“Whatever. Here.” She handed me some water. “Maybe you should drink some more.”
“Thank you,rohee.” My soul. These beautiful children were my heart and soul, and I was beyond grateful that the three of us were safe and together. I took the water even though I feared it would make me more nauseated. “How are you doing?”
She shrugged. “I feel sad about what Dad went through. I feel bad that I was such a bitch to him that last time I saw him.”
“You know your dad. He would understand. He’d never blame you. You came to a natural conclusion when you saw him secretly meeting a strange woman late at night at a hotel. You have to give yourself some grace.”
“At least I don’t feel like I killed him.”
“Whoa! What?” Adam’s gaze ricocheted between the two of us. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve missed some things.” I closed my eyes to quiet my throbbing head. “Ayla will have to fill you in.”
Chapter Forty-Three
“Mrs. Price claims that she did not intend to kill your husband,” Detective Fox said when she and Detective Lloyd stopped by the house five days later to brief me. Nasser was also there.
My face heated. “She still drugged my husband right before he got behind the wheel. Ali wouldn’t be dead if it weren’t for Lizzie’s actions.”
Nasser set a hand on my forearm. “You have a concussion,” he reminded me. “You’re not supposed to get upset. You should be resting.”
I withdrew my arm. “Resting in a dark, quiet room for almost a week is what the doctor ordered.” I was lucky to be recovering so nicely. Fortunately, Lizzie had bad aim and the hand weight she used hadn’t landed as lethally as it could have.
I focused my attention on the detectives. “Lizzie also smothered her own father.”
Detective Fox nodded sympathetically. “Maybe she did, but we cannot prove that Mrs. Price killed her father. She doesn’t admit to it on the tape.”
“So that’s it?” I threw up my hands. “She literally gets away with two murders?”
“No,” Detective Fox replied in the most soothing voice I’d ever heard from her. “The suggestion that Mrs. Price killed her father does give her a motive for trying to murder your husband. She could have been fearful he’d publicly accuse her of the crime.”
Nasser shifted forward. “Is that how prosecutors plan to pursue the case?”
“You’ll have to speak with the prosecution about that,” Detective Lloyd answered. “Someone from their office should be getting in touch with Mrs. Abadi soon.”
“Ultimately,” Detective Fox added, “it’s up to county prosecutors to decide what to charge her with.”
“What about her attack on me?” I pressed. “She can’t get away with slamming me on the head with a weight.”
“She’s been charged with assault,” Nasser reminded me. He was closely following both cases. “In Virginia, that means she acted with the intent to do bodily harm.”
“She told her brother that she intended to kill me.” I looked from him to the detectives. “It’s all on the recording.”
“The county prosecutor will take his time building the case,” Nasser said. “Lizzie could eventually face additional charges. Her brother could face charges as an accessory.”
I peppered the detectives with several more questions, which they patiently answered before eventually getting up to leave. “We’ll be in touch,” Detective Fox said.
I walked the detectives to the door and embraced each of them. “Thank you for everything.”
“Just doing our jobs,” Detective Lloyd said.
Detective Fox patted me awkwardly on the back. “Take care now.”
“You need to rest,” Nasser said the minute I rejoined him in the living room.
“How long is this process going to take? The whole bringing charges, court proceedings, all of it?”
“It depends on what Lizzie does. If she takes a plea deal, the case will be over much sooner than if she decides to take her chances in court.”
