J. Jance - Web of Evil

There was no way to answer that question.

As Ali worked to free her mother from her restraints, footsteps pounded across the kitchen and down the stairs. "Where are you?" Dave demanded.

"Down the hall," Ali called back. "In the sauna."

Dave's anxious face appeared in the doorway a moment later. "Is Edie here? Is she okay?"

With the last of the tape removed, Edie tried to get to her feet. She stood briefly, but even with Ali helping her, she swayed a little and sat back down abruptly. "I guess I'm still a little woozy," she said.

"An ambulance is already on the way," Dave said.

"What's going on upstairs?" Ali asked.

"When April saw the uniforms, she fought the cops tooth and nail, but they have her in custody now. They're putting her in a patrol car or an ambulance."

A uniformed cop showed up in the sauna just then, followed immediately by two more. "Is the other lady all right?" one of them asked.

"I'll be a whole lot better once you get me out of here," Edie Larson said, rising again. "I never have liked saunas. They make me feel claustrophobic."

For good reason, Ali thought.

"Ma'am," one of the cops said. He didn't look to be much older than Chris. "Are you sure you should be moving around like this? Wouldn't you be better off sitting back down and waiting here for the EMTs to come take a look at you?"

"Young man," Edie said firmly, "I'm not staying in this room for another minute. Now either help me out of here or else get out of the way so I can do it on my own." With that, Edie turned to Ali. "Call your father," she ordered. "Let him know I'm all right. If you've told him about any of this, he's probably worried sick."

That was when Ali knew for sure Edie was all right, too.

As the clutch of uniformed officers helped Edie out of the sauna and down the hall, Dave handed Ali his phone. "Call your dad," he said.

Bob and Chris had arrived at the hotel by then, and they were jubilant when they heard the news. "I can't believe you and Dave pulled it off!" Bob Larson exclaimed.

Ali gave Dave a sideways look. "I can't, either," she said. "But we did."

"And everybody's all right?"

"They're taking Mom to an ER to be checked out. She has a nasty lump on her head and was a little shaky on her feet. She may have a slight concussion."

"Which hospital?"

"Cedars-Sinai," Ali answered. "Ask Chris. He'll know how to get there."

"What about you?" Bob asked.

"I'm fine," Ali said. And she had been fine while she was helping her mother. But now she could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke to her father. "I'll talk to you later."

She handed the phone over to Dave, trying to dodge his questioning glance as she did so, trying not to let him see that her hands were shaking and her knees knocking. Ali sank down on the redwood bench, and Dave sat down beside her.

"You're not fine," he said, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder. "You're not fine at all."

They sat together for some time, with Ali simply leaning into Dave's shoulder and gathering her strength. "Thank you," she said at last. "Thank you for being here and thank you for listening to what I meant as opposed to what I said."

"You're welcome," he said. "Better now?"

She nodded.

"Good," he said, "because it's about time to go back upstairs and give another statement."

"And call Victor again?"

"I think we can pass on calling Victor this time."

The officer who took Ali's statement was one of the Eagle Scoutlooking uniforms who had helped Edie make her way back upstairs.

"So this whole thing came about because your mother and this April Gaddis had some kind of disagreement?"

"Evidently," Ali said.

"And what exactly is your relationship to the perpetratoror your mother's, for that matter?"

Ali sighed. "April Gaddis is my dead husband's mistress. My dead husband's pregnant mistress. They were supposed to get married yesterday, but he was murdered early Friday morning and died before our divorce became final."

The young man frowned. Concentrating as he wrote, he made no comment about Ali's very complicated life, and Ali greatly appreciated his lack of editorial input.

"And the cause of the difficulty between April and your mother?" he continued.

"Mom tried to tell April she shouldn't be smoking when she's pregnant."

"Makes sense to me," the young cop said. His name was Rich Green, and maybe he really was an Eagle Scout.

Officer Green took the information from both Ali and Dave in a methodical manner. He was thorough. He was patient. He was also slow as Christmas. By the time he finally finished, Ali was ready to strangle him.

"So where did they take April?" Ali asked when the ordeal was finally over. "And what about my mother?"

"They were both supposed to be transported to Cedars-Sinai," Officer Green told them. "But I believe your mother decided against going at the last moment. Said she had a perfectly good hotel room and that would be fine. All she wanted was to see her husband and get a good night's sleep."

That sounded like Edie.

"And April?" Ali asked.

"She went to the hospital."

"Cedars-Sinai? They have a psych ward there?" Ali asked.

"I'm not sure about a psych ward," Officer Green returned. "I believe one of the EMTs said something about her going into labor."

Ali's heart constricted in her chest. "But I just told you. April Gaddis was holding both my mother and me at gunpoint. She's been waving a pistol around and threatening suicide. She should be on a suicide watch."

"I'm sure the EMTs who transported her conferred with the supervisor on the scene before they took her anywhere. Do you want me to call and check?"

Ali could imagine how long it would take Officer Green to navigate through any kind of bureaucratic roadblock.

"No, thanks," Ali said. "Don't bother. I'll find out for myself."

"The hospital?" Dave asked, following Ali out to where his car was parked directly behind hers.

"You don't have to come," Ali said.

"I'm coming," Dave declared.

"All right then," Ali agreed. "The hospital."

It was after two A.M. when both vehicles pulled into the hospital parking lot. The hospital was locked down tight. A security guard met them at the main door and led them to a lobby counter.

"We're here to see a patient," Ali said to the clerk seated in front of a computer screen. "She's on the maternity ward. Her name is April Gaddis."

The clerk typed something into her keyboard then looked back at Ali with a frown. "Are you a relative?" she asked.

Clearly the clerk was less than prepared to hand out any information. And with the new federal privacy rules, Ali knew she was fighting an uphill battle. She tried to lighten the mood.

"Not a relative," Ali said breezily. "Just a good friend. I'm going to be the baby's godmother."

"Excuse me," the clerk said, rising. "If you'll just wait here. I need to check with a supervisor."

"Not good," Dave said under his breath. "When they have to go check with a supervisor, it's never a good sign."

A few minutes later a formidable black woman emerged from a closed door behind the desk. "I'm a supervisor, Audrey Barker. May I help you?" she asked.

"I came to see April Gaddis," Ali said. "She's a patient herea maternity patient. She was brought here by ambulance a couple of hours ago."

"And what is your relationship to Ms. Gaddis?" Audrey Barker asked. "Are you a relative?"

"As I already told the other woman, I'm not a relativejust a good friend."

"Would you happen to know the names of any of Ms. Gaddis's relatives? She told us her mother is deceased."

"Monique Ragsdale is deceased," Ali answered. She was starting to get a bad feeling from all the questions. Surely coming to visit a patient didn't usually result in the visitors being given this kind of third degree.