"Murder?" Billy barely recognized the sound of his own voice as he watched his brother reach over to steady Summer's trembling body. "Why would you think … You haven't even talked to …"
Rey raised his hand, shaking his head as he tried to cut the questions short. He has limited information to go on at this point and even the little he had was more than he would be able to share. "I really can't say much more than that," he replied as gently as he could. His eyes roamed the room, taking note of the members that had gathered. "I know that this is a very difficult time for everyone, but given the seriousness of the situation, it would be best if I could speak with each of you so that we can get as much information as quickly as possible in order to move forward with this investigation."
Jack cleared his throat before speaking. "If we could just wait until the doctors have given us an update. They haven't even been out to speak with us yet. They just brought her in and …"
The sound of quickened footsteps approaching drew the attention of the group. Billy felt his entire body tense involuntarily. Logically, he knew it wasn't the time. What happened between Phyllis and Nick was the least of his concerns at this moment, but he couldn't shake the feeling that if Nick hasn't gotten involved in their life, in their relationship, that none of this would be happening. It wasn't just that they slept together, it was how he was forever insinuated in their lives, with Summer, with the whole mess with Christian, with the debacle with Chelsea. Nick had been as much as part of their implosion as anything else and seeing him now …
"Billy," Jack said, his voice louder now as he reached for his shoulder.
Billy jerked away, his body primed and on edge. "Sorry," he hissed, his eyes meeting Jack's as he let his shoulders sag. "I was just …"
Jack nodded, his eyes having already followed Billy's steely gaze. "I know," he said quietly. "Why don't we take a little walk and get some air?"
"No, I can't. Not until we …" He stopped letting his eyes track towards Nick again. He watched as Nick spoke to the detective, his hands gesturing in his direction. The air seemed to stick in his throat as he felt his face flush with rage. "You know what he's telling him, don't you?"
Jack shook his head. "None of that matters right now. Right now we just need to wait and see what the doctors say and then we'll figure the rest of this out."
It was something in his brother's eyes, in the way he said the words, how he almost recited them without ever looking him directly in the eye. "Jack," Billy breathed," a dark realization coming over him. "What Rey said, you don't think …"
"Billy, Like I told Rey, the only thing that we need to focus on right now is Phyllis' condition. They can't expect any of us to answer questions until we know how she's doing. Summer's a wreck and so are you and after the day we've all had, it's no wonder."
The non answer told him everything he needed to know. "No matter how angry I was, I …" His eyes widened as he finally met Jack's gaze. "Jack, come on, you know me better than that."
The clear blue eyes that had stared at him with such disappointment so many times now seemed even more devastated. "You're gambling again. You're lying. You stole money from Dad's company to try and cover your tracks. You're not yourself right now. That's why you were going to get help. That's why it was so important. I know my brother would never do anything like this, but this man standing in front of me …" He let the words trail off as he forced himself to look away. He couldn't look into the eyes of his brother as he admitted the truth that sickened him. "I just don't know anymore."
"I don't understand this," Nick repeated. "You're saying that you don't think this was an accident."
The tears that streamed down Summer's face were difficult to ignore. On its face, the reaction was perfectly normal. Phyllis was Summer's mother and the fact that there had been no news regarding her condition since her arrival at the hospital would upset any daughter, but he couldn't help but question if there was more behind the reaction. Everyone in Genoa City knew that Summer and Phyllis weren't exactly on the best of terms and today her mother had played a huge part in ruining the wedding of her father. Surely, this young woman had some complicated feelings - some divided loyalties at the very least.
He forced himself to focus on the man in front of him. His questions for Summer would simply have to wait. "The only thing I can tell you," Rey said solemnly, "is that we have reason to believe that this was not an accident. It would be very helpful if you get me a list of anyone that was present at the church today, including catering staff, clergy, anything like that."
Nick nodded. "Yeah, of course. I can do that. But you think someone actually did this … on purpose?"
"Again," Rey repeated. "I really can't say anything more than that. I'm going to be setting up interviews with everyone that was present. We have a lot of things to look into and I can assure you." He turned to look towards Summer, who had calmed slightly, her shoulders now rising and falling in a more steady cadence, "I can assure both of you, that we will find whoever is responsible for this and we'll make sure that we bring them to justice."
Summer exhaled slowly as she watched Rey walk away. Her eyes filled with tears again as she looked up at her father. "Who would do this?" she whispered, letting her head rest against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. "I know Mom has done some bad things in her life, but this? Do you really think someone tried to kill her?"
He stretched out his arms, brushing the hair away from her face before exhaling deeply himself. "I don't know," he whispered, "but I know that your Mom is strong and stubborn and when she finds out what happened, there's gonna be hell to pay, that's for sure." He was grateful to see the slightest shadow of a smile play across his daughter's face.
"Why don't you go check on Jack?" he suggested, pointing towards the corner where Jack leaned against the wall. "He looks like he could use a little support himself. I need to make a call."
Summer nodded and stepped away. He waited until he was sure she was out of earshot to touch the button. With the phone pressed tightly to his ear, he closed his eyes and silently prayed she'd answer. He couldn't get the earlier conversation he'd had with Mariah out of his head. "She was a wreck and I'm sure you can imagine she wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind."
When Sharon wasn't in the right frame of mind, many things could happen, but she was so much better now. She'd been doing so well. She'd been happy and open and honest and … He swallowed hard as her voice mail clicked on. And now she was angry and hurt and alone and it was all his fault. What did he do to her? And more importantly, what was she capable of doing to the woman she blamed?