by Jaden Skye
“Tried? That’s the best you could do?” George focused on Olivia.
Thankfully, one of the doctors intervened. “Olivia was not permitted to be at Todd’s bedside until the very end. She did try, but the patient’s condition was deteriorating too rapidly. Only next of kin are permitted close by at a time like that.”
Olivia knew the pain the family had to be going through. She stepped back, saying nothing. The best thing for now would be to disappear, fade into the woodwork, she thought.
But Craig had other ideas. “You told the hospital you were engaged to my brother?” Craig took threatening steps toward Olivia.
“That’s right,” she answered, growing somewhat fearful now.
“Not only do we know nothing about this so-called engagement, but Todd never mentioned you to us at all,” Craig continued. “Never!”
Both doctors glanced oddly at Olivia.
“We’ve been dating for a little over five months,” Olivia replied in a quivering voice.
“And you got engaged in that short a time?” George joined in as well. “Tell me another! That’s not my son. No woman could play him for a patsy. He was on top of everything, razor sharp.”
George’s mother got up and began walking over to Olivia, outraged as well. His mother was oddly beautiful, even now in her distress. Dressed in a beige silk dress, she was tall and statuesque, with marble skin and flaming blue eyes.
“Wait a minute.” His mother couldn’t talk fast enough. “Tell the truth, young lady. You mean you wished you were engaged to Todd, don’t you? Lots of girls wished that.”
Olivia shuddered. In her horror and pain she realized how odd the engagement had to seem to his family. It was hard to believe, though, that Todd hadn’t said something to someone about her. Olivia remembered then that Todd said he’d told his sister, Deanne, about the relationship. Olivia wondered where Deanne was now.
“I can’t believe you were engaged to my son and he didn’t tell us about it.” His mother breathed harshly. She was an elegant woman, not unlike Olivia’s mother in some ways. Olivia thought that under different circumstances, they would have liked each other very much.
Olivia held her hand out then to show Todd’s mother her engagement ring. “We got engaged last night,” Olivia said softly. “We were planning to call our families with the wonderful news today.”
Craig pulled Olivia’s hand toward him and stared at the ring. “But we didn’t get wonderful news, did we? We found that our brother was dead, killed possibly?” The word hung in the air like a dark thundercloud.
“I’m so sorry this happened,” Olivia murmured. “I have no idea why, absolutely none!”
“And how do we even know Todd gave you this ring?” Craig went on. “You can’t prove it, can you? You can’t prove anything! You weren’t even at his bedside every minute he was at the hospital. For all we know this is a setup of some kind.”
Olivia was aghast. It seemed that the family hated her before they knew her. They wanted her out of their lives before she was ever in it at all.
At that another one of the doctors walked over. “There was nothing at all Olivia could have done to save Todd,” he said, breaking into the escalating tension. “Todd had expert medical care every step of the way. Everything has been well documented.”
Todd’s other brother walked over slowly then. He was slender, with sandy hair, and looked more like his mother.
“I’m Lance,” he said gently to Olivia. “And I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Sorry for her loss?” Craig was outraged.
“That’s going too far, Lance,” Todd’s mother chimed in. “We have no idea who she really is or how she’s involved. This young woman is a stranger to us and always will be.”
“Who knows that Todd didn’t just pick her up casually for a night’s fun?” Craig burst back in.
At that Lance winced. “I believe I recall hearing about Olivia one time,” he piped up, looking at her sorrowfully.
Thank you, thank you, Olivia whispered to Lance in her mind.
“What did you hear? Why didn’t you tell us?” George became agitated again.
“About a month ago, Todd mentioned on the phone that he’d met a beautiful woman,” Lance slowly replied. “He said he was truly happy with her, that his life was now different. She meant a lot to him.”
“That’s nothing new, is it?” Todd’s mother cast a strange glance at Olivia. “He said that many times. Todd was happy with all kinds of women. He didn’t get engaged to them, though, did he? And Todd would never have gotten engaged to someone we hadn’t met. He wouldn’t have hurt us in that way.”
