I stood up immediately, the sudden movement sending a sharp stitch through my side.

“I want to be there,” I said.

Harris frowned, looking at my hospital gown. “Mrs. Bellamy, you belong in that bed.”

“I am not staying here while they walk off that plane like nothing happened,” I said.

My voice didn’t shake.

“She’s right, Detective,” Arthur said, rising to his feet. “I’ll drive her. We’ll stay out of the way, but she needs to see this.”

Harris sighed and rubbed his temples.

“International arrivals,” Harris said. “But you stay behind the barrier. If you interfere, I’ll have to ask my men to remove you.”

“I won’t interfere,” I said.

I went to the small bathroom and changed into the sweatpants and oversized t-shirt Arthur had brought from my house.

My face in the mirror was pale, dark circles bruising the skin under my eyes.

I looked like a ghost, but my eyes were clear.

The drive to Charlotte Douglas International Airport was silent.

Arthur kept his hands at ten and two on the steering wheel of his old Buick.