Page 19 of Shadow of Hope
Could this answer mean he might not report her?No. Don’t let hope build. Not yet.
Maybe her story would sway him in her direction. She made sure not to look away and appear guilty even though the concentrated light left her feeling like a suspect being grilled. “One of Holly’s favorite things to eat was raw cookie dough. Of course they wouldn’t give that to her at the care center. Raw eggs and all. I shouldn’t have either, but she hadn’t been eating much. I thought she might’ve given up even though the doctors said she had at least two more months to live.”
Ava shuddered over the memory and looked up at the night sky to go on without crying. “She had to check into the center because Layne refused to care for her. She said her parents were both dead, and she had no one other than Layne. Her heart was broken, and I wanted to brighten her day. Maybe get her to eat something. So on my day off, I made a batch of dough and brought it to her. Even if she only got a teaspoon down, I hoped it would put a smile on her face and get her to eat something else. One of the cameras caught me giving the container to her and her eating the dough. She barely took a nibble, but she got really sick after that. Like food poisoning sick. This was right before she died.”
He tilted his head. “What did the coroner list as cause of death?”
“Dehydration and organ failure likely from food poisoning, though they didn’t confirm that last bit.”
“Do you think it was the cookie dough?”
She shook her head. “Not with the little bit that she ate. But if I’m wrong and the dough caused the food poisoning, it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t poison her like her son is saying I did.”
“Did they take her to the hospital?”
“No,” Ava said. “The care center had everything needed to take care of her, and even if we didn’t, she would have refused to go. She said, why spend her end days in such a sterile environment when the hospice center was more homey.”
Micha’s frown deepened. “Why do you think the son has it out for you?”
This was the part she didn’t want to tell him, but she had to. “Holly changed her will to include me.”
Micha sat forward and stared at her.
“I had no idea she would do something like that. None. Not until Holly told me. Layne was supposed to inherit her entire estate, which she hinted at being substantial, but she left half of it to him and the other half to me. She said I deserved it more than Layne. I don’t even want it and would gladly sign it over to him. I tried to tell him that, but he blew me off. Saying I was lying.”
“I told you I worked criminal investigations in the military, right?”
She nodded.
“If I was the local detective assigned to this investigation and this information was presented to me, I would have secured an arrest warrant for you, and you would be sitting behind bars.”
Her turn to suck in a breath.
“I’m just telling you like it is.”
“I appreciate that, but you didn’t say if you planned to turn me in.”
“What I’ll do is sleep on it and give you a decision in the morning.” He stood and offered his hand to help her up, but kept his gaze locked on her. “What I don’t understand is why you’re taking this course.”
That she didn’t mind answering except for disclosing the location. “My cousin left an old cabin to me. There’s no online connection to me and no way anyone would track it to me. It’s a primitive place out in the middle of nowhere. He used it for hunting and fishing. I needed to learn how to live off-grid so I could hide out there for as long as it took for the truth to come out.”
He rested his hands on his waist. “Where’s this place located?”
“About thirty minutes from here,” she said, purposefully being vague.
“And the property address?”
Right.She was coming to see he was a detailed guy—probably a great investigator—and he would ask that. She didn’t know what he might do with the information, but she had to be forthcoming if she wanted him to take her side and not report her. But she couldn’t get the words out. “Why do you need to know?”
He turned that light on her again. “So if you decide to bail tonight, I know where to find you.”
She held her tongue for a moment as she squinted into the light. Fine. She had to say it. Be all in for him to trust her. But that meant her fallback plan was gone, too, and her life truly was in his hands. She shared the address.
He gave a sharp nod. “No point in trying to run. I’ll be sleeping outside your tent. Not only to protect you, but to be sure you don’t try to take off.”
“I wouldn’t.”
He met her gaze. “See that you don’t. But if you don’t heed my warning, just know I’ll hunt you down and turn you in.”
