Murder Is Private (15 page)

Chapter 33

Saying goodbye to Evan was always difficult. Despite the “We’ll support you whatever you choose” conversation, she desperately hoped he would wind up in New York this summer.

She called Dr. Jacobs’ office from school. A chipper receptionist with a high-pitched voice answered on the first ring.

“Hello, I was wondering how soon I could get in to see the doctor. I’m visiting from out of town and I’m having terrible back pain. Yes, I’m a new patient. Susan Wiles. 3:00? Great! I don’t have insurance but I’ll pay cash. Thanks; see you then.”

Remarkable,
she thought
. Can’t believe I got a same day appointment.
He must be anxious for new patients.
As soon as I mentioned pain, the receptionist spit back an appointment time.

Like last time, Dr. Jacobs’ waiting room was packed. Again, they included a good percentage of well-dressed, professional looking clients. They had to be really desperate to come to this run down office. Susan scanned the room.
That woman has a Coach purse,
she thought.
She shouldn’t be here.
The waiting room smelled like dirty laundry, making Susan wish she had a can of Febreze stashed in her ginormous purse.

She flipped through year-old issues of
People
magazine, and watched
Judge Judy
on the ceiling-mounted TV for over an hour before an overweight nurse in pink scrubs called her back. She put her hand on her lower back and shuffled into the exam room. Then she waited some more. When the door finally opened, Susan saw a short, middle-aged gentleman with dark hair. He wore wire-rimmed glasses, and a stethoscope hung from his neck.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Jacobs.” He extended his hand. “How can I help you today?”

Dr. Jacobs was personable enough. He did a lot of nodding and agreeing as she told her story of debilitating back pain. In fact, he was so sympathetic, he wrote her a prescription for Percocet on the spot.

“This should do the trick.” He ripped a script off his pad and handed it to her. “Come back if you need more.”

Conveniently, the office had an in-house pharmacy so she could leave with a full bottle. While waiting for her prescription to be filled, she once again saw Marshall, the male nurse.
This office, Trinity Village, the pier, the arboretum … all pieces of a complex puzzle. Think, Susan. How do they they fit together?

Susan thought the receptionist at Trinity might be able to give her some information. When she walked in, she was greeted with a warm smile.

“Susan, what’s up? Can I help you with anything?”

“As a matter of fact, I just came from Dr. Jacob’s office. I wanted to thank you for the recommendation.”

“Happy to help.”

“When I was at his office, I saw that male nurse who always comes to the concerts here. The one with the snoring wheelchair patient. Does he work with Dr. Jacobs at his office, too?”

“You mean Marshall? The one with the scruffy beard? He only works here, as far as I know.”

“How long has he been at Trinity?”

“A while now. Works a lot of overtime.”

“Do you know where he was before he came to Florida? I’m only asking because my mother has a friend with a gorgeous granddaughter, who can’t seem to find a date. She spotted him at the concert the other night and thought he was cute. Told her I’d do a little snooping.” Susan surprised herself with how easily she could fabricate an impromptu story when she needed to.

“Let’s just take a look at his personnel file,” said the receptionist. She started to pull a folder from the filing cabinet. “I shouldn’t be doing this.”

“You’re trying to be helpful. It’s not like you’re stealing his social security number or anything.”

“I guess you’re right.” She pulled out the folder. “He worked in a hospital in Atlanta before coming here. Before that, he was in Memphis. Before that, Nashville.”

“He’s a young guy. Why did he job hop so frequently?”

“Don’t know. He has glowing references.”

A delivery truck pulled up to the front door. The receptionist excused herself. “I need to show them where to put these boxes. I’ll be right back.”

Susan took advantage of the time alone with the file. She took pictures of the entire file with her phone. She wondered if these references had been checked. She quickly closed the folder when she saw the receptionist coming back.

“Every week it’s a different delivery man. Always have to show them where the supplies go,” she complained, going back behind her counter. “Anyhow, let me know what happens with your mother’s friend. If they wind up getting married, we get the credit!”

