Elaine Orr - Jolie Gentil 07 - Vague Images (10 page)

THE DIGITAL IMAGES were organized by hospital location. Everly explained that he had done some editing, because a lot of the time there was no one in a hallway for a minute or two. “I have the full tapes, but you’d have to watch a couple of hours of nothing.” 

I told him that would not be my preference
. “You really had to spend a lot of time to organize all these.”

“The police were pleased
. I want to figure this out. It’s not just my job, this place is almost a second home. I want to keep it safe.”

Everly did some paperwork as I studied the screen
. As Lucas had indicated, there was no camera at the entrance to the women’s restroom. The camera caught me wheeling away from the Radiology reception area.

There was no sound on the tapes, but Nelson Hornsby’s irritation with Tanya came through on the camera that pointed down the hall toward the administrative offices. I was glad no one could read his lips as he walked into the men’s room.

There were cameras at every exit, even the loading dock. One camera was about thirty or forty meters from the restroom where Weiss was killed, and Lucas was on that one. Unfortunately, his actions could be called shifty. He glanced swiftly from side to side, as if he were uncertain of his destination. Then he stuck his hands in his pockets. As he was leaving the camera’s range he looked back over his shoulder.

In another segment, Quentin Wharton and Jason Logan walked swiftly by the Radiology receptionist without so much as a nod of greeting. Wharton was doing all the listening.

The cafeteria images made it clear why Morehouse wanted to talk to Lucas again. With his hoodie and youthful face he stood out in a cafeteria of health care workers. Lucas scanned the cafeteria’s occupants. I knew he was looking for Kim, but if I hadn’t known that I would assume that the extra second or two that he looked in Weiss’ direction meant something important relative to the murder. My guess was that the vivid purple of her cape caught his eye, even if he wasn’t aware of it.

I broke the silence
. “I could be staring at the person who killed Tanya Weiss, but since no one is carrying a club or other weapon, I wouldn’t know.”

“You’re right,” Everly said
. “These images are the equivalent of an inventory of occupants. After several days of checking, everyone has been identified as having a reason to be at the hospital.”

“I’ve seen my fill
. I’m no investigator, but beyond your inventory, I can’t see how these help.”

“If, as you say, the police have ruled out your young friend, then I agree with you.”

I frowned. “I saw myself in the ER waiting area as I was leaving. Sergeant Morehouse made it sound as if I was on a bunch of the tapes.”

“You were.”  Everly seemed to be suppressing a smile
. “The police must know you well. They made several comments about you appearing so often. Sergeant Morehouse asked me not to include you in the edited tapes unless it directly tied to the crime.”

Thank heavens for small favors.

CHAPTER EIGHT

I PULLED INTO MY driveway, which is really just a bit of gravel on one side of the house, in time to see Lucas walking down the front steps. He wore his backpack and, when he saw me, a scowl.

He was well mannered enough to walk toward my car
. “I left you a note.”

I adjusted my purse on my shoulder and arranged my crutches
. “And it says you thought I arranged to have Sergeant Morehouse at Harvest for All at ten o’clock.”

Lucas just stared at me.

“I did not. He came by because he had stopped by the house to see if he could find you. When he didn’t, he came to Harvest for All.”

“What did he want?”

“Gee, if you had actually talked to him, you could have found out.”  I watched Lucas have a debate with himself. “Come in. If you still want to leave later, I certainly won’t stop you.”

Lucas nodded curtly and walked up the two steps onto my front porch
. “Oh, I turned the lock on the handle and left the key inside.”

I joined him and handed him my keys so he could unlock the door
. “Where’d you get the key?”  I hadn’t thought to give him one, or arrange to meet him to let him in.

“I stopped at the hospital to get one from Scoobie.”

Great. “Did you tell him you were ticked with me?”

“He said there’s a lot of that going around, but I should tell you what I think rather than just leave.”

Pretty soon Scoobie will have Lucas at an All-Anon meeting.
Lucas pushed the door open so I could walk in ahead of him.

“Why don’t you pour us some iced tea while I get settled?”

