“I shouldn’t have talked to you about all of this,” said her mother. “I don’t want you to worry about me. There’s nothing wrong with being sad. It’s just one of those things that happens sometimes. It’s not anyone’s fault.”
She touched Lisa’s cheek and went into the kitchen. Lisa retreated to Veronica’s room. To her relief, Veronica was gone because she was playing with Stephen in the back yard. Lisa stared out the window and brooded until it was almost time for dinner, and then she went downstairs to see if her mother needed any help. To her surprise, no preparations for the meal had been made.
“Lisa,” said her father. “I was about to come looking for you. Maybe you can help me. Your mother said she wasn’t feeling well, so she went to bed, but it’s been a while since I’ve cooked anything, and I don’t even know where to start. Your mother hasn’t been doing a very good job keeping up with the grocery shopping, and it looks like we’re running out of a few things.”
“What do you mean she said she wasn’t feeling well?” said Lisa.
The tentative smile on her father’s face vanished. Lisa crossed her arms and waited. She suspected he was thinking up a lie to guarantee her cooperation, and she despised him for trying to manipulate her.
“She didn’t say what was wrong,” he said.
“You’re a doctor,” said Lisa. “Figure it out.”
“Lisa, don’t be rude,” he said. “It’s the same thing it’s always been, and it’s not going to get better any time soon. That’s just the way it is. Ever since your grandmother died, your mother has been struggling to cope. I’m sorry. I wish I could turn back the clock to a happier time, but I don’t have that kind of power.”
“So you’re just going to pretend everything’s okay?” said Lisa.
“No,” he said, “but your grandmother would want us to be happy.”
“I’ve been wondering,” said Lisa. “What exactly happened to her the night she died?”
Her father frowned.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Your mother didn’t want to have an autopsy done on her. I suspect her heart finally gave out, but it could have been anything.”
“Including murder?”
The question hung in the air between them. His face was a mask of confusion. Lisa felt like she was trapped in a nightmare. He had become a monster. She had never been afraid of him before, but she was afraid of him now, even though nothing about him had changed. She backed away until she came to a stop against the cabinet. He didn’t move. Lisa saw her heart beating in the pulsating distortion of her vision.
“Lisa, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
“Yes, you do,” she said. “I heard Josh’s mother threatening you.”
Why she was defining other people in terms of Josh, she was too agitated to wonder. She waited for her father to confess, but he didn’t. He just stood there and stared at her, looking progressively more tired, until she would have felt concerned about him if she hadn’t found him so contemptible.
“Lisa, it’s not what you think,” he said.
“No one expected her to die except you,” said Lisa. “She was going to go to a nursing home the very next day. She might have gotten better if you’d given her a chance, but you didn’t want to bother with her, so you killed her.”
“That’s not true,” he said. “If there had been any hope, I would have done everything in my power to fix her, but she was too sick. I know you’re too young to understand, Lisa, but she didn’t want to live like that. She was suffering terribly. I gave her some medicine to help her rest. That was all.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Lisa. “You told me and Veronica to say goodbye to her that night when we visited because you knew what was going to happen. You planned it all along. I heard you arguing with Mom about what to do with her. Mom was willing to take care of her for as long as possible, but you wanted to get rid of her. You basically said you wanted to let her starve to death.”
“No, I said it was cruel to put a feeding tube in her stomach without her consent,” he said. “Try to look at it from her point of view. Her quality of life would have been nonexistent. Keeping someone alive like that is selfish.”
Lisa realized she was fighting a losing battle. He would always be justified in his own eyes. She finally understood why her mother never bothered to argue with him, but she felt like she couldn’t surrender to him without destroying herself in the process. She forced herself to look him in the face.
“I know what you’re planning to do to Josh’s mother,” she said.
“You know too much for your own good,” he said with a sigh. “Unfortunately, it’s out of my control. I’m not happy about it either, but Sabrina has made her decision, and there’s nothing I can do.”
“Tell her you won’t do it,” said Lisa. “It’s insane. You shouldn’t let her push you around. If you’re so scared of Mom finding out what you did, maybe I’ll talk to her for you. I think she deserves to know.”
She expected him to disintegrate, but he didn’t.
“You won’t do that,” he said. “If you say one word about it to anyone, the family you love so much will be ripped into pieces. Your mother will be devastated, but you and your sister will suffer the most, and you’ll have to live with the knowledge that if you’d only kept your mouth shut, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“This isn’t my fault,” said Lisa.
“I know,” he said, “but it’s your responsibility not to make it worse.”
Lisa had never been more frustrated, but she knew he was right. The thought of losing her family, even though it was far from perfect, was something she couldn’t face. She turned away from him, hating herself for being so weak.
“I won’t say anything,” she said. “Your secret is safe with me, but I’ll never forgive you for putting this burden on me.”
“You have every right to feel that way,” he said in a voice that could have either been gentle or patronizing. “I’m not perfect, and I’ve made many mistakes during my life, but as you get older, you’ll discover the world is far more complicated than you think. Maybe then, you’ll realize I did the best I could.”
