Broken Grace by E.C. Diskin Read Free Book Online Page A

for a bowl. She knew where everything would be, as if her body were on autopilot.
    The coffee, hot and strong, felt good going down, and she sat at the table, looking out the window toward the woods. Every branch was covered in snow, creating a canopy of fluff atop the massive trunks. Lisa’s footsteps creaked on the floor above her; furniture scratched along the wood planks. She covered her ears; it was too loud, like nails on a chalkboard.
    Her gaze fell to the linoleum-tiled floor, the pattern pulling her in. She fixated on the lines within each square, but the pattern began to move. The shapes shifted. She sensed it wasn’t real, but she lifted her feet to the safety of her chair’s support rail just in case; pushed her fists against her eyes, like she could force out the hallucination; and shifted her gaze to the living room, to the beams of morning light streaming onto the carpet. She looked down. The floor had stopped moving, so she carefully returned her feet to the ground. She drank more coffee, poured milk on her cereal, and tried a few bites, but it was no use. The nausea had returned.
    When Lisa joined her in the kitchen, she sat taller despite feeling weak. “Will you tell me about Michael? And our parents? Our childhood?”
    Lisa sat across from her, tapping her fingers against the sides of her chair, as if she wasn’t sure how to begin. “Okay. Michael. You’d been with him for a long time, but I can’t say I ever understood why. But then again, I’ve never had the best taste in men either.” She met Grace’s eyes. “And you and I haven’t always been close.”
    “Why not?”
    “I don’t know. I guess it’s just because I’m older. I moved out when you were only thirteen, so after that it just wasn’t that kind of typical sibling relationship. But you came to me and wanted to move in, and I was glad to have you.”
    “I don’t understand. Why—?”
    The phone rang before she could finish the thought. Lisa jumped like a startled cat. It was difficult to guess who was on the line. She was just saying, “Yes . . . okay . . . sure . . . and where are you? All right.”
    Grace sat with her head in her hands, pressing hard against her temples. The pounding had started again.
    Lisa hung up, came over, and crouched down beside her. “What is it?”
    “Another headache.”
    She went to the counter where she’d lined up the pill bottles from the hospital. “Here. It’s time for your meds. This will help.”
    Grace swallowed the pills and returned to her former position, waiting for an effect.
    “That was the police again,” Lisa said. “They’d like us to come in.”
    “Why?”
    “Well, there was a murder. They’re going to have more questions. But don’t worry. I’m sure it’s no big deal. I need to get in the shower though. We’re supposed to be there in an hour.”
    Grace needed a shower too, but she wasn’t sure she could stand up that long. Perhaps she’d take a bath later. She carefully climbed the stairs, her gaze intentionally avoiding the shaky spindles. The closet was empty and there were just a few items in the dresser. She pulled out some jeans that had been folded neatly in a drawer.
    The drive to the station took thirty minutes. When they arrived, Lisa helped her out of the car before ushering her into the building. Her ribs weren’t too bad, but her equilibrium was gone and she couldn’t walk without her sister’s help. Hackett and Bishop greeted them in the lobby as they entered.
    Hackett stepped to Grace’s side to support her. “Are you feeling okay today?”
    She rejected his arm and tried to force a smile. “Thanks, but I’ll be okay. I just get a little dizzy when I stand up sometimes.”
    “This way,” Bishop said, and led them to a private room. It was small and white, much like the hospital room, and entering brought with it the thought of crawling back into that hospital bed and closing her eyes, potentially forever.
    Hackett pulled out her