Lucas picked up his note from the dinette table and walked into the kitchen. While he fumbled with ice cubes I thought about what to say to him. I wanted to tell him not to be such a hothead, but that probably wasn’t a good way to start the conversation.

Instead, I mentally replayed the security tapes
. The most exciting thing was someone I judged to be a physician stepping on a piece of ice on the cafeteria floor and almost landing on his buns. Lucas had looked out of place, but it wasn’t as if he looked thin in one sequence and appeared to be hiding a murder weapon under his jacket in another.

“So, what did he want?” Lucas sat my glass on the dinette table and sat across from me.

“Sergeant Morehouse does not exactly confide in me, but when he left Harvest for All he said you should more or less calm down. Since you’re the only person on two tapes with her and they basically seem to know nothing, he just wants to pick your brain.”

“You sure?”

“If you tell him someone paid you to kill her, he’ll probably have more questions.”

Lucas took a drink and looked at me as he put the glass down
. “I’m sorry I walked out on you.”

“Apology accepted.” 
Not fully, since I’ve helped you a lot, but you are kind of stressed.
“Did you have any luck today?”

He shook his head
. “I went to the Chamber of Commerce and got a list of hotels and B&Bs, and I went to almost all of them. No one recognized her.”

“Megan, the woman you saw with me at Harvest for All, has a daughter who’s fifteen. She said there’s a place high school kids, anybody under twenty-one, hang out a lot.”  I described Step ‘n Go
. “Teenagers have radar. Maybe Kim heard about it.” 

Lucas looked almost excited
. “What time does it open?”

“I’m not sure
. I can call…”

We both looked toward the front door. It sounded as if it was being attacked by its key. There was lots of scraping and I heard Scoobie swear
. Since he doesn’t usually do that, my look to him was questioning as he walked into the living room.

“Jolie, did you…?”  He saw Lucas and stopped.

“Maybe that’s my cue to go out,” Lucas said.

“Not at all
. I just had the day from hell.”  Scoobie’s smile was forced.

Lucas stood
. “Jolie’s friend just told me a place I can look for Kim. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

“Take Jolie’s car,” Scoobie said.

Lucas gave me a questioning look and I nodded. I took keys from my purse and tossed them to him.

After tense goodbyes, I looked at Scoobie
. “What?”

“You were in Radiology today.”

“I walked by it with Todd Everly. Why?”

“Who is Todd Everly?”

“Head of Security. Would it matter if I was in Radiology?”

Scoobie looked at me directly and then looked away for a second.

“Sit.”  I pointed to the dinette chair Lucas had just vacated.

Scoobie took off his brown windbreaker and tossed it on the sofa, then walked to the table and sat
. “Sam was in a bad mood this afternoon. When one of the x-ray techs asked him if he felt okay, he said that you and some guy were nosing around about the murder.”

“First, we weren’t nosing around.”

“And second?” Scoobie asked.

“The hospital administrator, somebody named Wharton, asked me to talk to their Security guy. He said police had the lead, but the hospital
also wanted to look into Tanya Weiss’ murder.”  I implied that Wharton had called me, and Scoobie seemed to accept what I said.

“So you were
supposed
to be there?”

I started to give a smart-aleck answer, but stopped myself
. “Todd…”

“Oh, it’s Todd now.”

“You want to know or not?”

Scoobie gave me a look that was almost a glare.

“
Mr. Everly
was out of the building until about the time Tanya was, um, removed. He wanted me to go over every step I took that day. Except I wouldn’t go into the bathroom with him.”

Apparently hearing that reliving finding Tanya Weiss’ body bothered me, Scoobie relaxed
. “So how did you see Sam?”

“Someone must have said Security people were around, because Mr. Personality came out of a door marked private near Radiology
. He said that the hospital administration people weren’t telling them much, and his staff was concerned.”  I paused. “I think he just wanted to know more than the official line. I said I didn’t know more than I read in the paper.”

Scoobie looked mollified, so I smirked and added
. “You’d be a lot more relaxed if you didn’t worry about stuff outside your control.”

“I’d be a lot more relaxed if people didn’t expect me to know what you’re up to.”

THE PHONE WOKE ME Saturday morning
. I groped for my mobile and found it on the floor next to my bedroom slippers.

