Don’t Let Me Break by Linda Verji

 

 

CHAPTER 22

 

“And you didn’t have anything to eat other than the cake?” Tony Brown, one of the two detectives who were questioning Sebastian, asked.

The detectives had come in just a few minutes ago after being informed of the situation by the hospital. Other than both being white, the two were as different as night and day. Brown was short, muscular and bald-headed. He looked like short Jason Statham. Rod Weston, the other detective, was built like a lamppost. He was tall and skinny, yet carried so much hair on his head that it looked like he was wearing a wig.

“I had a sandwich,” Sebastian admitted. “But I shared it with Marley, and she’s okay.”

“Marley?” Brown jotted something in his notebook. “That’s the woman who brought you the cake, right?”

“Right.” Sebastian nodded then quickly added, “But she’s not the one who did this.”

“You don’t know that,” Brown quickly countered.

Yes, I do. Sebastian was sure that Marley wasn’t the one who’d poisoned him. However, he also understood why others couldn’t be as trusting. She was the one who’d given him the cake so of course she was a suspect too. To protect her, he’d considered omitting her part in the whole saga when talking to the police. But after careful thought, he’d realized that she was the target of this incident. If he wanted to protect her, he needed to tell the police everything.

His gaze unreadable, Weston asked, “What kind of relationship do you two have?”

“We just started dating,” Sebastian said.

The two detectives traded looks as if to say that that response only made Marley more of a suspect. Brown asked, “How’s your relationship like?”

“It’s good,” Sebastian said. When all he got from the detectives was doubtful looks, he added, “It’s not her. Trust me. If anything, she’s the intended victim of this poisoning.”

“Is that so?” Weston prodded for an explanation.

“The cake was meant for her, but she didn’t want it so she gave it to me,” Sebastian revealed. “Also, this isn’t the first time someone is coming after her.”

Weston’s eyebrows shot up. “This has happened before?”

“It has. About two months ago, someone attacked her in the parking lot of our company.” Sebastian went on to explain the events of the attack.

“Was there was an investigation?” Brown asked.

“There was.” Sebastian nodded. “Check with your people. I’m sure they have it on record.”

“Well, that certainly changes things.” Brown frowned. “Do you have any idea why someone would be trying to hurt her?”

Sebastian opened his mouth but never got to answer because right then the door to his hospital room opened. Marley walked in carrying a small duffel bag in one hand and a knapsack on the opposite shoulder.

The moment she saw the other two men in the room, she froze in her tracks. Her startled gaze sought Sebastian.

“They’re detectives,” Sebastian explained while smiling reassuringly. “They’re here to investigate.”

“O- oh!” Instant nervousness flashed in her eyes.

“You’re Marley?” Weston asked.

Marley nodded. “Y- yes.”

“We’ve heard a lot about you,” Brown said. He was smiling and his voice was soft, as if he could tell that she was anxious.

“I- I see.” Her eyes on the two detectives, Marley crossed the room.

As if to make sure she was as far apart from them as possible, she moved to the opposite side of the bed. She set hers and Sebastian’s bags on the couch behind her, then sidled closer to the bed to stand right beside Sebastian as if seeking his protection. Sebastian reached for her hand and took it. Her hand was icy cold, and he rubbed his thumb over the back to warm her.

The detectives watched all this movement keenly, as if trying to judge just how good or bad the couple’s relationship was.

“Mr. Levy told us that you’re the one who gave him the cake,” Weston drew their attention to him.

“I- I did.” Marley nodded. “But- But I didn’t buy it. I got it- I got it from Eugene, who got it from Zion, who got it from Quinn.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Say that again.” Brown scribbled hurriedly on his notepad. “You said who gave it to you?”

Marley repeated the names. She went on to explain why the cake had passed through all those hands to get to her. Sebastian, who wasn’t privy to all these details, listened keenly.

“Okay,” Weston asked, “between those three, is there anyone who’d want to hurt you and why?”

“They’re- they’re my friends,” Marley said. “I- I don’t think any of them would hurt me.”

“You’d be surprised.” Brown made a face. “Most murders are done by people close to us.”

“We’ll talk to them and see what they have to say,” Weston added. “Apart from them, do you know anyone who would want to hurt you?”

Sebastian expected Marley to say no. Imagine his shock when she nodded.

“Who?” Sebastian asked before even the detectives could.

Marley snuck a nervous look at him then turned back to the detectives. “Her- her- her name is- is Leslie.”

Brown jotted the name down. “Last name?”

“Umm...” Marley squinted and tilted her head as if trying to remember then came up with, “Ah… Turner. It’s Leslie Turner.”

“You work with her?” Weston prodded.

“No.”

“Then how do you know her?” Weston asked.

“Sh- she- she-” Marley stopped to swallow nervously. Her gaze flickered to Sebastian then back to the detectives. “She- she and my mother were cellmates.”

