Page 160 of Dying to Meet You
“That sounds like a great idea,” I agree.
“Maybe she’ll want to stay with you tonight,” Harrison suggests in a quiet voice. “If so, I’d stay here with Rowan.”
You don’t have to do that. The words are on the tip of my tongue, but I fall asleep before I can say them.
***
The next time I resurface, it’s because of the urgent tone in Harrison’s voice. He’s having a whispered argument with a hospital worker.
“Sir, I can’t give you any information about another hospital patient. It’s against privacy laws.”
“I’m not asking you for her social security number,” he grinds out. “I just need to know if she’s still a patient in this hospital. Because if she is, I’m not leaving this room.”
Oh.
It hadn’t occurred to me to worry about Beatrice climbing out of bed to finish the job she started.
The nurse lets out a heavy sigh. “There’s a patient on another floor of the hospital with restraints and a policeman stationed outside her door.”
“Thank you,” he says stiffly.
“I can find you an ottoman. You’ll be more comfortable overnight.”
“Much obliged.”
When I wake up again, Harrison asks me what I want for dinner. “Maybe I can get somebody to deliver to the hospital.”
We’re just reviewing our choices when there’s a knock on the door. Officer Riley pokes her head into the room. “Hi, guys. Can I come in?”
Harrison gets a sour look on his face. “Only if you keep your handcuffs to yourself this time.”
She flinches. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. It’s what I came to tell you both.” She walks all the way in and takes a deep breath. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry you had to live through that. We didn’t look closely enough at Beatrice. And I regret it.”
“I didn’t exactly catch on, either,” I admit. “Makes me feel like a fool.”
She shakes her head. “That woman is a gifted liar.”
“Not to mention straight-up crazy,” Harrison mutters.
“It will be a while until we piece together a full picture of what she did,” Riley says. “She’s given us a partial confession—before she halted the interview and asked for a lawyer. But I feel confident that she won’t be a free woman anytime soon.”
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
“Now, regarding Tim...” She gives me a slightly nervous glance. “It seems that Beatrice destroyed most of his notes. But she kept the pages where he wrote about you. They were supposed to, uh...”
“Make my suicide look like heartbreak,” I supply. “She mentioned that.”
Harrison makes a noise of dismay.
“Well...” Riley clears her throat. Then she looks pointedly at Harrison. “Is there any way that Rowan and I could have a private conversation? I want to share something with her, and it’s sensitive.”
To my surprise, he gets right up. “Do me a favor and stay here until I get back, detective? I’m going to get us some dinner.”
“I could do that,” she says.
“Good.” He snaps his fingers. “You’re on duty, officer. Stay sharp.” Then he takes his leave.
Riley waits until the door closes before giving me a funny little smile. “Ex-cons aren’t usually my thing, but he seems like more of a catch than I expected.”