His arrogance disgusted Lisa. She tried to be sarcastic to hide her despair, but she felt like dissolving into a flood of tears.
“In that case, it looks like you don’t need my help making dinner after all,” she said. “If it turns out to be a disgusting mess, you can just tell everyone you tried, and I’m sure they’ll understand. I’m going to go see Molly. Don’t worry. If Graham is there, I won’t tell him what you’re up to. He’ll find out on his own easily enough when Josh’s mother dies, and you go to prison.”
She left the house. There was no resolution in sight. Her knowledge had done nothing but cripple her. How could she ever face her mother again? With the weight of the world on her shoulders, she arrived at Molly’s house and knocked on the door. The garden gnome was still standing on the porch, but she ignored it. The door opened almost immediately, and Molly popped out.
“Lisa,” she said. “I was just thinking about you. I’ve been worried half to death about you ever since you ran off so suddenly last week, and we didn’t get to talk when your family came over for dinner. Isn’t it exciting that you have visitors? You’ll have to tell me all about them. I saw you playing on the beach with all your new little friends earlier today. When will I get to meet them?”
“I don’t know,” said Lisa. “They’re not very polite. I’m sure they’ll invite themselves over eventually.”
“That’s fine with me,” said Molly. She pulled out a chair. “Please, get comfortable. I was just sitting down to eat dinner. I made enough for two, but Graham’s not here. He said his boss needed him for something. He was very apologetic.”
Lisa wasn’t surprised, but Molly didn’t seem upset, which didn’t make sense. In fact, she was behaving in an even more bizarre manner than usual, waving her hand around in front of Lisa’s face until Lisa was
eventually forced to look at it, and when she did, she saw an enormous diamond ring catching the light and flinging it back at her with all the glittering brilliance of the sun. As she stared at the ring in disbelief, Molly began to laugh.
“Graham’s the most special man I’ve ever met,” she said. “He told me he knew it was too soon to ask me to marry him, but he couldn’t ignore his feelings for me any longer. It felt like a fairy tale. He got down on one knee, and it was just like a dream.”
“When did this happen?” said Lisa in bewilderment. She hoped Molly would provide her with evidence that Graham had not been hiding in the fort that morning, even though she knew Molly was too vague to be a reliable source of information.
“He left a little while ago,” said Molly. “We were planning to eat breakfast together, but he didn’t show up. When he finally stopped by the house this afternoon, he was a dreadful sight. He was completely covered with sand. His shoes were all soggy, and his suit was practically ruined. He said he had tried to set up a romantic proposal on the water, but the boat somehow got lost. He was so afraid of being rejected that he was trembling.”
Lisa tried to modify her opinion of Graham to compensate for his trepidation and found that she was not comforted. If he and Molly got married, he would be in the vicinity for an indefinite period of time. Molly had made it clear that he was not from the local area. It made no sense for him to suddenly put down roots.
“He’s not taking you away, is he?” she said.
“No, of course not,” said Molly. “He’s going to live here with me. There’s plenty of room, and the house won’t be nearly as lonely with him around. He’s not going to move in until after the wedding—speaking of which, we’ve already made some plans. One of Graham’s friends is the caretaker of an old mansion on the other side of the river. We’re going to have the ceremony there.”
“Hamilton Estate?” said Lisa.
“Yes,” said Molly. “How did you know? Graham showed me some pictures, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It looks just like a castle. I’m so excited! Lisa, will you be my maid of honor? You’re like the daughter I never had.”
Lisa didn’t want to be complicit in the permanent integration of Graham into her life, but she couldn’t bear to disappoint Molly, so she agreed. Molly’s excitement bubbled over in a series of shrill giggles that eventually compelled her to sit down and catch her breath before she could speak again.
“I never imagined something like this could happen,” she said. “We’ll have so much fun picking out dresses and flowers and music and decorations. I was thinking we could put little garden gnomes on the tables.”
Lisa shrugged. “If that’s what you want,” she said.
“You’re excited about the wedding, aren’t you?” said Molly.
Lisa heard the change in her voice and looked up. Molly’s eyes pleaded for approval. Lisa decided her life was so messed up already that Molly and Graham getting married couldn’t make it any worse. She didn’t want to ruin Molly’s happiness. Besides, the wedding would provide a distraction from everything else.
“I think it will be wonderful,” she said.
Chapter 5
At breakfast the next morning, Sabrina informed her children that she had cancer and that the family would remain in Silvertree indefinitely so she could get the best treatment. She made the announcement with a surprising degree of gentleness, but she couldn’t conceal the severity of the situation. Stephen was too upset to eat. He sat there looking positively ill while Veronica attempted to comfort him. Shannon and Josh were also visibly devastated. Only Yvonne remained cheerful because she didn’t understand.
Despite her hatred for Sabrina, Lisa couldn’t find anything to smile about. Sabrina’s demise seemed inevitable, but there was no resolution in sight. Her parents refused to speak to each other. Lisa hoped they were merely preoccupied, but she suspected their fragile relationship was creeping toward the breaking point because of Sabrina, and she wondered how much longer they could live together in misery.
