“The Ryders—those are your friends out in the hallway?”
We both nodded, and the doctor made a notation on his clipboard. “What did you eat at their home?”
“Meatballs and chili. And limoncello.” William answered for me, then tilted his head, thinking. “Did you drink anything other than the limoncello?”
“A glass of water, once.” Neena had extended the glass with a knowing look, as if I were making a fool of myself and needed to slow down. I thought of her new couch, now splattered with my vomit, and hoped it was drying in the creases, staining it forever.
“I’m not saying that ethylene glycol was the culprit, but it has a very sweet taste. It could have been in food but was most likely in your drink. Limoncello would have easily masked it.”
“Antifreeze?” William blanched. “You think she drank antifreeze?”
“We’ll be able to confirm the exact culprit soon. But that’s the most common.” The doctor looked at me. “Do you want me to call the police? They could go to the Ryders’ and test the food there.”
“No.” I shook my head, thinking of the dropped bottle of liqueur, any evidence lost. “We’ll figure this out on our end. Thank you for your discretion.”
The doctor left, and William sank into the chair beside my bed. “What do you think happened? Is there any chance you—”
“Accidentally drank antifreeze?” I choked out a laugh, then winced at the pain it created in my sore abs. “No. But I also don’t want to accuse Neena and Matt of anything. I mean, Matt drank the limoncello, also. Not a lot of it, but a sip or two. He seems to be okay.”
“You had a lot more than a sip or two of it,” William said carefully. “The doctor said it tastes sweet. Do you think some could have been in it?”
“Honestly?” I sighed. “I don’t know. But William ... if the limoncello had antifreeze in it—how? Who?”
His hand tightened on mine. From outside in the hall, I heard Neena’s voice.
I closed my eyes and tried to shift on the hospital cot, rasping out a cry of pain at the motion. “I can’t deal with Neena right now. Could you make some excuses for me? Get them both out of here?”
“Of course.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Give me a few minutes.” He squeezed my hand and stood, moving quietly out of the room, the door pulled tight behind him. I heard the muffled sound of his voice, then Neena’s and Matt’s.
I wanted her out of here and far away from me. I remembered her arguing that I was fine, telling my husband to have me sleep it off. If I had, I could have died. Was Matt okay? Did he have any symptoms?
Her voice rang out again, and I fisted the sheet, straining to hear what they were saying. William’s voice grew louder, and when the door to the room creaked open, I turned my head and met his eyes.
“They’re leaving now.”
“Thank you.” I relaxed back against the bed. “How long before I can go home?”
“I’m having a private doctor sent to the house. We can leave anytime, but I’d like the ambulance to take you home, just so they can continue the fluids and monitor you during the ride.”
“Have them prepare the guest suite for the doctor—”
“The house staff is already working on it. Don’t worry about any of that. Just get better.” He looked down at me, his face tight with worry. “God, Cat. If I ever lost you ...”
“You won’t,” I swore, and closed my eyes, comforted by the grip of his hand on mine.
CHAPTER 35
NEENA
I stared out the window as Matt pulled the car out of the visitors’ lot. The seat belt cut into my stomach, and I knew I should hit the treadmill before bed and burn off the extra thousand calories our little get-together had caused. The bruschetta had been a mistake. I hadn’t been able to stop myself from taking one after another, the blue cheese–topped calorie bombs barely helping my nerves as Cat had downed glass after glass of the expensive limoncello. William hadn’t evenlookedat me in the hospital. He’d dismissed me as if I were one of his employees, as if we hadn’t shared a dozen special moments, a unique bond, asexualhistory. Pulling at the waist of the seat belt, I stewed over the brush-off.
Matt put on the blinker too early, and the tick-tick-tick filled the car. I listened to the maddening sound for a half minute, then reached over and flipped it off. “There’s no one around,” I said tersely. “Just turn.”
He turned, and I stared out the window, watching as a runner stopped at the intersection, jogging in place. I should have run this morning. I’d been so stressed over everything with tonight that I’d skipped it. “I should have just stayed home. I could have cleaned up the mess. Now her vomit is going to be caked on.”
Honestly, with the staff that Cat had,shereally should have sent over someone to help. I didn’t have the money or inclination to bring in a professional crew just to clean up her mess.
“I don’t think you’re understanding what has happened.” Matt spoke slowly, as if I were mentally handicapped. “William said that Cat ingested something that made her sick. That she was poisoned.”