Susan laughed. “If this doesn’t work, I’m suggesting she audition for
The Bachelorette
. By the way, does this Marshall fellow usually work nights? How does it work? Are the nurses assigned to specific patients?”

“He generally works evenings and over-nights. Covers the patients on the first floor.”

“I’ll have to arrange a chance meeting one night after one of the concerts for my friend’s granddaughter. I’d better be going. Have a good evening!”

“It was fun talking to you. Stop by anytime.”

Chapter 34

Time to check those references. After dinner, Susan pulled out her laptop. She started by checking out Marshall’s nursing degree. He was a graduate of New Valley College in North Florida. She checked the state database. Marshall did have a nursing degree. Okay.

Lynette snuck up behind her. “Mom, what are you up to now?”

Susan was caught off guard. “Nothing.”

“Mom, why are you on that database?”

“It’s the nurse from Trinity Village. Something’s fishy about him. First, he snuck around the patients’ rooms while they were empty. Then, he locked me in the closet. I spotted him on campus, and at Dr. Jacob’s office.”

“Who’s Dr. Jacobs?”

“A bottle of pain pills fell out of George’s pocket. He grabbed them like he was hiding something. I found out the doctor who prescribed them works at Trinity. He also has a private practice across town. Guess what, Lynette? He’s a
pain management specialist.
Ever hear of such a thing?”

“I have. Maybe George got hurt on the job. It’s not so farfetched that he might need a doctor.”

“Yes, but there’s a state of the art facility less than a mile from here. Jacobs’ office is in a run-down strip mall way across town.”

“How do you happen to know that?” Lynette crossed her arms and frowned at her mother.

“My back was hurting, so I…”

“I know where this is going. Why can’t you mind your own business, Mom?” demanded Lynette. “What does this have to do with Celia? Not that I want you snooping around for info about the murder either.”

“Celia and Trish were close,” said Susan. “Celia made an appointment to see Kevin’s partner the day before she was killed. I think she figured out where Trish got her drugs. I think it involves this Marshall, Kymani, George, Alonzo…maybe Dr. Jacobs too.”

“You think one of them killed her?” Lynette asked sincerely. There was no doubt her mother was on some sort of trail.

“Yes. Have you gotten anything back about the tam tam mallet?”

“Not yet.”

“Lynette, can you ask Kevin to run a background check on Marshall? Just in case my hunch is right.”

“Mom…”

“It won’t hurt anything. If he’s clean, we can focus elsewhere.”

“We? Mom! It’s Kevin’s case. I’m not going to tell him what to do. And think! If you’re right about all this, then one of them is the killer. Use some common sense, Mom, and stay far away from them. You’ve already gotten locked in a closet and thrown in the ocean. What more is it going to take?”

“I’ll do my snooping from a distance. Promise.”

“Mom…”

Audrey called up the stairs. “Dinner is ready!”

Impeccable timing
, thought Susan. She didn’t feel like listening to another lecture from Lynette.

Chapter 35

Audrey had prepared pork chops with barbecue sauce. Susan wondered how much sugar was in the sauce.

“This is delicious!” said Lynette. “I have to get the recipe.”

Recipe? Right, Lynette. When’s the last time you cooked from a recipe? You never asked me for any recipes.
Susan held her tongue. Lynette was just being polite. So polite that she ate three helpings.

“Audrey, what’s going on with the benefit dinner?” asked Lynette.

“I’m not sure there will be a dinner. We’ve only sold about a quarter of the tables. At this point, we’re losing money,” said Audrey sadly.

“There’s still time. I’m sure there will be a break in the case soon,” said Susan.

“Annalise, stop banging on the high chair,” said Lynette. The baby ignored her. “Annalise, stop.”

Annalise knocked her entire plate of food onto the floor.

“I’m so sorry,” said Lynette.

