Friend Me (26 page)

Scott said nothing.

“Allow me to simplify.” He tipped his wide head to one side.
His jowls covered his collar. “You tried to kill your wife. Tried to poison her. It didn't work. How am I doing?”

Scott said nothing.

The man pulled a small recorder out of his trouser pocket, slid a switch sideways, and laid it on the table. “Tell me why you did it. I understand that sometimes guys do things they're sorry for later.” He fixed his gaze on Scott's eyes.

“Guys like you, Mr. Douglas.”

Scott said nothing, but now his stomach was curling in on itself. Another minute of this and he'd lose it.

“What about that poison, Mr. Douglas? Want to tell me about it?”

Poison? Someone tried to poison Rachel. Who would do it?

Alicia
. No, not Alicia.
Melissa
. That was her real name. Alicia was made up, a composite person. She was built half out of his juvenile ideals and the other half of a real woman. He realized that he knew neither one of them, not really.

What had she asked him? “If something happened to your wife would I be enough for you? Could you love only me?”

If something happened to your wife
. Something
had
happened to his wife. It had to be her. It couldn't be anyone else. Who else knew?

What had he answered? “Yes, you would be more than enough.”

He brought his forehead down hard on the unyielding painted surface of the table. Unyielding as his own stubborn heart. The hard reality was that he had invited everything that was happening to him now. There was no one to blame but himself.

Help me, Lord. I've created this monster. It's all my fault
.

But the poison, where had that come from? How could anyone have done that? He didn't have the answer, but for now the suspicion was sufficient. His wife was in danger, and he would defend her. He would defend her to the death.

The detective picked his recorder back up and dropped it into his shirt pocket. “Can't say I didn't try and make it easier for you. Remember that later on.”

He stood and rapped three times on the door. In a moment, the lock clicked and the heavy bolt slid back again as the man left Scott alone in the room.

•  •  •

“SOMEONE TO SEE YOU
. Your attorney is here.”

My attorney?

Scott looked up from his seat. The deputy with the clipboard was standing outside the room. Behind him was a young man who couldn't have been very long out of college, shifting back and forth on his feet.

“Thank you.”

The deputy walked away and the young man walked through the door. “Mr. Douglas, my name is Jeremy Sally. I've been appointed to represent you. Is there anything you think I need to know?”

They must be planning to arrest me
. They didn't give you a lawyer just for questioning.

“I have no idea what's going on, only that the deputy that brought me in said they had some questions for me. Some detective came in and said I tried to poison my wife. All they've done so far is leave me locked in this room. I haven't been arrested, have I?”

The young attorney studied his papers. “It looks like they want to charge you with attempted second-degree manslaughter. Were you read your rights?”

“No, and they never told me I was being arrested. Have I been?”

The lawyer shook his head in bewilderment. “I don't understand the basis for the charges they are proposing. There's nothing here to indicate, and no evidence to support, any kind of charge like they want to make. Have you and your wife had trouble in the past?”

“No, sir. Nothing. We have a good marriage and a good family. I've never been arrested in my life. I don't drink. I don't even smoke. Someone should ask my wife. This whole thing is a huge mistake.”

“I don't think they have any basis to charge you, much less hold you here any longer. I think we can get you out of here pretty quickly.” He looked back up from the report he was reading and smiled at Scott. He extended his hand to him. “Don't worry about a thing. I'll take care of it all.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sally. That's the first positive thing I've heard today.”

“Sit tight, Mr. Douglas,” said Sally. He pushed the button for the deputy, who then came and coded him out the door.

Scott sat on the metal chair, trying unsuccessfully to collect his thoughts. All he could focus on was Rachel and if she was all right. Right now she was all alone and he needed to be with her.

Less than an hour later, he heard the lock mechanism slide smoothly back out of place in the heavy door again. It was the same deputy who had brought him in. “Time to go, sir.”

“Am I done here?”

“Yes, sir. I guess there was some mixup. The sheriff said they're not going to charge you, so you're free to go.”

When the deputy walked him back out the outer doors, he felt as conspicuous as a man who had served thirty years in a federal prison for violent crime. Never again, he promised himself. Never again.

•  •  •

SCOTT CALLED LAKE COUNTY HOSPITAL
on his cell phone, which had been returned to him upon his release. He was transferred to Rudy Garcia.

“I'm sorry about all that trouble earlier, Mr. Douglas. We have to follow the protocols passed down to us by the hospital and law enforcement. You understand.”

“Okay, I understand. But how is my wife? Where can I find her?”

“She's doing well, Mr. Douglas. Don't worry about a thing. Ask for me personally at the front desk when you arrive, sir, and I'll take you to her room myself. I'm truly very sorry for all you've been put through.”

“Thank you. Your apology means a lot to me. I love my wife and I would never . . .” He choked on the words. “Okay, I'll be there in five.” Scott clicked off the phone. He hoped Garcia was playing straight this time.

Garcia met Scott in the lobby as soon as he walked in the door. “Follow me, Mr. Douglas. Your wife is on the third floor in a private room.”

He looked down at his clipboard, then back to Scott. “Your mother-in-law, Mrs. June Anderson, is flying in, and will be with the children at your home soon. Have you been in touch with her?”

“No, but thank you for the information.”

Scott followed Garcia up to the third floor, to room 3012. He opened the door and looked in. There was Rachel, lying on a hospital bed, evidently asleep. “Thank you, Mr. Garcia. I'd like to be alone with her now.”

“Yes, sir. If there's anything else I can do, just ask for me at the front desk. I'm at your service.”

Enemy

R
achel's eyes were closed. Her face looked bruised and there were large bruise marks on her arms. If he hadn't been told differently, he'd have thought she'd been beaten up. Had he been the cause of this? Was this what loving him, trusting him, had brought her?

