Page 27 of Defending Love
A gust of breath came from my lungs at the sight of my mother. She was sitting on a contraption, moving her arms and her legs and talking to a woman in scrubs. “Mom.”
“Dani.” Her eyes widened. “Everyone is here.”
I went closer. “Mom, you shouldn’t be transported from one place to another without Jack or another member of your detail.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Sinclair,” Jack said. “I shouldn’t have stepped away.”
Mom leaned back, stopping her motion. “Jack, I’m fine. They said it wouldn’t be long. They’re still evaluating me.”
I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You scared me.”
“I’m sorry, dear.”
I looked at the woman with her. “Could I speak to her for a moment?”
The therapist looked as if she were about to argue and wisely decided against it. Briefly, I wondered if Becky had called this department again after we stepped away and warned them about me.
I lowered my voice. “Mom, do you know the combination to Dad’s safe?”
She closed her eyes. “Yes, it’s 1983.”
A smile curled my lips. “The year you were married.”
“Yes.” Her brow furrowed. “What do you need from there?”
Not wanting to tell her about the missing papers, I came up with a reason. “We’re looking for his insurance policies. We couldn’t find them in the desk.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t. Your father kept his journals, the ones from his and your grandfather’s time at Sinclair Pharmaceuticals, in his desk. I would often find him sitting in there and rereading your grandfather’s notes and scribbling in the margins.”
She had my attention. “What kind of notes?”
“You could look at them. There were notes about the company and different strategies they had. There were some about the original formulas and speculations on ones Sinclair never chose to manufacture.” She shook her head. “All outdated, I’m sure.”
“Had Dad ever showed them to Damien?”
“Excuse me,” the therapist said. “We only have a few more minutes.”
The large clock on the wall read 5:15.
I took a step back. “Mom, call me if you need me. I dropped the things you wanted in your room. Eli and I are going to head back to your house and then to the villa he rented. I have some work.”
“Are you leaving tomorrow?”
“No. I’ll be here until Sunday.”
Her smile returned. “It’s good to know you’re close. After this, they’re supposed to bring me my dinner.”
“Mrs. Sinclair…”
Backing away, I watched Mom resume her therapy. I met up with Eli and Jack in the hallway. The two were talking.
“Guardian’s cameras were taken out of the house the day after the shooting,” Jack said. “Ben didn’t want them discovered by other investigators.”
That accounted for some of the people Carol saw.
Eli pressed his lips together. “According to the neighbor, there were many different people in and out shortly after the shooting. The curious thing is what else she told us. Last…” He looked at me. “Wednesday?”
I nodded.
