“That’s terrible,” I said. “When did it happen?”
“About a year ago,” Maurice said. “But Rhonda’s only been coming around here since she lost the lawsuit.”
I kept my voice calm. “Her daughter died from drinking Gonzo?”
A silence followed—so thick it made it hard to breathe.
“She died of cardiac arrest,” Sky said finally.
“She was seventeen,” I said.
“She had a heart condition,” Sky said. “She drank three Gonzos in a row, mixed with alcohol.”
I didn’t say anything.
“We have very clear warning labels on our product,” Sky said. “It’s even part of our advertising—more caffeine than any energy drink on the market.”
“I’ve got A-fib, and I wouldn’t touch the stuff if you paid me a million bucks,” Maurice said.
“It’s why we weren’t found liable,” Sky said. “But I understand how Rhonda feels. Something like that happens to your child, you have to blame somebody.”
I looked at Sky. It was hard to get past the change in her tone—as though she had a team of lawyers whispering in her ear. “She’s done, then?” I said. “I mean, as far as the courts go?”
“No,” Sky said. “She’s filed an appeal.”
I turned back to the screen, the frozen blurred image—Rhonda Lewis’s face, her features twisted in agony, like a figure from a Goya painting.
“Does she have a husband?” I asked. “Any other family you know of?”
“She’s a single mother,” Sky said. “Daisy was an only child.”
“Like I said, I feel for her,” Maurice said.
Another silence crept into the room. I glanced at Maurice, twisting his wedding band.
“Sky?” I said.
“Yes?”
“Rhonda was yelling at you in this video. What was she saying?”
“Same thing she always says when she comes in here. She told me I have blood on my hands. And she called me a murderer.”
“Like the texts that were sent to Dylan.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Exactly.”
“Has Rhonda gotten into it with Dylan?” I said to Maurice. “He’s the face of the company, after all. The CEO. I’d think she’d go after him harder than Sky.”
“Nothing’s happened between them in person.”
“Why not?”
“Because he always hides from her.”
“Wow,” I said.
“Yep,” Maurice said.
