Free Phi Beta Murder by C.S. Challinor Page A

told you—she’s sick. She became violent and broke a mirror. I had booked her on a flight home, and now this.”
    “It sounds to me like she doesn’t want to give you up.”
    “Helen, I do love you. I cannot tell you what a relief it is to be talking to you.”
    “I don’t know what to say. I was stunned to find out you were seeing her again.”
    “I wasn’t seeing her! She just turned up. She called my chambers and found out where I was staying.”
    “This is a big mess, Rex.”
    “I know.” Rex crumpled in his chair. Fortunately he had the waiting room to himself.
    “It’s a lot of information to process. I mean, is she always going to be a part of our lives—assuming she survives? I’m not sure I could handle that.”
    “She won’t be.”
    “What about the guilt? She’ll wreck things one way or the other.”
    It was unlike Helen to be so negative about a situation, but Rex understood her point of view. She realized all the ramifications of what was happening better than he did, since she dealt with individuals under severe stress on a daily basis.
    “I know what you’re saying, Helen, but I don’t feel she has any rights on us. And I don’t feel guilt—not really.”
    “Does she have family?”
    “No. No one she can depend on.” He heard Helen sigh at the end of the phone and hated what he was putting her through.
    “What about the man she met in Iraq?”
    “He went back to his wife.”
    “No doubt that and the trauma of living in a war-torn country triggered this breakdown. Sorry to sound so clinical. I want to feel sorry for her, but I can’t.”
    “I know. I no longer have feelings for her beyond basic human compassion.”
    At that moment, the doors swung open and an Asian woman in a white coat gazed expectantly at him. “Mr. Graves?”
    “The doctor’s here,” he told Helen. “I’ll call you later.”
    “I’m Dr. Nancy Yee. Moira is going to be fine, but I want to keep her under observation for a few days.”
    “What about her wrists? Will there be scars?”
    “Minimal. They’re not deep. I don’t believe this was a serious attempt. Women are three to four times more likely to attempt suicide than men, while completion rates in men are three to four times higher. I think in Moira’s case it was more of a cry for help.”
    Rex found himself wishing Moira could have made her cry for help on the National Health Service back home, which wouldn’t have cost him a penny.
    “I would recommend that she talk to a psychiatrist,” Dr. Yee continued. “Does she have health insurance?”
    “We’re visiting from the UK. I don’t know if she has travel insurance or if it would even cover this. I don’t suppose you offer tourist discounts?” he joked.
    Dr. Yee smiled. “I wish.”
    “Can I see her?”
    “She’s sleeping now. Why don’t you come back this afternoon?”
    Rex returned to the motel. It was too late to cancel Moira’s flight. The plane would be in the air by now. He called his mother and explained that Moira would not be arriving in Edinburgh for another few days, and why. His mother unhelpfully reminded him of a movie she had seen called Fatal Attraction .
    “Glenn Close gets her claws into Michael Douglas and willna let go,” she warned him. “Of course, it was his fault for being unfaithful to that nice wife of his. What was her name? The one with the dark, arched eyebrows. You know what Glenn Close did with the bairn’s wee bunny? Boiled it alive!”
    “It’s only a film.”
    “Reginald, now ye be careful. A scorned woman is a dangerous thing. And slitting her wrists like that … It’s a sin against God: Genesis 1, 2, and 9, and Exodus 20, verse 13.”
    “Aye, Mother. Dinna fret yerself.” Mental strain thickened his Scots accent. “Moira’s in hospital for now, being well cared for. I’ll be in touch with the new flight times.”
    Rex got out of the SUV and crossed the motel parking lot. A man staffed reception. “We had to charge a new