Page 11

Taylor spun on her heel, which was a lot less dramatic in flats than in heels, but it stopped Charlie from speaking, nonetheless. “Let me make this clear. All business dealings which require my presence or signature are on hold until my husband leaves this hospital. Is that clear?”
Charlie’s eyes went wide, “Now Taylor, you can’t, you can’t just stop a billion-dollar business in its tracks.”
“Charlie, I am not needed for every decision. Things are all set in motion. But anything that requires me is on hold. Deal with it.” And with that, Taylor spun back and jabbed her finger into the elevator button, causing the doors to open immediately. When Taylor got inside, she noticed that Charlie and Arthur both looked like they were about to have a stroke.
“Well at least they are in a hospital,” Taylor muttered to herself as the doors shut.
Four
The elevator arrivedat the third floor and Henry led the way to Derrick’s room. Taylor followed, her head down. She didn’t want to make eye contact, or be noticed if at all possible. She just wanted to see her husband.
“Mrs. Fletcher?”
Well, so much for not being noticed.
Taylor turned in the direction of the person calling her name, but her view was suddenly blocked as Henry shoved her behind him.
“I apologize,” the man said, and Taylor peered around Henry just enough to watch the man show a badge hanging around his neck. “Detective Watts,” he said, introducing himself, “I wanted to ask you a few questions about last night.”
“Oh, of course,” Taylor said, as she threw a glance over to the doors that led to Derrick’s unit. She wanted to help in whatever way she could, but she also wanted to see her husband.
“I understand you are eager to see Mr. Fletcher,” the detective said, seeming to read her mind. “I promise this won’t take long.”
“Okay,” she said, relieved that he understood. She followed the detective to an alcove in the hallway to speak more privately. It was still quite early but the hospital seemed to maintain a constant hustle and bustle all around no matter the hour. “Do you have any leads? Have you found anyone?” she asked once they were out of the main pathway.
“We are still looking, Mrs. Fletcher.”
She nodded, disappointment filling her.
“Is there anyone you can think of who might want to harm you or your husband?”
Taylor shook her head, “No.”
“No one?” the detective pushed. “You’re sure?”
“I honestly can’t imagine anyone who would want to shoot at us,” Taylor said.
Detective Watts looked unconvinced. “Business rivals? Upset employees? Old lovers?” he offered.
“No.”
“That doesn’t seem entirely truthful, Mrs. Fletcher,” Watts said, giving her a chastising look. A look that put Taylor immediately on the defensive. “You realize that there are threats daily on social media to your company, as well as you and your husband?”
The hair on Taylor’s neck stood up. “Yes, Detective, I am aware that my company and family are threatened daily on social media,” Taylor returned the snarky tone back to the man. “My security is on top of this and monitors each one,” Taylor said nodding her head to Henry. “I take it very seriously.”
The detective nodded, “And you don’t think any of those people would set out to attack you? We need to cover all potential avenues, Mrs. Fletcher, including the threats you receive on social media.”
“I think that if you see them as having any possible involvement it should be somethingyouneed to follow up on,” Taylor countered, her tone reflecting her irritation. This conversation was definitely not as enlightening as she had hoped.
Watts threw his hands up in a ‘calm down’ fashion. “No need to get excited, Mrs. Fletcher, I am trying to help you here.”
“Well, you don’t seem to like the fact that I don’t know who would want to attack us.”
“I just want whatever insight you may have,” the detective said, now appearing amused by Taylor’s response. “Tell me, are you and your husband having any marital issues?”
Taylor’s jaw dropped. “What?” she gasped out in disbelief.
“Any disagreements? You seemed to marry fairly quickly after your engagement came to light.”