She Tried to Poison Me novel · Chapter 21 of 24

Chapter 21: Visiting Hours

The visiting room at the county jail had four metal stools bolted to the floor and a glass wall down the middle.

Kit sat on the other side in an orange top two sizes too big.

Her hair was pulled back in a rubber band.

Without the blue dress and the dimples, she looked about nineteen.

I picked up the phone on my side.

She picked up hers.

"You came," she said.

"I said I wouldn't."

"I know." She tried to smile. "I counted on you being worse at that than you think."

I didn't smile back.

I sat very straight.

"I've got twelve minutes," I said. "What do you want?"

Kit looked down at her hands.

"I want to tell you what's in the box I didn't give the sheriff."

"You gave him everything."

"Not the tin." She breathed out. "My mother's tin."

"There was a letter at the bottom, under the vials, in an envelope."

"I read it the night she died. I didn't hand it over, because it was the only thing she ever wrote to me."

My fingers tightened on the phone.

"Where is it?"

"My lawyer has it. The public defender."

She said it with a flicker of pride.

"He's giving it to the detective this afternoon. I told him to."

"What does it say?"

"That Fern owned her." Kit's mouth twisted.

"Fern told her if she didn't make the tea, the cottage went, and my school went."

"My mother wrote that she was sorry every night for nine years."

"She wrote that she wanted me to give it to you, one day."

Her voice broke on the last word.

"She wanted me to say it for her."

I said nothing.

Through the glass, her blue eyes were red-rimmed and huge.

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