Chosen To Die (Alvarez & Pescoli)

Not yet.

I look at the door of her silent room again. I feel my rage, but I’ll keep it under rein. For a little longer.

CHOSEN TO DIE

263

And then . . . ?

I crack the ice cube with my teeth.

And then, watch out.

Annette buzzed Jalicia just as she was packing up to go home for the evening. “Mr. Tinneman’s on line one.”

“All right,” she said.

“Should I put him through?”

“Go ahead,” the doctor said, frowning a bit. She’d hardly heard from anyone about Padgett Long and now Padgett’s father’s attorney had called three times in one day.

“Dr. Ramsby?” the lawyer said, sounding ruffled.

“I’m glad I caught you before you left.”

“Is there something I can help you with?” She glanced at the clock. It was late and getting later, and she wanted nothing more than to head home to a nice meal, a stir-fry she would make for herself.

“After I talked to you, I went over to visit Mr. Long, Padgett’s father.”

“How is he?” Jalicia asked.

There was the slightest hesitation on the line.

“Not well. I’m not breaking any attorney/client confidentiality here. It’s a known fact. The caregivers at Regal Oaks won’t commit to a time line, you understand, but I wouldn’t expect him to live out the week.”

“I’m sorry.” He’d said as much earlier.

“But there’s been an unexpected complication. A tragedy. The real reason I called you. Hubert Long’s only son, Brady, Padgett’s brother, was killed today.”

“Killed,” she repeated, shocked, a protective hand 264

Lisa Jackson

automatically covering her heart. “In some kind of accident?”

“I’m afraid it’s a homicide, Dr. Ramsby. The police are being pretty tight-lipped in Grizzly Falls, but I have confirmed that Brady Long is dead.”

Jalicia blinked, processing. “Homicide?”

“It would seem. It’s all over the news in Montana.”

“How? What . . . ? I’m sorry.” She kept apologizing. For people she’d never met. But they were Padgett’s family. Her only family? And within the week it was likely they would both be gone.

Her mind was already skipping ahead. She rolled her chair back to the file cabinet and unlocked it to find the paperwork on Padgett Long: three thick files.

“This tragedy has us all—boggled—a little.”

“Yes.”