Arthur held Yvonne in his arms, but he didn’t pay any attention to her. Richard stared down at his newspaper. His eyes didn’t move across the page. The only one who seemed to be alive was Sabrina, even though she was no longer able to maintain the illusion of health. Her face was pale, and she fidgeted in her chair.
“School will start again in a couple of days,” she said to Josh, Shannon, and Stephen. “You’ll be going to the same place as Lisa and Veronica. Your dad and I are meeting with the director this morning to figure out your schedules and get everything sorted out. The circumstances are unfortunate, but I’ve always wanted to send you to a private school, and I’m sure you’ll like it. Nora has kindly offered to take you to the uniform store this afternoon and get you whatever you need.”
Lisa couldn’t understand why her mother was being so nice, and she stopped concealing her irritation, although her father kept frowning in her direction. He clearly wanted everyone to shut up and play along, but she wasn’t planning to cooperate with him. She tried to think of a way to cause trouble, and an opportunity presented itself sooner than she expected.
“Do we really have to wear uniforms?” said Shannon.
“The school has high standards,” said Sabrina. “It will encourage you to do your best. You can’t just wear whatever you want and expect to perform up to your full potential. Those ratty jeans you like so much have probably already damaged your future prospects, although we won’t know for sure until your college applications are evaluated. It’s high time you started dressing like a civilized young woman.”
“What do you mean by civilized?” said Shannon.
“Just follow Lisa’s example,” said Sabrina.
Shannon gave Lisa a withering look.
“I think it’s stupid,” she said. “How am I supposed to learn anything if I’m dressed up like a carnival monkey?”
“You’ll look just like all the other students,” said Sabrina.
“I hope not,” said Shannon. “No offense, but they sound like a bunch of entitled brats. Sorry, Lisa. I’m sure you’re a nice girl, but I’m not planning to marry a slimy politician and spend the rest of my life looking pretty at charity events.”
“It’s fine,” said Lisa. “Even if you look like us, you’ll never actually belong here.”
She saw the pain on Shannon’s face and felt a twinge of guilt that she quickly stifled. She had discovered Shannon’s weakness. Maybe the others were equally as vulnerable. She began to entertain the hope that Sabrina and her family would leave if they were sufficiently provoked, but an enormous amount of medical equipment was delivered to the house that afternoon, and she gave up in despair.
Her father made sure everything was perfect. The room that had belonged to Lisa’s grandmother was transformed into a bleak sickroom. The furniture was removed to make a space for a hospital bed, and the paintings that had adorned the walls were taken down. From Veronica’s room at the other end of the hall, Lisa could smell the stench of disinfectant. She opened the windows to let in the odor of the sea and sat there shivering on the bed, staring at the empty beach and wishing she were somewhere else.
While she watched, a strange car pulled into the driveway, and a woman climbed out. She was short and stout, and her hair was pulled back into a rather severe bun, but her face looked pleasant enough despite her serious expression. She removed a suitcase from the trunk, strode up to the house, and rang the doorbell. Lisa heard Richard’s voice floating up through the air.
“Agnes,” he said. “Thank you for coming.”
“Not so fast,” she said. Her voice was confident to the point of being harsh, and Lisa wondered how Sabrina would react to a personality almost as overbearing as her own. “I’m not entirely sold on the idea. Are you out of your mind?”
“Probably,” said Richard, “but Sabrina is stubborn, and she’s not going to take no for an answer. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t listen.”
“So w
hat’s in it for you?” said Agnes.
Lisa had been wondering exactly the same thing, and she couldn’t make up her mind about Richard’s character until she knew the answer. She suspected he harbored a perverse curiosity about the drug due to his former association with Peterson, but she hoped there was a more innocent explanation.
“It’s simple,” said Richard. “Arthur and I have been estranged for longer than I care to admit, and this is an opportunity for me to spend some time with him.”
“By killing his wife?” said Agnes. “I’m not sure that’s the best approach, especially if you’re trying to establish a lasting connection with him. Let’s talk about him for a minute. Is he really on board with this whole thing, or is he just going along with it because he doesn’t know what else to do?”
“I’m afraid the latter is significantly more likely,” said Richard. “Either way, he won’t jeopardize his relationship with Sabrina for any reason. He’ll support her no matter what she decides to do.”
“I see,” said Agnes. “He’s afraid of losing her, and you’re afraid of losing him. That’s a nasty game she’s playing, and I don’t like it. What’s she got on the doctor?”
“Andrew?” said Richard. “Nothing, as far as I know.”
“Come on, Richard,” said Agnes. “Don’t be naive. It doesn’t make sense for someone in his position to take such a horrible risk. She’s got to be holding something over his head, and I want to know what it is. I’m perfectly capable of keeping it a secret if it’s of a personal nature, but I’m not staying here unless I know nothing shady is going on.”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” said Richard. “I understand why you’re concerned, but Andrew is one of the most conscientious people I’ve ever met. He doesn’t have anything to offer Sabrina, so he’s letting her call the shots instead. It’s a compassionate decision, even if it’s stupid. You’ll see what I mean once you meet him.”
The Patient from Silvertree: Book One in the Silvertree Series Page 6