For the next hour he sat with Rachel, holding her pale hand in his. He couldn't take his gaze away from her face. He'd never seen her look so weak. Her hand never moved, the fingers limp inside his.

He wanted to call Andy, her father, but didn't have the heart to face him even over the phone. He felt so ashamed, unworthy of the precious wife that lay by his side on her hospital bed.

At last her eyelids struggled open. She awoke to find Scott holding her hand.

“Oh, Scott. I'm so glad you're here.” She closed her eyes again, her face slack, weariness evident in her pale skin.

“I'm here, sweetheart. And I'll be here until you're well. I
love you with all my heart.” He laid his head against her shoulder. Her heartbeat was strong in his ear.

“Did they tell you what happened?”

Her voice was soft, almost distant.

I came so close to losing her
. The tears came again. He pushed his face into her gown to absorb them, then lifted his eyes back to hers.

Rachel's eyes were half closed. He could tell she was struggling hard to keep them open at all.

“No, I hardly know anything at all. All they told me was that you may have been poisoned, that you were bleeding, but that you were going to be okay.”

She sighed, her breath shallow. “I was so tired, Scott. I was at home and I was just so very tired. I guess it was because I was losing blood, but I didn't know that then. They say I was bleeding internally.” She breathed heavily, her chest heaving with the effort.

“Then what happened? Who called nine-one-one?”

“I did, at least I think I did. No, I know I did. There was no one else around. I went to the bathroom and saw myself in the mirror.” A shudder ran through her body. “Oh, Scott. It was so awful. My teeth were all covered with blood and I was so weak I could hardly stand up. They say it was poison, Scott. Something called Coumadin. How could that happen?”

Scott steeled himself, preparing to answer. Did he know for sure? Was he 100 percent? No, but he was certain just the same. This was going to be difficult.

“Did you know I had to go to the police station?”

Rachel lifted her head up from the pillow, eyes wide. “What? Why would they do that?”

“I think they thought maybe I was the one that poisoned you. Maybe they still think so. I don't know. But they let me go a little while ago.”

“They let you go? What do you mean? Did you have to go to jail or something?”

“I was there for a while. It could have been worse. I could have lost you.” He felt Rachel's hand tighten around his. “I've got some things to tell you.”

Her chin quivered. Tears flowed from the corners of her eyes. “Scott, I'm so sorry. I didn't know anything about that. Don't they know it's not your fault?”

“I suppose that lots of bad things happen in families today and maybe it was just natural for them to think that we were having trouble that way.” He looked deeply into Rachel's eyes. “I would never, ever hurt you. Please believe that.”

“Of course I believe you. You don't have to say that. God brought us together. We love each other.”

“You're right. I just wanted to say it, because after I tell you the rest you're not going to be very proud of me.”

Her eyes softened, pleading. “Go on. Tell me everything. I'm still going to love you just the same.”

“It started with Suzanne.”

Rachel's brow wrinkled. “Suzanne? You mean real Suzanne? Or the virtual Suzanne?”

“The virtual one. Remember you showed me how real she seemed? I decided to try it myself.” He paused, and looked off toward a corner of the room.

She'll never trust me again
.

“I was at work one day. There was so much pressure on me. I just thought it would be fun.” He looked back into Rachel's eyes. “I am such a fool.

“I created a friend for myself like you did, just to try it out. But when they asked me if I wanted a male or a female friend, I chose female.”

The silence between them became palpable. Scott was still holding her hand, but he could feel it withdraw, ever so slightly. He understood.

Rachel's eyes blinked, unable to hold back tears. “Go on.”

“I think you already know what I'm going to tell you. I had her do things for me that were wrong. I'm so ashamed. I became unfaithful to you. I did things I've never done before and I promise I will never do again.”

Rachel's body stiffened. Her face was taut, slitted eyes turned toward the window as if seeking a way of escape.

“Scott, I don't want to know any more. I've listened to all I can from you today.”

He bent down, brought his cheek close against her bruised face, attempted to kiss her.

She jerked her head away. “No, no, don't touch me now.”

In her ear he whispered, “I've never loved anyone but you. I only love you.”

Tears wet Rachel's cheeks. “Do you not get it? I can't listen to any more, okay?”

It was not okay, and Scott knew that it couldn't stop here. His walk on the wild side had invited a monster into their home and they were not even close to safety. Not yet.

He sat back up, looking her squarely in the face. “There's more to tell. This affects both of us and we've got to work together before we're done with it.”

Rachel drew her knees up and nodded, eyes closed, waiting for him to go on.

“The virtual person was named Alicia.” He looked for any
sign in her expression that would indicate she had made the connection. Not yet. “The more I went to the website and talked with her, the more real she seemed to become.”

“Just like Suzanne,” Rachel whispered, her face more pale than ever.

“Yes, but with a big difference. I kept having the feeling, whenever I was on the website, or texting, or whatever . . . I kept having the impression that I was talking with a real person. I knew I wasn't, but still, there was something I couldn't put my finger on.”

“So, what are you saying? Did you figure out what it was?”

“One day something really, really strange happened. I was at work and a text came when she asked me to meet her for lunch.”

Rachel's eyes went wide. “Lunch? How could she do that? She's not even real.”

“I know, that's what I said. Maybe, I thought, this is some sort of website test, or survey, or something like that. Maybe the company is doing something to see how far they can take all this. I was intrigued, so I said I would do it.”

Rachel's chin trembled as her eyes became glassy with tears. She hugged her knees to her chest. Her voice was weak. “You agreed to meet her?”

He took her hand more firmly. “Sweetheart, I'm so sorry for all this. But I have to tell you what happened. Because we haven't gotten to the hard part yet. I went to the restaurant they told me to and I sat down at the table they had waiting for me.”