“Insulted us, spit in our face,” George chimed in. “That wasn’t Todd. None of this makes any sense. Nothing!”
Olivia looked over then to see Lance taking her in, as if she were the last link to his brother.
“Is your family here?” Lance suddenly asked Olivia. “You shouldn’t be going through this alone.”
Lance’s words woke Olivia out of the stupor she’d been floating in. “I haven’t called my family yet,” she replied.
“Do you even have a family? Where are you from?” Craig started to close in on her again. “Lance always likes to think the best of everyone, even when they don’t deserve it.”
“Stop it, Craig!” Lance put his hand out in front of him. “We’ll find out all the details later. Little by little everything will emerge. Why not give her the benefit of the doubt, even for a few minutes?”
“Who are you anyway?” Craig turned to Olivia bitterly then. “Where are you from?”
“My family lives in Boston,” Olivia replied. With the exception of Lance, the rest of them seemed heartless. Todd hadn’t warned her about this.
“When will your family come down? Are you going to call them?” George also became focused on Olivia now.
“My family will come down the minute I call them,” Olivia responded.
“Do they know what happened to Todd?” George began muttering. “Do they know you’re engaged? Have they even met my son, ever?”
“No, they don’t know we’re engaged and they’ve never met Todd.” Olivia began to feel bolder. “They didn’t hear much about him, either. We needed the time for ourselves. We spent every minute together.”
“Hiding from something?” George shot back.
“These are all lies, complete lies! I feel it in every pore of my being.” Craig couldn’t stand it for another second.
“Call your family now.” Lance stepped closer to Olivia. “It’s important for them to be here with you. Who knows what’s going to happen next?”
*
To Olivia’s amazement, when she called her family she discovered they already knew something was wrong. Allison had received Olivia’s text saying that Todd was in the hospital first thing in the morning. She’d immediately called Olivia’s mother to warn her. Allison had always felt uneasy about Todd, couldn’t pinpoint why exactly. Probably because she didn’t really know him, Olivia had thought. Allison had only seen Todd that night at her party when he and Olivia met.
“What’s disturbing about him?” Olivia had insisted when Allison mentioned it again. “Did somebody say something to you about him?”
“Not exactly,” Allison had backtracked. “It’s just that he was so different at my party before you arrived. He was playing the room and everyone loved him. But when you arrived, it all stopped. He zeroed in on you totally, and didn’t talk to anyone again. How come?”
Olivia had brushed off Allison’s comment. She’d thought her best friend felt uncomfortable that she and Todd had gotten so close so fast. Allison liked things to proceed gradually.
Now, when Olivia called home, her mother answered the phone swiftly. “What happened? What’s wrong?” she said. “Allison’s warned us of trouble. Mauve and I have been waiting to hear from you with bated breath.”
“Please come down to Key West, Mom,” was all that Olivia could say.
“C
ome down to Key West? Why?” Her mother was rattled. “I have a meeting at the Trayden Club late this afternoon.” The Trayden Club was a charity her mother supported and was instrumental in shepherding.
“Can you come down after the meeting?” Olivia asked abruptly.
“Olivia, what has happened?” Her mother now sounded half irate, half terrified.
“The man I came down here with for the weekend has died suddenly,” Olivia answered, though it was incredibly painful to actually say those words out loud.
“What?” Her mother sounded horrified. “What man? Who?”
“It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later,” Olivia whispered.
“He died? A young man?” Her mother kept on though.
“Yes, suddenly. Not sure yet why,” said Olivia.
“Not again!” Her mother now sounded frantic. “Does anyone know why? Was it an accident? Had he been battling a long illness?”
“They’re suspecting food poisoning,” Olivia reported, “but it’s not certain yet.”
“Food poisoning? Where did he get that? Who is he, anyway? Do I know him?” Her mother seemed more and more alarmed.
