“Annie, please,” Grace said sharply, interrupting her. “I can’t take the chance. He might go looking for something, anything, and he could find a gun and … and then get an idea.”
Annie puckered her lips. “No gun, no hospital, no police, no telling anyone about tonight—that doesn’t give us a lot of options here.”
Grace sighed before cradling her face in her hands. When she closed her eyes, she saw the man on top of her, could feel his hot breath brush against her face, the weight of him pressing down on her. Her wrists ached with a phantom pain as if the other man were there, squeezing the bones. Grace took a deep breath to purge the feelings, and when she opened her eyes, the attackers were gone.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Annie asked, reaching across the table to give Grace’s hand a gentle squeeze.
“I’m fine. It’s been a real hell of a day.” Grace managed a weak smile.
“It’s Vince,” Annie said. “Tonight just proved to me he’s Rachel’s killer … someone with that kind of violence in him. His alibi worked great because he sent his goons to do it for him.”
“Tonight wasn’t their first rodeo, I can tell you that,” Grace concurred. She rubbed her temples. The wine was giving her a headache. “And you do realize we don’t have enough to go after Rapino,” she added, feeling dispirited. “Penny knows what really happened that night, and we can’t reach her. It’s all scattered, dissociated thoughts that are not going to help in the slightest.”
Grace needed to decompress, and for that she thought a hot bath might do the trick.
“Annie—”
“Do you want to take a bath and need me to stick around?”
“Hmmm…” said Grace suspiciously. “I’ve got one family member with DID and another with ESP.” Grace’s slight chuckle felt like a major release.
“Sorry, nothing supernatural. I would want the same, is all,” Annie explained. “Anyway, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll spend the night. I’ll spend the week. Hell, I’ll move in. No weapon, I promise.”
Grace got up to give Annie a long, hard hug. “Thank you … thank you for everything,” she said, feeling the sadness in her chest bloom in her eyes. “I couldn’t ask for a better sister.”
“Arthur couldn’t have had a better wife,” said Annie. “I miss my brother so much, but I know he’s looking after us. We’re going to win in court, Grace. It’s going to happen, I feel it in my bones.”
“I hope more than anything you’re right,” Grace said.
Some minutes later, Grace found her way upstairs and filled the tub halfway with warm water. She got undressed, letting the faucet run while she climbed in to begin her soak. Annie was in the bedroom just outside, reading a book on the bed, but Grace had no doubt that her purse with some sort of firearm inside was within reach.
Stretching out her legs, Grace flicked her toes in and out of the warm water spilling from the faucet. Feeling more at peace, she let her arms drift to her sides as she closed her eyes. She was safe here; no memories came at her in the dark. Grace could feel herself drifting off … letting it go … letting everything go …
Tomorrow she’d see her daughter. Would Penny be frightened to take the stand in her own defense? What if she refused? There’d be no way to help her then. Grace’s thoughts went to Annie—specifically, to the gun she wanted her to have. A frightful vision of Ryan came to her, his skull caved in by a bullet.
What was wrong with him? Why did he suddenly go off the rails after Penny’s arrest?
Another question came to her, the same one Jack had raised at the restaurant before the big fight, this one quite possibly the most troubling of all: What secrets might he be keeping?
CHAPTER 45
IT HAD BEEN A long time since I visited you at Edgewater, two months, maybe three. I was a bit anxious, to be honest. It’s the not nicest place for a get-together, but I was there to support Mom, who was more nervous than anybody. Would you be willing to take the stand in your own defense? That’s what we came to find out. We couldn’t force you, and my bet was no, but Mom was counting on a yes, so I had my fingers crossed. Even so, a good filmmaker always has a backup plan in the event a particular shot can’t work out, so I had mine.
I wasn’t done looking into your life, or into Rachel’s past for that matter. There were questions that still needed answers. Did Rachel abuse you? Is she the reason you developed DID? Did an avenging alter of yours （that fourth alter theory）—did he or she do in Rachel because of something monstrous she’d done to you?