Sapphire Angel - Superheroine

Chapter 33 - Dead Man's Wife

Beth had fallen asleep on the couch in Stanley's hotel room when the knock came at the door. She yawned and stretched as Stanley looked through the peephole. He fumbled with the chain and opened the door to reveal a woman standing in the hallway. She appeared to be in her mid forties, with long, straight brown hair, and plain features.

"Come in, Mrs. Gruden," Stanley said. Beth's head jerked up at the mention of the name. Philip Gruden was the Fizzure scientist they wanted to find. He had just been found dead in a local park.

The woman shuffled into the room, looking over her shoulder. Stanley gestured toward the sofa. Beth slid to one end, making room for her to sit down. Gruden's hands were trembling.

"Beth, this is Danielle Gruden, Philip Gruden's wife," Stanley said. "I asked her to come here. Ms. Gruden, this is Beth Harper, my son's girlfriend and like a member of our family."

The two women nodded in greeting, before Beth turned and shot Stanley a stern glance. He hadn't mentioned reaching out to Danielle Gruden. Beth hadn't even considered it.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Stanley asked Gruden as she lowered herself onto the sofa.

"N... no," the woman stammered.

"I'm very sorry to hear about your husband," Stanley said in a soothing voice. Mrs. Gruden had tears in her eyes.

Beth studied the woman, confused by her presence. Police had found her husband's body only hours ago. Of all places she needed to be, why was she here? And why hadn't Stanley mentioned he had reached out to her?

"At least he was doing the right thing," Gruden said unprompted, her voice raspy. Her words almost seemed directed at herself, as if she was trying to reassure herself about her husband. "We both know who killed him, even if the police don't."

Stanley nodded, but said nothing. Beth also remained silent, not wanted to disrupt a delicate situation, and still irked that Stanley had kept her in the dark.

"I'm not sure how you hacked into my email," Mrs. Gruden continued, looking up at Stanley. "But it was clever of you to reach out to me for help in an unsent draft. It just took me a little longer to stumble upon it in my drafts folder."

"Sorry about that," Stanley said. "When the news reports mentioned that the police couldn't find you, and when I couldn't track you down, I figured you were in hiding, or..." Stanley's voice trailed off.

"Or Dominick's people already had me."

"Yes," Stanley said, giving a grim nod. "I didn't want the Fizzure people to find my message. I couldn't be sure they hadn't accessed your account. I took a big risk even telling you how to text me, but I figured it was worth it."

"They may have accessed my account, I guess," Gruden said, glancing down. "Dominick may not be satisfied, even with Philip out of the way. I might be a loose end in his mind. And he has people everywhere. Maybe even with the police. Philip thought so."

Now it all made sense to Beth. The woman was here, of all places, because she had nowhere else to go. She was in hiding, afraid she would be next on Dominick's hit list. And knowing Stanley and his protective nature, he hadn't mentioned his attempt to reach Gruden because he didn't want to get Beth's hopes up.

"But you trust me?" Stanley asked Gruden.

Gruden's head sagged. "I read about your son. I'm so sorry. Of course I trust you're not working with Fizzure and Dominick."

Beth saw a rare glimpse of Stanley's facade cracking, as a pained looked crossed his face, and he raised a finger to brush at the corner of his eye. Perhaps it was the empathy shown by this woman, who had also lost someone, that reached him.