Cellmates? Did that mean what Sebastian thought? Shocked, he stared up at Marley but she was watching the detectives.

“Cellmates?” Brown frowned. “As in, they were in the same prison?”

“Yes.” Marley nodded. “Leslie came- came to see me last week….”

She went on to explain everything that had happened with Leslie. The more Sebastian listened, the more shocked he was. There was too much information to process. However, most shocking was the fact that Marley’s mother, Cynthia, had killed Marley’s father.

At the time of Gary Carter’s murder, Sebastian was seventeen and living back in Sacramento with his family. He would never have heard of the murder if it wasn’t for his dad, William, who’d talked about the case endlessly. William, who was always looking for new material for his novels, was fascinated by all the discrepancies in the case.

Unlike most people, William wasn’t convinced that a meek housewife like Cynthia Carter would just wake up in the morning and murder her husband for nothing. It didn’t make sense. But to his frustration, he couldn’t find anything to prove his theory right.

Sebastian had spent months after that listening to his father’s wacky theories about what had really happened that night. Gary was having an affair; Cynthia found out and killed him. Gary was molesting the kids; Cynthia found out and killed him. Cynthia was having an affair; wanted to get rid of Gary so she killed him. Gary took out life insurance on Cynthia; tried to kill her, so she killed him instead.

Never had it occurred to Sebastian that he might meet one of the subjects of his father’s odd musing. And he certainly didn’t expect that Marley… his Marley… would be one of the victims of that tragedy.

His heart broke for her. It was both horrifying and saddening that Leslie had tried to profit from her pain. Poor Marley. No wonder Hazel had appeared last week. Marley must’ve been so scared. He ached to draw her into his arms and hug her, but the detectives were still there. He had to satisfy himself with just squeezing her hand as she spoke.

“Do you know where we can find this Leslie?” Weston asked once Marley was done talking.

“No, I just- I just have the number sh- she called me with,” Marley said. “But my- my sister said that- that number’s owner changed.”

“Give us the number,” Brown said. “We might be able to trace her with it.”

Marley let go of Sebastian’s hand to take her phone out of her bag and give them the number.

Seemingly convinced that Marley was the target of the poisoning, the detectives questioned her further about who could’ve had contact with Leslie. A few more coworkers came up. After promising to talk to everyone mentioned, the detectives left.

“Come here,” Sebastian urged once he and Marley were all alone in the room.

Marley moved closer to the bed, and when he stretched out his arms, she bent down to hug him. Neither of them said anything for a while. They just held each other. If his heart hurt this much just from listening to her talk and imagining what her childhood might’ve been like, he couldn’t even imagine how she was feeling. She was the one who’d lived through that hell.

Marley was the one who ended the hug. When she started to rise, Sebastian brought her back for a soft kiss before letting her go.

“I think I brought everything you asked for.” She pointed to the bag. “Do you want to check?”

“No.” He forced a smile. “I trust you.”

“Are you hungry?” she asked. Worry creasing her brow, she settled on the edge of the bed. “You had very little to eat.”

“No, not really.” He shook his head. Actually, he was very hungry. Whatever little food he’d eaten today, he’d already vomited. But he didn’t want to bother Marley.

“Still, you must be.” She stood. “I’ll go check what you’re allowed to eat.”

Before he could stop her, she headed for the door.

Several minutes later, she came back with a bowl in her hand.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized as she sat back down beside him. “This is all I could bring you.” The bowl contained some kind of thin, light brown soup. “They said that you need to rest your stomach. If you’re really hungry, this is all you can have.”

Sebastian didn’t know what kind of soup it was, but he trusted Marley. When she held a spoonful to his mouth, he easily parted his lips.

“Chicken?” he asked once he tasted it.

She nodded. “And vegetables. How do you like it?”

“It’s good,” he lied. The soup was bland and tepid. Still, it was better than nothing.

Marley smiled then scooped another spoonful for him. Though the soup was nothing to write home about, having her feed it to him left him feeling like he was eating a sumptuous meal.

“I like this,” he said in between spoonfuls.

She arched her eyebrows. “You like what?”

“That you’re taking care of me.” His lips curved in a smile. “So this is what it feels like to be taken care of by your girlfriend.”

“Girl-” She stuttered and her eyes widened. “-Girlfriend?”

“What? Did you forget?” He reminded her, “You said yes to me when we were having lunch.”

“N- no, I didn’t forget.” She licked her bottom lip nervously. “I thought- I thought you’d forgotten.”

“I might have been taken out of commission, but that doesn’t mean I lost my memory. I would never forget something like that.” He took the bowl from her hand and set it on the nightstand, then he tugged at her hand. “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?”

She shook her head and moved even closer to him.

“Good.” He lifted his hand to cup her cheek. He didn’t even need to pull her to him. She just arched closer until their lips met in a soft kiss.