Chapter 3 - How Mom died
Amanda Hayes was thirty-eight years old.
She was not supposed to die.
That sentence is childish.
Also true.
Eight days before her death, Mom was found unconscious in our house.
Not in bed.
On the floor between the laundry room and the kitchen.
Robert said he came home from work and discovered her.
Paramedics found elevated carbon monoxide in the house.
Mom survived.
She spent five days in the hospital.
Doctors initially believed she would recover.
Then complications developed.
She suffered a cardiac event related to the exposure.
Her brain had also experienced oxygen deprivation.
She became unresponsive.
Three days later, she died.
The initial explanation:
A malfunctioning heating system.
A terrible accident.
Our furnace had been serviced recently.
The carbon monoxide detector in the hallway was found with a dead backup battery and no power connection.
Robert said:
“We thought the detector was broken.”
The fire department found problems in the utility room.
But nobody initially believed a crime had occurred.
Why would they?
Homes malfunction.
Detectors fail.
May you like
People die in accidents.
Then I saw the ring.
