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“Nothing we’re doing seems to be helping. I’m sorry,” Dr. Rubin said.
Scott looked at Paige and she tightened the grip on his hand and bit her bottom lip. Their aunt Nora was dying.
She was glad her big brother was there to help her through this. They’d always been told they looked alike, but Paige thought he was much better looking. He had dark-brown, wavy hair and hazel eyes that usually hinted at some kind of mischief. Now they glistened a little as he held back tears. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t let them fall—he’d think it wasn’t seemly for a cop in uniform to cry, even if he was about to lose a close family member.
Paige glanced past her brother’s shoulder at the women sitting on blue, tattered hospital waiting room chairs behind him. Taffy and Patty, her twin cousins, huddled together on one bench seat. They looked nothing like Scott and Paige, who had inherited their father’s Irish complexion and coloring. The cousins favored their mother and had wispy dirty-blond hair and pear-shaped bodies. In profile, the slight bumps on their noses even matched. The two thirty-something cousins sat stone-faced.
Nora had never married or had any kids of her own. The four children of her two brothers were the only family she had in Comfort Cove.
A third woman, Sarah, jumped up and crossed over to Paige and Scott, throwing her arms around his neck. Paige’s brother let go of her hand to hug his wife, and they murmured softly to each other.
Paige turned her attention to the doctor. He held a clipboard and shifted his feet every few seconds. “Is it her heart?” Her words came out harsh and demanding, but she was too tired to modify her tone. She hadn’t slept more than a few minutes during the long flight from Italy, and the exhaustion of jet lag was pulling on her mind as effectively as an anchor dragged a boat slowly to a stop.
The cab had dropped her off at the hospital only five minutes ago. Her luggage sat in a heap next to her cousins’ chairs. Scott had asked the nurse to fetch the doctor as soon as Paige arrived. She knew that wasn’t good. It meant Aunt Nora didn’t have much time.
Dr. Rubin looked at his clipboard instead of making eye contact. Paige had the fleeting thought that he might be doing what she did—trying to avoid feelings of sadness and exhaustion by focusing on being aloof. After all, he must deal with an awful lot of sadness in the ER. Maybe detaching was his way of insulating himself. Maybe that’s what Taffy and Patty were doing too.
Ha! Who was she trying to kid? No, her cousins were just unfeeling ingrates who probably couldn’t wait for Aunt Nora to die so they could see if she left them anything. It was at times like this she wished she could cast a spell and send them off to never-never-land. If they had not been relatives, she’d have unfriended them years ago.
“Her heart is weakening, but I don’t believe primary cardiac disease is the cause of this.” The doctor rustled through the papers on his clipboard and pursed his lips. “It’s a lightning-fast multi-system shutdown that had to be brought on by something, and we haven’t been able to stop it. There’s no evidence in her bloodwork that she’s suffering from an allergic or immune-mediated response. It’s particularly odd, really.”
The doctor looked up suddenly, as though he just remembered he was talking to someone about their family member and not a faceless case in a medical book. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. There’s really nothing more we can do. We’ve made her as comfortable as possible, but . . .”
As he trailed off, Taffy blew her nose into a handkerchief like a goose honking. Still, there were no tears.
Paige winced at the sound. She’d just been in Italy, eating Marco’s amazing food and enjoying lovely scenery. Now she stood in a cold hospital waiting room being grossed out by her uncouth cousins. Of course, she had come for Aunt Nora. She wouldn’t have made any other choice. She had to be there.
Scott turned toward Paige, his arm still around Sarah. “You should go in and see her. The rest of us already have. If there’s still time after you’re done, we can go in again.”
Paige nodded. She felt like her body was responding without her involvement. She’d been going nonstop since her brother’s phone call, and all she wanted to do was sleep. Her feet followed the doctor while her mind leaped ahead to what she would say to the woman who had been such a big part of her life.
Dr. Rubin stopped outside a closed hospital door. “She might not be very lucid,” he warned her. “But I think she’ll be able to hear you if you want to talk to her.”
