Foundation for Three (22 page)

E
ven though the late night traffic into downtown Rock Hard was light, Zoey had to work hard to keep her focus on the road. She wished she was still cuddled against her two amazing men, but Kayla and her unborn child needed her.

Within ten minutes, Zoey was at the nurse’s station. “I’m Dr. Donovan. I’m here about Kayla—”

She didn’t need to finish asking the woman’s whereabouts because Kayla’s scream and then her whimper led Zoey to the curtained room. Zoey rushed in. “Kayla. I’m here.” The woman’s sobs slowed, but she continued to hyperventilate.

“Dr. Donovan? What are you doing here?” Kayla’s words came out on short breaths.

Zoey gently squeezed her shoulder. “I need you to listen to me,” Zoey said in her softest voice. “You need to settle down. For you. For your baby.” Except for Kayla’s bruised face, she appeared to be all right, at least on the outside.

“I didn’t mean to hit the other car.” Kayla’s agitation increased. She looked up at Zoey with tear stained red eyes. “I didn’t even see it. Are they dead?”

Zoey hadn’t been given any information. “I don’t know, but let’s worry about getting you and your baby help.” She held Kayla’s hand, and the warmth must have triggered something inside her patient, for she calmed a little. Zoey looked up at the nurse. “Has her husband been contacted?”

The man nodded. “He’s out of town, but he said he’d catch the first plane here.”

“Good.”

After fifteen more minutes of reassuring Kayla that she needed to think of her baby, her breaths finally slowed. Because of her pregnancy, she’d had to stop her anxiety medication. Going cold turkey had helped fuel her hysteria. Finally Kayla let the nurse take care of her.

Close to eleven, Zoey hugged Kayla goodbye. “Make sure to schedule another appointment,” Zoey said. “We need to talk about what happened, okay?” The anxiety-ridden woman didn’t need any more guilt.

“I will. And thank you, Dr. Donovan.”

As long as Zoey was at the hospital, she might as well pick up a few files from her office. She’d read them tomorrow after enjoying a nice breakfast with her men.
My men
. It had a nice ring to it. She had to smile at her good fortune. Who would have guessed coming close to death would have united her with two fantastic men?

From the ER, Zoey passed through the big double doors that led to an inner corridor. Ever since the incident with Garrett McDonald a few days ago, she’d been vigilant when walking these halls. She now listened for strange noises, watched out for someone waving a gun—okay that she didn’t expect to see—and sniffed for out-of-place smells. To her right were some administrative offices. As she neared the bank of elevators at the end of the corridor, she came to the Family Room where the doctors brought people to discuss organ donation and their loved one’s condition. A strange moaning sound emanated from inside. Zoey stopped to listen. Was someone injured and trying to call for help? Heart beating a bit too fast, she strained to hear if perhaps she’d made a mistake. More groans reached her.

Needing to check it out, she eased open the doors to the darkened room. “Hello?”

No one appeared to be inside.
Curious
. Except for the glow of the emergency lights and the outside street lamps casting the room in eerie shadows, she couldn’t see much. As she ran her hand along the wall to find the light switch, a woman’s voice cried out from the far end of the room.

“Please. Please.”

Zoey’s senses sharpened. It was coming from the bathroom where light leaked from under the door. Was it a cry for help? Zoey flicked on the overhead light, rushed across the room, and pulled open the door.

“Fuck,” Gloria Sanchez shouted.

Zoey’s muscles froze. Ten times earth’s gravity encased her body and glued her feet to the floor. Not one signal she sent to her brain to get out of the Family Room was obeyed. What the hell was the chief medical officer’s wife doing in the bathroom with Dr. Avery Carson? Naked.

“Just get the fuck out of here,” the woman shouted, her face contorted with rage.

Dr. Carson wrapped his arms Gloria, whose nude body was plastered against the far wall, her legs around his waist. With his back to Zoey, her view of the woman was already blocked.

Heart pounding, Zoey finally was able to break free of her cement tomb and step back. Had he not been so protective of his boss’s wife, Zoey might have feared for Gloria’s life. “Sorry. I thought—” Neither would care the reason why she was there.