“You never met him,” Olivia said more softly. “Listen, go to your meeting and then take a flight down. I need you here.” It was hard telling her mother she needed her, but in fact, it was so.
“Why do you need me there for?” Her mother seemed startled. “Just come home.”
But it wasn’t so simple. Olivia couldn’t leave just like that. And she felt she needed protection from Todd’s family, who seemed all too willing to mow her down.
“Todd’s family is here and they’re not pleasant to be with.” Olivia was doing her best not to break into tears.
“The young man’s family must be in horrible shock and pain,” her mother breathed. “Families go crazy when a child dies, they have a right to, don’t they? Usually they look around for someone to blame. It happens all the time.”
“You’ve got it, exactly,” breathed Olivia.
“I’ll have Mauve leave immediately,” her mother replied, “and your father can come a little later. I know your brother has plans for today. Do you need all of us there?”
“Probably not,” said Olivia, horrified at the thought of her family arriving and meeting Todd’s family this way. She also knew she had to tell her mother that she and Todd had just gotten engaged, but right now she couldn’t. It was all too much for one day.
“I’ll take a plane after my meeting,” her mother continued. “Mauve will leave immediately.”
Olivia had no choice but to agree. “That’s fine, thank you,” she replied.
“Olivia, before you hang up!” Her mother was wound up. “What was your connection to this young man who died? Did you love him?”
“Totally,” Olivia whispered. “In fact, we just got engaged last night.”
“Engaged?” Incredulous, her mother let the word hang in the air as suddenly Olivia heard rumbling behind her. She quickly turned around and her heart started beating out of her chest. The medical examiner’s office had arrived to take Todd’s body and on their way out had stepped into the lounge.
Naturally, Todd’s family began carrying on again. “You’re not taking him anywhere,” Todd’s mother began to shout. “I want to go with him. Take me, too.”
“What’s that racket there? What’s going on?” Olivia’s mother called into the phone.
“It’s the medical examiner, Mom,” Olivia replied, “and the police are here too, right behind them. Hurry, please, just come down!”
CHAPTER SIX
Olivia sat on the sofa in the hospital lounge, waiting for her family to arrive. Thankfully, Todd’s family left to check into a nearby hotel, and the lounge had grown quiet again. Olivia couldn’t bring herself to go back to her hotel room yet; it was too shocking. She felt she would be closer to Todd here in the hospital anyway, as if he were still in bed a few doors down and they were still together.
Olivia glanced down in deep dismay at the diamond ring shining on her finger. For a moment she had no idea how it had gotten there, or what to do with it now. She couldn’t take it off, that was for certain. But she felt strange wearing it as well, as though somehow it didn’t belong to her and she had to return it to someone.
Suddenly, Olivia’s phone vibrated, announcing a text. Relieved, she looked to see who was writing.
My God. It was from Allison. Haven’t been able to do a thing since I heard all the news. Do you want me to come down as well?
Not right away, Olivia immediately texted back. Give me time, I need time.
Olivia thought of her friends for a moment. None of them had felt very good about Todd. Olivia had thought it was because Allison said something. Olivia was thoroughly convinced that her friends would love him, though, once they knew him. He was just an unknown quantity now, that’s all.
Olivia put her head in her hands now, wondering what was coming next and what exactly everyone was saying. When Paul had died Olivia became the main topic of conversation in their social circles for the longest time. Some felt sorry for her; others thought she should leave town as soon as possible to get over it. Olivia had received all kinds of calls bringing it up over and over. It felt better to be on her own during a time of crisis, she’d grown to feel. Olivia wasn’t even sure she wanted to see Mauve at the moment. She truly needed time alone to absorb everything.
The door to the lounge suddenly opened then, and a police officer walked in.
“Olivia Wells?” A tall, grim-looking cop walked over to her.
“Yes, I’m Olivia Wells.” Olivia suddenly felt cornered.
“Officer Arnold Tan, Key West police,” he replied officially.
