Page 79 of Psycho

I pointed at Lainey. “Her granddaughter.”

The nurse smiled and nodded. “Of course. Please sign in, and I need both of your IDs. I will call to let the staff know you’re here, and we’ll bring Elizabeth out.” She turned to Lainey. “You’re in luck this morning. She’s having a good day.”

Lainey’s breath caught. “She is?”

The nurse nodded, her eyes softening. “Oh, yeah. She even entertained us this morning with a rendition of, uh, what did she call it… something…Bach’s Prelude… uh, something else…”

“Bach’sPrelude to a Well-Tempered Clavier?” Lainey supplied.

The nurse smiled. “Your grandma is talented.”

Lainey nodded. “Yeah,” she said, her voice thick. “I can’t remember the last time she played, though.”

“Perhaps we’ll get lucky, and she’ll play something for us during your visit.” The nurse winked at her, and Lainey turned to me, meeting my eyes with an unreadable look in hers.

I frowned. “What’s wrong?”

I let my finger skim down the side of her face. She didn’t pull away from me.

“Nothing.”

I would have called her out for lying to me, but another nurse showed up then, interrupting us.

“Hiya! I’m James. Nurse Nora says you’re here to see Elizabeth?”

Lainey turned away from me, taking away my view of her face and effectively cutting me off from what I would have been able to glean from her face, her thoughts, and her emotions.

Annoyance shifted inside me, and I looked to see the man looking over at Lainey with an expression on his face that was about to get him killed.

Lucky for the fucker, he turned to me, his face paling, and stepped back.

“I’ll, uh, show you folks where to go,” he mumbled without looking at her again.

Lainey looked back at me with a strange expression on her face before we both followed the man further inside.

We stopped in the communal area where most of the residents spent their day, and in the corner was her grandma.

I stopped just outside the room and gave Lainey this time with her grandma.

She rushed forward to the older woman, who said something to her that made her eyes water.

I kept my eyes on her, fascinated by the myriad of emotions playing over her face just as she sat down and clasped her grandma’s hands in her own.

James had smartly left to assist the other residents.

Most of the staff gave me a wide berth. Just the way I fucking preferred it.

Lainey turned around, her eyes seeking me out, and she paused when she found me by the threshold.

She shot me a questioning look, but I didn’t react to her.

After a beat, she went back to interacting with her grandma.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but perhaps the expression on Lainey’s face meant she was happy.

I didn’t see that expression often. There was rarely ever anything about my life to show happiness for, and yet a simple visit with Elizabeth and she looked like this.

I leaned my back against the wall, taking in my surroundings. I doubted I would need to stay vigilant in a nursing home, but I had learned early on that it paid to be careful… and not careful.

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