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Christine nods. “I sure hope so.”
~
“You’re sure it was an accident?” I ask Ellis later on when we’re alone in our room. “I get that you wanted to give Christine hope. You told her Norman will probably pull through. That’s fine; he probably will. But giving her false hope? Saying you’re sure of something you know nothing about? Do you really think that’s wise?”
Ellis frowns. “She’s scared and worried enough as it is. Why give her another reason to worry when we don’t even know if there is one?”
“But there could be one,” I tell her. “There could be a murderer on the loose, remember?”
Ellis shakes her head. “I never said that.”
“Someone sent you a threatening note,” I remind her. “In blood.”
“We don’t know for sure that it was blood,” Ellis says. “Besides, sending a threatening note seems a hundred steps away from murder.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s not headed there.”
“Enough!” Ellis puts up her hands. “I should never have told you about the note. I should never have agreed to this stupid investigation.”
I frown. Stupid investigation?
“Are you saying you no longer believe you’re in danger?” I ask her. “Because I believe you still are.”
“I don’t know, okay?” She starts pacing the room. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
I exhale. I know what’s happening. Now that Norman is out of danger and the adrenaline from the surgery has worn off, the fear and confusion from someone nearly dying in front of her eyes is getting to Ellis. And right now, she probably feels trapped, which is why she’s trying desperately to escape.
“Calm down, Ellis.” I wrap my arms around her. “Breathe.”
If she stays still and calm, the fear and confusion will eventually pass. I know because I’ve been there. Lots of times. Even when you succeed in saving a patient, the thought that you could have just as easily failed still haunts you.
Ellis snuggles against my chest. “Do you really think someone could have pushed Norman?”
“I’m just saying it’s possible,” I answer.
“But why him? I’m the one who doesn’t belong here. I’m the outsider.”
I’ve been asking myself the same question.
“I don’t know, but the only way we can find out is to keep looking for answers. Nothing makes sense right now. It’s up to us to find the truth.”
“I feel terrible,” Ellis says. “I suspected Norman.”
So it’s the guilt that’s making her uneasy.
“Because you had a reason to,” I tell her. “Because someone else told you to.”
“But I was wrong. Norman can’t have sent that note.”
I disagree. Just because Norman is currently unconscious doesn’t mean he’s innocent. I’m not saying he threw himself down those stairs and got himself impaled by a reindeer antler, but he could have fallen down. It could still have been an accident like Ellis suggested, which means he could still be the man who sent the note, especially since Ellis saw him after she got it. But what if he really was pushed down those stairs? Is that a separate incident, or is it related to the note? Could someone have found out he threatened Ellis and then pushed him as punishment?
I don’t know. Right now, everything is unclear. That’s why we need to ask more questions and find answers.
“When he regains consciousness, I’ll talk to him,” I say. “I’ll try to find out what really happened.”
Ellis nods.
“And you try to find out what you can from Vivian,” I tell her.
Ellis’s eyebrows arch. “Vivian?”
“Like Christine said, she could have pushed Norman down the stairs.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t believe it.”
Of course she doesn’t. She’d like to believe that everyone in this house is innocent.
“Or she might know something about the note,” I say. “At any rate, just talk to her. She’s the only suspect we have left.”
Apart from Samuel, who I very much doubt is the one who’s threatening Ellis. Last I heard, he had already included her in his will.
“What about Christine?” Ellis asks.
Right. I’d forgotten about her.
“I’ll try talking to her, too,” I say.
If I leave her to Ellis, I’m pretty sure nothing will come out of it. She’s already being protective of Christine. She won’t be able to ask the questions she needs to or keep an open mind.
I can. I know Christine looks wounded right now. I know she doesn’t seem capable of much. But that doesn’t mean she’s innocent, or even that she’s all good. For all I know, she could just be good at putting a wall around herself, at keeping secrets just like Norman. Who knows how long she and Norman have been in a relationship? And who knows what else she’s hiding?
Ellis sighs. “Fine. But please go easy on Christine.”
I expected she’d say that. I have no intention of doing it, though. Christine’s guard may be down now that she’s worried about Norman and she trusts me because I just saved his life. It’s a chance that I shouldn’t let go to waste.
