“Where’s Luke?” I voiced the thought.
Ozzie’s amused look faded. “Yeah, about that.” His mouth twisted, and he glanced away for a second. “He’s down the hall in another cubicle.”
“Oh. Okay.” My eyelids drooped.
Several beats passed before the implications of that cleared my addled brain.
“Wait, what?” A bit of the fog cleared as concern entered the picture.
“Sarah got to Claire and Ellis and took them to the antique store. She tried to burn it down with them in it. Luke ran in and got them out. They’re all here being treated for smoke inhalation.”
I kicked at the blankets covering my legs, then put an elbow under me to sit up.
Fire raced through my side, and I fell back to the bed with a moan.
“Easy.” Ozzie took my hand and helped me straighten up against the bed. “They’re fine. Just hacking. Claire and Ellis might have to stay the night, since they were in the smoke longer, but I imagine once the ER staff cut Luke loose, he’ll be up in your room. So, just take it easy. He’s okay.”
More sober now, thanks to the rush of adrenaline, the throb in my ribs registered. I winced as I shifted. “What happened? Is my building gone?”
“No. It’s damaged, but I think it’s fixable. It hadn’t been burning long, and the fire department was there pretty quickly. Sarah and Miranda set fire to a pile of shop rags and some packing material.”
My brows twitched down. At least we wouldn’t have to start from scratch, and hopefully, The Cozy Cup could still stay open.
“Did Luke tell you it was Sarah who murdered Moira? That Miranda and Walter just helped hide her body?”
Ozzie nodded. “Both women are in custody. Chief Riggs and I caught them running from the fire. It’s over now, Mina. All of it.”
I smiled. “That’s great news. Moira can finally rest in peace.”
“Yeah, and her family gets closure.”
That was the best part, knowing her parents could rest easy, and so could Rich.
Ozzie patted my hand. “You get some rest. Claire and I will come see you tomorrow, sometime.”
“Okay.” Sleep tugged at me again. The pain meds might have backed off a bit, but it wasn’t just that making me tired.
With another quick pat, he left.
I drifted off. Not into a terribly deep sleep, but enough that time passed without my knowledge. It was nearly an hour later, when the nurse unlocked the brake on my bed, that I awakened again.
She smiled at me. “Hey there. We’re taking you upstairs. You can keep sleeping.”
Not about to argue, I let my eyes slide closed once more.
The nurse and a patient care assistant wheeled me through the halls and into an elevator. I barely felt the bump as we arrived on my floor. With a clack of the wheels over the elevator threshold, we were headed down another corridor. Seconds later, they turned into a brightly lit room.
It was impossible to even feign sleep when the ward staff descended on us to take a report.
Fifteen minutes later, my ER escort was gone and the floor nurse left to check on other patients. Blessed quiet enveloped me.
I let out a soft sigh, ready to drop back into dreamland.
The door opened, admitting the chime from someone’s IV down the hall.
Frustration bubbled over in the form of a growl. “No, I don’t need anything, and you literally took my vitals a few minutes ago. I just want to sleep.”
“I can come back.”
