Chapter 12

Marcus stood in that doorway for a long time. Then he said, "Mr. Vance passed away eleven days ago, ma'am." I heard the words. I understood each one individually. It took a while for them to make a sentence. Ryder's hand closed around mine. He didn't say anything. He didn't leave. "How," I said. Marcus told me. He never really came back after the poisoning. Renal function, liver, everything the surgeon had listed on a clipboard while I sat in a plastic chair — all of it degrading, and...