That sounded like a platitude to Paige—something doctors said to make people feel better about losing a loved one to whom they’d never said the right things.
He opened the door and stood aside to let her in. She crept into the room, as though she could stop the inevitable from happening to Aunt Nora by simply moving slowly and quietly.
Machines whirred and beeped softly in the white, sterile room. For the first time since Scott had told her on the phone that Aunt Nora was in danger of dying, Paige felt her eyes burn with tears. She propelled herself out of her slow-motion tiptoeing and hurried to her aunt’s side, mentally kicking herself for not coming in sooner. Nora shouldn’t have to be alone with all the crazy medical equipment buzzing in her ears and no family to comfort her.
Paige laid her hand on her aunt’s and gazed into her face. She didn’t look sick, really, except for the IVs and monitor straps flowing away from her body toward the machines at the head of the bed. Her face was smooth and unlined; she looked much younger than her sixty-odd years. She hadn’t changed that much since Paige was a child. She had soft skin, rosy cheeks, and deep-burgundy lips that never needed lipstick.
Paige squeezed her aunt’s hand and swallowed the lump in her throat. She made herself smile so her voice would sound pleasant. “Aunt Nora, I’m here.”
She didn’t expect the older woman’s eyes to open, but they did. It was only a flutter at first, but after a few tries, her eyelids gave up the fight to stay closed and parted, revealing the gray-green eyes Paige knew so well. Good humor had always given those eyes a certain glint, and when they landed on Paige, the skin around their corners crinkled. “Paige. You’re here.”
It was more of a question than a statement. “I came as fast as I could. How are you feeling?”
Nora smiled slightly and tried to squeeze Paige’s hand, but the most she could manage was a slight twitch of her fingers. “Honey,” she said suddenly as her eyes grew more focused. The smile fled from her face, and she tried to lift her head. “I need you to take care of my flowers and Captain McDougall for me. He’s . . . he’s . . .” Her head fell back on the pillow and her eyes closed again. She let out a slight panting sound from the exertion.
“Of course I will,” Paige said reflexively. She patted her aunt’s shoulder and tried to look and sound soothing. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of him until you’re better. You just rest now.” She had no idea who Aunt Nora was talking about, but it was clear the elderly lady couldn’t say more, and Paige wanted to reassure her. Paige couldn’t keep the tears in any longer, and she felt them falling onto her hand. She looked down and saw they were splashing on Aunt Nora’s hand too.
A cacophony of buzzers went off at once, and Paige jerked her eyes up. Her aunt wasn’t panting anymore. In fact, her chest didn’t move at all.
Nurses swarmed in, and one led Paige gently but firmly out of the room. She stood in the hallway and listened to the sound of the medical staff working. She knew it was no use. Her aunt was gone.
There was really no reason to stand there, so she shuffled back to the waiting room. Scott and Sarah stood up when they saw her. Sarah put an arm around Paige’s shoulders and led her to a chair. She sat down heavily and wiped the tears off her face.
“Did she die?” Taffy, who had never had an ounce of tact, stayed hunched down in her chair.
Paige wanted to slap her silly, but she was just too tired. It was as though she’d migrated to a planet where the gravity had a stronger pull. She felt like her bones were suddenly heavier, and they seemed to drag her down and anchor her in the chair. She couldn’t get up if she wanted to. “Yes,” she said quietly. Sarah sobbed softly beside her, and Paige looked up into her brother’s incredibly sad face. “Aunt Nora’s gone.”
Dr. Rubin appeared in the waiting room, adjusting his stethoscope around his neck. He approached the family. “I’m so sorry. Nora has passed away.”
It was a bit anticlimactic since Paige had already made that announcement, but she pushed the uncharitable thought away.
The doctor spoke again. “Officer Murphy, could I have a word with you, please?”
“Of course,” Scott said. The two men moved away and spoke in low tones for a few moments before the doctor left and Scott returned. His face was paler than usual and more lines creased his forehead. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go home.”