As quickly as she could, Zoey closed the door and blindly ran toward the exit. In her haste, her thigh caught the edge of a table, sending pain straight up her leg. “Fuck.” She massaged the wounded area as she reached for the exit door and stepped into the well-ventilated, lit hallway. She plastered her back against the cold cement.
Did that really happen?
Of all the people in the hospital to catch doing
that
, why did it have to be Dr. Avery Carson?

After overhearing his story about losing that little boy on the table, she’d begun to question Kara’s story. The irony wasn’t lost on her.

Christ. Zoey had just witnessed the chief medical officer’s wife having sex with the chief cardiovascular surgeon—her husband’s top man. Now the woman’s begging words made sense. Zoey placed a hand on her chest in an attempt to quell her rapid heart.

Two doctors waltzed through the ER doorway she’d innocently stepped through moments before. They glanced her way then returned their attention to each other. She needed to get out of there. The files in her office could wait. Attempting to appear calm, she kept her steps slow and even and her gaze straight ahead. It did nothing to lower her pulse, which was beating a rapid tattoo against her chest.

Sure, she’d heard stories of doctors doing it in the OR, in stairwells, and even in the chapel, but she never expected to walk in on someone actually having sex. What had they been thinking? If nothing else, Dr. Carson should have locked the damned door.

Once outside, Zoey dragged the cold air into her lungs, but that did little to settle her nerves. A siren sounded, followed by flashing lights coming toward the Emergency Room entrance. Zoey scooted out of the way of the oncoming ambulance and dashed to her car. Once she found her keys, she clicked the remote, but nothing happened. Damn. The battery was dead. What else would go wrong today? After a few fumbling attempts in the darkened lot to open her door, she succeeded and slid in. Thankfully, the engine started on the first try.

What had Mrs. Sanchez been thinking? Did her husband know she was on the first floor screwing around with a person he probably considered a friend?

It’s none of my business
. It might not be, but that wouldn’t keep the image of Avery Carson’s pasty white ass from being forever burned in her brain.

Right now she needed a nice glass of wine and some sleep. Hopefully, tomorrow would bring some insight into what she’d witnessed.

*     *     *

At nine the next morning, when Zoey walked into the Valley Café. Thad didn’t like her washed out appearance. She looked fidgety and distracted. He hoped the pregnant woman Zoey had treated had made it.

Both he and Pete pushed back their chairs as she approached, and Thad held one out for her.

“Am I late?” she asked, her voice tight.

Thad appreciated how she was always concerned about not inconveniencing them, but he didn’t like that her worry seemed to add to her dismay. “No. We got here early. You okay?”

“Yes. Why?” She hesitated. Something was up.

“Because you look worn-out. Didn’t you get any rest after your hospital call?” He hated to think she’d been up all night.

She smiled, and the light in her eyes returned to almost normal. “I arrived home a little after midnight, but if you must know, my insomnia was because I spent the night reliving the shower experience, and then the
aftermath
.” She winked. “My sleep pattern was interrupted a bit, but it was for a wonderful cause.” She grinned and Thad relaxed, even though he suspected she wasn’t being totally honest.

Pete placed a hand on hers and smiled. “You lost sleep thinking about us, huh?”

“Well, you two are exceptional men.”

Leave it to Pete to ask, though his roommate had never been concerned before about getting some mythical ten ranking from a woman. With Zoey, it had been different. Pete had talked non-stop about her all last night and again this morning. Thad couldn’t remember a time when they’d both connected with the same woman, which was why he didn’t want to get his hopes up that Zoey might be the woman for them. If things turned sour, the pain would be debilitating.

Claire, their waitress, came over. “Hey, Zoey. What can I get you?”

“Um.”

“Need a minute?”

Zoey shook her head. “Have you two ordered?”

“Just our coffees,” Thad answered, “but go ahead if you know what you want.”

“I’ll have coffee, too. And two eggs scrambled, whole wheat toast, and orange juice.”

“You got it.” Claire looked over at Thad. “Your usual, detective?”

“You bet.”

“Make it two,” Pete said.

The bell over the door rang and to his surprise, Cade Carter rolled in with Stone Benson and Amber Delacroix. Thad motioned to Zoey. “Look what the cat dragged in.” His comment wasn’t far from the truth. Cade hadn’t shaven and his shirt was rumpled like he’d slept in it. Amber appeared withdrawn, too. Only Stone seemed fresh.

