“Grant, Grant!” Dink shouted as she ran, but the group didn’t hear her, crossing onto the sidewalk toward the entrance.

“Dink, stop!” Christine yelled, catching up with Amy, and the two of them ran side by side, shouting for Dink, who ignored them.

“Dr. Hallstead, Grant!” Dink hollered, and Grant Hallstead whirled around, his lips parting in shock. Dr. Cohen, Dr. Verbena, Ms. Kaplan, and the rest of the group turned around, too, confused and bewildered.

“You killed her!” Dink screamed. “You killed Gail because she wouldn’t be with you! You’re not going to get away with it! Not while I draw breath!”

“What are you talking about?” Hallstead asked, his eyes flaring.

“Don’t you give me that crap! You were having an affair with her and you killed her because she wanted to break up with you!”

“No, no that’s not true!” Hallstead’s mouth dropped open, and the women gasped. Dr. Cohen looked over, frowning.

Dr. Verbena faced Hallstead in anger. “Grant?” he demanded, in an undeniably authoritative tone. “What is she talking about?”

“It’s not true, it’s not true!” Hallstead insisted, edging backwards.

Christine and Amy froze, watching the spectacle since there was no other choice.

Dr. Verbena gestured to Dink. “You may not know, Dink is my niece, Dolores Verbena. I’ve known her since birth. She doesn’t lie, and she and Gail were the best of friends.”

Christine bit her tongue, thrilled and dismayed. She wished she’d had this confrontation in the police station, but she never would’ve guessed that Dink was related to the CEO of the hospital. It gave her accusation instant credibility.

Hallstead was shaking his head. “I would never kill anybody, I would never kill Gail. I was with Milt the night she was murdered. Right, Milt?” Hallstead appealed to Dr. Cohen, holding his palms outstretched. “Don’t you remember? We were in New York that night, for that conference? We even shared the same hotel room to save money.”

“Oh, yes, right,” Dr. Cohen answered, rattled, then he addressed Dr. Verbena. “Adam, your niece must be mistaken. I was with Grant at the conference that night. We both came back the next day on the train. We got the news about Gail then. It’s an awful mistake to think that he killed her, or that he would kill anybody. He’s a physician. We’re all physicians.”

Dink seemed stalled, and Amy went to her side, putting an arm around her. Christine felt shocked. Her theory was all wrong. Her lead was completely false. She didn’t understand how she’d been so wrong. Hallstead might have been having an affair with Gail, but he hadn’t killed her. He had a rock-solid explanation for where he was that night.

“Uncle Adam,” Dink said, beginning to sob, “he had an affair with her. I know that for a fact! He was having an affair with her! He’s just the worst, the worst!” Dink burst into tears, finally breaking down, and Amy wrapped her arms around her, giving her a hug, then looked over her shoulder at Christine.

“Who are you, anyway? How do you know Grant? What’s your involvement here?”

“Nothing, I’m sorry,” Christine said, backing away from the appalled crowd. She didn’t want to give her name or any information.

“What did you tell her?” Amy called after her. “How do you know Grant? Who are you anyway?”

“I’m sorry, I have to go.” Christine took off, mortified and upset. She hurried away from the dreadful scene and ran toward her car in the ER parking lot, which was after a pocket parking lot for doctors. She reached the car, chirped it unlocked, and jumped inside.

She started the engine and drove off, stricken.

Chapter Forty-nine

Christine felt her eyes brimming, joining the line of cars leaving the hospital. Traffic was moving swiftly, which was merciful because she had to flee the scene. So many emotions welled up inside her, she couldn’t begin to parse them. She felt a wall of regret that she had gotten Dink so distraught, if not fired. She flashed on all of the nurses at the vigil, bereft. She remembered Gail’s parents, in abject grief. She had disrespected the entire vigil.

Rain pelted the windshield, coming down in earnest. She flicked on the wipers. Christine turned onto Marshall Street, blaming herself for everything she had done, from the beginning. For going to Graterford, for working with Griff. For canvassing neighbors, visiting crime scenes, and playing detective. For thinking that she knew what she was doing. All of it had blown up in her face, now not only hers, but Dink’s and Griff’s. She had made a mess of everything, and worst of all, she had done it believing in Zachary’s innocence. Now she knew she’d been a fool.

Christine turned onto High Street, wiping tears from her eyes. She was driving while crying again, but she couldn’t hold it together. She had to accept the fact that Zachary had really killed Gail and the others. She couldn’t be in denial anymore. He had lied about meeting Gail, about meeting the other nurses, and he even lied to her about who was paying his retainer. She had believed him because she’d wanted to, but she had been a fool. She had never felt worse than she did at this very moment, compounded with a wave of exhaustion and nausea. She was pregnant with the child of a serial killer, and now it couldn’t be denied. Rain pounded on the windshield.

Christine headed down High Street, and just then her phone started ringing. She dug in her purse as she drove and checked the screen to see that it was Griff calling. She didn’t know if she should pick up in her current state, but he had a right to know about the fiasco at the vigil.

“Griff?” she said, answering the phone.

“Christine? What’s the matter?”

“It’s a long story.” Christine didn’t know where to begin. “I’ll give you the headline—”

“What’s the matter? You sound funny.”

“I’m trying to tell you, I was wrong. I was very wrong. I was wrong about everything.”

“Christine? What’s going on?”

“Gail had a married boyfriend, but he didn’t do it.”

“For goodness’ sake, don’t blubber about it. You’re not driving, are you? You shouldn’t be driving and yapping on the phone. All these devices, they’ll lead to perdition.”