Sisters

TWENTY-TWO




She heard a murmur of voices, and thought that they were talking about her. But she didn’t recognize them, and couldn’t make out what they were saying. She wanted to see who it was. She wanted to ask them something. But what was it she wanted to ask?

Alex forced herself to open her eyes. The very act of raising her eyelids was painful. She blinked and looked around the room where she lay. It was completely unfamiliar, but she knew that it had to be a hospital. There were machines attached to her by lines, blinking neon numbers and whooshing sounds. She had absolutely no memory of arriving here.

She tried to move and gasped with the pain of it. She realized that she was encircled with gauze and tape, and she felt as if someone had sawn her in half, like one of those magician’s assistants.

She let out a whimpering cry. Anything more would have hurt too much. A blonde, heavyset nurse in scrubs appeared in the door to her room and hurried over to Alex’s bedside. She peered at Alex, and smiled when she saw that her eyes were open.

‘Hey, there,’ said the nurse. ‘You decided to come back to us.’

Alex tried to speak but her lips were dry. The nurse picked up a glass with a straw and gave her a sip. Alex wanted to suck down every drop of water in it but the nurse wrestled it away from her.

‘Don’t overdo it. Just take it easy.’

‘Where am I?’

‘Boston General. They brought you here by ambulance.’

Suddenly Alex had a dim recollection of lying on a gurney during a bumpy ride, and a person dressed in a blue uniform yelling questions at her over the sound of sirens as they raced along. ‘What happened?’ she asked.

‘You don’t remember?’

Alex shook her head.

‘You were stabbed in the back,’ said the nurse.

‘When?’

‘During the night,’ she replied.

Alex’s brain started to clear. ‘Someone was in the house,’ she whispered. She remembered hearing Remus, and coming down to the kitchen. Something else . . .

‘Whoever did it left you there to die, but apparently your dog wouldn’t stop barking and finally one of the neighbors called the police. By the time they found you, you’d lost an awful lot of blood.’

Remus, she thought. He saved me.

‘Doctor Pandava will be in to tell you all about it. I’m going to let him know that you’re awake.’

No, Alex wanted to cry out. Stay here. Tell me what happened. But the nurse had disappeared from the room. Does anyone know I’m here? she thought. And . . . She felt her stomach lurch at the next thought. Who had done this to her?

The door to her room opened and Alex looked up in alarm. ‘Who is it?’ she asked.

A short, good-looking doctor with tobacco-colored skin approached her bed. ‘I am Doctor Pandava,’ he said in a lilting accent. ‘I was the attending last night when they brought you in, Ms Woods.’

‘Thank you,’ said Alex, although she didn’t exactly know what she was thanking him for.

‘No problem.’

‘What happened to me?’

‘You were stabbed a number of times with some kind of carving knife. You suffered some very large lacerations and several deep wounds in the attack. We sewed you up. It took quite a few stitches. And you lost a great deal of blood. We had to give you a transfusion. As well as medication for the pain, and antibiotics, to avoid the possibility of infection.’

Alex grimaced.

‘Luckily and miraculously, none of your vital organs were lacerated in the attack. All in all, you were quite lucky.’

‘Lucky,’ Alex murmured.

‘All in all,’ he repeated pleasantly.

‘I guess so,’ said Alex. ‘Is it all right for me to move around? It’s pretty painful.’

‘The more you move around, the quicker you’ll heal,’ he said. ‘You can be released tomorrow morning. The nurse will give you instructions. You need to take it easy. No strenuous exercise for at least a week. I’ll want to see you next week for a check-up. The nurse will give you all the paperwork.’

‘Thank you, Doctor,’ said Alex humbly.

‘No problem,’ he repeated, smiling. ‘I’ll check on you in the morning before you leave.’

Alex nodded as he left. She picked up the glass of water and sipped at it again. It tasted delicious to her. The doctor’s matter-of-factness was extremely reassuring. He made it sound as if this pain was just a temporary setback and that she would recover in no time. But she still felt a little disoriented and, admittedly, a bit sorry for herself. There didn’t seem to be anyone waiting for her. She wondered if Seth knew what had happened.

Or Louis Orenstein. She suddenly panicked. This would have been her second day on the job. She didn’t want to get fired already. She wondered vaguely where her phone was, but there was no reason to think it was here in the hospital. She hadn’t exactly had a chance to collect her things before she was carried out of her house.

Just then the door opened again and the nurse came in. ‘You up for a little more company?’ she asked.

‘I guess,’ said Alex.

‘There are some gentlemen here from the police who want to talk to you.’

‘Oh, all right,’ she said. ‘Um, before they come in, could someone call my work and tell my boss where I am? His name is Louis Orenstein.’

‘I’ll ask your uncle. He’s out in the waiting area. But he probably already took care of it.’

‘My uncle’s here?’ Alex said.

‘Been here most of the night. Your neighbor called him when they brought you in.’

