His Right Hand by Mette Ivie Harrison

Author:Mette Ivie Harrison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Crime Fiction
Publisher: Soho Press
Published: 2016-07-29T18:36:52+00:00

Chapter 21

Wednesday morning, the police picked up Grant Rhodes for questioning. The news spread quickly through the ward, and as soon as it reached me, I called Kurt.

“If this is about Grant Rhodes, I’ve already heard,” he said.

“Do you think he might be guilty?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I thought they believed it was a woman,” said Kurt.

We had both thought the police had Emma Ashby in their sights. But why bring Grant in if they thought that? Had Detective Gore changed her mind after talking to me on Monday?

I tried to restrain myself for a couple of hours, but eventually called Emma and asked her if I could come over. I didn’t tell her why. She sounded too tired to say no to anything, and I decided to take advantage of that.

“How are you doing today?” I asked politely when I got there.

She looked terrible. I wondered if she had eaten a full meal since Carl had died. She was thinner than ever, and she had dark shadows under her eyes. Her nose was red and raw, and every movement she made seemed startled, like that of a wild animal.

“I got a call from the life insurance company,” she said as she let me inside.

“Oh.” I said noncommittaly, hoping desperately they weren’t calling to tell her that her marriage with Carl had never been legal and that they were arguing fraud to deny her the money. I followed her to the kitchen, where she sat holding a cup of water I never saw her drink from.

“They said that their internal reporting structure requires an investigation on any suspicious death unless there is a finished police investigation that clearly identifies the perpetrator of the crime.” She didn’t look at me, as if doing so would make her more likely to burst into tears.

I was suspicious of this explanation. It sounded like a delaying tactic. Clearly, there was a political battle being waged here, and I could only see part of it. Kurt said President Frost was friends with the chief of police and had asked him to keep certain things from the media. Was he also keeping them from arresting Emma? Was that why I’d had that bizarre conversation with Detective Gore on Monday?

“I’m so sorry,” I said, still unable to see Emma as a murderer. Those tiny arms, those small hands, choking Carl with a pink scarf? And then calling me and Kurt not long after, with innocence and terror in her voice? It made no sense.

“I want to know what you think of me calling a lawyer. Someone who can defend me against the terrible things that are being implied.” Her voice wavered, and I felt protective of her again.

“A lawyer sounds like a good idea to me at this point,” I said. I wondered if a lawyer would instantly see all the legal problems here, and get to work on them without telling Emma. I hoped so.

“You don’t think it will make me look bad to the insurance company?” She was back to her pleading uncertainty.

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