Amelia was seated beside George’s bed. He had not gained consciousness, and his whole body was dressed in bandages. She wanted to cry but couldn’t. Her eyes were dry. The door opened a bit, and Casney entered, silent. He seated himself beside Amelia. He had hidden his minor burns with his shirtsleeves.
‘What did the doctor say?’ he asked.
‘They say he is lucky, second-degree burns. As soon as he gets out of ICU, we are leaving,’ Amelia answered in a tired tone.
‘What about his treatment?’
‘I’ll arrange that,’ she answered, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
‘Money?’
‘Had a few. We are lucky,’ Amelia said.
‘Heard the news in the hall?’ he asked.
‘No.’
‘It says you and George are dead.’
Amelia dreaded to ask the next question, but she did. ‘On what evidence?’
‘The accident was discovered hours later when people returned. All they found were soot and . . . ashes.’
Amelia let out a silent tear.
‘We couldn’t save them. There was no way we could have made it past the hall, if that’s what it was. George was already on the verge of collapsing. He could’ve died.’
‘I don’t blame anyone,’ said Amelia.
‘It was not your fault. You need to accept that.’
‘We all lost a piece of us in that fire.’
Casney said nothing. Amelia took out an envelope from her pocket. She gave it to him and said, ‘This is keeping us alive. I’ve used these names to register ourselves. A well-wisher gave it to me for bad times, and this is hell.’
‘You don’t have to hide. Revealing your identity can help you right now,’ Casney said as he studied the names.
‘Yes, I can and let the killers on our trail again. We are already half-dead!’
‘Am sorry. You are right. This is the right thing to do right now.’
Amelia looked at George for a moment.
‘Amelia, I want you to tell me exactly what happened.’
She closed her eyes for a moment and said, ‘It was a deliberate fire, and it has to be Adam. I don’t know how, but it’s him. No other person would want us dead.’
‘Did you see anybody around the house?’
‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘Then somebody must have set it up before you showed up.’
‘Wait! A delivery guy came to the house after noon.’
‘What did he deliver?’
‘Mail.’
‘He should have kept them in the mailbox. I don’t see how—’
‘He entered the house, Casney. He wanted to drink water.’
‘How long did you leave him out of your sight?’
‘A few minutes. Oh! Am so stupid! It was entirely my fault!’ she cried out with the realization.
‘Amelia, don’t break down. Think. How long after did you notice the fire?’
‘Twenty minutes.’ Amelia bit her lips.
‘It was a setup—Adam’s work. He has managed to disguise murders as accidents before too. I need to a look into this.’ Casney got up and continued, ‘I’ll stick around and keep an eye out for you both. Call me when he wakes up.’
Amelia nodded in approval, and he left. She tried to stay awake for a few more minutes, but eventually her tired body gave up, and she dozed off.
He raised his eyelids a little. The effort was too much for him. Bright lights overhead added to the pain. He winced and closed his eyes again. Nothing.
Amelia stared at the screen of the ATM. A little amount of money was left. It wasn’t even hers; it belonged to Anne Hudson. Hayley must have put it for emergency. She made a mental note of returning the money. The money she had kept in the envelope a few days ago had helped in the operation, along with this one. She took out a few more and slowly walked back to the ICU. She stopped in the hall to look at the TV. Local news and politics played on the screen. She appreciated her decision of getting George treated in some other district. When she entered, she could see the doctor talking and checklisting. George had finally woken up after two weeks.
‘We’ll remove his dressing tomorrow before discharging him. Initial and foremost important treatment is done. Rest of it will follow with routine check-ups for organs and tissues. Get them done timely,’ the doctor said to Amelia.
After everyone had left, she seated herself beside George on the chair. George was now sitting on the bed with the help of back support. He took a few minutes to adjust to the light and move his neck a little.
‘Amelia?’ he called out in a feeble voice.
‘Yes, I am here. How are you feeling now?’ she asked.
‘Like this body is not mine. I don’t know. How long had I been gone?’
‘A few days.’
‘Please, I need to know.’
‘Two weeks, George. I am so sorry. I’m just glad you’re fine, love,’ Amelia said, breaking down a bit.
Both of them cried for the next few minutes.
‘No, I am sorry. Sorry for causing so much trouble. Where are we? I don’t recognize this hospital.’
‘We’re in the next district.’
‘Why?’
‘To avoid Adam following our trail.’ George said nothing to that. Amelia paused a moment and continued, ‘George, the news out is that we are . . . dead. And I intend to keep it that way.’
He stared at her.
‘I know right now this is too much for you. I can explain. Hayley had given me a fake alias a few days ago. I am going under that very name and you as her husband. George, that fire was caused by Adam—a guy showed up in the house asking for water, and he triggered it. We both were supposed to die, but you showed up late. The girls perished in our stead, and I don’t know how to pay for that, George. It’s difficult waking up every day with this thought in mind. How could this happen to us? I’m sorry. I’m not supposed to make you relive that trauma,’ said Amelia, wiping a few tears. ‘I brought us here in the next district so people don’t look at you and the news and put two and two together. We’ll move to a different house tomorrow.’
George took his time to soak all that information and said, ‘How—’
‘I have a job now. I am paying the rent. Don’t worry.’
‘Am . . .’
‘Hush, George, you need to rest. Have a good sleep.’