Home sounded amazing. A hot meal, a hot shower, and a soft bed were just what Paige needed right now. She’d been up for almost twenty-four hours.
Except it wasn’t her home they’d be going to—it was her brother and sister-in-law’s. She didn’t really have a home. She had a ten-square-foot bedroom in a tiny house in Portofino, Italy. The rent there was due in two weeks, and she’d spent the last of her money on a plane ticket home. She’d only thrown a few days’ worth of clothes in a carry-on bag to bring back to Comfort Cove with her. She had hoped to be returning to Italy as soon as Nora was well. Or had passed. But now she didn’t have enough money to pay for the plane ticket back.
She felt a pang of shame. The last thing she’d wanted was to go back to her hometown with her tail between her legs. No novel published, no money in her pockets, and nowhere to go except her brother’s house.
Sarah knelt in front of her. Her sister-in-law had gotten her bright blond hair done in a new pixie cut. It looked nice. A little brown mascara ran down each cheek, and she met Paige’s eyes with her own warm, chocolate-brown ones. “You’ll stay with us, and we won’t hear any arguments about it,” she said. “You’re home now. Where you belong.” She stood again and held out her hand to Paige. She sighed and accepted it, along with her new lot in life. There was no way she could go back to Italy and finish her novel now. She’d failed. She might as well accept it and get on with the process of settling back in to Comfort Cove.
Scott spoke quietly to the two cousins for a moment and then grabbed Paige’s bag and took off for the front doors of the hospital. Sarah led Paige along behind him, chatting about the warm spring they’d been having. Paige only half listened as she watched her brother’s back. A question was brewing in her mind.
When they reached Scott and Sarah’s gray SUV, Sarah got in while Paige went around to the back. After Scott closed the hatch, Paige cocked her head at him and crossed her arms. He didn’t meet her eyes. “What did Dr. Rubin pull you aside to tell you?” she asked. Paige didn’t usually mince words, especially with her older brother.
Scott shifted his weight from one foot to the other and continued to look down. Paige raised her eyebrows at him but didn’t speak. She could outwait him forever. After all, she’d never lost a staring contest to him in her whole life.
He seemed to know he was outmatched. “He said he thinks that Aunt Nora died of poison.” He spoke so softly that, if Paige hadn’t been listening as intently as she was, she might have missed his words.
She felt her eyes widen and she dropped her hands to her sides. “Someone poisoned our aunt?” Her voice sounded like a squeak, even to her own ears.
“Well, something poisoned her. Probably. Maybe. We have to wait for the toxicology report, which might take a few weeks.” He finally looked up and met her eyes. He spoke more firmly. “And we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now, you need food and rest. It’s the middle of the night. You were on a plane for twelve hours and there’s jet lag on top of that. Let’s go.” He turned toward the driver’s door.
“Scott.” She stopped his progression around the car with a sharp tone. “What happened?” She needed to know before she could get in the car and continue on with her life.
He turned to face her again. “I checked on her at the bookshop early this morning,” he said quietly. “She seemed absolutely fine to me. A few hours later, a customer found her collapsed by the stacks in the back of the store and called 9-1-1. That’s all I know.”
Paige stepped closer to Scott. “What’s going to happen to the bookstore?”
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to see if she had a will.”
“She told me to take care of Captain McDougall for her. Is that one of her cats?”
Scott’s eyes widened a little before narrowing. “No, I don’t think so. You’re sure that’s what she said?”
“Yes.”
He drew in a deep breath. “Okay, well, we’ll figure all of this out, I promise. After some sleep. I’ll take you to Aunt Nora’s store with me tomorrow, and we’ll look around. See what we can see. How about that?”
He held his arms out to her and she nodded before sinking into them. In her big brother’s embrace, she gave into her grief and let the tears fall. But in the back of her mind, one of the words Scott had said loomed, large and ominous.
Poison.