"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kevin asked once everyone had left the room, presumably to get the paperwork.
"I'm absolutely certain. There's nothing wrong with me. He said so. He's just worried about what will happen if I do start showing symptoms."
"And so am I, Moll." Kevin leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."
"You'd move on."
That single statement cut him to the core. She hadn't forgiven him or forgotten. Not that he expected to be let out of his private hell anytime soon. However, it would have been nice to have at least some recognition that he was trying.
"I wouldn't," he said. "It would hurt too much." Then he sat down in the nearby chair. He didn't want to turn it into an argument. It should have been expected and applauded that he loved his wife dearly. He always spoke highly of her. He did his best to take care of her. Certainly he had done enough to make up for that one slip? Dropping his head into his hands, Kevin considered how long he would probably be working in order to unsully his name.
"Forever," he whispered.
"Did you say something?" Marie asked.
"Forever," Kevin said, the urge to lie on his lips. "That's how long I would wait to be reunited with you." And that was the truth.
She shot him a look of jaded disbelief and went back to the cards on the table before her. Kevin had moved off the bed when Dr. Raja entered leaving her with the full deck. Marie began to play solitaire.
Kevin watched her play for a few minutes before he closed his eyes. It had been a long 24 hours and he probably needed to check his messages, but all he really wanted was a nap. Just as he was settling down into something somewhat comfortable, Julie came back with a sheaf of papers.
"Sign everywhere there's an X," she said as she put the papers down on top of Marie's solitaire game.
"May I have a pen?" Marie asked holding her right hand out.
"Of course."
Julie produced a pen from her breast pocket and handed it to Marie. With a few dozen quick scribbles, Marie signed away all chances of a lawsuit against the hospital for allowing her to leave early.
"Now, you just have to wait for a wheelchair to come and get you so that you can leave."
"What about these sticky pads, and my clothes?"
"Your clothes are in the drawer, neatly folded. And those sticky pads should come right out with very little residue. Feel free to disconnect yourself." With her very workman like demeanor, it was easy to say Julie was being a little brusque, but then again, she most likely had other places to be and Marie had already made it clear here was the last place she wanted to be. The pads made a sucking ripping sound as they disconnected from Marie's skin leaving behind bright spots on her brown skin as if she had been attacked by an octopus.
While she was busy doing that, Kevin had crossed the room to the drawers and pulled out her clothes.
"Here." He tossed them on the bed and turned his back. "I've always liked that shirt," he said.
Marie didn't respond, but he could hear her shuffling around to get dressed. He'd seen her naked hundreds of times, but this time, he just felt it better to give her some space. Being in the hospital made her antsy at best.
"I'm decent," she said. Kevin turned around and she was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at her phone. It had been in her pocket. "Where's my purse?"
"It's not in the drawer, so I guess, it's in Rebecca's car." This was probably in a tow yard somewhere. They would have to find out later. He still hadn't found out how Rebecca was doing. Kevin kicked himself all over again.
"Oh," was all Marie said. She went back to looking at her phone. "Naomie wants to know what happened to you, says you left Ray high and dry last night."
With a shrug, Kevin said, "I was a little preoccupied with what had happened to you. I'll send him an I'm sorry and he'll get over it." He patted himself down for his own phone only to groan. "My phone is in Ray's truck. With my bag."
"It's okay. I'll text him and see if he'll bring it to the house. We'll be there in a couple hours anyway." With two fingers, Marie blasted out a text message to their mutual friend. "It's okay."
"Can you ask Naomie how Rebecca is? She was the one who was spending time with her last night."
"Naomie already said. Rebecca got out last night, just a bump and scrape or two." Marie shook her head. "I always seem to get the rough end of the stick."
Kevin didn't comment. Instead he moved to the window to look out. He estimated the time to be nearly lunch. Of course, he could have just asked for the time, but he needed something to keep his mind occupied even if only for a few fleeting moments. Those were a few moments that he wasn't thinking about how much worse this could have gone. Now that everything seemed to be returning to normal, all he could think about was what would have happened if she weren't alright. Mourning her. Sitting by her bedside waiting for someone to tell him there was no hope. It ate at him. Her reflection was in the glass, sitting on the bed in another life. He let out a slow breath. Things were fine. That overly imaginative part of his brain needed to shut up.
It was finally interrupted by a man in maroon scrubs who came in pushing a wheelchair.
"Transport for one, Mrs. Marie Ellis," he read off a clipboard.
"Thank you," Marie said as she settled herself in the seat. "I guess we're ready to go."
Kevin followed along as they weaved through the brightly lit hallways of the medical facility. At the front door, Marie stepped out of the wheelchair and, with a quick stride, made for the bank of cabs waiting for fares just like hers.
The yellow cabs were brilliant in the sunshine, freshly washed. Kevin slid into one beside his wife and listened as she gave directions to get them home. The portly driver in a baseball cap grunted in acknowledgment and the cab pulled away from the curb.
