Alyssa paced outside the room while nurses cleaned and changed Elizabeth’s bandages. The clasp of closure on this case was within her reach, and though she tried not to get her hopes up, it was difficult – especially now that Addis and Emerson had been located and were safe. To cover all her bases, she crossed her fingers, prayed, and performed the sign of the cross in the hope that Elizabeth would provide some much-needed answers.

‘You know pacing isn’t going to get you in there any quicker, so here’s a thought: stop.’ Cord grabbed her arm and tugged her out of the way of a patient who’d been doing laps around the nurses’ station since they’d arrived.

Alyssa ignored her partner’s comment. ‘Whoever did this to Elizabeth – and again, I’m going with the elusive ghost Alexandra Greene – must have some sort of medical background in order to have access to the nifedipine.’ Her eyes studied the nurses, technicians, and all the other readily available staff that had access to patients. ‘Maybe she works here.’

Like he was wont to do, Cord poked a hole in her theory. ‘Don’t you think that if Alexandra had regular access to her intended victim, Elizabeth Monroe would be dead right now instead of being upgraded from critical to serious with hopes of moving up to stable?’

Alyssa narrowed her eyes. ‘Your desire to consistently counteract the things I say with reason and logic is not your most admirable trait, I’ll have you know.’

Cord was unmoved, as his chuckle proved. But their conversation ended when two nurses piled out of Elizabeth’s room. The matronly one wearing puppy dog scrubs and a nametag that read Michaela greeted them. ‘We just gave her a pain pill – orally. She didn’t want it administered intravenously because she wants to speak with you. She’s pretty worn out, so it’s difficult to say how much time you’ll actually have. Good luck.’

‘Thank you,’ Alyssa said, already opening the door.

Lying in the hospital bed, her skin mottled in yellows, greens, and garish blues, Elizabeth Monroe looked much smaller and weaker than the woman Alyssa had interviewed for the first time nearly a week ago. ‘Miss Monroe, it’s good to see you awake.’ She jabbed her thumb in Cord’s direction. ‘This is my partner, Detective Roberts. Thanks for agreeing to see us.’

Elizabeth grimaced as she fought with elevating her bed so she wasn’t lying flat. ‘Detective, Tessa told me you’ve checked in on Brandon a couple of times just to see how he’s doing, and I’d like to thank you for that. I know that’s above and beyond your job requirements, and I want you to know I appreciate it.’ Her voice was rough, like she had a bad case of bronchitis and laryngitis all wrapped up in one miserable package.