"Sounds guilty as hell to me," Graham said. "They don't usually arrest innocent people."
"They do sometimes," I replied, remembering the stats I'd read from The Innocence Project, which investigates those falsely accused of murder and on death row. "The process is good, but not perfect. There are cases that slip through all the safeguards."
"But you said Spencer was in Alexandria and so was Hunter. Spencer was found dead in Alexandria. Sounds pretty damn suspicious to me."
"It does, but I don’t believe it. I don't think Hunter was angry. He'd calmed down considerably when I saw him. He's not that kind of man, Graham. He was in the special operations forces. Those guys are cool as cu
cumbers. They don't go off on rampages."
"Some do," Graham said, his expression dark. "I could see Hunter killing Spencer because of Sean. He must still hate Spencer because of that. That alone is enough to make me suspicious. That's probably why he was arrested."
I sighed and leaned back in the uncomfortable hospital chair beside Graham's bed. The hospital was busy at that time of day, with visitors crowding into the rooms and nurses going in and out, helping the patients with their needs.
"How long will you be in here?" I asked, glancing around.
"Another week or so," Graham replied and adjusted his pillow. "I've got to be able to do certain things before they'll let me go home. We're working on it."
"Will you come to the memorial service?"
"When will it be?"
"On Monday afternoon."
"I doubt it. Not that I'd want to come anyway, even if I wasn't in here."
"Graham!" I made a face.
"Well, it’s the truth. I'm happy he's dead. I'm ecstatic. Wasn’t soon enough. Whoever killed him? I want to shake his hand – and if it was Hunter, I'd buy him a fucking drink."
I laughed nervously, sympathetic to him but feeling bad about it. "I feel the same way, except I don't want Hunter to go to jail."
"I'm just glad he's gone. If Hunter did it, that's his choice and his consequences. Whoever killed him, I really don't care. And I don't want to go and pretend I do."
"Come for Mom. She'll want to you go. I'm sure there'll be people there who have no idea what a bastard he is and it would look strange if either of us weren't there. You can go in a wheelchair."
He shrugged helplessly. "I'll see what I the nurses say. I can get a day pass and we can go together."
I checked my watch and saw that it was getting late. "I'm going back to the warehouse," I said. "I'll go over to Aunt Diane's for supper and spend time with Mom. We have to write up an obituary. How do you write an obituary for a man you hate with all your guts?"
"I'm glad it's you instead of me," Graham said, grinning through his wired jaw.
"We'll spring you and bring you to the service no matter what you want," I said with a laugh and then bent down and kissed him on the cheek. "Take it easy. I'll come and see you again tomorrow."
"Okay, sister," he said and met my eyes. "Thanks for coming by. Let me know if anything happens on the case."
"I will."
I left the hospital and James took me to the dorm so I could see Amy. I'd gotten a text from her and wanted to spend some time with her before going to Aunt Diane's. When I arrived, I felt a pang of regret that I was no longer living in my room. Although I liked being with Hunter – when I was with him – I also liked my independence and being on my own. Amy was just down the hallway and we’d spent a lot of time together, so I missed the old connection we had. I missed sitting with her in the dining hall for our meals and spending time in each other's rooms, watching movies or Netflix, drinking beer.
I missed my old life – the one not filled with Russian mafia bosses, loan sharks, and gangsters. The one before Sean Saint was killed, before Graham lost all our inheritances, and before Hunter was in custody.
I wanted Hunter, but like this?
I finally got an email from Hunter's lawyer about a time to meet Hunter. I'd go for the last visiting time of the day, from seven to eight forty-five in the evening. James agreed to take me, and I was nervous as we drove to Alexandria.
Hi, Celia -- Make sure you get there about an hour early. There are only so many rooms and if they're filled up, you won't be able to see him. Oh, and don't wear any jewelry or any t-shirts with political messages. They're strict about what visitors can wear.
I sent him an email in reply that I'd be there an hour early, thanking him for letting me know about the whole process. Although I was in first year law, I had no idea how the real system worked on a day-to-day basis.