Terry Odell - Mapleton 02 - Deadly Bones (23 page)

“I’ll get it done.” Colfax disconnected.

Which, when push came to shove, was why Gordon tolerated Colfax’s irritating banter. When it came to the job, he
did
get it done.

“Thanks,” Megan said.

“I want you to know that I’m unofficial here,” Gordon said. “I’ve got no evidence of anything improper, and even if I did, this is way outside of Mapleton. But Detective Colfax is on top of things.”

“I remember him,” Justin said. “Abrasive personality, good cop.”

“That’s him,” Gordon said, remembering how Colfax had tried to hit on Megan during the Bedford case. And how Justin had reacted. He also noticed that Justin hadn’t let go of Megan’s hand.

Gordon’s thoughts drifted to Angie, which wasn’t where he needed to be now.
Focus.
He finished his coffee, gathering his thoughts. “I’m going to go see if there are any strings I can pull to find out about Rose or Doc Evans. I’ll call if I have anything for you. I know you can’t use your phones in ICU, so check your messages when you’re somewhere it’s approved.”

“Since we can’t all be in with Rose at the same time, you should be able to get through to one of us,” Megan said.

“You have my cell number?” Justin asked.

Gordon shoved back his chair and scrolled through his contacts. “Yes, I do. Hang in there.”

Trusting that Megan and Justin would take comfort in each other, Gordon left them and took another stroll down the portrait gallery on his way to the elevator. Abraham Pinkerton’s eyes still grabbed him. Most of the other portraits showed some inklings of compassion, but not Pinkerton. Gordon pegged him as an administrator, not a practicing physician, when that photo had been taken.

Upstairs at the nurses’ station outside of ICU, Gordon waited while the nurse he’d met on his last visit finished doing something on the computer. She looked up, neither smiling nor frowning. “Yes?”

Gordon introduced himself again, this time with a quick flash of his badge, hoping she’d respect it and not pay attention to the fact that it was from Mapleton. “I’m investigating what happened with Rose Kretzer last night. I’d like to speak to whoever administered her medications.”

Eyebrows winged up. “She’s already been questioned. By our staff.”

Gordon pulled back, realizing he’d taken the wrong approach. He read her ID. “Ms. Upchurch. Sorry. I don’t mean to undermine your authority. Rose Kretzer is very special to me, and I’d like to understand what happened. Strictly off the record.”

“I looked at the charts myself,” she said. “Her medication was administered on schedule, at eight p.m. Her reaction was recorded at three-seventeen a.m. There’s no way such a severe reaction would have been delayed that long. It would have begun almost immediately.”

“Which means someone was with her between three and three-fifteen this morning. Who was in there?”

“According to the charts, nobody. She was checked at midnight, and everything was normal. The next check would have been at four a.m., but the alarms went off, as I said, at three-seventeen.”

“Don’t suppose you have surveillance cameras,” Gordon said. But he figured anyone sneaking around would have been smart enough to be dressed in medical garb, perhaps masked. He’d seen that scenario enough times on television shows and had to assume anyone with half a brain had, too. Of course bad guys weren’t known for having a full complement of brain cells, so it
was
a possibility.

“No, we don’t. But this station is the only way into ICU,” she said, waving her arm toward the door behind her. “Someone’s on duty at all times.”

“Bathroom breaks? Maybe grab a quick cup of coffee? Run an errand for a doctor?”

She reddened, which answered his question.

“Is there a way to find out who was inside during that timeframe? Maybe someone went in much earlier and waited in an empty cubicle.”

Computer keys clicked. Her lips pursed in and out as she stared at the screen. “I wonder.”

Gordon resisted the urge to grab the monitor to see for himself what the nurse was talking about.

Chapter 26

Megan nudged her coffee cup toward Justin. “Want some?” What she needed now was patience, not a buzz. Or a bellyache.

Justin ignored the cup, instead taking her hands in his. “Do you seriously think Dr. Evans’ accident wasn’t an accident?”

“I don’t know what I’m thinking. Gordon’s going to look into it, and I’ll leave that to the cops. How’s Rose doing?”

“She’s her feisty self. Either whoever gave her the wrong medication didn’t give her enough, or the staff got to her in time.”

“Which leads me to believe it wasn’t a real medical person who tried to kill her.”

