Page 129 of Unexpected Entanglement

“What is it, Gwen?” Chris asked gently. “Do you have something to tell me?”

“I don’t want to get in trouble, Mr. Sullens,” Gwen said.

“Tell me what it is, and I’ll see what I can do to help you,” Chris assured her.

Gwen white-knuckled the water bottle in both of her hands as she started, “Raven gave me a bottle of tincture. She told me to put a few drops into Rowan’s drink.”

Chris’ breath stuck in his chest as he listened to Gwen.

“Raven said it’d just make her nauseous,” Gwen continued. “I didn’t know it’d make her sick like that. I only put one drop because I was afraid. Rowan has been so good to me. I don’t know why Raven wants to hurt Rowan. But she said she'd kick me out of her house if I didn’t do it. When I heard about the fire, I freaked out and ran.

“I swear, Mr. Sullens. I didn’t want to hurt Rowan. I thought it was just a sick prank,” Gwen finished as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I believe you, Gwen. What tincture did you give Rowan?” Chris asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you still have the bottle?” he asked, holding his breath, hoping she did.

Gwen nodded. “I was going to throw it into the sea.” She reached into her purse and produced an eye-drop-sized bottle. The wordsAconitum napelluswere on the label.

“Oh, my word,” Walt muttered when he saw the web search result. “Though it’s been used in some homeopathic remedies, aconite, or wolfsbane, is highly toxic. Common aconite poisoning symptoms include nausea, stomach pain, and vomiting. If consumed in high amounts, it can affect the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, leading to heart failure and death.”

Gwen wailed and buried her face in her hands. Chris felt numb. He could’ve lost Rowan that night without realizing it. He and Kieran had both thought she had just drank too much.

Looking at the crying girl, Chris reached deep inside himself to stay calm. He touched Gwen’s hand and said, “Good thing youonly gave her the tiniest amount, Gwen. She’s okay now. She’s fine.”

He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince, Gwen or himself.

“Remember when I told you I’d do what I could to help you?” Chris asked.

Gwen looked at him with a splotchy face and nodded weakly.

“You’ll need to tell the police what you just told us,” Chris said.

“They’ll put me in jail,” Gwen cried.

“There’ll be consequences, yes. But if you tell the police what Raven told you to do, it will help you. Do you have any proof Raven told you to do it?”

Gwen shook her head. “She just gave me the bottle.” She held the bottle out.

Walt was about to take it, but Chris stopped him. “It’s evidence. Maybe it has Raven’s fingerprints on it.”

Jane rummaged in her huge tote and produced a ziplock bag, which she quickly emptied and wiped with a tissue. She opened it wide so Gwen could drop the bottle inside.

“When we get to Rockland, I’m going to make a phone call to a lawyer, okay?” Chris said. “And we will go to the police so you can tell them your story.”

“I’m afraid, Mr. Sullens.” Gwen cried quietly.

“I know, but you did the right thing telling us.” Chris held her hand while Jane handed her a tissue. “Now, tell me why Raven switched with you at the wedding.”

forty-four

Rockland, Maine

Chris jolted awake to an alarm. His heart rate shot from sleeping to sprinting.

Fire!

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