by Regan Black
The entire town was traipsing through their home now.
She watched as everyone spoke with him, expressing sympathy and hope for Sylvia’s killer to come to justice. He remained too confident even as he griped about the lack of progress on the case. She’d been too grief-stricken to see the imbalance.
And what on earth had he been saying to Dr. Perez a few minutes ago outside in the yard? She had to know, had to find a way to share her concerns before Zion did something else.
As the doctor passed by, Yolanda stepped into her path. “Thank you so much for being here.” She clasped the doctor’s hands. “It means...” She let her voice trail off, let herself sway to the side.
“Yolanda, you should sit down.” Dr. Perez guided her to a seat closer to the sunshine pouring in through the wall of windows separating the house from the deck. “I understand how important this gathering is, but you shouldn’t overdo.”
“But I slept last night,” she said quietly. “Three hours straight.”
Dr. Perez arched an eyebrow. Not a big movement, but Yolanda was watching for any sign. “Zion told you differently?”
“He was only concerned that you were restless and awake during the night. Your sleeplessness must have coincided.”
Not a chance. Dread danced along her spine. It could be nothing, or it could be the first sign of more trouble.
Dr. Perez pressed a cool hand to her forehead. “I assured him it was simply the medication. Both of you need time and care to heal. I’m sure after this, you’ll sleep soundly tonight.”
“Out of sheer exhaustion,” Yolanda said.
“It becomes a factor, yes,” Dr. Perez agreed.
“That should come as a relief.” Yolanda dabbed at her eyes as hot, angry tears spilled over her lashes. She knew what she had to do. There was only one place she could safely give voice to her worst fears.
And in sharing her theory of a crime, Dr. Perez would have to notify the police.
Glancing around, she saw Zion outside. Now was her best chance of success. “I’ll be fine, doctor.” Standing quickly, she feigned weakness and pitched toward Ana. The doctor caught her.
“Yolanda.” Immediately, Dr. Perez shifted into an assessment. “Yolanda, what is it?”
The people closest to them turned, concern and sympathy stamped on every face. “I feel faint. My vision…” She waved a hand in front of her face. “My goodness. I can’t see so well.”
“Sit down a moment.” Dr. Perez eased her back into the chair, crouching in front of her. She asked a guest for a cool cloth. “We’ll take a minute and see if the symptom passes.”
“A-all right.” She needed the doctor to get her out of this house.
Dr. Perez took her pulse. “Do you have a blood pressure monitor on hand?”
“No,” Yolanda replied. Someone pressed the damp, cool cloth to the back of her neck. “You know Zion and I are in perfect health. Take me to the clinic,” she murmured so only the doctor could hear.
Dr. Perez pursed her lips, meeting her gaze. “Your heart is racing, Yolanda. I’m sure you’re simply overtired, but I’d feel better if you let me take a closer look at the clinic.”
“Oh, but all our guests…”
“They only want to see you well.” Dr. Perez helped her to her feet. “Lean on me now. Your husband can handle things here.”
Yolanda wondered if she’d imagined the hard edge in the doctor’s voice as they moved toward the front door. So far, Zion hadn’t noticed the commotion.
Once in the doctor’s car, Yolanda kept checking the side mirror as they drove away from the house, more than half-afraid she’d see Zion racing after them.
“Are you comfortable?” Dr. Perez queried.
Yolanda nodded. It was all she could do to keep her mouth shut until they were in the exam room at the clinic. A young nurse took her blood pressure and pulse again and Dr. Perez listened to her heart. When they were alone, the door shut, and presumably her medical chart on the tablet the doctor held, she made sure she could speak freely.
“Anything I say in here is confidential, right?”
“In regards to your medical record, yes,” Dr. Perez replied. “If you were to confess to a crime or threaten to hurt yourself I would be obligated to pass that along to the authorities or take appropriate action.”
“Good.” Yolanda steeled herself for the reaction to what she was about to say. “Zion killed Sylvia. I’m sure of it.”
Dr. Perez gaped at her. “Mrs. Cole-“
“It’s true.” She grabbed a tissue, just in case. This wasn’t the time for tears or hysterics. She needed her voice to be clear and strong. “Dr. Perez, you must believe me. I can’t prove it. Yet.” She hopped down from the exam table and paced the small room. “There must be something in his office, or at her house that will link him to the crime. He staged it to look like a robbery, but he killed her. I know it in my heart…in my soul. Can you tell Deputy Chief Holt to investigate Zion? You two are friends, right?”
Dr. Perez had closed her mouth, though her deep brown eyes remained round with surprise. “Right. We are.”
“I’m not crazy.”
“No, Yolanda, you’re not crazy.”
“Then why aren’t you leaping into action? Make the call, I beg you.” Yolanda sat down in the chair, putting her at eye level with the doctor. “You don’t believe me.”
“I’d like to hear why you believe it,” Dr. Perez said with her typical, maddening calm that was usually reassuring.
“He’s locking his office. Hasn’t done that in years. He’s been driving more. I heard him on the phone last night talking about cattle of all things. And he told me.”
