“It’s kind of a long shot, but worth checking out. And one other thing. He’s not an employee, but in the footage, he was wearing scrubs and an ID badge.”

She frowned. “What’s that all about?”

“I’m not sure. I’m getting ready to pass on the information to Elliott and Caroline after they finish talking to Mrs. Nelson. I’ll let them run with it unless they want my help.”

She hugged him. “Thank you, Caden, for keeping me in the loop and trusting me.”

He patted her head just like he used to do when she was a teen and slipped into the room. The action used to infuriate her. Now she just smiled.

As the door swung shut, Sarah stuck her foot inside to stop it from closing all the way, hoping she’d be able to hear the conversation.

“Mrs. Nelson?” Detective Bancroft asked. Clear as a bell. “Mrs. Nelson?”

“Mom? Can you wake up?” Probably the teenage girl.

“What?” The weak voice must belong to Michelle.

“Mom?”

“Hey, baby. How are you?”

“So glad you’re awake.” Sobs erupted just as Gavin joined her at the door.

“Eavesdropping?” he murmured.

“No, of course not.” She paused. “Well, yes, technically, I guess,” she whispered, “but I don’t look at it that way. I’m just saving Caden from having to go to all the trouble to fill us in on what’s said.”

Gavin smirked. “Move over a little.”

A soft giggle slipped from her before the seriousness of the situation sobered her. “You guys go on down to get a snack while I talk to the officers,” Michelle said.

“Mom—”

“Please, honey, we’ll talk later, I promise.”

Footsteps headed for the door and Sarah pulled Gavin to the side. The children and the teen stepped out of the room and headed for the elevator. Sarah and Gavin moved back to hear.

“Ma’am, can you tell us what happened?” Detective Bancroft asked. “How did you get shot?”

“Brianne did it.”

Sarah gasped and Gavin squeezed her bicep.

“Um . . . she didn’t mean to,” Mrs. Nelson said, “it was an accident.”

“Can you share the details?” Detective Bancroft’s voice again.

“Brianne was agitated, sliding into a depression, and getting worse by the minute,” Michelle said, sounding stronger and more awake. “She’d been doing so well that it was incredibly shocking to see her go downhill so quickly. Like within hours.”

Sarah frowned at Gavin. “Weird.”

“What triggered it? Do you know?” Detective Attwood’s voice this time.

“No. She was fine. We’d been talking about taking a trip to Hawaii and making plans. She seemed all in. Even got her laptop and started looking up things she wanted to see while we were there. I ran out to grab some burgers, and when I got back, she was distraught, pacing the floors, crying—almost wailing . . . I don’t know, but it was awful.”