“I haven’t been watching the sensors.” His words hung like an alarm in the air as he walked to the door.
I hated the way my pulse kicked up at the question of who was on the other side. We were in our home—a place where I should feel safe. In seconds, my fear evaporated, replaced with relief as Albert appeared.
“Excuse me, Mr. Sherman, Michael said you wanted to talk to me.”
Van opened the door wider, wordlessly inviting him in.
Unsure what this meeting was about, I excused myself. “I can tell you why I came here later.”
“Wait,” Van said, reaching out to me. “I want you to hear this. I know you’ve been worried, and I want you to know what we know.”
My lips curled. “I haven’t told you that I’m worried.”
“Not in words.”
I held tight to Van’s hand, relishing the way he could read me. I may not have wanted to share my unease with him, but he’d taken it to carry anyway. “Okay. What’s happening?”
I sat on the leather sofa near the fireplace. Van sat beside me, and Albert took one of the chairs facing us. Even without flames in the hearth, this was less formal than sitting around Van’s desk. There was also the issue with what we’d just done on there. I fought the urge to look back to that side of his office and see if we’d left evidence.
Taking a breath, I tried to focus on the conversation.
“I was trying to remember…” Van reached for my hand. “I find myself with voids. I’m just starting to recognize that I’m not remembering the recent past as well as I should.”
The second part of his speech was for me.
“Have you spoken to the doctor?” I asked.
“Not yet. In the meantime, I’m asking Michael and Albert to help me remember.”
“I’ll do what I can,” I volunteered.
Van turned to Albert. “How much of the conversation did you hear? The one between Madison and me prior to her shooting me.”
Albert was a big man. Not as in heavy. He was tall and wide. The chair where he sat appeared almost childlike against his bulk. I’d grown accustomed to his presence as well as Michael’s and yet, I rarely looked at them, really looked at them.
They’d given up their lives in Chicago to come to Ashland.
What have they given up?
Do they have families?
I’d been too self-absorbed in my concerns about Phillip and Madison to truly think beyond my own bubble.
Albert’s lips came together as he sat straighter. “By the time I saw the gun, Mr. Sherman, it was too late. If I’d seen it earlier…”
Van shook his head. “That isn’t why I wanted to see you. I want to know what you heard.”
His dark eyes moved from Van to me and back to Van. “When I got to the landing, I could see your back but not her. She was in the foyer, blocked by the ceiling. I could tell the doors were open. Felt the cold air.”
Van nodded.
My stomach twisted as Albert spoke.
I’d heard this story, but now, listening to the man who had watched it all happen, I felt the reality as if I too were watching. Squeezing Van’s hand tighter, I concentrated on what Albert was saying.
“The smoke. I smelled smoke from the third floor and went up, but the door was locked. I should have broken the lock, Ms. McGrath.” He shook his head. “Seems like I’m sayingshoulda lot since taking this position.”
“I’m safe,” I said, “thanks to you.”