Now Dr. Perez’s eyebrows arched. “I beg your pardon?”
She waved her hands in the air as if erasing her chaotic claims. “In order, Yolanda,” she coached herself. She laced her fingers, breathing deep. “Sylvia and Zion were in some sort of a fight just before she died. They’d had disagreements through the years but nothing like this. She refused to be around him at all this time.”
Yolanda wrung her hands, twisting the tissue she held until it crumbled. When she dared to look at Dr. Perez, she didn’t see skepticism or even sympathy in her eyes, but thoughtful consideration.
“Go on,” the doctor said simply.
“Well, I was concerned, naturally. Zion kept telling me it was a business issue. They didn’t see eye to eye about her plans to expand. When the police asked us that…that day, he said there wasn’t any trouble in her business.”
“I didn’t realize she was planning to expand.”
“Neither did I, but I believed him. Sylvia always had big ideas and bigger dreams. Maybe if I hadn’t stuck my head in the sand she’d still be alive. Instead, I told myself to stay out of it.”
“Why?”
“Because business was their connection, their language. I should have seen this time the trouble was different.” Another wave of tears threatened and Yolanda was no match for it this time. Dr. Perez let her sob for several minutes.
“You should tell all of this to the police,” Dr. Perez said quietly. “Once they eliminate Zion as a suspect it will put your mind at ease.”
Yolanda shook her head. “If he hears about my suspicions, if he learns I spoke with anyone, he’ll kill me too.”
“Why would he kill you? He seems to adore you so.”
“To protect his interests, his reputation, his glorious achievements,” she cried. “That’s always been everything to him. The rest of it, the money, the house,” she spread her arms wide, “even Sylvia and me, is all just window-dressing.” She blew out a breath. Standing, she wrapped her arms around her middle. “Dr. Perez, you and Sylvia were close.”
“Yes.”
“Did she ever mention the dog that ran away when she was young?”
“Yes, actually. When I thought about getting a dog, she recommended a cat because they’re happier inside the house and the shedding would keep her in business.”
“That is…”
“Horrific.” Yolanda finished for her. “It took me years to get over it. Sylvie was miserable anyway believing her dog had run off and didn’t love her.” She paused, determined to make her point clear. “He said something in that moment after he’d strangled that poor dog. He said that he’d do anything to protect us.
“Last night, he said those same words to me when he thought I was up after having another nightmare.”
“And you believe his choice of words last night is an admission of guilt?”
“I don’t believe he planned to murder our daughter,” she confessed with a weary shake of her head. “However, I think it reveals his mindset. I cannot fathom the circumstance that would push him to kill his only child or if that is what he was thinking about last night. I do know he’s done something dreadful to protect us from a perceived threat to all we have. I believe killing her was that something.”
Dr. Perez tapped her index finger against the edge of the tablet.
“Please say something,” Yolanda pleaded as the doctor remained silent.
“Do you fear for your life at home alone with Mr. Cole?”
“Not unless he finds out what I’ve told you.”
“Well, he won’t hear it from me.”
“It’s so hard to think, to believe…” She just couldn’t say the words again. “Chief McCabe has implied that Sylvie knew her attacker and she’d let the person into her home. My daughter was too smart to do something like that.”
Dr. Perez said, “If you’d like, I can have you placed under observation here. Once you’re settled in the room, I can arrange for Laney and the chief to come by and take your statement. No one else will ever know. I can even keep Zion from being alone with you.”
Yolanda nodded her agreement with the plan. “Zion won’t like it. He’ll make things difficult for you.”
“I’ll handle it. My job is your health.”
“All right.” She blotted tears from her eyes. What she wouldn’t give to stop crying. “Did Sylvia tell you why she was angry with Zion?”
She watched Dr. Perez carefully. The woman was a professional, to be sure. Competent, kind. Warm and serious. And always honest. Yolanda saw the answer before her world imploded.
“Yes.”
Yolanda struggled to breathe. “She had a very good reason to be angry with her father, didn’t she?”
“Yes.”
Her anguished wail filled the room and this time when Yolanda fainted, it wasn’t an act.
Ana moved swiftly to get Yolanda situated in one of the private suites before Zion was notified that his wife would be staying the night in the clinic.
She had just finished making arrangements with Laney, using the desk phone in her office, when he barged into the clinic. Where was the armed cop in her hallway now that she needed one?
“Let me see her,” Zion demanded, looming over her desk.
“Not yet,” Ana replied. “We’re still assessing her condition and I’ve called in a specialist,” she improvised.
“She needs me,” he insisted. “She’ll feel better knowing I’m with her.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” Ana marveled that she didn’t choke on the words.
Zion could be intimidating when he wanted to be, but her staff knew she was the final authority here. Zion knew it too. Still, he argued his point for several more minutes before she managed to guide him back to an available exam room to wait.
Ana gave him credit. He was either an excellent actor or he was genuinely concerned for his wife. Regardless, she could not discount the allegations piling up against him. She didn’t want to.