As they rode, Kevin reached over and placed his hand on top of Marie's. She looked down at the gesture, but didn't move away. He left his hand there for a ride, a quiet connection between them.
When they reached the house, Marie used her phone to pay the cab and got out. The spare key was hidden under a dragon garden sculpture set in the wild flower garden at the front of the house. Inside, Marie looked at him with one long look and said,
"I'm going to get in the shower. Ray should be here any minute with your stuff. Maybe you should wait for him out here."
Kevin opened his mouth to say something and then shut it. There was nothing to say.
CHAPTER FIVE
Kevin shut the mini notebook computer he used for checking his email and keeping his calendar. It was a stripped down little purple thing that barely had the processing power to play Minesweeper much less actually do anything difficult. He put it down on the coffee table next to his almost forgotten mug of overly creamed coffee. He liked his coffee lighter than his wife's skin, which meant it was more like creamer with coffee than coffee with creamer. Picking up the mug, he headed into the kitchen. From there he could hear Marie typing away. There was no telling what she was up to. Maybe the next book, the deadline was approaching, or perhaps working on an article for publication. He wasn't sure if she had one of those due soon or not. It was always a surprise, a good one, to see his wife's name in print. It had been an even bigger surprise when she published under the name Ellis as opposed to Coren, though her books were still printed under that name. She had promised she would switch to Ellis once the Dark King Cycle was finished. The very basic outline for book four had already been approved.
He stuck his cup in the microwave and started it for thirty seconds. Leaning against the granite counter, he hummed under his breath as he waited for the microwave to beep. A knock on the door interrupted him. He cocked his head confused for a moment. They weren't expecting company. At least, not that he knew.
"Moll, are you expecting anyone?" he called back into the house.
It took a moment for her to answer, finishing a thought most likely, but she said, "No. But you
should probably answer it."
Wouldn't be the first time someone, a fan of some kind, had found them. They were sort of public figures, despite their attempts to stay somewhat low key. He went to the front door and opened it slightly. The door hit him in the face as the person behind it barged in leaving him seeing stars. When they cleared, he was looking into a pair of blue green eyes.
"Oh god, I'm sorry," she said.
"Get out," Kevin said holding the door open for her.
"I just really needed to see you after the other night. You would never believe how hard it was for me to get up the courage to come here. After all, it's your house and I didn't want to bother you, but I had to see you." All those words were tumbling out of a pair of pink glossed lips and Kevin found himself listening to them.
When she finished, he pointed to the driveway and said, "Get out" again.
"But I can't stop thinking about what we were together."
Anger set his face aflame. He felt the vein throbbing in his forehead. Then he looked up from Sylvia to the hallway where Marie stood with her arms crossed. Her lips were a thin line of almost white. He could only guess how much her silence cost her in that moment.
When he didn't respond, Sylvia tried to press her body against his, throwing herself at him. He held her off.
"Get out of my house." It was starting to sound like a broken record, but what else could he say?
"You are everything to me," Sylvia said. "Can't you see that? I just want to be with you. You can't possibly still love her."
"Sylvia," he said her name once, then twice to get her to really look him in the eye. "There is nothing between us. I am a happily married man."
"That's not what you told me. I gave you everything."
There was almost no difference in their ages and maybe once, a long time ago, Kevin might have been interested in Sylvia. They had worked together on the show for years. It was to her he'd turned when things were hard in his marriage. This was his fault.
"Get out, Syl, and don't come back here." It was practically a breath, but those were his words.
"Is that all you can say to me? Get out?" Sylvia turned around and saw Marie for the first time. "You don't want him, so let him go. He would be happier with me."
It was in that moment Kevin saw how Marie shivered. Her whole body quaked and he couldn't be sure if it was in anger or sadness. He grabbed Sylvia by the arm.
"You really need to leave now."
"But Kevin--"
"No buts. Get out now or I will call the police." It was a lame thing to say, but he didn't know how else he was going to get her out of his living room other than physical violence. Physical violence sounded like a very good option in that moment, but he held his temper and his tongue. Sylvia looked at him one more time with eyes that were becoming full of tears and slowly backed her way toward the front door.
"Kevin, I love you," she said before he firmly shut the door in her face.
When he turned around, Marie was still standing in the hallway and she looked as if she had become a statue. He wasn't even sure she was breathing. Crossing the room to her, he tried to put his arms around her. She rebuffed him.
"Marie."
"I don't want to talk about this. You get out. Go on, follow her, I know you want to."
"Marie, don't."
"She came to our house." Marie dropped her head and he lost her face in the shadows of her hair. "I thought at least here would be safe. Get out." Then she turned her back on him, heading into the spare bedroom she used as her office and shut the door. He heard the lock tumble. With a slam, his fist hit the door.
"You want me gone," the anger was finally flowing and he vented it on the door. "Fine then. I'm gone." He punctuated each word with a kick.
