Chapter Thirty
Owen stared down at the short, blonde-haired woman refusing to allow him to see his wife. “Will you at least let her know that I’ve brought some of her things?”
“She’s not permitted to have them, Mr. Nobles. No shoes with strings, no belts, and no jewelry.”
It occurred to him that Jessica would be on suicide watch. His stomach tightened in grief. She would never forgive him for having her locked up. No matter how brief her stay might be.
“I understand. Would you mind asking her one more time if she will see me? I won’t stay long, and I promise not to upset her.”
The lady wearing the nametag ALICE, blew out a solemn breath. “I’m sorry, sir, but your wife was very adamant about not wanting to see you. And since she’s a patient here, I have to respect her wishes.”
Owen could only nod in return. “I’ll just try back later.”
He left the hospital and drove the short distance to Lucas Hill’s office.
“Mr. Hill is with a client at the moment,” the attorney’s legal assistant informed Owen at once. “If you’d like to have a seat and wait, he should be finished up in the next thirty minutes.”
Owen meandered over to a row of brown leather chairs and sat facing the assistant. He wasn’t sure exactly what he would say to the attorney once he saw him, he only knew that Jessica needed his help, and Hill was the only person Owen could think of to ask for that help.
Was she responsible for the alleged break in? Owen wondered for the hundredth time. Moreover, had she killed that psychic? If she had, what could her reasoning have been?
He knew that she’d been seeing things, such as the missing boy in the window. But surely that wouldn’t warrant murder. Unless she’d had a mental break and believed Sandy Weaver had been responsible for the Dayton kid’s disappearance.
Jessica hadn’t been completely sane since Jacob’s death. That much Owen knew, yet she couldn’t possibly be a killer. Could she?
The door to the attorney’s office opened, and a woman stepped out, holding the hand of the man at her side. She briefly met Owen’s gaze and then trailed off toward the exit door.
“Mr. Nobles?” the attorney murmured, gesturing toward his office. “Come on in.”
Owen followed Lucas Hill through the open doorway and took a seat in front of his desk. He waited for Hill to sit as well before getting to the point. “I had Jessica Baker Acted.”
Lucas Hill rested his elbows on the desktop and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “That’s not going to help her case. Can you tell me what prompted that decision?”
Owen dropped his head momentarily and then met the attorney’s gaze once again. “I think she’s had another psychotic break.”
The attorney’s eyebrows shot up. “Another, as in she has a history of psychotic breaks?”
Feeling guilty for disclosing Jessica’s past, Owen shifted in his seat. “She had a temporary break after our son’s death a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your son, Mr. Nobles. My deepest sympathies on your loss.”
Owen gave a weak nod. “Thank you.”
“What led you to believe your wife had a psychotic break?”
Filling the attorney in on everything that had happened since moving to Florida, Owen ended with, “I think it’s strange that the psychic ended up dead shortly after Jessica began hallucinating again. She’s seeing things that aren’t there and disappearing for hours at a time without answering her phone or text messages.”
“She has an alibi for the day the Weaver woman was killed. We’re still checking surrounding cameras that can prove she never left the motel later that night. If we can find evidence that she never left that room, she’ll be cleared of any suspicion. On another positive note, the murder weapon hasn’t been found, which means they have nothing to charge her with.”
Owen could only stare at Lucas Hill’s face. He hadn’t heard much past the alibi Jessica had for earlier that day. “Who is the alibi you mentioned?”
“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that information, Mr. Nobles. That’s something you’ll have to ask your wife.”
“But she’s not the one who hired you. I am.”
Hill leaned back in his chair. “I realize that, but there is a thing called attorney-client privilege that prevents me from disclosing information about the case.”
“She’s my wife, Mr. Hill. I’m trying to help her. I would never do anything to hurt her case.”
The attorney pinned him with a serious look. “You may already have by Baker Acting her.”