“Someone told her she had. Delores suffers from a condition called Schizoaffective Disorder. She has medication to control it, but if she doesn’t take it, she can be easily influenced into believing almost anything,” Elijah chose his words carefully, not wanting to implicate Michael in some way and have it come back to bite him in the arse. But Sally seemed like a nice person, a trustworthy person—but most of all she seemed to care what happened to Delores.
Her face was thoughtful as she listened to Elijah, letting his words sink in as she placed the illness with the image of Delores. Things made much more sense with that information.
“Who does she think she’s hurt?” Sally asked, her voice cautious.
“I shouldn’t say. But she hasn’t done anything. She’s a good woman, Sally. She’s just confused. She just needs help,” Elijah choked on the words, the pain of not being able to be with Delores pricking his heart like a dagger.
“Can’t you just tell her that she didn’t do whatever it was?”
Elijah shook his head. “No, I… I’m not allowed to see her.”
Silence settled between the two of them, a frown eclipsing Sally’s face. Worry darkened Elijah’s.
“I’m in love with her,” Elijah confided. “But she’s married. He won’t let me see her.”
“But you’re a cop.”
Elijah shrugged. “And he’s her husband. There’s nothing I can do.”
Sally nodded, still looking thoughtful. “Maybe I could go see her,” she tentatively suggested. “She might remember me. If you could give me something to show her, to prove that it’s all okay.”
Elijah shook his head no, but then stopped and thought about what she was saying. Her going to see Delores wouldn’t make a difference, because Michael wouldn’t let anyone in to see her. No friends, no family, no one. He wasn’t going to let anyone in that could give his game away. Not even a helpful stranger.
But perhaps, he thought…
“Sally, can I ask you to help me?” he asked.
She frowned as she wrung her hands together. “I’m not sure what I can do. I mean, my little boy…”
“I know, I know, and I won’t keep you long, I promise,” Elijah said.
“I don’t want to get in any trouble.”
Elijah nodded and sighed. “I know. But she needs my help and I can’t get to her. I’m worried if I don’t get to her soon it will be too late.” His voice choked on the last words, knowing them to be true. “She just needs someone to care.”
Sally reached out and place a hand on top of Elijah’s. The sorrowful eyes of Delores still burned into her mind. “Tell me what I can do.”
Chapter Forty-Two.
Sally
Sally walked through the dimly-lit hallways of the hospital.
It was late now, the busy couple of hours between family and friends visiting patients and the doctors doing their rounds were long since gone. She still hadn’t heard any news on Taylor, but she pushed the worry to the back of her mind and focused on the task at hand. She had to believe that he would be okay, that everything would be okay. Because if she didn’t, she knew she would have nothing left to hold on to in this miserable life. Everything would have been for nothing.
No, not nothing, she told herself. The few short years she had already had with Taylor were worth every bit of grief she had ever had. And more. And she knew she’d go through everything again if she had to. He was worth it. He was worth everything.
She passed the nurses’ station, her hands tucked in the front of her dress as she looked straight ahead, avoiding meeting anyone’s eye. The nurse behind the desk glanced up briefly but quickly looked away, head back down as she focused on her work. Sally made her way to Delores’ room. Elijah had told her it was room 304, but she didn’t need to check the numbers on the door to know which one was hers.
The security guard sat outside the room on a low backed chair, the glow of his phone illuminating his face. He glanced up as Sally got closer, his smile widening the closer she got. It was a reaction most men had around her, one that normally irritated her. She had put to bed the brain-dead, arrogant cheerleader she had been long ago. However today it was a welcome sight—that smile meant she could bend this man’s attention at her whim.
She smiled back, double checked the number on the door, just in case, and placed her hand on the door handle. Her shoulders sat upright to show confidence that she was allowed to be here.
“Not heard a peep from her. Think she’s sleeping,” the guard said quietly.
Sally looked back round at him, her heart jumping to her throat. She smiled again. “That’s good,” she replied.
“They say rest is good for the soul,” he continued, eager for Sally’s attention.