“Don’t worry,” said Audrey gently. “Tile is easy to clean. Besides, in under two minutes, Wolfie will be lapping it all up. See, here he comes now.”

“Nonetheless, I’ll go get some Clorox wipes.” Susan was reluctant to let Annalise crawl over dog germs.

Susan found the wipes in the cabinet. Then she tried to find another baby fork. She knew Audrey had extras somewhere in the kitchen. None were in the silverware drawer. She opened the junk drawer and fished through it.
What’s this?
She took out a card with a big red heart on the front.
Happy Valentine’s Day to the Love of My Life.
It was signed
Love, Charlie
.
Who the heck was Charlie?
wondered Susan.

“Susan, your dinner’s getting cold!” called Audrey.

Susan grabbed the wipes and a cake fork before returning to the table.

“See!” said Audrey. “Floor is clean. Wolfie is all curled up under the high chair. That will be his new hangout now that he knows he has a chance at people food.”

George knocked on the front door, then opened it with his key. He wore denim shorts and a sleeveless shirt.

“Hello, everyone!”

“George, want some dinner?” asked Audrey. “I’ll get another plate.” She headed to the kitchen.

“Hard day at work?” said Susan.

“The usual,” replied George, standing beside the dining room table and setting his knapsack beside a chair. “At least it was a bit cooler today.”

“Must be tough on your back, all that mowing and blowing,” said Susan.

“Nah. I’m used to it. Beats being stuck inside in an office all day.”

“George,” Susan began carefully, “I was wondering; I’ve been having back problems. Do you happen to know a good doctor?” Lynette made a face at her.

“Can’t say I do,” replied George. “Haven’t been to a doctor in years.”

There was a crash from the kitchen.

“Mom, are you okay?” called George to the kitchen.

“I dropped a whole stack of plates on the floor,” said Audrey entering.

George said, “I’ll get the broom.”

He and Lynette ran into the kitchen to help clean up the mess. Susan stayed at the table with Annalise. Then she spotted it––George’s knapsack propped against his chair. She couldn’t help herself. Maybe there were more pills in there. She heard the sound of shattered plates being swept up in the kitchen.

“Annalise, not a word of this to your mother,” said Susan.

She opened the knapsack and started snooping through the contents. She pulled out a black folder. Inside, there were photos of Alonzo, Marshall, and Kymani.
Why does he have these?
she wondered
.
There was also a sketch of the auditorium and the beach. An arrow pointed from the auditorium tower, to the beach, then to the pier. What
does
it mean? She became aware that the sweeping had stopped in the kitchen and she hurriedly threw the folder back into the knapsack.

“All clean,” said Audrey returning to the dining room. “I’ve been wanting to replace those dishes. Now I have an excuse. Why don’t we all go into the living room. I’ll put on a pot of coffee,” said Audrey.

“I’m going to change Annalise first. Be right down,” said Lynette, grabbing the baby and heading upstairs.

George spoke softly to Susan. “Did you find out any more information? Any of your students maybe know something they’re afraid to tell the police?”

“Not much. There are rumors floating around about the auditorium being haunted. Kids say they’ve heard music, seen lights. I saw the lights and heard the music myself the night I was attacked,” said Susan.

“Anyone talk about the beach or the arboretum? Someone has to know something they aren’t saying. Celia Watkins was murdered for a reason.”

“A man was spotted in the arboretum the night it happened. A boy from the dorm heard arguing. He said it was Celia and a man with an accent.”

“Lots of folks have accents around here,” said George.

“You’re right. Even you have a bit of a southern drawl.”

George laughed. “I’d say you have a New York one. I talk just fine.” He added an exaggerated twang to the word
fine.

“George, I’m curious. Audrey is an attractive and successful lady. After she separated from your father, did she ever think of remarrying?”

“Susan, my father was an ass. Mom steered clear of relationships after she was rid of him.”

“No dates? No one?”

“No one.”