Page 28 of The Drowned Woman
“So this is the doctors’ dining room,” Luka said as they sat down at a table near the rain-streaked windows. He glanced around, eyebrow arched. “Feels like a teacher’s lounge.”
“It’s not meant to be fancy,” Leah said defensively. She liked it—it was small, sparsely furnished since most physicians grabbed and ran, but most importantly, it was almost always empty, making it so much quieter than the bustling main cafeteria next door. “The idea is to be able to get something without waiting in line.” She nodded past him to the three open doors on the other side. “The conference rooms are nicer. Good places to have classes and meetings without missing lunch.”
“Because a hospital runs on its stomach.” He scooped up a forkful of pasta Bolognese. “Tastes good. I feel like I’m carb-loading for a marathon.”
“Exactly.” She took a bite of her sesame chicken and green beans.
“Could you send me a summary of Walt’s medical records? And anything you know about the medications he’s taking. I want to make sure we cover all our bases.”
“Of course.” After another bite she asked the question that was bothering her. “You’re not going to use what Walt said as a confession, are you?”
“That wasn’t a legitimate confession,” he answered, to her relief. “That was a portrait of a guy in pain, barely hanging on, much less understanding what happened…”
She glanced up, not liking the way he left the statement hanging as if it was a question. “A portrait? You think maybe he was faking?”
Luka shrugged. “We’ll see what the autopsy shows, but right now I’m exactly where I started. Unable to rule Walt Orly out as a suspect and with no one else to look at.”
“I just don’t see how a man with his state of cognitive decline could—”
“Cognitive decline,” he echoed back at her. “As measured by what? His and his wife’s self-reporting? That’s why I want you to double-check what Chaudhari has documented in the medical records. Because who’s to say Walt didn’t decide to kill Trudy when she began looking to move him out of the house? Maybe he’s faking getting worse, setting up an affirmative defense.”
“What’s that?” Leah asked.
“The defendant admits their guilt but also that they were mentally incapacitated, unable to judge right from wrong.”
“Not guilty by reason of insanity.” She thought about it. “I still don’t see it. Walt seemed genuinely distraught.”
“Yeah, so did Nate.” He set his fork down and met her gaze. “Why weren’t you there to back me up with Driscoll this morning?”
“Nate? What are you talking about? Did something happen at school?” She slid her phone out: no missed calls.
“Yeah. They accused Nate of bullying some other kids. Emily stuck up for him, but they didn’t believe her. That Ms. Driscoll is a piece of work. Acts like she can see into the souls of kids—and she definitely doesn’t like what she sees when it comes to Nate.”
“You went to the school? Why didn’t they call me?”
He wiped his plate with a piece of garlic bread. “Ruby was there. I sent the kids home with her since it was either that or in-school suspension for the rest of the day. Figured it was Friday, so why not.” He broke off. “Ruby didn’t tell you? I assumed you were busy and you sent her in your place—”
“Too busy to take care of my daughter?” she snapped as she dialed Ruby. She turned away to shield Luka from her anger and frustration. “Why am I just now hearing that Emily was sent home from school?” she demanded as soon as Ruby picked up.
“Excuse me for taking care of things so you wouldn’t be interrupted at your very important work,” Ruby answered. “You’re so very welcome. For that and for having two kids stuck inside running around while I fix them lunch.”
“What happened? Why did they call you?” Last thing Leah wanted was for Emily to feel as if she didn’t have time for her—or to learn to rely on Ruby. Because someday, one day, Ruby would let Emily down, would not be there for her—just like she had Leah when Leah was a little girl. More times than she could count.
“Said you’d called to remove Ian as primary and gave them my name instead.”
“Not instead of Ian. Just to add you to the list so you could pick her up. They were meant to move my name to primary contact.”
She could practically hear Ruby’s shrug. “Guess they messed up. Worked out, though—would you have left the hospital to drop everything and go listen to that stuck-up principal get all high and mighty about their zero tolerance rules? Believe me, you were better off without it. Total waste of time.”
“Is Emily all right? What happened? Did someone bully her?”
“As if,” Luka sputtered, earning a glare from Leah.
“She’s fine. I’ll tell you everything when you get home from work.” Ruby was loving this, a chance to prove her superiority as a parent. She hung up on Leah.
Leah turned back to Luka, not certain if she was more embarrassed that he’d seen her blow up at Ruby or that she hadn’t been there when Emily needed her. “I hate her passive-aggressive power plays.”
“Power plays? Tell me about it. I went from living alone, no one to answer to, to moving in with an eighty-three-year-old man who wants to act like he’s still nineteen and an eight-year-old kid who I barely know but am now responsible for. And, oh yeah, don’t forget Janine—old enough to be my mother, raised four kids on her own, so not afraid to tell me exactly how I’m doing everything wrong.”
