Blacklisted (Loveless, Texas #3) - Jay Crownover Page 0,38
name tied up in the mess Ashby created. It was humiliating to have the FBI and the Texas Rangers lurking around the halls of the hospital.”
I had to bite the tip of my tongue to stop myself from screaming at him. He sounded so pompous, so removed. He also sounded like he hadn’t played a part in the events that unfolded, as if he hadn’t taken advantage of the fact I admired him and would never think to question him. Old me was an idiot, but I was learning.
Swallowing back the bitter words burning across my tongue, I kept the painfully plastic smile in place as I told him, “Law enforcement wouldn’t have been here if you didn’t give them a reason to suspect that you helped Ashby evade capture. You shouldn’t have covered for Ashby when she lied and said she was hurt by whoever was stalking me.” I lifted my eyebrows and my fingernails dug even deeper into my palms. “I wasn’t aware the two of you had gotten so close. I sincerely hope you didn’t know she was the one terrorizing me all along. Not when you knew how hard dealing with my mother’s illness and my job already was.”
Ashby would come and visit with me and my mother on dialysis days. Back then, I honestly believed she was a welcome distraction, even as self-centered as she tended to be. She would frequently keep me company when my mother was particularly ill and I was too afraid to leave her bedside. Before her plan was uncovered, I thought my former friend and my mother’s physician were nothing more than passing acquaintances. Little did I know the two had been engaged in a torrid affair. Throughout our friendship Ashby had a history of getting close to the people in my life, regardless if they were a love interest, an acquaintance, or someone I admired. I didn’t realize she was coming between me and anyone who might care about me, who might want to protect me, until it was too late.
“I know I shouldn’t have covered for her when she lied about being pushed in front of a car, but at the time it seemed like a harmless favor for a close friend.” He shrugged as if that lie hadn’t allowed Ashby time to plant the murder weapon used to kill Conrad Lawton in my car, making me the number one suspect in his homicide. “It’s a shame the police still haven’t found her. She has a lot to answer for.”
He spoke almost as if he was talking about a stranger and not a woman he’d helped to convince me I was losing my mind.
I blew out a frustrated breath as I struggled to keep my composure. “She does, and since she hasn’t been found yet, I have a lot of questions—some of which I’m hoping you can help me clear up.”
The doctor sat up straighter in his leather wingback chair and narrowed his eyes at me. His bushy, silvery eyebrows dipped into a fierce frown and his expression pulled tight and rigid. “I don’t see how I could possibly help you here, Presley. I admitted to the affair. I admitted I lied about her being injured the day you went on the run. There’s nothing more to tell.”
Leaning forward, I pressed, “What about access to my mother’s room? Did you notice if Ashby came to visit my mother when I wasn’t there?” It wouldn’t be totally out of the question. We were close. She was my only friend, so my mother treated her like a surrogate daughter. She was also in the medical field, so her frequent comings and goings wouldn’t raise any questions. “Is that how the two of you got close?” Because I hadn’t noticed any overt flirting or chemistry when I saw the two of them together.
Dr. Kemper sighed as he laced his fingers together and looked at me with a hard stare. “Again, I’m busy. I have no idea if she visited when you weren’t around. I’m sure the people investigating have already checked with the nurses and looked at our surveillance footage to see when she came and went.”
I gritted my teeth and ordered myself to remain calm. “I want to know about the day my mother died. Was she here the day my mother passed away?” If she was, he never reported it, which I found highly suspicious.
The older man leaned forward as well, and I could feel the way the tension