Chapter 20
“Because she had given the drink to someone else,” Nora said. “A friend was driving the boat.”
I stared at her.
“How does that change anything?”
“It changes the timeline. The friend left before the accident. Lily was trying to protect her.”
Dr. Patel shook her head.
“The medical outcome would not have changed.”
“I know,” Nora said. “But Marcus didn’t.”
The words were directed at me now.
“He thought he had missed something. He thought he had caused her death. He kept asking us whether she had shown any signs of distress before the accident. He thought maybe the truth was in her history somewhere.”
“Because he believed he could have treated her differently?”
“Yes.”
Nora looked down at the envelope.
“Lily wrote that she was scared of disappointing everyone. She wrote that Marcus had been kind to her. She said he spoke to her like she was a person, not a case.”
Dr. Patel closed her eyes.
“Why didn’t you bring this to the hospital?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Several times. Marcus wouldn’t see me.”
I looked toward Dr. Patel.
She nodded reluctantly.
“He asked staff not to schedule further meetings with Nora until the legal review was complete.”
Nora’s face twisted.
“He thought I was accusing him.”
“Were you?” I asked.
“At first.”
The answer was quiet.
“I was grieving. I needed someone to blame. The hospital was there. Marcus was the name I knew. But then I found the letter, and I realized he had been carrying guilt for something that wasn’t his fault.”
She looked at me through the glass.
“I wanted to tell him before the surgery.”
“You could have called.”
“I did. He didn’t answer.”
“He didn’t answer anyone.”
“I know that now.”
A police car turned onto the street.
Nora stepped back from the door.
“I’ll leave.”
“You should.”
She nodded.
Then she held out the envelope.
“Please give this to him.”
I did not open the door.
“Leave it on the porch.”
She placed it beneath the camera and walked down the steps.
The police officers spoke with her at the sidewalk. I explained what had happened. Nora did not resist or argue. She handed them her identification and answered every question.
Before she left, she looked back at the house.
Not at me.
At the upstairs window where Emily’s room was.
Something about the gesture made me step outside.
The officers remained nearby.