Justin’s jaw dropped. “You
are
serious. You think it was a murder attempt? Who would want to kill Oma?”

“Nobody,” Megan said. “Unless it has something to do with those stupid bones.” She played the possibilities in her head. “Here’s how I see it. If a medical person wanted Rose dead, they’d have given the right dosage. They could have pretended to be helping her—taking charge and making sure nobody interfered with their plan.”

Justin seemed to be pondering that for a moment. “You could be right. Anyone who knows anything about how all that machinery works in ICU would have disabled it so it wouldn’t have alerted the rest of the staff.”

“So what do we do?”

Justin did another round of pondering. “The bones were in their yard. If Oma is in danger because of them, then Opa might be, too.”

A frisson of dread rippled down Megan’s spine. “I didn’t think of that. You’re right. We need to get upstairs.” She stood, shouldered her purse and rushed for the elevator.

Justin caught up with her. “Sam’s never going to believe he’s in danger.”

Megan mashed the button again. “Then we’ll have to convince him. There are a couple of motels nearby. We can tell him it’s easier to stay at one, so he won’t have to drive back and forth from Mapleton every day. Even if we’re wrong, it’s still more convenient.”

When they stepped off the elevator, Gordon stood at the nurses’ station, leaning on the counter. Megan called his name and hastened to his side. “Where’s Sam?”

“With Rose, I assumed.” Gordon slid his gaze to the nurse. “Is that right?”

“Yes, Mr. Kretzer is still in there,” she said.

Megan tugged Gordon away from the counter. “You have to protect him, too,” she whispered.

Thank goodness Gordon didn’t look at her like she was crazy—or ask what she was talking about. His expression flattened, but he gave her a reassuring nod. “Let’s go talk to him.”

“I’ll be in the waiting room,” Justin said.

Without asking permission, Gordon escorted her to Rose’s cubicle inside the unit. Sam stood when they swished the curtain aside. Rose gave a feeble smile.

Megan made herself smile back. She approached the bed, leaned over and kissed Rose’s cheek. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”

Rose tsked. “Now, I feel better. But Dr. Evans.” She shifted her gaze upward to Gordon. “Such a tragedy. Do you know what happened?”

“Not yet,” Gordon said. “But we’re investigating it.”

“Did you find Olivia?” Rose asked.

“Olivia? Who’s Olivia?” Gordon shot Megan a puzzled look, as if he was afraid Rose had gone off the deep end.

“Fred Easterbrook’s wife,” Megan said. “Rose and I were talking about her last night. You remember. Angie thought it was strange that Fred had a shrine to his daughter but nothing about his wife. Rose knew her.”

“Only to say hello to,” Rose said. “But Megan thought she might be important. Are the police finished getting those bones out of our yard? I don’t like them being there. A graveyard on our property. Even if they were there before it became our property. They do not belong.”

Gordon stepped closer to Sam and lowered his voice. “Do you know if Rose is well enough to move to a regular room today?”

Sam nodded. “
Ja.
The hospital doctors checked her early this morning. They said after lunch, as long as she does well, she will be out of this place.”

“Pfft.” Rose said. “You should see what they call as bringing me lunch. Broth and Jell-O. That is not lunch.”

“Let me see what I can do,” Gordon said, and he pulled Megan through the curtain. “Don’t say anything about what we’ve discussed until I get back.”

“But—”

“Trust me. Talk about happy things.” He parted the curtain for her. He pivoted and marched toward the door.

“Trust me,” Megan mumbled, one hand on the curtain. “Didn’t Indiana Jones say that? And everyone knows how
that
turned out.”

She managed another cheerful face—she hoped—and ducked inside, letting the curtain fall closed behind her.
Don’t talk about anything they’d discussed.
As if there was anything else on anyone’s mind.

Rose and Sam exchanged a look Megan recognized as the one they’d used when they’d been discussing something they didn’t want her to hear.

“Would you like me to read to you for a while?” Megan asked. Lame, but safe.

“No, thank you.” Rose patted the side of the bed. “Sit with me. We’ll talk. I told Sam about your new business.”

Of course she had. Megan studied Sam’s face for any signs of approval—or disapproval. Or worse, the
this is just a phase. You’ll come to your senses
look. She found none. Only curiosity.

