Page 10 of See You There

She reached into the backseat of her car and pulled out a knit blanket in a rainbow pattern. “Give him this. The pain meds make him cold, and I forgot to bring it in earlier. Do you mind?”

Luke took the blanket with a smile and waited until the young woman had backed out. He opened the front door quietly and stood in the foyer, looking around. Two rooms branched off on either side of the foyer. The wall along the staircase was covered in framed pictures, all of them depicting Chris Keller at various stages of his life.

His father’s pride and joy.

Luke buried his disgust. Now was not the time for emotion.

A quick glance in the other rooms showed that, other than those photos, the home was bare. The lack of mementos or homey touches struck Luke as sad. But he hardened himself. Elliot Keller had been like a distant uncle to them. Now, it seemed likely he and his son had used their close connection to the Bloom family to betray them in the worst way.

Luke wanted to know why.

A noise drew his attention. Luke pulled his phone out and started a voice recording before following the sound to the back of the house, where he discovered the doctor slumped in a recliner. A tube ran from Elliot Keller’s nose to an oxygen tank next to him, as the older man watched a news program. Dr. Keller startled when he saw Luke’s tall frame in the doorway, the doctor’s gray skin paling further.

Luke kept his feelings off his face. He needed the older man to feel comfortable. Elliot Keller could have the answers they needed to get justice for their father and to reclaim their inheritance. “How are you, Dr. Keller?”

“I’ve been better,” his voice was wry, his eyes guarded. The elderly man lifted the remote to mute the television.

“Your nurse sent this blanket. Would you like it?”

Keller’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded, and Luke laid the colorful blanket over his legs.

“I forgot you were coming today.”

Luke raised an eyebrow. “We spoke two days ago.”

“I’m not sure I’m up to talking.” The man plucked at the blanket on his lap. “My brain is a little fuzzy.”

“That’s fine.” Luke took a seat, setting his phone face down next to him so it wouldn’t be obvious it was recording. “We can take it slow. It means so much to us—James, Cara, Declan, and me—to understand what really happened to our father.”

Keller’s mouth twitched unhappily, and a cough grabbed him, shaking his frail body. “Stupid, incompetent surgeon collapsed my lung. He claims I’ll recover fully.” He looked shrewdly at Luke. “It’s so I won’t sue him for malpractice. I’m a doctor and I’m living in this body. I know something is still wrong.”

Luke felt a pang of sympathy for the man. He didn’t look well, and not just due to his recovery from major surgery. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Dr. Keller met Luke’s eyes with laser focus, surprising him. “I didn’t kill your father. I never would have gone that far.”

Luke struggled to keep his expression sympathetic. “But now you believe someone did. You no longer insist it was natural causes like you put on the death certificate.”

The older man’s nostrils flared, and he stared at the wall behind where Luke sat. “I don’t know for sure, but… What Cara said in Italy… And finding out that Chris and Crystal…” His face screwed up with revulsion.

“Crystal?” Was the medication making the man confused?

“Courtney.” Dr. Keller laughed, leading to another coughing fit. “She was going by Crystal when I met her in the 90s.”

Luke straightened. “I didn’t realize you’d known her for so long.” This was an interesting development.

The doctor nodded. “She was a dancer back then— beautiful, whip smart—I was infatuated.”

Luke did some mental math. Chris’s mother had died while he and Declan were in college, so this relationship would have taken place while the doctor was still married.

“What happened?” Luke didn’t care about the man’s love affairs. However, he’d found that when speaking to defendants and witnesses, they were more likely to reveal a hidden truth if they were already talking.

Dr. Keller sighed, his shoulders relaxing against the recliner. “I was married, but I loved her. We were together for several months until…” He trailed off.

“Until,” Luke prompted.

“Hm.” The doctor’s eyes had become unfocused where they stared at Luke’s chest, the muscles in his face relaxing.

Damn it! The pain medication must be taking effect.