‘Can I see him?’ Alex asked hopefully.

‘You’d better talk to the police first. Then you can see your family.’ With that the nurse turned and disappeared from the room. In a few moments she was back with the two detectives in tow that Alex had met at the Colsons’ apartment. The white detective tilted his head to look at her.

‘Ms Woods? Do you remember us? We met at the Colsons. I’m Lieutenant Spagnola. This is Detective Langford. We’re cooperating with the Chichester police. We have a few questions for you about the incident at your home last night.’

‘OK,’ said Alex, although she suddenly felt extremely unsteady. ‘I’ll try and help.’

Spagnola took a pad and pen out of his coat pocket. ‘OK, Ms Woods. First off, do you know who did this to you?’

She hated the fact that Dory’s face leapt to mind. ‘No,’ she said firmly.

‘Can you describe the person who attacked you?’

‘I didn’t see them,’ said Alex.

‘You live alone in the house?’

Alex thought about explaining, and then decided against it. ‘Yes,’ she said.

‘We heard you haven’t got much in the way of security there.’

‘It’s Chichester,’ said Alex wearily. ‘It’s always been safe.’

‘Whoever entered the house came in through the back door. Apparently they opened the lock with a credit card. My colleague in Chichester said that it’s a very inadequate lock.’

Alex was beginning to feel as if they were blaming her for being stabbed in her own home. ‘I’ll get it replaced,’ she said with a sigh.

‘Or perhaps they had a key,’ he said. ‘Does anyone else have a key to your house?’

Alex felt anxious. ‘My neighbor across the street,’ she said.

‘Mrs Thompson. She’s the one who called the police.’

‘My Uncle Brian has a key.’

‘Oh, yes, we spoke to your uncle. He’s out in the waiting room. He told us that your half-sister was staying with you. And, of course, your half-sister is Dory Colson.’

Alex nodded slowly. ‘She was staying with me. But, as you know, she went back to her parents yesterday.’

‘Is there any reason you can think of for why she might want to hurt you?’

Alex thought about Dory dragging her suitcases out last night, berating her for her relationship with Seth. She thought of it, but she hesitated to say it. It would take almost nothing for the police to turn their suspicions on Dory.

‘Ms Woods?’

‘I . . . don’t think so.’

‘All right. Tell us what happened. Tell us about the attack.’

Alex drew in a deep breath. ‘I was in bed, asleep. I heard Remus barking. He barks a lot so I didn’t go down right away. But he kept it up. So I went downstairs. I found him in the kitchen. He seemed to be barking at the pantry door. I thought maybe he heard a mouse in there.’

‘And then what?’ asked Detective Spagnola.

‘Then I . . .’ Alex tried to remember. Suddenly it came back to her. ‘I saw something on the floor. I thought it might be what Remus was barking at. You know, a mouse or a rat or something. I tried poking at it, but then I realized it wasn’t a living thing. So, I . . . picked it up.’

‘What was it?’ the detective asked.

‘It was a piece of liver, as far as I could figure out,’ said Alex.

‘When the ambulance came to get you, they found you lying on top of a piece of raw liver.’

‘It was gross,’ said Alex, grimacing.

‘It was poisoned,’ said the detective.

Alex started. ‘What? Poisoned? With what?’

Spagnola shook his head. ‘We’re waiting for the test results. It had a coating of some kind of granulated powder on one side of it. We think it was meant for the dog, to silence him. But for some reason, the dog didn’t eat it. When you were stabbed and landed on top of it, your attacker was forced to leave it there and flee.’

‘What a sick thing to do,’ said Alex.

‘We suspect that the dog chased your assailant out of the house. He may even have bitten the assailant in the course of this struggle. We found some navy-blue fibres snagged on the dog’s collar that may have got there when he was struggling with the intruder.’

‘Wow,’ said Alex. ‘He did prove to be a guard dog.’

‘Excuse me?’ Spagnola asked.

‘It’s just that when my sister got him, she said he would protect us. Sure enough, he did.’

Spagnola nodded. ‘So, as far as we can tell, nothing of value was taken. Of course, the intruder planned to get the dog out of the way with that poisoned liver, but the dog did not cooperate. They left without taking anything, possibly because they had no other choice. They may have intended to come in and to work quickly and quietly and get out. And you might have slept through it all.’

Alex nodded. ‘I see.’

Spagnola frowned. ‘Now, do you keep anything valuable in the house which might have been targeted by the intruder?’

Alex shook her head slowly. ‘Since my parents died the house has sat empty for months. My uncle and I were careful not to leave anything of value there after the funeral because I was heading back out west to school.’

‘Strange that they would target the house while you were in it. After it had been sitting empty for months,’ mused Spagnola.

‘Yes, it is,’ said Alex.

‘Unfortunately the nature of the attack makes us wonder if perhaps you yourself were the intended victim.’ Spagnola smoothed down his mustache and looked over his notes. ‘So is there anyone you know of who might have wanted to hurt you? Were you and Dory Colson having any problems . . .’

