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“All right! I heard you!” Jesus! Wasn’t anybody on his side?
Suddenly she was contrite. “I apologize. The last thing you need is for me to lash out at you.”
“Look,” he said brusquely, “I need to go.”
“Jeff.”
“You shouldn’t have called. I’m glad you did. But we’ve talked too long. If anyone checked my phone I’d have to explain this call. I’ll be in touch when I can. Good-bye.”
“Jeff, wait.”
“What?”
“Have you considered…”
“Spit it out, Alice. What?”
“Maybe you should have an attorney present when you talk to them.”
Again, not a comment he had anticipated from her. “That’s all I need. A lawyer advising me not to answer their questions. That wouldn’t appear at all suspicious.”
“I just think it would be wise to—”
“No, it would be stupid. Because if these two detectives have got into their pea brains that I’m culpable, retaining a lawyer would seal it. No, Alice. No attorney.”
“I’m only trying to help.”
“Which I appreciate. But I’ve got to handle this my way.”
“I understand. But please don’t shut me out. What can I do?”
He thought about it, then said coldly, “You can stop calling me.”
* * *
“Labor? She told me she’d lost the baby.”
He spoke in a hush, but his alarm was apparent. Keeping her voice low, Emory said, “She has.” Taking a deep breath, she organized her thoughts into an explanation.
“Lisa estimates that she conceived four and a half months ago. But two weeks ago, she miscarried. Being at least sixteen weeks along, she should have consulted a doctor, who would have prescribed medications that cause and accelerate the elimination of tissue.
“It may require several weeks for the body to rid itself of it. Often, if the pregnancy is as advanced as Lisa’s was, a D and C is performed. It can be a heartbreaking, even traumatic, time for the patient, but there are no residual health issues.”
Apparently uncomfortable with the subject, he pushed his fingers through his hair. “But she didn’t see a doctor.”
“No. She’s suffering now because not all the uterine material was discharged naturally when she miscarried. She didn’t receive treatment, or the medications, or a D and C. Her body is trying to expel a sixteen-week fetus on its own, and the contractions are so strong, it’s essentially like being in labor.”
“Christ.” He looked aside before coming back to her. “You’re sure there’s no longer a baby?”
She was touched by his apparent concern. “I’m sure. She had profuse bleeding, today as well as two weeks ago. And the size of her uterus isn’t nearly as large as it would be if she was almost halfway into a pregnancy.” She looked over toward the bed. Lisa had stopped crying, but she’d laid her arm across her forehead. “She says she’s glad it died.”
“How long has this been going on?”
Emory came back around to him. “Today’s bleeding? It woke her up this morning and became so significant, as did the cramping, she was forced to tell her aunt and uncle.”
“Kindness personified, from what I understand.”
“She told you they kicked her out?”