“Jolie? You were up right?”  Morehouse’s voice sounded as if he didn’t really care how I answered his question.

“I had to get up to answer the phone. Did you find who killed Tanya Weiss?”

“I wish
. I just got told I’m supposed to work with you on some kinda Harvest for All fund thing?”

“Huh?”

He sounded delighted. “Oh, if you don’t know about it, then it must be a…”

“I remember. Lieutenant Tortino told some people the police were doing a fundraiser for us
. I didn’t think he really meant it.”

“He didn’t. But your buddy Councilman Cambridge heard about it and stopped by to say what a great idea it was.”

It took me a few seconds to remember who that was. Stuart Cambridge had pulled over to help me one time when my car ran off the road. It wasn’t my fault.

“Okay…I guess we need to plan something anyway. We haven’t had a big one since the liquid string contest in the spring.”

Morehouse snorted. “This one can’t ruin anyone’s clothes. They’ll sue us, not you.”

“You have any ideas?”

“That’s your job. I already coordinate raising money for Shop with a Cop at Christmas.”

Some of the kids whose parents come to Harvest for All also did that every year. It meant a lot to a kid with no money to buy presents for others
. “Okay, what about…hey, why don’t we make it something that benefits Harvest for All and the shopping stuff?”

Even as I said it
, I remembered that I might chair the food pantry committee, but I had to clear big decisions with the others. I’d have to line up some votes before the next meeting.

“This’ll mean you can call me without minding someone else’s business.”  He hung up.

I groaned and swung both legs out of bed and onto the floor. At least my foot didn’t throb any more. Last night I had walked on one crutch all around the house, but no way would I try that outside. What was most annoying was that my ankle was still stiff, and it hurt more after I put even a little weight on my foot.

After a moment I dialed First Prez and asked Reverend
Jamison’s secretary if we could use the church’s community room for a committee meeting two evenings from now. Ever charming, she said it was not free that day, but we could use it the day after that.

That settled, I called Monica, our most timid committee member
. I like to divide work among the members, and not solely because I don’t want to do it. People feel good when they help. Monica organizes bake sales for us, usually with help from Aunt Madge because Monica gets flustered. However, Monica has also volunteered to call people when we schedule a meeting. I can’t just do an email, because Monica and Sylvia Parrett don’t use email, and Dr. Welby never checks his.

CHAPTER NINE

I MOSTLY RESTED ON Sunday
. It’s tiring to walk on crutches. I did drive Lucas through town so he could look at sidewalks without running off the road. We saw no sign of Kim.

Lucas had been in town for a week, with no success
. I saw no point in mentioning that she may have left—if she ever was here.

ON MONDAY, I headed to Harvest for All. I knew at least a couple of volunteers would be there because it was one of our thrice-weekly giveaway days. Recipients can come twice a month for a box of food about the size of a copy paper box. They give us a list of what they hope to get and we load the box.

I wanted to pick the brains of volunteers for ideas for a fundraiser
. Usually Scoobie suggests something crazy for an event and other committee members and volunteers figure out how to do it. Volunteers would likely suggest something saner than anything Scoobie would come up with.

After a breakfast of straight-from-the-freezer scrambled eggs and sausage I headed to Harvest for All
. I hadn’t gotten all the way in the door when Megan said, “Thank goodness. I didn’t want to call you because of your leg.”

“What’s up?”  I crutched toward the gate that leads behind the counter
.

“The daughter of one of our regulars has bronchitis
. Ramona was going to help but she just called to say some delivery truck came earlier than planned and Roland was out, so she didn’t want to leave one of their newer employees alone in the store.”

I could imagine my fit friend helping delivery drivers throw boxes off a truck.

“Okay. Good I stopped by.”  I placed one crutch against the wall where we hang aprons for workers and grabbed an apron.

Megan frowned
. “You can’t be filling orders. Just stand at the counter to take orders.” 

“I can fill boxes until my foot cusses at me.”  She gave me one of those looks only a mom can give
. Or Aunt Madge. “Honest, it’s a lot better. Let’s see how it goes.”