“How can I help you?” Olivia stood up stiffly.
“We understand that the young man who just died was your fiancé?” Officer Tan continued.
“That’s correct,” Olivia replied formally, matching his manner.
“You were the last one to be with him before he suddenly became ill. Is that correct as well?”
“Yes, it is.” Olivia breathed heavily. This officer seemed to have absolutely no concern for how she must be feeling. She was simply a cog in his official wheel.
Officer Tan lowered his head suddenly then. “We have a few preliminary questions to ask you. It’s a matter of routine.”
“Fine,” Olivia said lightly, starting to sit back down. “What is it?”
“I need to ask you to come with me to the police station now,” he went on.
Olivia suddenly felt woozy. She’d barely slept all night. Of course they needed all the information they could get, but why at the police station? What if Todd hadn’t died by food poisoning? she suddenly wondered. Olivia also wanted to find out.
“Yes, of course I’ll come with you,” she said quietly, getting up again and feeling unsteady on her feet.
“The station’s just a few blocks away,” the officer said. “I’ll take you in the car.”
They walked outside together silently and he helped her into the car. It only seemed a matter of moments before the car drove up a round driveway, to a tall stucco building that said Key West Police Station. Olivia closed her eyes for a second before getting out. The sun of the day was too bright and it was too difficult being part of the everyday world right now.
*
Three or four law enforcement officials were gathered around a long steel table when Officer Tan ushered Olivia into the gray room.
“This is Olivia Wells,” Officer Tan introduced her, as Olivia was seated opposite them.
Officer Tan then went to sit down across from her, as another officer began to speak.
“Officer Fred Belzer,” he began. Fred was a heavyset guy with a thin moustache and weary gray eyes. “Beside me are seated Detective Wayne Darington and Detective Doug Mause.”
Olivia nodded to them all.
“We are sorry for your loss,” Fred continued.
“Thank you.” Olivia cou
ld barely speak. Waves of exhaustion mixed with fear came over her and then departed.
“Did you have any idea your fiancé was so ill when you two left for the weekend?” Fred continued.
Olivia gathered herself together quickly. She could think fast on her feet if she had to. And now she definitely had to. All eyes were glued to her.
“Todd was perfectly fine,” she said. “And he wasn’t my fiancé when we left for the weekend. We became engaged a couple of hours before he took ill.”
Fred looked down at his papers and rustled them. “Yes, that’s what we have noted here.”
“Odd,” Detective Doug Mause added.
Startled by the interruption, Olivia looked over at him. Doug had a narrow face, thin mouth, and short-cropped hair.
“What’s odd about it?” Olivia answered, disturbed.
“To get so sick that you die a couple of hours after getting engaged? That’s definitely peculiar,” Doug responded.
“Go easy, Doug.” The other detective, Wayne, shook his head. Wayne had a very different energy about him. Tall and good-looking, with wavy, sandy hair and dark brown eyes, he seemed steadier and more thoughtful. “Let’s take it slow,” Wayne added.
Fred rustled his papers again, obviously wanting to resume his line of questioning.
“How long did you know Todd, Olivia?” Fred continued.
Olivia wasn’t sure why all this mattered, but she wanted to cooperate. “We’ve been dating for about five months,” she said.
“Five months?” Doug interjected again. “You only knew him five months and you got engaged?”
Doug threw Wayne a strange glance as Fred cut in, bristling. “Back off, Doug.”
“Five months is a short time to know someone before you become engaged,” Doug had to add.
“We fell in love immediately.” Olivia flushed. Was it even appropriate for them to be asking something like this?
“I’m terribly sorry we have to probe into your personal life,” Fred continued then, “but in cases of sudden deaths all possible angles must be covered.”
That made sense, of course, thought Olivia. “Todd and I were happy together from day one,” she said. “We both knew what we wanted and were thrilled on the trip down. In fact, Todd said he had wonderful plans and surprises for the weekend. Todd loved surprises of all kind.”