She didn’t have much time to come up with a reasonable medical cause for her decision to isolate Yolanda. While he waited in the exam room, she made a few calls and asked a cardiologist to come give a second opinion. Yolanda’s real symptoms and values supported the decision, though she would owe the man a big favor for coming out to the Shutter Lake clinic. Finally, feeling tighter than a bowstring, she invited Zion to her office to discuss the plans with Zion.
She wondered if the voice recorder Sylvia had stowed in her desk had some battery life left. It might help to have documentation of this conversation. Yolanda and Sylvia knew him best and they both considered him capable of heinous, exploitative crimes, including murder. His wife and daughter might not have delivered actionable proof of his crimes, but assuming Zion knew Rojas, Ana wasn’t about to tempt fate.
“What is going on here, Dr. Perez?”
“Your wife had an episode earlier today at your home. She was faint and complained of tunnel vision.”
“I warned you,” Zion snapped. “I stood out there and told you she was in trouble.”
“You did.”
“I want to take her home. She won’t rest here like she will in our bed.”
Ana nodded as if his opinion might actually factor into her decision. “If I was sure we were only dealing with exhaustion, I would send her home right now.”
“What else could it be?”
“We don’t know. That’s why she’s staying here,” Ana replied. “Most likely, if it is exhaustion compounded by grief, fluids and rest will have her up and about in no time. However, her heart was racing and she’s complained of vision trouble. It’s possible the stressful circumstances have triggered an underlying condition. The specialist is on his way. I’m sure you’ll agree it’s in Yolanda’s best interests to remain with us until we know for sure.”
“Yes, of course.” To her shock, tears welled in Zion’s eyes. “I can’t lose her too. She’s everything.”
The declaration gave Ana little comfort. “Good, good.” She stood and came around her desk. “Someone will be with her all night, I promise.”
“Me.” Zion stood as well.
“I’m sorry, no. That’s just not possible. We’ll keep you informed of her progress.”
“You’ll stay with her? Please. Promise me.”
“That’s my plan. I’ll keep you informed and let you know the moment you can see her.”
Once Zion was through the front door, Ana turned to the nurse running reception. “Who’s next?”
“Exam room three. I’ve taken care of the vitals.”
Ana picked up the tablet and tapped the icon to see the patient information. The name and details popped up on the screen. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or weep as she walked into the room.
Chapter Fifteen
Laney glanced over her shoulder as the door opened. The relief on Ana’s face was nearly comical. She might have laughed if she wasn’t still pissed off at her friend for hiding pertinent information on a murder case.
Although, what Ana had eventually given them wasn’t proving all that relevant after all.
“Thanks for coming,” she said.
“A little early for that,” Laney replied. She’d established a makeshift desk on the exam room table and was comparing Ana’s cell phone records with the log from Sylvia’s phone. “Zion didn’t see me come in.”
“Good.” Ana didn’t move, seemingly rooted in place at the center of the room. “Have you found anything helpful?”
“Not so far. There’s no action on Sylvia’s cell phone after six-thirty the evening of October third. She was found by Renata Fernandez between seven-thirty and eight a.m. on the fourth.”
“Time of death was well before Renata found her,” Ana said.
“I’m capable of reading a coroner’s report,” Laney muttered, regretting it immediately. “Sorry. I’m struggling to wrap my head around why Yolanda thinks Zion killed their daughter.”
“I
’m sure she’ll tell you everything. She’s convinced he’s guilty.”
“McCabe is talking with her now.” Laney looked up from the screens. “You said there was something else?”
Ana took a step closer, extending an envelope. “Sylvia left this letter for me.”
Laney hesitated. Whatever it was, Ana wasn’t happy about sharing. “When did you receive it?” If she’d been sitting on this too, Laney might actually charge her with obstruction, to hell with McCabe’s sensibilities.
“Today. Just before I went over to the Coles for the reception.” She wrapped her arms around her middle as if she’d taken a punch to the gut.
She turned the envelope over. “There’s no postmark.”
“Just read it,” Ana pleaded.
Laney did. Then she read it again. Maybe her friend had been sucker punched, she thought, reading through it a third time. Assuming Sylvia wasn’t paranoid or delusional, this letter identified her father as the probable killer. “I’ll need to keep this.”
“I figured as much.”
“She left this with Mr. Duval?”
Ana nodded.
“And the voice-recorder and flash drive?”
“I have both.” She reached into her pocket and withdrew a colorful unicorn-shaped flash drive and what appeared to be a normal pen. “I tried to get the voice recorder she planted in Zion’s office during the reception, but the door was locked.”
“And?” Laney prompted. Her friend didn’t have much of a poker face lately.
“And I uploaded the flash drive to a secure cloud, just in case something happened. An account only I can access.”
Laney pocketed the devices and looked back at the letter. “What does she mean about blowback?”
“In the past, I’ve had run-ins with unsavory people who mistreated and enslaved women and girls. People who would kill me if they found me.”