On days that we distribute food, Harvest for All is open from ten until noon and three until six. That way we can get people after school and work as well as people who don’t work
. We tend to get older people in the morning and families in the afternoon.

I had arrived at the pantry just before ten, and by ten-fifteen realized I could not roam the shelves filling boxes
. I was slowing down the operation and about ready to call Reverend Jamison to see if he could help when Megan had one of her good ideas. She put a table in the aisle that has most-requested kinds of food (cereal, flour, pasta, and canned fruit and veggies), and said she’d set a box on it for me to fill an order. When I was done with my part, she’d switch out the box with another one to fill. I would have to do very little crutching.

I was searching for another box of corn flakes when I hear Megan saying, “I can give you a small box today, and after you register with Salvation Army or human services I can give you a larger one.”

A meek female voice said, “Okay.”

I was going to have to move to the counter to see who it was when Megan walked to me with an empty box and whispered, “I think it’s her. She’s really out of it.”  Out loud she said, “No list, so give her a mix of goods.”

I packed the box with canned vegetables, fruit, and dry cereal. Then I took a piece of paper from a pad in my purse and wrote, “Kim. It’s Jolie. Lucas is staying with me. Come to my house at 346 Bay Street. Or come with me now. PLEASE.”  I tucked it in the box where she couldn’t see it right away. I wanted her to take the food rather than see a note, or me, and run away empty-handed.

Megan came toward me and brought some Vienna sausages and tuna and placed them in the box with some juice
. It was all I could do not to run to the counter and grab Kim, but I knew I would scare her and she’d run. I cursed in silence that I would not be able to follow her.

Megan told Kim where the Salvation Army office was, and the quiet voice said, “Thank you.”

When she brought me another empty box, Megan had a questioning look.

“I was afraid she’d run
. I put a note in the box.”

“She’s really thin, and her color’s not good.”

She better not get so sick she crawls off somewhere to sleep and gets hurt.

IT WAS ONE o’clock and my foot was propped on a pillow on my couch with an ice pack doing its job to make the swelling go down. I was frustrated that Kim hadn’t made contact, and determined to stay home until Lucas got back.

I left a message on Lucas’ mobile to let him know about the likely Kim sighting, and when he called back he was excited. “Megan said Kim looked out of it, and I didn’t want to frighten her into running. So I put a note with my address in her box of food
. I told her you were staying with me.”

Frustration dripped from Lucas’ words
. “She wouldn’t have run from you, Jolie.”

“You can’t know that
. I’m sorry, Lucas. It was a judgment call. She knows you’re with me now. She’ll come tonight.”

“Okay
. Sure.”  He seemed to have to force his tone to be polite. “I’m going to look in all the shops and on the boardwalk near First Prez.”

I stared at the ceiling, hoping I hadn’t made a mistake about Kim.

INCESSANT KNOCKING WOKE me
. I stumbled off the couch and balanced on one foot. I shouted, “Who is it?”

“It’s George
. Open up.”

I wonder how many women have former boyfriends who pound on their door?
  At least I knew George wasn’t a stalker. I glanced at the clock. It was after six. I’d napped for hours. I crutched to the door and unlocked it. “What’s up?”

“I’m writing…I thought you’d be off crutches by now.”

“Hello to you, too. You can sit on the rocker and talk to me while I prop my foot. I was on my feet a lot at Harvest for All.”

“On one foot, you mean,” he said
. I was tempted to flip him the bird, except that I needed both hands for the crutches.

As I settled back onto the couch George took his thin reporter’s notebook from a pocket of his Hawaiian shirt
. “I’ve never had so many anonymous sources on a story.”

“People who know who the murderer might be?”

“Nah. People who want to let me know how horrible Weiss was. It’s almost as if they’re building a case for her murderer to get off. Assuming he’s ever caught. Somebody mailed me a memo she’s supposed to have presented to the Board of Directors.”

“About…?”

“About the cost reductions.”  He began reading from a list. “As many as fifty jobs, some new diagnostic equipment for cardiology and some kind of portable x-ray thing for Radiology, recumbent bikes for Physical Therapy…”

“What was the radiology stuff?  She was killed near there, you know.”

