“Hello,” she said, greeting him.

“Hi. I have a letter for you, so can you please sign here?” he asked, passing her a white envelope with orange and purple lettering.

“Sure.” Alicia took the package and signed where he told her.

“Thanks so much, and have a good day.”

“You, too,” she said, closing the door. First, she looked to see who the sender was and got a little nervous when she saw the name “Donna” and no last name. Still, she pulled the strip back, opened the envelope, and started to read the handwritten note inside.

Hi there. I hope this letter finds you doing well but I must say, I’ve really been thinking about you a lot. Truthfully, I’ve been very worried for your safety. I’m afraid because if JT did in fact stage his first wife’s accident, you could be the next person on his murder list. I’m terrified of what he might do, so I suggest you watch your back at all times. I’m sure you’re probably thinking how none of this is really any of my business and that’s why I’ve tried keeping my mouth shut. But where I come from, women always stick together and look out for one another no matter what. They feel a strong obligation to try to protect anyone who might be at risk. So, what you need to do is watch JT every waking moment and make him accountable for everything he says or does. You need to watch that whoremonger like the dog that he is and call him on anything that even seems remotely suspicious.

Take care, my friend,

Donna

Alicia wondered who this woman really was and why she felt such ill will toward JT. She also wondered if maybe this had less to do with his alleged part in Michelle’s accident and more to do with something else. For all she knew, maybe this Donna person had previously been in some sort of relationship with JT and hadn’t gotten over him. Maybe JT had dumped her for someone else or possibly even for Michelle. Alicia had no way of knowing for sure what her reasons for revenge might be, but what she did know was this: No matter what Donna kept insisting and no matter what JT might be capable of, Alicia knew JT could never kill anyone. She wasn’t claiming he was a saint, but in her heart, she didn’t believe he would even consider taking someone else’s life. He just wouldn’t do anything like that. Never. Not for any reason.

She told herself she didn’t have a single thing to be concerned about when it came to her own well-being.

Chapter 30

Alicia went inside the hospital, walked through the lobby, and continued down the glass-encased corridor. Until now, she hadn’t paid much attention to how beautiful the garden outside these windows was, and if she ever got a chance, she would spend a little more time admiring it.

She strolled past nurses, doctors, nursing assistants, and many other hospital personnel and finally arrived at the west elevators, which would take her to the intensive care unit. An older gentleman stood in front of them, and the up button was already lit. Alicia stood patiently, but then she thought about her conversation with JT. She’d called him as soon as she’d gotten in the car to tell him about that FedEx package, but all he’d basically said was that this Donna woman was scary and needed to be admitted to a nuthouse. In a sense, Alicia tended to agree, but she also knew that no one would spend this much time writing a letter, finding out her and JT’s home address, and then paying to send it by an actual shipping carrier for no reason. The woman wouldn’t have come up to Alicia when she’d run into her at Nordstrom that day either.

The elevator system chimed, the up arrow illuminated, and the door slid open. Alicia and the guy she’d been waiting with stepped on, he got off on the third floor, and she continued on to the fifth. When she arrived, she stepped out, walked a few feet, turned the corner, and went inside the family waiting room. Carmen sat there alone but looked up as soon as she heard Alicia entering.

“I really wish you would have let me bring you something to eat.”

Carmen smiled at her but wore an odd look on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Alicia said, sitting down adjacent to her.

Carmen smiled again. “She’s gone.”

“What?”

“She’s gone. She went into cardiac arrest, and they couldn’t revive her.”

Alicia placed both her hands in a praying position and brought them toward her chin. “Oh no, Carmen, I’m so sorry,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.”

Carmen looked at her, still smiling. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

Alicia thought it strange that Carmen was acting so nonchalantly and seemed so at peace. She acted as if she hadn’t just been told very devastating news.

Alicia wiped her tears away and said, “When did it happen?”

“About two hours ago.”

Alicia frowned. Two hours ago? Well, if that was the case, then why hadn’t Carmen told her that her mother had passed when Alicia had called to see if she needed anything? She hadn’t said a word, and now this made things even more eerie.

“My mom is now in a much better place, and I’m happy for her. She no longer has to suffer or worry about anything, and that’s why I have to be strong. I have to be the kind of woman she raised me up to be, just like your mom told me the other day.”

Alicia understood that wholeheartedly, but she was still confused about Carmen’s overall reaction to her mother’s death.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Carmen went on. “And instead of mourning the loss of my mom, I’m going to celebrate the wonderful life she lived and then go on with my own life just like she would expect me to. I’m going to do whatever I have to to get everything I’ve ever wanted, and I’m going to be happier than I’ve ever been.”

Alicia sniffled and smiled and was glad Carmen had taken on such a positive attitude, but she still didn’t think any of this was normal. Finally, though, she asked her, “Is there anything I can do right now?”

“No. Girl, you’ve done more than enough just by being here the last two days. Plus, there’s not much else to do because I already told the nurse which funeral home to call, and once they arrive, I’m going to go back in to see my mom one last time. After that, you can drive me home.”

Alicia took both of Carmen’s hands into hers. “I’m here for you, okay? I’m here, and I’ll do whatever you need me to do for you.”

Carmen smiled again and said, “Thank you, but really, girl, I’m fine.”

Alicia stared at her and then wondered if Carmen was having a nervous breakdown.

Right after they left the hospital, Alicia drove Carmen to her apartment and they both went inside. On the way there, Carmen had talked about seemingly everything she could think of, but all Alicia had done was mainly listen.

“Have a seat,” Carmen said, and then dropped a duffel bag onto the sofa, the one Alicia had placed a change of clothing inside and brought to her yesterday afternoon. Thankfully, Carmen wore a size six, the same as Alicia did, so Alicia hadn’t had any problem finding something to loan her.

Alicia took a seat and then Carmen went into the bathroom, returning minutes later.

“There’s something I really need to talk to you about.”

“Of course. What is it?”

Carmen took a deep breath. “Okay. First of all, there’s a reason I’m not as sad as most people will probably expect me to be.”

“Which is?”

“I’m not very sad because even though I’ve lost the one person who loved me unconditionally and I’ll miss her terribly, I’ll soon have another person in my life who will love me just the same.”

“And who is that?”

“Well, in about seven or seven and a half months-that is, if my calculation is right-I’ll be giving birth to a precious little baby,” she said, smiling. She was beyond excited, so Alicia smiled with her.