Look at this logically, Vee.
It was her landing at the bottom of that staircase that likely killed her. And no way was a fall from midway down the stairs sufficient to have created adequate momentum for the injuries she sustained.
“We know she got up after you left,” Vera began. “Maybe she started up the stairs to go back to the nursery and reset the furniture but fell back down and that’s what killed her.”
Luna shook her head no. “The furniture was back in place. That proves she went back to the nursery before whatever happened ... happened.”
And there were those texts she sent to Geneva. Okay, that made sense. She was unquestionably alive when Luna left her. “You were gone for well over an hour. It’s possible that it wasn’t until after she’d settled all the baby furniture back into place that she grew dizzy or ill—the way I did from my concussion—and fell down the stairs. Then you found her just as she was.”
Luna chewed her lip now. “But with that hardware receipt showing the wrong time, how will I ever prove I’m telling the truth?”
“We’ll deal with that one if and when the time comes.” Vera almost hated to ask the next question. She wouldn’t be telling a soul if Luna’s response was yes ... at least not until all the potential loose ends were worked out.
“Do you have any bruises? Scrapes? Scratches?” Vera couldn’t help but think of Alicia Wilton. Had she been running from the scene to protect herself as well as the child she carried? Why would she set out to murder her husband and the others, knowing she could be injured or that her baby could be? But then the other head injury suggested she had been fleeing trouble. That and the news about the baby shifted Vera’s suspect list for sure.
“I have one bruise on my lower shin. I guess where my leg hit the spindle above the one that my foot hit like a brake, slowing my momentum. I can’t believe the spindle didn’t snap completely in two, considering I’m so huge.”
“You are not huge. You’re perfect.” Vera prompted, “Any other injuries?”
“No. But I was really achy from the twisting and how I grabbed the railing to catch myself. My arm still feels like I nearly pulled it out of its socket.”
“Did Jackie grab any part of you tightly enough to leave a mark or a scratch?”
“No.” Luna’s face scrunched as if she was concentrating hard. “But I think I scratched her when my hand pulled free of her arm. It was all really fast and really hard.” She searched Vera’s eyes. “Do you understandwhat I mean? There was this grabbing and pulling and slipping. It was violent, and yet I somehow survived with scarcely a mark.”
And that likely explained the single scratch on Jackie.
“I do understand.” Vera played the scene out in her head. “Did you check your back? Anywhere you need two mirrors to see?”
“I did when I showered later that evening. No bruises or scratches anywhere.”
“Okay.” Vera felt confident about Luna’s story. It would have been better had she called Vera after the initial incident, but there was nothing to do about that now. “The bottom line is you didn’t do anything wrong, Luna. Jackie attacked you and the child you’re carrying. As you said, it’s a miracle you and the baby weren’t hurt.”
“But I left her calling for me to helpher.”
“Anyone in your position would have done the same thing. You were traumatized. Maybe in shock. Either way, you did not do anything wrong,” Vera repeated.
“What if she needed an ambulance and I ignored her?” Tears brimmed fresh in her dark eyes. “Jerome will never forgive me.”
“Luna, this was not your fault. If she felt well enough to get up and do the furniture rearranging, then she was in no danger of dying from that initial fall.”
“But Jerome—” Luna abruptly stopped speaking. She stared at Vera, her eyes huge. Vomit suddenly hurled out of her, spewing all over Vera’s lap.
Shit! Vera gasped, her hands up like a shield.
Luna burst into sobs.
Vera grabbed a handful of napkins that were tucked into a pocket on the passenger door and helped her sister clean herself up, all the while offering soothing assurances that everything would be fine.
Except Vera’s outfit.
23
Vera had no choice but to drive home to change. On the way she called Eve, which would hopefully distract her from the smell. As always her sister wasn’t happy about getting a call during working hours, but after hearing the story Luna had revealed, she forgot all about being irritated at the interruption.
“What happened was self-defense!”
Eve was right—for the most part.