Zoey looked over at them and waved. “Hey, guys.”

They tossed their coats on a nearby booth seat and came over, but their somber mood had his gut tightening. When Cade’s gaze zeroed in on Zoey, the color drained from her face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Cade’s lips thinned. “Someone was murdered at the hospital last night. I’ve just come from there.”

Oh, shit. Since last month’s serial killings at LACE, there hadn’t been another homicide—until now. Zoey reached out to Amber and clasped her hand. “Who was it?” Zoey’s voice shook.

Cade had mentioned that Amber had gone to Zoey a few times after the mercy killer had struck the hospital. Amber had lost her brother to this killer and Cade feared his fiancée might be affected by any subsequent murders. Thad studied Amber for her reaction, but to her credit, she seemed to be holding up well.

“It was Gloria Sanchez,” Amber said.

A strangled cry erupted from Zoey’s throat, and she clasped a hand over her heart. “Oh, my God. I saw her last night.”

Thad cupped her shoulder. “Who’s Gloria Sanchez?” From the trembling in Zoey’s voice, she appeared to be a friend.

“She was the chief medical officer’s wife. She volunteered at the hospital all the time, and even ran the Christmas party for the sick children.” Zoey’s voice shook. “She’ll be missed.”

Thad noted Zoey hadn’t said that she’d personally miss Gloria. He could only hope they were just acquaintances.

“We need to talk,” Cade said as he dragged a neighboring table over to theirs. Stone retrieved their coats from the empty booth then brought over three chairs. All three of them sat. Cade pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen. “Do you remember what time last night you saw her?”

Zoey pressed her lips together. “A little after eleven.”

“Where?”

She bit her lip. “I’d rather not say.”

Cade let out a breath. “Zoey, this is a murder investigation. There is no patient confidentiality here.” Thad had known Cade a long time. When he was in his detective mode, he didn’t have a lot of patience.

“I wasn’t her therapist.”

Claire came over with their drinks and halted. “Oh. More people.”

Cade looked up at her. “We’ll order in a minute.”

“Sure.” Claire set the coffees on the table and left in a hurry, as if she’d understood she’d come at a bad time.

Zoey clutched her hot drink. “I was called in to help calm one of my patients who’d been in a car wreck.”

Thad nodded. “We were both with Zoey when the hospital notified her. It was a little after ten.”

Zoey picked up the paper napkin and wiped her palm. “After I helped Kayla relax a bit, I wanted to stop by my office for some files. As I was passing the Family Room, I heard a moan.” She took a deep breath then squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.

Cade sat up straighter. “Go on.” He jotted more notes.

Thad placed a hand over Zoey’s. It hurt him to see her struggle like this. “You can tell us.”

“I went in, saw a light under the bathroom door and heard a woman pleading with someone. I pulled it open thinking she was in trouble.” She shook her head. “I wish to hell I’d minded my own business.”

“Who was in the bathroom with her, Zoey?” Cade’s voice turned hard, probably because Zoey seemed to have regained her control.

“Gloria Sanchez was with Dr. Avery Carson.”

Amber sucked in an audible breath. “Both were there?”

“I’m afraid so.” She detailed their naked positions. “Gloria screamed for me to get out while Avery tried to shield her body from my view.” Zoey glanced to the ceiling. “I truly could have lived the rest of my life without seeing that.”

Thad leaned back in his seat, relieved she hadn’t come across a dead body or watched Gloria bleed to death. That would have shaken anyone for life. If Zoey had witnessed a murder, he would have hoped she would have called him or Pete right away.

“What was the cause of death?” Thad asked Cade.

His coworker inhaled. “The coroner’s report will be more precise, but someone sliced her carotid artery. The cut looked very clean and precise. I’m guessing she didn’t last long after that.”

“Time of death?” Thad’s job might not entail murder investigations, but he was still a cop.

“The coroner’s preliminary time of death was at half past eleven, but we all know he can be off by half an hour or so. Dr. Avery Carson might have been the last person to see her alive.”

Shit. Thad’s mind swirled. “It’s possible he was the one who killed her.” He couldn’t help but add what everyone must be thinking.

Cade speared him with a glare. “I deal only in facts.”

“Then you need to find some.” As long as it didn’t involve Zoey, Thad would be fine.