In one last bit of pain, he slammed the door on his way out. In the driveway, he looked at his phone. Ray would understand. Yet he didn't call him. He needed to vent his frustration and his best friend wasn't the best place to do it. He started down the street not paying attention to direction. He'd get somewhere soon.
CHAPTER SIX
The wind swept her hair higher and higher, until it was a column of blonde feathers. It seemed as if she might fly away any moment.
Marie rubbed her eyes. This particular piece was taking quite a while to read. Her student, Tracy LaMal, had gotten a bit carried away with himself and forgot the ten page maximum. He had handed her a twenty page short story and though she couldn't quite fault him for his technique, she could for his failure to follow directions. Folding in half the page she was on, she set it aside. On the coffee table were two piles, the ones she had already read and the ones left to read. In the middle went LaMal's piece because she couldn't decide if she was going to finish it or not. Page ten had been interesting in a sort of prosaic way, she kept hoping the main character would get more interesting as things went along, but he seemed to just sort of skim through things without much investment. She would have to remember to put that in her notes. With a click of her pen, she turned to the last page and noted: MC needs more investment.
As if the punctuate her sentence, a single hard rap hit her front door. Moll got up immediately. She wasn't expecting anyone, but she was home alone, there was no one else to get the door.
Opening the door far enough for a hand to come through, she peered out at her visitor.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm here to see Kevin Ellis."
"He's not here right now. If you'd like you can leave your name and number and he'll contact you back." Marie didn't really want to get involved with any of her husband's fans. They were a strange set, all Goth makeup and multi-colored hairstyles. But this one was different. He wore a pressed suit and seemed a little old for one of Mephisto's groupies.
"Are you Mrs. Marie Ellis?"
"Yes."
"I'm Detective Alvin Placard. May I ask you a few questions?"
Detective. Marie swallowed hard, but didn't move. Instead, she asked,
"Can I see your credentials?" Having the police in her home did not make her comfortable, but she supposed a detective could be trusted. Then again, maybe not. No telling until she let him in. He showed her his badge and she could only nod her head. He had the right to ask a few questions.
Moving out of the way, Marie made room for him to come in.
"Sorry about the mess," she said. "I was grading some papers." Since she hadn't been out of the house, she hadn't exactly dressed for this sort of encounter wearing one of her husband's t-shirts and a pair of pirate lounge pants.
"It's nothing really," he said. "I wonder if I could get a glass of water or something."
Every instinct screamed not to leave him alone in her living room.
"Maybe after you tell me why you're here," Marie said flopping down on the couch and making herself as comfortable as she could with a policeman in her home.
"Well, Mrs. Ellis, or may I call you Marie?" He didn't sit down though there was a chair he could have used. Instead he stood, and Marie couldn't fight the feeling that he was looming over her. "I'm here about a young woman named Sylvia Bridge, do you know her?"
"She was Kevin's assistant for a number of years. They recently broke that relationship off."
"That's true," he said. "Do you happen to know anything about her more recent comings and goings?"
"No. She came by the visit Kevin a few days ago. We haven't heard from her since." Granted, she also hadn't heard from Kevin since so there was the chance they had run off to Aruba together or something equally heartbreaking for her.
"I see." The detective was looking everywhere but at her and she wondered for a moment what he was seeing. "And you've talked to Kevin about her?"
"Not really. There's nothing to talk about. They had a professional relationship and now that's over."
"What if I told you they had more than a professional relationship going on?"
"Why are you here, detective?" Marie asked. "You're here in the middle of the day asking questio
ns about a woman, is she dead?"
Her blunt question seemed to catch him off guard because he didn't reply immediately. Marie watched his eyes as he weighed exactly what to tell her. That was enough to tell her plenty.
"She is dead and you think my husband is involved."
"I didn't say that."
"You wouldn't be here if you didn't think that."
"I really need to talk to your husband."
"I'll see if I can get him on the phone."
Marie had been carefully not calling her husband in order to avoid another fight. She hadn’t been fair to him, but in her defense, she had been a little taken aback by the fact that Sylvia had come to their house. He obviously hadn't made it clear enough that they two of them were over.
Getting up, Marie went into her office, turning her back on the detective with reluctance, and got her phone. Kevin was first on her favorites, though she could have dialed him from memory. The phone started to ring.
After the third ring, Kevin picked up.
"Mephisto Entertainment."
"Kevin, it's me."
"Hey baby." He sounded happy, that was a small blessing. "Long time no hear from."
"I'm sorry, but there's a detective here at the house to see you."
"A detective." The shift in his mood was palpable over the phone. "Why?"
"Something about Sylvia. Can you come home now?"
"Yes. I'll be there soon. Don't worry. Everything is fine."
"Okay. I love you." The words were automatic and some days she even still felt them.
"I love you too. I'll be there soon."
She went back into the living room to find the detective standing exactly where she'd left him. "I'll get you that glass of water now. There might be a small wait while Kevin gets here."
Dark King Rising Page 4