George gave me a duh look. “There were two things. One looks like something you could make in a carpentry class. Supposed to help with foot x-ray positioning. Nine hundred dollars!  The other was a portable ultra sound machine.”

“What kind of jobs are they cutting?”

“Mostly in nursing, but they’re all over the hospital. I hear there’s a second memo, but I haven’t seen that yet.”

“How can you tell if what someone sent you is fake?”

“I’ve thought a lot about that. I came over now because Scoobie should be home soon. I want to see what more he knows.”

As if on cue, a key turned in the lock on the front door. “Is it safe to come in?”

“Yeah, Scoob. Got some questions for you,” George called.

Scoobie stood at the entrance to the living room
. “You two are up to something. That’s never good.”

“I didn’t ask George to come over.”  I made that clear because I knew Scoobie wouldn’t like answering George’s questions.

As Scoobie took off his coat, George summarized what he had told me. “So, what I really need to know is whether your Radiology guys actually asked for new equipment and got turned down.”

Scoobie pulled a dinette chair close to the couch so he could face George and me
. “Are you going to use me as a source?”

“Of course not.”

“The thing is,” Scoobie spoke slowly, “even if you don’t quote me, people know we’re friends. If you have more details on Radiology cuts than others, it’ll be clear it came from me. I had to sign all kinds of privacy documents before I started my internship.”

“I’ll be careful.”  George looked like a kid about to win a prize for most points in a video game.

“I have no idea if it was cut, but my boss wanted this portable ultrasound equipment that…”

“Yeah, I know,” George said.

“So why are you asking?”  Scoobie was irritated.

“I mean, I heard that
. Is it true?”

“They want to be able to use the portable equipment in the ER
. A kind of triage. If it shows somebody has an appendix that looks like it’s about to rupture, that’s more important than a simple head wound that needs stitches.”

“And…?” George asked.

“And what?” Scoobie answered.

“Did the Board decide to cut that out of the budget?”

“No idea. Way above my pay grade.”

“Nuts
. I was thinking that would be a helluva motive for murder.”  George closed his notebook.

“Sounds like a motive to look for a job somewhere else,” I said.

“Is that someone on the porch?” Scoobie asked.

Kim!
  “Oh, that could be…one of the volunteers from Harvest for All,” I said. My eyes met Scoobie’s. He had no idea what I was talking about, but he’s a quick study.

Before I could say anything George pulled up the blinds for the living room window that overlooked the front porch. There was the immediate sound of someone running off the porch and down the short front walk to the street.

“Looked like a girl, maybe fifteen or so. Hard to tell anymore.”

“Probably the wrong house,” Scoobie said
. “Hey George, I’m kinda tired. Do you mind?”

“Sure.”  He began stuffing pen and notebook into pockets
. “Read the article tomorrow and tell me what you think.”

Scoobie walked George to the door, and I stayed on the couch but put my head in my hands.

“Was that Lucas’ sister, you think?” Scoobie asked. He sat in the rocker.

“For sure
. She came to Harvest for All today.”  I told him about putting the note in the box. “When she saw a strange face and no sign of Lucas, she took off.”

“Damn,” Scoobie said, softly
. “Where’s Lucas?” 

“Out looking for her. Probably be back here any minute.”

Another set of footsteps on the porch proved me right. When he got into the living room, Lucas looked from Scoobie to me. “You guys have a bad day or something?”

“As of now,” I said
. “I think Kim might have come on the porch. George looked out the window and she took off.”

Lucas leaned against the wall and hung his head.

“Come on, Jolie. You and I are going into the kitchen. Lucas, pull up the shades and keep the lights on so she can see you.”

When we got to the kitchen
, I sat and put my foot on the table.

Scoobie looked at me
. “Nice. I’ll make a batch of grilled cheese. I bet she’ll be back.”  Scoobie called the last few words to Lucas as he pulled the frying pan out of a cupboard. Then he looked at me. “You didn’t talk to her?”

“Megan said she seemed kind of out of it
. I didn’t want to scare her away.”  I explained what was on the note I put in the box.

“Hmm
. She must trust you at some level. She did come to Ocean Alley.”

I didn’t say anything. From what Lucas had said, she came for the beach.