“I was afraid of her,” Melanie said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “I’ve always been afraid of her.”

The bathroom door in the hallway banged shut.

Leo walked back into the room, his face pale but determined.

“Arthur is at a conference in Ames,” Leo said. “He doesn’t have his laptop with him.”

“Can he get the files tomorrow?” I asked.

“He said he’ll try to access the server remotely,” Leo said. “But he can’t promise anything before the hearing.”

“We need those records, Leo,” I said.

“I know,” he said. “The GPS on my city truck logs every stop. It proves I was parked in our driveway on Tuesday afternoon.”

A nurse entered the room, holding a stapled packet of papers.

“Here is your certified toxicology report, Mrs. Sullivan,” she said, handing it to me.

“Thank you,” I said, clutching the paper to my chest like a shield.

Just then, the light in the hallway flickered.

A shadow appeared behind the frosted glass of my hospital room door.

The handle began to turn, slowly.

The handle clicked.