Page 52 of The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth

“I’ll be there in about a half hour. A&E entrance.”

“Thank you.”

Mariah was groggy but able to walk. They managed to get her loaded into the back seat without much trouble, and she fell asleep almost instantly as they drove.

“Thanks for coming,” Veronica said.

“Not a problem. You can call anytime.”

“I didn’t actually have your number until I got to the hospital.”

“Is she okay?”

“Panic attack, evidently. They brought her by ambulance.”

Henry looked in the mirror at the back seat. Quietly, he said, “I worry that she’s not really grappled with everything.”

“How could you, though, really?”

He gave her a look. “True.”

“Let’s keep an eye on her.”

The streets were quiet at such a late hour. Soft jazz played on the radio, interspersed with a woman’s smoky, educated voice. Tension flowed out of Veronica’s shoulders. Henry looked a bit rumpled, his wild hair barely finger-combed, his shirttail out. “Youweresleeping, weren’t you?”

He glanced over, lifted a shoulder. “Reading.”

“In bed, all cozy,” Veronica said, smiling.

“It’s all good.” In the small space, the resonance of his voice was particularly noticeable.

“Did you do television or radio as a reporter?”

“No, photographer only. Not even video.”

“Kind of a waste of a voice,” she said.

“Thank you.” He adjusted the heat, glanced her way. “All the men in my family have this same voice. My dad sang bass in the church choir and for a barbershop quartet.”

“No way. Like four-part harmony?”

“Exactly.”

“Do you sing?”

“I sing a mean Springsteen in the shower.”

Which made her think of him in the shower. She looked out the window, watching the closed shops slide by. “You sound more like Leonard Cohen.”

“I’m flattered. Lennie’s one of the best.”

“Right? What’s your favorite? And if you say ‘Hallelujah,’ we can’t be friends.”

“I don’t know, that’s a hell of a song. Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with it.”

“So that is your favorite?”

“No. I have more favorite albums.Old Ideas, and the last one,You Want It Darker.” He glanced in the rearview and changed lanes. “Favorite song is hard. ‘Suzanne,’ ‘Show Me the Place.’” He smiled. “‘Hallelujah.’”