Chapter 40
Penelope
The chaos of activity surrounding me had died down, but my head was still fuzzy. I knew I was in a hospital, although I didn’t remember arriving or how I got there. Nausea came in waves, making me want to keep my eyes closed.
Someone squeezed my hand, and I opened my eyes, wishing I had my glasses.
“Theo?” I asked.
“Hey, Pentastic. I’m here.”
My stomach hurt, so I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.
He softly brushed the hair from my forehead. “Stay with me, Pen.”
“I just feel sick.”
“They said that might happen. Shouldn’t last long. Do you know where you are?”
“Hospital?”
“Yeah.”
“Where is she? Where’s Gina?”
“Garrett got her. You’re safe.”
I opened my eyes again and my stomach didn’t protest. But I still couldn’t quite make out Theo’s face.
“Do you have my glasses?”
“No, I don’t know where they are. But Melanie’s going to our place to see if she can find an extra pair.” He helped me raise the bed so I was sitting up, then leaned closer so his features came into focus. “Can you see me now?”
I nodded. “How did I get here?”
“Ambulance.”
“It was her. It was Gina. She killed those women, and her husband. She was trying to kill me.”
“I know. She injected you with insulin. Probably how she killed the others, too.”
“She thought I had an affair with Edwin.”
“What?”
“That’s why she did it. She told me he had affairs with the others, so she killed them. And I was the last one. She killed him to make sure of it.”
“Why would she think that?”
“I didn’t, Theo. I swear—”
He gently placed a finger on my lips. “No. I know you didn’t. That’s not what I mean. Do you know what made her think you did?”
“He painted my portrait. She said he painted the others, too. But I don’t know if he actually had an affair with any of them.”
He shook his head and touched my face. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”
“How did they find me?”
“You’re not going to believe this,” Theo said, “but it started with Sean.”
“Sean? How?”
“He came to practice. God, it was just this afternoon, but it feels like it was a week ago. Anyway, he saw Gina parked outside his house a few times and thought it was weird. Like she might be stalking you or something. He didn’t want to bug you, but he thought you should know. So he told me.”
“That was good of him.”
“It was. He did the right thing, I gotta give him that. So when I got your message that you’d gone to the gallery, I knew something wasn’t right. I looked everywhere for you. Luke broke into the gallery, but don’t tell Garrett. I even broke into Gina’s house.”
“Did you really?”
He cracked a smile. “Through a window. But you weren’t there. You were at that Curt guy’s house. Somehow she roped him into helping her.”
“I remember them arguing. It sounded like she had dirt on him. She threatened him if he wouldn’t do what she said—something about his computer and going to prison.”
“I’m sure Garrett and his crew will figure it out. We found Curt driving your car. He caved pretty quick and admitted where you were. That’s how we found you.”
Tears stung my eyes. “I thought I was going to die.”
“Yeah, I was worried about that, too. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life.”
“You said we. We found you. Were you there?”
He nodded again, pain and worry flashing across his face. “Yeah, I was with Garrett. Once he got Curt to admit where you were, we got there as fast as we could. You were unconscious on the floor.”
“Oh, Theo.”
“I thought you might be…you know.”
A few tears broke free and trailed down my cheeks. “You saved me?”
I didn’t know why that surprised me so much. But I’d never had someone in my life who would go to such lengths for me. Who would even notice if I was gone.
“Of course I did. Pen, I—”
“There you are.” Melanie burst in—I recognized her voice—carrying what looked like a pink box.
“Sorry I didn’t get here sooner. Harper made me pick up cookies to bring over.
” She set the box on the foot of the bed.
“But I did find a pair of glasses. I hope they’re yours.
Although I don’t think Theo wears glasses, so they must be. ”
It took her a moment of digging through her purse before she produced my glasses with a triumphant, “Ta-da!” and handed them to Theo.
He slipped the glasses on for me and, not for the first time, his dimples were the first thing I saw.
“That’s so much better,” I said. “Thank you.”
“How are you?” Melanie asked. “Luke said you were missing, and then we heard Theo found you, but you were on your way to the hospital.”
“Yeah, it’s been a weird day. I’m all right now.”
“Good.” Her eyes moved between Theo and me. “You know what? I’ll hear the story later. You’ve had enough excitement for now. I’ll just leave the cookies.”
“Thanks for grabbing her glasses, Mel,” Theo said.
“Happy to,” she said with a smile, looking back and forth between us again. “Call me when you’re home. And let me know if you need anything. I mean it.”
“I will,” I said. “Thank you.”
She seemed like she was about to leave when she moved around Theo and gave me a big hug. Gratefully, I hugged her back. After another round of goodbyes and promises to call, she left.
A nurse came in to check on me and said I was doing well. My blood sugar was stable, and the drug Gina had put in my tea was wearing off. They didn’t expect me to have any complications, but wanted me to stay a bit longer, just to make sure.
Theo sat down beside me again after she left. He took my hand and held it in both of his, and his forehead creased with concern.
“You aren’t getting a migraine, are you?” I asked.
“No.” His voice was soft. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not the one who almost got killed today.”
“Yeah, but stress can trigger them, right?”
He smiled. “I’m fine. Promise.”
