharmacy bottle. I did not alter his medication.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say you altered it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen stop playing with language.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus motioned for David to put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Jonathan\u2019s voice filled the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou placed the pills in Arthur\u2019s organizer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe poisoned tablets were in that organizer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not make me his killer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes you the delivery mechanism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, Andrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known about you since before you could walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched my son\u2019s hands curl.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay away from him,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtect everyone before yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnswer the question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho poisoned Arthur\u2019s medication?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know who replaced the tablets.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly ended the call.<\/p>\n
Then he added, \u201cBut you don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
The words were designed to strike the oldest wound.<\/p>\n
My missing memories.<\/p>\n
The drugs.<\/p>\n
The experiments.<\/p>\n
He wanted me uncertain of myself.<\/p>\n
I recognized the tactic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat won\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot make me distrust my own mind merely by telling me I should.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan chuckled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound like Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
He became quiet.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want me to believe I killed Arthur while under some kind of influence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat influence?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSuggestion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene proved\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father proved nothing except that frightened people can be manipulated when powerful men control the conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
I had angered him.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father assaulted a drugged child and called his behavior research. I am not interested in inheriting his vocabulary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know very little about Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur knew more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Arthur still chose me over your family.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cruelty of the sentence surprised even me.<\/p>\n
Jonathan inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
Not science.<\/p>\n
Not evidence.<\/p>\n
Jealousy.<\/p>\n
Old family resentment wearing a laboratory coat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you work for Caldwell?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo watch Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he stole my father\u2019s research.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe rescued records your father should never have possessed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stole decades of work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn children.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou reduce everything to morality.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not how history works.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is how accountability works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus gave the smallest nod.<\/p>\n
Jonathan said, \u201cArthur understood complexity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur understood excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the medicine bottle.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me about the night he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were there before the meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil seven eighteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur\u2019s house camera.\u201d<\/p>\n
We had not had cameras at home.<\/p>\n
But Arthur had.<\/p>\n
Secret ones?<\/p>\n
Jonathan continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou left the house at seven eighteen and returned at eight twenty-one.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at David.<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan let the silence expand.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow you understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
I understood only that he wanted me afraid.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat proof?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you bring me Margaret\u2019s tape.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The trade.<\/p>\n
Everything returned to evidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know whether I have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know Vivian heard it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVivian says many things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t kidnap people to make mine sound true.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ignored that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recording from your house shows you leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did I go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe warehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur let you in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you were his wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou argued.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur had finally told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told you enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou became hysterical.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated the word immediately.<\/p>\n
A word used for generations to make women\u2019s fear sound like evidence against them.<\/p>\n
\u201cTry again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou became angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou demanded his medication because you thought he was having chest pain.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou handed him the pills.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered nothing.<\/p>\n
Not the warehouse.<\/p>\n
Not Arthur.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then Jonathan said, \u201cAfterward, Richard drove you home.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Marcus.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
David already was.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Jonathan said, \u201cRichard won\u2019t help you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he drugged you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave you something after Arthur collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make you forget.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought he was protecting you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Protection.<\/p>\n
Always the respectable name for theft.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should ask Frank Heller.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
David immediately contacted the detective.<\/p>\n
The man arrested as Harold Greene had been transferred for questioning.<\/p>\n
Fingerprint results had produced an anomaly.<\/p>\n
His prints matched records for Frank Heller, an investigator presumed missing since 1971.<\/p>\n
Marcus had been right.<\/p>\n
Jonathan had maintained Harold Greene as a constructed identity while Frank apparently used it publicly at Caldwell.<\/p>\n
But why would Frank cooperate?<\/p>\n
The answer came forty minutes later.<\/p>\n
Frank requested to speak with me.<\/p>\n
Police brought him to a secure interview room.<\/p>\n
Without the glasses and carefully maintained posture of Harold Greene, he looked different.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
Tired.<\/p>\n
Almost relieved.<\/p>\n
I sat opposite him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho hired you at Caldwell?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing you were Frank Heller?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy use Jonathan\u2019s identity?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t using Jonathan\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen whose?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold Greene was real too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many men are inside one name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree, eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Frank explained.<\/p>\n
Harold Greene had originally been Edward Shaw\u2019s son.<\/p>\n
My actual cousin.<\/p>\n
He died in a car accident in 1988.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Keene obtained access to his records.<\/p>\n
Arthur later discovered Jonathan was using Harold\u2019s identity for financial transactions.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Arthur hired you under the same name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was deliberate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo force Jonathan to surface if he monitored Caldwell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it work?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c1998.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJonathan contacted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThinking you were part of his operation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Arthur used you to feed him information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I rubbed my forehead.<\/p>\n
My company had been a battlefield disguised as linen invoices.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you help Arthur hide records from me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know about Andrew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone knew about Andrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Arthur was poisoned?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you at the warehouse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night he died?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJonathan says I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank looked at me.<\/p>\n
I knew before he answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou arrived around seven forty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas I acting normally?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConfused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDrugged?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho drugged me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave you something later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Arthur collapsed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were screaming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not a medical indication.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he give me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMidazolam.\u201d<\/p>\n
