Chapter 25 – At the Hospital

“Mr. Haley?”

Haley took a deep breath.

“Mr. Haley.”

He forced himself to open his eyes. The light swirled in first, and he winced against it until the pain passed. Then everything else came into focus.

The room was mostly white, but it looked buttery and soft because of the yellow sun pouring in from the large window. Eleanor was sitting up in bed, tucked under the blanket. Her hair was loose, and some nurse or doctor had cut off the sleeves of her nightgown at the elbow. She was watching him with a smile that made him feel both embarrassed and pleased.

Lucas sat up while ignoring the random twinges that were his body’s protests against the fact he’d spent the night in a chair. “Good morning, Miss Serrs.”

Her smile widened. “Good morning, Mr. Haley.”

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“Were you there the whole night?”

“No. The doctor gave you something to help you sleep, but he warned me that it would only work for two to three hours. During that time, I went back to your family, to let them know what was happening.”

“Are they all right?”

“They’re fine. As you can imagine, your aunt was very relieved. When your father heard that most of the perpetrators were dead, he expressed…a certain amount of satisfaction, and I had to tell your cousin three times that he wasn’t allowed to see you until the morning.” Haley pulled out his watch and opened it. “He should be here shortly.” The inspector tucked the watch back in his pocket. “After that, I returned here to see if you had woken up. You were still asleep, and the doctor warned me that you might sleep through the night—which was something we were all hoping for—but in case you didn’t, I decided to wait a few minutes…”

A second passed, then Eleanor prompted him: “And you fell asleep?”

Haley nodded once, then went on, “Right now you’re under police protection until we can confirm that all of Farnham’s men are either captured or have no designs against you. A policeman will be outside your room at all times, and your visitors will be strictly limited. Family members only, and only during the prescribed visiting hours—”

“Then…”

Haley waited to hear what she’d say.

“But then, that means I’ve had no visitors?”

“No.”

“Then who brought in the flowers?”

She motioned to the small bouquet of white and yellow freesias sitting on the nightstand beside her bed.

Once again, Haley had reason to marvel at her unconscious talent for observation—marvel at, and at least this time, curse. “I suspect they’re from Penn.”

She reached out to touch the petals.

The inspector said, “I was gone for a while, and he doesn’t think much of rules. He probably wanted to make sure you were all right.”

Eleanor tried to hide her smile. “That would explain the white coat and stethoscope.”

“Yes.” Haley glanced at the chair by the window, where the articles had been discarded. “I’ll have to remember to turn them in. Their real owner is probably frantic. I suppose it’s a mercy Penn didn’t keep them to use as a disguise for later.”

“Well,” Eleanor said, still touching the flowers, “they’re beautiful. It was kind of him.” When she pulled her hand back, it returned to its place on the opposite forearm. They had been like that since Haley woke up—each hand cradling the bandages on the other arm.

“Miss Serrs, how are you doing?” Haley asked.

Her hands tightened over the dressings. “You might know that better than I do. What do the doctors say?”

“Would you like to wait for one of them?”

Eleanor shook her head.

“They say you’ll need a lot of rest to make up for the blood you lost, and that you’ll have to eat lots of healthy food, but your life is in no danger.” Haley knew what he’d have to say next; he’d been preparing himself, so there was no hesitation when he added, “They also say that you’ll have scars.”

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“Bad ones, I think.”

“Yes.”

Eleanor tried to sound cheerful. “I’m lucky, aren’t I? Long sleeves in the morning, long gloves in the evening—as long as the fashions don’t change, I won’t have to worry about them for most of the day.” She motioned to her neck. “Not much I can do about that one. At least it should be small.” She turned to Haley. “Does it look bad?”

“No.”

Her eyes narrowed and, for the first time, Haley saw her wry smile. “I wonder if you’re being completely honest with me.”

“I wonder why a society woman would ask a policeman his opinion on scars.”

Eleanor laughed. “Fine then. Is it noticeable?”

“Pull your hair up.”

She obliged him by twisting her mane in back and lifting it.

He looked at the line of her neck for a long time before he admitted in a soft voice, “It depends on how it heals, but I’m afraid it will be.”

Eleanor sighed through her nose and let her hair fall. “Oh, well. It doesn’t matter. And if it does, it’ll serve this vain creature right.” She pulled her knees to her chest. “I’m so tired.”

“That’s from the blood loss.” Haley stood up. “You need rest.”

Before he could move away from his chair, Eleanor said, “Do I need to give you my statement?”

“Not to me. Not this time.”

“Why not?”

“I suspect there will be questions about it. I think it would be better if someone else came to get it. Is that all right?”

“Yes.”

“They’ll be in later today. Hopefully, you’ll feel less tired.”

“Mr. Haley”—Eleanor hesitated—“what would you like me to say in it?”

At first, the inspector was too stunned to move, but then he pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down. “The truth. Every word of it. Do you think I’d ever ask you to do otherwise?”