“If you need to go home and rest, it’s okay.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know, but—”
“Pen, listen—”
“Hey.” Garrett poked his head around the curtain. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Dressed in his deputy uniform, Garrett stepped in and gestured to the pink box. “Was my wife here?”
“No, Melanie brought them,” Theo said. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to see how things are going.” His eyes moved to mine. “How are you doing?”
“Getting better. My head still feels a little fuzzy, but it’s wearing off. And the nurse said my blood sugar is stable.”
“Good. So glad to hear it.”
“Thank you for everything.”
He smiled. “Just doing my job.”
“Gina Morris is locked up, right?” Theo asked. “Permanently?”
“She’s in custody. She’s not being particularly cooperative, so I decided to let her hang out in a cell for a while.”
“She told me everything,” I said. “Or most of it, at least.”
“Do you want to give me a statement now?” Garrett asked. “We can wait until you feel up to it.”
“No, I can do it now. I don’t want to forget anything.”
Garrett took notes while I recounted what I remembered—everything from my arrival at the gallery to waking up in the hospital. I told him about the tea Gina gave me, the argument I’d overheard between her and Curt, and everything Gina had said about Edwin and the other murders.
“I don’t know how many women she killed, but I got the impression it was several at least,” I said. “Edwin probably painted the locations of all of them.”
“I bet if you go through his paintings, you’ll find them,” Theo said. “Or at least more clues as to where they left the bodies.”
“That’s one of the first things we’ll do,” Garrett said. “We’ve already secured the gallery and the Morris residence.”
“I also don’t know how Gina killed Edwin if she was out of town when he died,” I said. “Unless the newspaper was wrong about that.”
“She claims she was visiting her sister,” Garrett said. “We’ll interview the sister and see what she says about it. I’m betting Gina came back early from that visit, and the sister lied to give her an alibi.”
“What about Curt what’s-his-name?” Theo asked.
“Oh, he’s happy to talk,” Garrett said, and I didn’t miss the under-current of disdain in his voice. “He just wants to stay out of prison.”
“I don’t think he knew Gina was trying to kill me,” I said.
“That’s what he told us, too,” Garrett said. “It’ll be up to the prosecuting attorney to sort it all out.”
“You know I had to break into Gina’s house, right?” Theo asked. “I didn’t have a choice.”
Garrett held up his hands. “I don’t know a thing about that.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Like I said, just doing my job.”
“Oh, shit,” Theo said. “Do Josiah and Zachary know we found her? I totally forgot they were out looking.”
“Yeah, Luke called them. They’ve been busy keeping their wives from coming down here to make sure Penelope is okay.”
Theo grinned. “That tracks.”
“I’ll let you get some rest,” Garrett said. “We might have some follow-up questions, but I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Really. I feel like I keep saying it, but thank you so much.”
With a smile, Garrett nodded, then turned to Theo. “Take care of her.”
“Always,” Theo said.
Always. That word hung in the air, like the last note of a song. A sad song.
Because Theo wouldn’t always be there. And that reality was breaking my heart in two.
Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes as Garrett left. I didn’t want to cry, especially in front of Theo. But the tidal wave of emotion crashed over me, leaving destruction in its wake.
“Hey.” He pressed his palm to my cheek. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick again?”
“No.”
The concern in his eyes made everything worse. Why did he have to be so good? So kind and caring and handsome and sweet. Why did the best man I’d ever known have to be someone I couldn’t keep?
My resolve to pretend everything was okay crumbled as the cracks in my heart grew. I couldn’t do it anymore. Couldn’t stop the words from tumbling from my lips.
“I want you to stay,” I said, my voice shaky. “I know it’s selfish, and I should want what’s best for you. And I shouldn’t have caught feelings, but I did. I keep trying to pretend I didn’t and it’s fine, but it’s not fine, Theo. Nothing is fine.”
And then he did the strangest thing. He smiled.
It wasn’t just any smile. It was a wide, dimpled, bright, ecstatic smile. Then it got worse. He laughed.
“Don’t laugh at me,” I sobbed. “I’ve had a horrible day.”
“My beautiful Penelope.” He cupped my cheeks and leaned in, planting a soft kiss on my lips. “I’m not laughing at you.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I swear I’m not. Pen, before I realized you were missing, I was trying to figure out how to tell you. I’m in love with you.”
I blinked a few times. “Am I hallucinating?”
“No, this is real. I’m so in love with you. And if you want me to…” He hesitated and the raw vulnerability in his eyes brought fresh tears to mine. “If you want me, I’ll stay.”
My lips parted and I stared at him as the tears rolled down my cheeks. Had he just said he’d stay? For me?
“It’s all I want. I’d go with you if you asked me to, but—”
“No,” he said. “It wouldn’t be the right thing. You need to be here. And I need to be with you.”
“Can we go back to the part where you said you’re in love with me? Because if you really said that, you just turned the worst day of my life into the best.”
He smiled and kissed me again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. I love you so much and I want you to stay.”
“That’s all I wanted to hear. Well, that and We found her and she’s fine.”
I laughed softly. “You did find me.”
“I wasn’t going to stop until I did.”
He kissed me again, deep and slow. It sounded like a nurse came in, but he didn’t stop, and I didn’t care.
Theo had saved me. He’d searched for me, he loved me, and he was going to stay.