A sedative capable of disrupting memory.<\/p>\n
The old pattern.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told him to?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur was dying and ordered Richard to drug me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you had just remembered Andrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could barely breathe.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened before I arrived?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur had gathered us because he planned to confess to you the next morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why was I there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone called you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJonathan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did they say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou arrived demanding to know where your baby was.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes closed.<\/p>\n
A fragment.<\/p>\n
Metal shelving.<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
My own voice.<\/p>\n
Where is he?<\/p>\n
Another fragment.<\/p>\n
Peter shouting.<\/p>\n
Richard holding my shoulders.<\/p>\n
Then blank.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor perhaps an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Arthur tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything he could.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I forgive him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That hurt and relieved me simultaneously.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did I do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hit him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost smiled through tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank\u2019s mouth twitched.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret would have approved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened next?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur began having chest pain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I give him medication?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became very still.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis organizer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Jonathan was right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout that part.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere the pills already poisoned?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur had taken one that morning and felt ill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t he stop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought it was his condition worsening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho filled the organizer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
Kitchen table.<\/p>\n
Seven plastic compartments.<\/p>\n
Arthur reading the newspaper while I sorted pills.<\/p>\n
A routine.<\/p>\n
Anyone could have replaced tablets before I touched them.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re certain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause when Arthur collapsed after taking them, you tried to call an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter stopped me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried to help Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJonathan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI called emergency services from outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToo late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Arthur tell Richard to sedate me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought the shock would trigger a breakdown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was his choice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I agree?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course not.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Richard assaulted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank did not defend him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The clarity mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lost consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho took me home?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid David see?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive when you left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleven minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he say anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018Don\u2019t let her think she did this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
My face crumpled before I could stop it.<\/p>\n
Arthur had known.<\/p>\n
Even dying, he knew exactly what guilt would do to me.<\/p>\n
Frank continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he said something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Find Jonathan.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur suspected him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Jonathan had visited your house two days earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile you were out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did he get inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVivian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVivian had access?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had copied Arthur\u2019s key years before.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she replace the pills?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJonathan said he didn\u2019t poison Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may be telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Vivian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat back.<\/p>\n
Another possibility emerged.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho benefited most from Arthur dying before he confessed?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone except you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was almost funny.<\/p>\n
Peter avoided exposure.<\/p>\n
Richard avoided accountability.<\/p>\n
Vivian protected the research.<\/p>\n
Jonathan protected Keene\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n
Frank protected his own complicity.<\/p>\n
Even Marcus kept family secrets buried.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI benefited too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least you admit it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had ten years to hate myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not restitution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Jonathan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou worked with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough dead drops and encrypted messages.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he control the fraudulent vendor request?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he manipulate Andrew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew had suspected Arthur\u2019s trust was contacting him.<\/p>\n
It was Jonathan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo force Arthur\u2019s archives open.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank looked toward the observation window.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Vivian is dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMonths, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she started this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she wants Keene\u2019s original work recognized before she dies.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter everything, she still believes in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe believes she was its true architect.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Not remorse.<\/p>\n
Legacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe drugged me to prove her theory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe helped hide Andrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe watched generations of damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she wants credit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger became very quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she can have credit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor every crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
Before leaving, I asked one final question.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Arthur love me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank looked surprised.<\/p>\n
Then I hated myself for asking.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartha.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not the question I should have asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether he respected me enough to tell me the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
That answer mattered more.<\/p>\n
Outside the interview room, Andrew waited with David.<\/p>\n
I told them what Frank said.<\/p>\n
Andrew listened without interrupting.<\/p>\n
When I finished, he asked, \u201cDo you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich part?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I didn\u2019t knowingly poison Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
David touched my shoulder.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also believe Arthur ordered Richard to drug me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
Police had been asking the same question.<\/p>\n
His phone was off.<\/p>\n
His home empty.<\/p>\n
Then the detective approached.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found his vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOutside the old Dalton clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Richard there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVivian is in custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why would he go back?\u201d<\/p>\n
The detective held up a clear evidence bag.<\/p>\n
Inside was a note recovered from Richard\u2019s car.<\/p>\n
Martha deserves the last room.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat last room?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank heard from behind us.<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s another level.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the clinic?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frank looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cVivian\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d The word came out before thought. Jonathan remained silent on the line. I looked at the brown medicine bottle sitting on Marcus\u2019s table. \u201cI filled Arthur\u2019s organizer from the … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20524,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20471\/revisions\/20524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}