Staring down at Harper’s small frame lying under the knit pink hospital blanket broke my heart. IV lines were running to her free arm. Soft snoring sounds came through her thin, parted lips. She appeared so young, frail, and fragile. How could anyone suspect her of such a horrific crime?
Mr. Jenkins neared the side of the bed.
I gripped my bag. “Wait.” I kept my tone low. “Shouldn’t we let her sleep?”
Mr. Jenkins appeared to be losing patience with me as he frowned. “I have to be somewhere.” Harper’s eyes went wide, and a little gasp left her lips as she glanced up at Mr. Jenkins and attempted to scoot away. The metal bracelet attached to her wrist clanged against the bar, restricting her movement.
An overwhelming need to protect her came over me. “It’s okay, Harper.” I stepped toward the foot of the bed. “You’re okay.”
“Lyla?” Her voice sounded thin and thready.
“I’m here.” I forced my lips into a reassuring smile.
Her tense frame marginally relaxed. She swallowed and glanced around. She seemed to gain her bearings. “I apologize, Mr. Jenkins. I forgot where I was for a moment.”
“Are you thirsty?” I reached for the paper cup on her tray. “Would you like some water?”
She cleared her throat. “Yes. Please.” With her free hand, she moved the tangles of hair away from the face. “What happened to you?”
I guess my quick makeup job hadn’t been as effective as I’d hoped. “I had a fall. I’m okay.” I filled the paper cup with water from the plastic pitcher on her stand and handed it to her. “You gave us all a scare. We were so worried about you.”
“I feel like I’m in a living nightmare.” She greedily sipped from the straw, audibly draining the cup. “One minute I’m watching a movie, and the next the cops are bursting into my home and arresting me. I felt ill in the car on the way to jail. By the time they were booking me in, I could barely see straight. My heart started beating out of my chest. Way worse than when they slapped the cuffs on me. Then my head felt like someone put it in a vise. I told the officers. Begged them to help me. When the cell doors closed, I … I blacked out.”
“You didn’t take anything?” I pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat. “You’re sure?”
She shook her head; her eyes were wide. “I did not. They said I tried to kill myself. I didn’t. I didn’t even know what Haldol was.”
“Did Leonard take prescription drugs for anything?”
“Yes. He took several medications for his blood pressure and angina. I didn’t ever see a prescription for Haldol, though.”
“Tell me what happened before the police came.”
“LJ and I were in my sitting room upstairs, watching a movie. We escaped from the others when Felix started in on me after we heard from the lawyer handling Leonard’s will.”
“Who’s the lawyer handling the will?” Mr. Jenkins asked.
“Zeb Stanley.”
Mr. Jenkins took the name down.
“What was Felix angry about?” I crossed my legs.
She rolled her eyes. “Felix is always angry about something. He was mad before the lawyer phoned. LJ told Janice and Kenneth they had to move out. They’d mooched off us for too long. That started things off, but it really hit the fan when Mr. Stanley said that neither Kenneth nor Janice would need to be present during the reading of the will.”
I bet it did.
“Leonard excluded them,” Harper said.
I nodded my encouragement for her to continue.
“Felix was livid. Blamed me for Leonard cutting them out of his will. He smashed the phone against the wall while Mr. Stanley was still on the line.”
I found it hard to picture the feeble older man behaving in such a way.
“Felix ranted about some nonsense. How this must all be my doing and how I’d never get away with it. I never even spoke with Mr. Stanley. I have no idea what the will says. The last I heard, we were all to sit down with him after all parties were notified.”
My heart broke for her.
“Then the cops showed up with a search warrant. LJ called you, and you saw what happened after.”
“Did you eat or drink anything you didn’t prepare for yourself? Perhaps while you were watching the movie?”
She sucked in her bottom lip. “Oh. I did have some tea Bea brought upstairs to me. It smelled odd, so I didn’t even finish it all.”
Beatrice? Leonard’s youngest in the flapper dress.
I leaned in. “It smelled odd?”
She nodded, and I thought of Amelia and her god-awful smelling Valerian tea she’d taken over there. But I distinctly remembered LJ taking it out with the trash. Or maybe he pretended to. There was something strange about all these coincidences with LJ. He would undoubtedly benefit from his father’s demise and getting Harper out of the way. “This tea. Was it Valerian?”
“I don’t know. I usually drink chamomile. Bea said it would calm me—” Harper’s bloodshot eyes filled with tears. “You think Bea tried to poison me?”
“We not accusing anyone of anything. Yet,” Mr. Jenkins said. He didn’t want her getting her hopes up and kept shaking his head. “We need to take this one step at a time.”
“We should get the cup and test it for residue.” I stared up at the attorney.
“There won’t be any.” Harper sighed. “Edna came and took it. She washes all the china by hand every night.”
“Oh.” I sighed.
“Why would Bea do such a thing? And if she did, doesn’t that prove I didn’t kill Leonard?” She bit her bottom lip, and her eyes were downcast. “No,” she said after a moment. “As much as I want to prove my innocence, she couldn’t have. Bea acted out not because she hated her father; she did it to get his attention. I, um, I just don’t know.”
“Harper, I have to ask you. Are you and LJ involved?”
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she closed her eyes. “You have no idea what it was like for me. LJ and I are kindred spirits. He gets me. I never intended this to happen. Please don’t think me a horrible person.”
When I glanced over at Mr. Jenkins, his lips were thinned into a white line.
“No. I don’t.” I squeezed Harper’s hand. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this. You stay calm and try to rest.”
She gripped my hand tightly. “I can’t go back there.” I didn’t have to ask. I knew she meant jail.
“Harper, I’m going to do everything I can to get you bail at arraignment.” Mr. Jenkins grabbed his briefcase from the chair next to him. “I’m going to see you in a couple of days. We discussed this. You need to stay strong and let us do the hard work.”
“Yes. I’ll be strong.” Harper sniffed.
Mr. Jenkins pulled his phone, which had begun buzzing, from his bag. “Excuse me.”
When he stepped out the door, Harper pulled me closer, surprising me with her strength. “Talk to Charlie.”
“Charlie?” Janice had mentioned a Charlie too. “Wait. You mean Charles Hammond?”
She nodded. “He’s—”
“Miss Moody. We really need to go.” Mr. Jenkins called, and Harper released me.
“Just a sec. What were you saying?”
Harper appeared weak once again. “I said I’d be strong.”
What in the world? Did she not trust her attorney?
On my way out, I mentioned seeing LJ outside the hospital that morning and asked if he’d tried to see Harper. Mr. Jenkins said he didn’t know and dismissed me before rushing out to God knows where. He didn’t seem as invested as I wanted him to be. However, my relationship with Harper might be skewing my view. I expected him to jump through hoops for my friend. Hoops he couldn’t even see.