eat.” Deidre’s cousin, Anna Wagner, pressed a container of hot chicken soup into her hands. “Mamm made it this morning just for you. She didn’t want you eating hospital food.”
Deidre could imagine the disdain with which her aunt had said those words. Amish mothers had a profound distrust of institutional food of any sort.
She didn’t feel like eating, but Deidre obediently put a spoonful in her mouth. To her surprise, her tight throat seemed to relax at the warmth, and she discovered she was hungry, after all. No wonder they called it comfort food.
“It’s great. Thank your mamm for me.”
Anna’s normally cheerful young face sobered as she looked at Kevin. “We’re all praying. And he looks a little better, ain’t so? His color is most natural.”
“I think so.” Maybe it was the effect of the chicken soup, but Deidre dared to look ahead, just for a moment, to the day when a normal Kevin would be clattering down the stairs and sliding across the hall.
She couldn’t imagine getting through this without being surrounded by people who loved and cared about her and Kevin. Anna was getting up, obviously ready to leave, but there’d be someone else in the waiting room, ready to come in and join her silent vigil... Relatives or friends, they’d be here.
Someone tapped softly and pushed the door open a few inches. Jason Glassman hesitated. “May I come in?”
Anna snatched up her bag and kissed Deidre. “Ja, it’s fine. I’m just going.” Cheerful, outgoing Anna gave him a smile that was accompanied by a speculative gaze before she slipped out.
“My cousin,” Deidre said. Realizing the container was empty, she set it down as he approached.
“He looks better,” he said, as everyone did who came in. Some of them were just trying to be encouraging, but Jason had seen Kevin at the worst, and that meant something.
“I think so. But I’d like to hear it from the doctor.”
“I’m sure.” He glanced toward the door. “You have an Amish cousin?”
“I have thirty-four Amish cousins, to be exact. That’s not counting their children.” She took pity on his baffled look. “My father grew up Amish, but he left the church when he was a teenager. He maintained a good relationship with his parents and siblings, and so they’ve always seen me as one of their own.”
“Someone mentioned that you have a business selling Amish crafts. Do you do that with your Amish relatives?” Jason took the chair next to her where Anna had been sitting.
Had he been asking about her? Natural enough, under the circumstances, she supposed.
“Not exactly, although some of them do participate. I do a web-based business that allows Amish craftspeople to sell their products online. My partner is Judith Yoder, my neighbor. Although our family trees probably interconnect if you go back far enough.”
Jason looked from Kevin to her. “I guess this isn’t the best time for small talk, is it? Have the police been back?”
“No, thank goodness.” She edged her chair a little closer to the bed, needing to be able to reach out and touch Kevin.
“They will be.” Jason sounded certain, making her frown.
“What’s the point? I can’t tell them anything more.” Everything she had seen, he had, as well.
“They’re waiting for Kevin to wake up.” He sounded as if that should be obvious. “They’re hoping he saw what happened to Dixie.”
“No.” The word was wrenched from her as her heart cramped. “If he saw that...” She put her hand over Kevin’s as if that would protect him. “No child should have to bear that.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I put that badly. If he saw anything at all when he came down the stairs, it could help the police find the person who attacked your friend.”
She pressed her free hand to her temple, wishing she could push the thought out of her mind. Dixie, laughing, generous Dixie, was gone forever. She’d never hear her caustic comments or feel Dixie’s rare, warm hug. Deidre’s heart clenched painfully.
And Kevin might have seen something. Must have, surely, to cause him to fall. She didn’t want to consider it, but it had to be faced, and by bringing it up now, Jason was helping her to prepare. That had probably been his aim. An attorney had to think of that sort of thing for a client.
“I see that they have to find out. But they can’t do anything to endanger his recovery. He’ll need love and assurance, not questions.”
“I know. Believe me, I’ll do everything I can to hold them off. I can ensure that we’re present for any conversation the cops have with him. And it will only take place when his doctor says he’s well enough.” He leaned toward her, his eyes dark and intent. “That’s the best you can expect.”
Deidre managed to nod. He was trying to help, she knew. And at least she wasn’t having this conversation with her father-in-law. “All right. I guess it sounds as if I’m not even thinking of Dixie, but I am. She was a good friend, and...” Her throat tightened, and she couldn’t go on. The image of Dixie lying there was too vivid, stabbing at her heart.
“You told the police that you’d locked the door when you left the house. Are you sure?” He was probably trying to get the conversation back to a less emotional level, not that anything could.
“Positive. I remember doing it.” She shrugged. “When I was growing up, I don’t think my parents ever locked the doors. But things are different now, even in a town like Echo Falls. I locked it and double-checked, as I always do.”
“There was no sign of a break-in. That means either they had a key or your friend let the person in.”
She was already shaking her head. “The only person I can think of who has a key is my partner, Judith. If we’re away, she comes in to deal with things for the business and to water my plants.”
She was tempted to ask him why he was so intent about this. He’d have some sense of responsibility simply because he’d been with her, but it would surely be more natural for him to want to walk away afterward.
Of course, the judge had asked him to represent her. No doubt he saw it as part of his job.
Jason frowned, his lean face taut. “So Dixie probably let him in, whoever he is.”
“I suppose so.” She hadn’t even thought of it, and she tried to focus, but her mind kept straying back to her son. Surely the doctor would come in soon. “But I can’t see her letting someone in when she was staying with Kevin. Dixie was...” She hesitated, trying to think of how to explain Dixie to someone who hadn’t known her. “She gave the impression of being interested in having a good time and nothing else, but at heart she was so warm and giving. She loved Kevin, and she was very careful with him. She...”
Her voice broke, the memories overwhelming her. Dixie and Kevin laughing together over some silly knock-knock joke. Dixie giving up her afternoon off to take him to a children’s movie...
“Sorry.” He must have regretted opening the subject, but he didn’t seem