Alex shook her head. ‘It wasn’t my sister,’ she said.

‘You seem very sure of that.’

‘I am,’ said Alex. ‘Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that she’s so fond of me. But she is an animal lover. I can tell you right now that she would never poison a dog.’

‘There’s always a first time,’ said Spagnola.

Alex shook her head and pains shot through her. ‘No. Never. That’s just not possible.’

‘All right,’ said Spagnola. ‘Moving on. Anybody else you can think of?’

‘I hardly know anybody else around here,’ said Alex. ‘I’ve been away at college and grad school. I’ve lost touch with the people I used to know. Well, except for my neighbors. And my family.’

‘What about boyfriends? Lovers? Any nasty break-ups where somebody might be holding a grudge?’

Immediately Alex thought of Seth. He wasn’t actually her lover. Not yet. And they were not breaking up, they were just beginning. No, she thought. There was no point in even mentioning Seth. ‘Nobody,’ she said.

‘All right,’ said Spagnola, standing up. ‘They’ve got a team going over the house now, collecting fingerprints and footprints, etc. If there’s anything to be found, they’ll find it. If you think of anything relevant, don’t hesitate to call me.’ He handed Alex his card. Alex thanked him and set it down on the elevated tray beside her bed.

The two policemen left, encountering Alex’s uncle, Brian, coming through the door. He looked tired and unshaven. He rushed over to her bed, ready to hug her, but Alex raised her hands in warning. ‘I can’t do a hug. Not right at the moment.’

Uncle Brian heeded the warning and pulled a chair up beside her bed. He rubbed the back of her hand with his index finger and smiled at her sadly. ‘Alex, I feel like this is all my fault. I should have insisted you stay with us.’

‘Don’t say that,’ she said. ‘I was fine until this happened.’

‘I should have stopped you,’ he said. ‘When you went looking for Dory I should have stopped you. She’s as crazy as that boy who fathered her. I’ll never forgive myself.’

‘Uncle Brian, it wasn’t Dory who did this.’

‘Of course it was. It’s the same thing she did to her other sister. Only that one she killed,’ he exclaimed.

‘No, it wasn’t.’

‘I don’t know how you can say that. It’s exactly the same. I told the police all about it. You helped that lunatic to get out of jail, and you took her in. This is the thanks you get.’

‘Uncle Brian, will you listen to me?’

Brian shook his head. ‘Sorry. I’m exhausted. I’ve been here most of the night. Since Laney called me.’

‘I know,’ said Alex. ‘I’m very grateful that you came.’

‘I just kept going over it in my mind,’ he said. ‘Wondering why I didn’t insist . . .’

‘You didn’t insist because you know I’m a grown-up and you can’t tell me what to do,’ said Alex.

‘It was just lucky that you had that dog,’ said Brian, shaking his head.

‘Dory brought the dog in,’ said Alex.

‘Yeah, and according to the cops, she tried to poison it so she could get at you without the dog to stop her.’

‘That’s exactly how I know that it wasn’t her,’ said Alex. ‘She would never poison a dog. She loves animals more than people. She would rather poison herself.’

‘You don’t know that,’ Brian objected. ‘What if she’s a psychopath, and she doesn’t care who she hurts?’

‘I just don’t think so,’ Alex insisted.

‘Well, whatever,’ he said. ‘These cops are going to question her. They’ll get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile, we need to get you out of here. They said you can be released tomorrow. So I’m going to head home and help your Aunt Jean get everything ready and I’ll be back for you in the morning.’

‘What do you mean, get everything ready?’ Alex asked.

‘At our house,’ he said. ‘You’re coming home with me.’

Alex shook her head. ‘Uncle Brian, that is sweet, but no. I’m not.’

‘You can’t be alone in that house.’

‘I won’t be alone. Laney is right across the street.’

‘Fat lot of good Laney did you when that lunatic was hiding in your pantry!’ he cried.

‘Obviously we’re all going to be a lot more on our guard after this. But I have a job I have to get to. And there’s someone I care about – a guy I’m seeing now – who will be back any day . . . If I call him and tell him, I’m sure he will hurry and get back here.’

Brian held up a hand. ‘Hold it,’ he said. ‘Hold it. Alex, we almost lost you last night. You almost got killed in that house. Now you want to stay there by yourself.’

‘I don’t want to stay by myself . . .’ Alex admitted.

‘Then there’s nothing to discuss. You’ll come home with me.’

Alex shook her head. ‘I can’t do that,’ she insisted, feigning a confidence which she did not really feel. ‘I don’t want to run away.’

Brian raised his voice and wagged a finger at her. ‘Alex, you listen to me. You are not going to spend a night alone in that house. I won’t allow it.’

‘She doesn’t have to.’

Alex and Brian both looked up.

Dory stood in the doorway to the room, watching them coolly. ‘I can stay with her,’ she said.