“Ashley?” a woman asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m so glad I got you. This is Ann Rostow from Sunny Rest.”

“Yes?”

“How are you feeling?”

Ashley thought about the last two hours and couldn’t help smiling. “Thanks for asking. I’m fully recovered.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Do you think you’d have a problem coming to Sunny Rest tomorrow morning?”

“No, why?”

“There’s been a development here.”

“What happened?”

“Casey has regained consciousness.”

“What?”

“She woke up.”

“Oh, my God!”

Ashley sat up and Jerry mouthed, “What’s going on?” Ashley held up a hand to silence him.

“Dr. Linscott wants to meet with the interested parties tomorrow morning at nine o’clock,” Rostow said. “Can you make it?”

“Of course. Can you tell me how she is? Can she talk, is she…?”

“I’d rather have the doctor explain her condition. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Ashley hung up and stared into space.

“Who was that?” Jerry asked.

“The woman from Sunny Rest. Casey Van Meter has come out of her coma.”

Jerry sat on the edge of the bed. “That changes everything,” he said.

When Jerry and Ashley arrived at Sunny Rest in the morning, Miles Van Meter was waiting with Monte Jefferson, his attorney, in the reception area outside Ann Rostow’s office. Larry Birch, Tony Marx, and Deputy District Attorney Delilah Wallace also wanted to hear what Dr. Linscott had to say. Randy Coleman and his attorney, Anthony Botteri, were sitting as far as possible from everyone else. Coleman did not look happy. Now that his wife was awake, their divorce could proceed, and his chance of securing any part of the Van Meter fortune was disappearng.

As soon as Ashley walked in, Delilah Wallace levered herself off the couch. She had a big grin on her face.

“How you doin’, girl? You had me worried something fierce.”

“I’m sorry I…”

“No apologies. I’m just glad you’re safe.” She spread her arms. “Let me give you a hug.”

Delilah engulfed Ashley, crushed her to her bosom, then let her go.

“No more running, promise?”

“I’m staying put.”

“Just like Mr. Maxfield. The only place he’s going is death row. That’s a promise. He’s gonna be under guard twenty-four hours a day and chained up anytime he’s out of his cell. No more freedom for Mr. Maxfield, ever.”

Miles had watched the exchange without expression, but he smiled as soon as Ashley turned toward him.

“You must be very happy,” she said.

“I should have had more faith.”

“No one could have predicted this.”

The door to the right of the receptionist’s desk opened and Ann Rostow walked out, followed by a short, bespectacled man in a brown sports jacket and gray slacks. The man’s red complexion extended across a bald pate over which he had combed his few remaining strands of hair. He looked uncomfortable facing a group.

“I’m glad you could all make it,” Rostow said. “This is Dr. Stanley Linscott, who has been treating Ms. Van Meter. Let’s go into the conference room so he can bring you up to date on her condition and answer your questions. Then we can go to her room.”

A long table dominated the conference room. Everyone assembled around it except Larry Birch and Tony Marx. The detectives stood against the wall. Ann Rostow and Dr. Linscott sat at the end of the table near the door.

“Go ahead, Doctor,” Ann Rostow said.

“Yes, well, I can tell you that I was quite surprised yesterday when the duty nurse phoned me. She said that she was in Ms. Van Meter’s room dealing with her feeding tube when the patient’s eyelids fluttered and she muttered something, which the nurse could not discern. Then Ms. Van Meter opened her eyes and looked around her room. She was confused and did not know where she was, but she did know her name. The nurse did not want to startle Ms. Van Meter, so she told her that she’d had an accident and was in a hospital. Then she phoned me. I came to Sunny Rest immediately and examined her.”

“Doctor, how lucid is Ms. Van Meter?” Delilah Wallace asked.

“She is aware of her identity and she is able to carry on a short conversation. She tires easily.”

“Does she know how long she’s been unconscious?” Miles asked.

“Yes. I told her this morning. That has been very disconcerting for her, but I would have been surprised if she wasn’t upset.”

“How much does she remember about being attacked?” Delilah asked.

“I haven’t discussed the incident in the boathouse with her. It might be too traumatic at this stage of her recovery.”

“Has she said anything about it?” Miles asked.

“No.”

“How long will it be before we can talk to her about what happened in the boathouse?” Detective Birch asked.

“I can’t answer that today. It will depend on her rate of recovery.”

“Is there a chance that waking up is only temporary?” Randy Coleman asked.

“Could she suffer a relapse?” Miles asked anxiously.

“Those are questions I can’t answer. As you know, Ms. Van Meter was part of a trial of a new drug that was developed specifically for this purpose. It seems to have worked, but I have no idea of the side effects that might be tied to the drug or how permanent her recovery will be. We can only pray that she’ll stay with us.”

“If there’s any possibility of a relapse, she should be questioned as soon as possible,” Delilah said. “She’s the only living witness who knows everything that happened in the boathouse.”

“I understand your concerns,” Dr. Linscott said, “but my concern is for my patient. I’m not going to subject her to any situation, like reliving her assault, that might trigger a relapse.”

“Which brings us to the ground rules for this morning,” Ann Rostow interjected. “Dr. Linscott and I have decided that we will only allow Ms. Van Meter’s husband, brother, and daughter in the room with her. You may stay fifteen minutes and you may not ask her any questions about the murder of Terri Spencer or the assault on her.” She looked at Miles Van Meter, Ashley, and Randy Coleman. “Is that clear?”

“If you want to avoid trauma, you shouldn’t let Coleman in,” Miles said. “Casey was divorcing him because he beat her up.”

“Listen, Van Meter…,” Coleman started.

“Enough!” Rostow said. “If there is any problem I will cancel the visit.”

“But…,” Miles started.

“Mr. Van Meter, I can understand your concern, but Mr. Coleman is legally married to Ms. Van Meter. He has a stronger legal claim to visit her than you do.”

Miles clamped his jaw shut, but he was obviously unhappy.

“Mrs. Rostow,” Ashley said, “do you think it’s wise to let me in to see Dean Van Meter?” Ashley still could not bring herself to call Casey “mother.” “She doesn’t know that I’m her daughter. My presence might confuse her or make her remember my mother-Terri-and what happened to them in the boathouse.”

“That’s a good point,” Rostow responded. “Dr. Linscott, as I understand it, Ms. Van Meter put Ashley up for adoption as soon as she gave birth to her and never learned who adopted her. When she went into her coma she did not know that Ashley was her daughter. Ashley only learned a short time ago who her biological mother was.”

Linscott looked troubled. “Do you want to see your mother, Miss Spencer?”

“Yes, if it’s possible. If she does have a relapse, this may be my only chance to talk to her. But I don’t want to do anything to harm her.”

“Why don’t we do this,” Dr. Linscott said. “I’ll let you go in with the others, but don’t tell Ms. Van Meter that you’re her daughter.”

“What should I say if she asks who I am?”

“Tell her that you went to the Academy and that you’re a friend of her brother.”

“Why don’t we go down to Ms. Van Meter’s room,” Rostow said as she opened the door to the conference room. They filed out of the room and Delilah moved next to Ashley as they walked toward Casey’s room.