“You can be happy in this new venture?” he asked.

Not asking if she’d succeed. Not asking if she knew what she was doing. Only asking if she’d be happy. Her throat tightened and her heart squeezed. “When I started at Peerless, I thought getting into the big events was career progression. I realized I’d left everything I’d loved about event planning in favor of what I thought was the prestige and status of a position with a nice salary.”

“But money doesn’t buy happiness,” Sam said.

Megan had always wondered if Sam had dreamed of a bigger, more modern bookstore, but his knowing expression answered her unspoken question. He’d been content with his little shop, working alongside the woman he loved. They’d never been rich, but their home had always been happy.

“No, it doesn’t.” She got up and embraced Sam, then Rose. “I love you so much.”

“Tell us more,” Rose said.

“There’s not much more to tell yet. I’m laying the groundwork. I hired a web designer, and I have my contacts.” She smiled at Rose. “And the promise of a recipe for
Apfelkuchen.
”

“Ah,” Sam said, with the first true smile she’d seen from him since Rose had taken ill. “With that, you cannot fail.”

With the mood lightened, Megan explained the steps she’d already taken, but she skirted the other reasons she’d quit Peerless. When Sam didn’t say anything about investing, Megan had a pretty good idea what he and Rose had been discussing while Megan had been talking to Gordon.

Emotions swamped her. Rose had respected Megan’s wishes. Not only that, Rose must have convinced Sam, because Rose’s offer of money would pale in comparison to Sam’s desire to help out.

They’ve truly accepted you as an adult.

Either that, or Sam was willing to do whatever Rose said because she was sick.

A few minutes later, the curtain rattled open as a nurse slid it all the way around Rose’s bed. “Time to go,” she said.

“Now?” Megan said. Gordon must have worked some serious magic.

“Now,” the nurse said. She looked at the bleep machine, wrote something on a chart, and fussed with all of Rose’s tubes. An orderly with a wheelchair appeared, Gordon close behind.

“Let’s rock and roll,” Gordon said. He reached for Rose, but the nurse intervened.

“Hospital staff only,” the nurse said. Her face hardened. “Regulations.”

Clearly, whatever strings Gordon had pulled hadn’t gone over well with the nurse. Megan stepped aside so they could do their jobs. She got the distinct impression this was about more than making sure Rose got regular hospital food instead of ICU hospital food for lunch.

Chapter 27

Gordon thanked the nurse, quietly apologizing again for the disruption to her regimented routine. She huffed her disapproval while she and the orderly made sure Rose’s medical hookups were functioning in the new room. Gordon followed them to the door, closing it as soon as they left.

“What’s this all about?” Megan asked. “What kind of a hospital room is this?”

Gordon lifted his hands. “What? You don’t think Rose deserves the executive suite?”

He took a moment to study the room. Aside from the hospital bed and the monitoring equipment, it
did
look like a nice hotel room. Light, cheery colors, a small sofa and padded chairs for guests, a large window—he wasn’t too happy about that, but they were on the seventh floor, which made getting in via that route less likely. A tiny kitchenette with a mini-fridge and microwave. And a coffee maker. He crossed the room and looked for fixings. Finding a collection of hotel-style coffee packets, he proceeded to fill the machine’s reservoir with water. “Coffee, anyone? If you prefer tea, I can run plain water through the pot. Or we can do the nuke thing.”

“Gordon Hepler, you will stop that nonsense and explain this at once,” Rose piped up from the bed. “Executive suite?”

He turned and shrugged. “Well, they weren’t expecting the governor, so it was vacant. I thought you’d be more comfortable here. Sure nobody wants tea or coffee?”

Sam took off his glasses, wiped them with a cloth, then pushed them back up his nose. “I am with Rose on this, Gordon. Please explain.”

Gordon stepped across the room and dragged a chair to Rose’s bedside. “As soon as Justin gets here. I don’t want to go over this more than once. And while we’re waiting, I hope you don’t mind if I make myself some coffee.”

Before the water finished dripping through the grounds, there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it,” Gordon said. Executive room or not, it was still a hospital and there were no locks. He opened the door a crack and then pulled it wide when he saw it was Justin. “Come in. Have a seat.”

Justin entered, taking in the room. If he was curious, he didn’t show it.