"What's her prognosis?" I asked.
"I can't divulge too much because you're not a family member but I can tell you, right now, her odds of survival are fifty-fifty."
I looked inside the room where I could just see the end of the hospital bed and the outline of legs under the sheet. "You mean there's a chance she might not ever wake up?"
Alice nodded. "I'm afraid so. Now that he's had a few days to calm down and think about it more clearly, I fear that knowledge is what got Austen so riled up. He's right. If someone deliberately did this to her and she dies, it's an act of first degree murder."
"And what if she never wakes up but she also doesn't die?" I wondered.
"I'm not sure about the legal implications but somehow, it seems even worse to me. A living death."
"Can I talk to the husband?"
"Sure. He's in there, expecting you."
"What did you tell him?"
"Not much. Only that you're a private investigator and a good person to talk to about proving his suspicions. I think he just wants to hear he isn't really crazy."
"Why didn't you suggest he call the police?"
"He did. He called them a couple of days ago and they sent a unit to his house. After a cursory look around, they said they were sorry she fell but that's all it looked like. I think they also suggested installing a few safety improvements around the house during the renovation and that was it."
"I'll talk to him," I said. "I have to admit, if the police already concluded it was an accident and the EMTs concurred, it might just be that. A tragic, horrible accident."
"I hope so, but I'm sure he'll appreciate an independent opinion from someone familiar with murder investigations. Come and see me before you go?"
I promised I would before Alice opened the room's door and ushered me inside, announcing me softly as I stepped past her. A much younger woman than I envisaged lay on the bed, unmoving except for the soft rise and fall of her chest. Various wires connected her to complicated machines that ticked and beeped. Her blond hair was plaited neatly over one shoulder and I wondered who did it. Perhaps the same person who applied the fresh bandages around her head.
The man seated at her bedside looked tired and worn. The dark circles under his eyes indicated he hadn't slept properly in days and his black hair was lank and unruly. He was dressed in a good quality navy blue sweater and jeans but I wondered if he realized he put on mismatched shoes. He caught me looking at them and gave me a wan smile. "I only noticed my error an hour ago," he said, glancing up again as he stood, extending his hand. "I've been here since six. Austen Takahashi."
"Under the circumstances, I think you get a pass," I said, reaching to shake his hand. His shoe error made me feel better about meeting a prospective client in my yoga-wear. "Lexi Graves. I'm sorry to meet you in this awful situation. How's your wife?"
"They said she has brain activity and she's stable. So there's still hope. Let me get you a chair." He moved towards me but I waved him back into his own seat and he slumped gratefully, picking up his wife's hand.
I lifted the chair and moved it to the foot of the bed where I could talk to him more easily. "Alice told me you think this might not have been an accident," I said.
"I don't just think it; I know it," he said with conviction. He stroked his wife's hand with his thumb and sighed. "Sophie was enjoying the renovation and all the different kinds of work it entailed. She was keenly interested in interior design and thought it might be a fun career, so she called it good work experience. But I know she wouldn't have started unscrewing the banisters by herself. It just doesn't make any sense."
"Alice told me the EMTs found a broken section of the banister at the scene that could have been consistent with her fall."
Austen nodded. "Yes, but that doesn't mean it wasn’t planted there."
"Do you think that's what really happened?"
He paused, breathing in and out audibly, and watching Sophie as he thought. "Yes," he said, tearing his gaze away. "I think Sophie was pushed over the rail and someone planted that banister underneath her. I just can't work out why. She was... she is so lovely. Everyone likes her. She's kind. She's a good person." His eyes dropped to the floor and I wondered what he wasn’t telling me. There was something else; I was sure of that.
"I'd like to hear more about her, but first, can you tell me exactly what evidence you have to support your suspicion that her fall wasn't an accident?"
"I've been thinking a lot about this and even found some compelling evidence. I didn't know Sophie was taken to the hospital until a half hour after I got home that day. I switch my phone off while driving so I didn't get the calls from my foreman. As soon as I entered the house, I could see something happened and immediately concluded someone must have fallen down the stairs."
"What gave you that impression?"
“I saw the banister section on the floor, and I started to go upstairs to see what happened. I noticed some spots of blood on the stairs, on the surfaces and the risers. I switched my phone back on and all the missed calls and text messages came in. That was when I realized it was Sophie who got hurt. I jumped straight back into my car and drove to the hospital. Thankfully, Manny stayed with her."
"Manny?"
"Manny Ortega, my foreman. He was the one who found her."
"I see. Please continue."
"I stayed all night at the hospital and then, in the morning, when my wife was pronounced stable, I went home to change before coming straight back. I was so worried it took me a couple of days to think clearly again. Later, I remembered those blood drops and wondered how come I saw them on the stairs if she went through the banister, landing directly on the floor? That didn't make any sense. I thought I might have imagined it so I went back to check and you know what I found?"
"Dried blood?"
Austen shook his head, frowning. "Nothing. No blood drops at all. I thought that's it, I must’ve imagined it. I must have been that distressed. But I know I saw the drops of blood before I was told what happened. I still couldn't imagine why Sophie would lean against the banister or work on it like everyone assumed she did, so I went upstairs and examined it more closely. Ms. Graves, the banister wasn't snapped off like she leaned against it before it collapsed. The panel was purposely unscrewed! I tried to unscrew another panel and another, but it was almost impossible to turn. No way is Sophie strong enough to unscrew any of them!"
"Could she have used a power tool?"
"There weren't any closeby so I asked Manny if Sophie borrowed any tools from him and he said no. I asked him if she discussed working on the banister and he said she had an updated schedule of their projects so she knew they weren't planning to work on the entryway for another couple of weeks. He also said that when they spoke that morning, Sophie mentioned wallpaper samples and said she planned to make a choice that day so we could order it well in advance."
"That sounds like she was totally preoccupied with other things."
"Exactly. When I recall the blood on the stairs, it makes me think she either fell down that way, or she was pushed."