Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Well
While I lay in the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV drip of pain medication and wearing a thick chest binder, the world outside didn't stop moving. In fact, the shockwaves of what had happened in that suburban kitchen were just beginning to spread.
By late afternoon, my hospital room door opened, and Chief Miller walked in, carrying two paper cups of lukewarm coffee. He looked tired, the dark circles under his eyes showing the strain of a long, brutal day.
"How are you holding up, Eleanor?" he asked, sitting in the armchair beside my bed and handing me a cup.
"The painkillers are helping," I said, pushing myself up slightly. "What's happening out there, Thomas?"
Thomas took a long sip of his coffee and sighed heavily. "Marcus and Rachel attempted to call their father's brother—your ex-brother-in-law, Arthur."
I grimaced at the mention of Arthur. Arthur Vance was a bitter, greedy man who had spent decades trying to cheat my late husband out of our farm boundaries. When Henry died, Arthur didn't even come to the funeral; he just sent a legal letter demanding a portion of our equipment.
"What did Arthur do?" I asked.
"He hired a high-priced criminal defense lawyer from the city named Richard Vance—no relation, but just as ruthless," Thomas replied. "Richard Vance showed up at the precinct two hours ago demanding to see his clients. He tried to claim that you initiated the physical confrontation, that you suffered a psychotic break due to early-onset dementia, and that Marcus was merely trying to restrain you."
I let out a bitter, raspy laugh that made my ribs throb. "A psychotic break? I weigh one hundred and fifteen pounds, Thomas. Marcus weighs two hundred."
"I know," Thomas said, his face darkening. "And so did the magistrate on duty. When attorney Vance tried to push the dementia narrative, District Attorney Harris stepped into the room and played the first three minutes of your pantry video on a fifty-inch monitor. I thought the lawyer was going to throw up."
"Did he drop the case?"
"No," Thomas said grimly. "Lawyers like him don't drop cases when there's three million dollars at stake. He’s going to try a different angle tomorrow at the bail hearing. He's going to claim that you were financially abusing Marcus and Rachel—that you promised them the farm proceeds in a binding verbal contract years ago, and that their emotional distress drove them to a temporary loss of sanity."
I gripped the bedsheets tightly. "A verbal contract? I paid off Marcus's eighty-thousand-dollar student loan debt! I gave Rachel forty thousand dollars when her boutique went bankrupt! I have every single check stub, every bank transfer record saved in my safety deposit box!"
Thomas reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black flash drive, setting it gently on my bedside table.
"I know you do, Eleanor," Thomas said softly. "And that's why I need you to give me permission to pull those bank records. We need to show the judge tomorrow that you weren't a hoarding, abusive mother. You were a saint who was bled dry by two parasites."
"Take whatever you need, Thomas," I said, my voice steadying. "Every bank statement. Every tax return. Every text message they sent me over the last three years demanding money. It’s all on my laptop in the safe under my bed."
Thomas stood up, nodding approvingly. "You prepared for this, didn't you? Even before the assault."
"I hoped I was wrong," I murmured, looking out the hospital window as the sun began to set behind the mountains. "I prayed every single night that I was just being a paranoid old woman. I prayed that my children still loved me. But a mother knows, Thomas. A mother knows when her children have turned into monsters."
Suddenly, the landline phone on my hospital bedside table began to ring loudly.
Thomas and I exchanged a quick glance. I picked up the receiver.
May you like
"Hello?"
"Mrs. Eleanor Vance?" a slick, artificial voice spoke through the speaker. "My name is Richard Vance, legal counsel representing your children, Marcus and Rachel. I am calling to offer you a private, out-of-court settlement before tomorrow's arraignment."
