by Kate Sweeney
“God only knows. Now listen, Maureen. This could work. We’ll figure a way to get him out of there and back here. There’s plenty of room. Can he travel? That would be a major stumbling block.”
“The nurse said he’s coming along fine and thought he’d be released in a week. I just wish I could see for myself. I’ve been so wrapped up in avoiding Doyle since I came back and…”
Trevor dashed back into the kitchen holding two white lab coats. He handed one to Annabel while slipping into his.
“Perfect,” Annabel said, pulling the lab coat on.
Maureen watched them for a moment. They did look like doctors… “I don’t know how we’ll get him out of there without anyone noticing.”
Trevor thought for a moment, then grinned. “You know, I am a professor of clinical psychology at Trinity and not without some connections. If Michael’s next of kin wanted another opinion or another doctor just to take a look at him…”
Maureen nodded. “I could call them and let them know to expect Dr. Kittredge and his colleague Dr. Mitchell.”
“Then what?” Trevor asked.
“We slip into our lab coats, looking like doctors, and roll him out of there and into your car and back here. No one will notice.”
“It sounds too easy,” Maureen said, suddenly feeling a sense of doom.
As if sensing her dread, Annabel once again reached over and touched her hand. “It’ll work. Are you sure we can’t tell the nurses or doctors and just get him released?”
“I don’t know who knows what anymore. And as much as I might trust the nurse taking care of Michael, well, I don’t trust anyone. If Doyle got wind of this somehow…”
“But how could he?” Trevor asked.
“He found out Michael was in that hospital. How did that happen?” Annabel asked. “No, I think you’re right, Maureen. The less who know about this, the better.”
“Agreed. And if someone knows something and Doyle gets to them, they’ll know the whole thing. No. We do this alone or not at all.”
“You just said you don’t trust anyone,” Annabel said softly.
Maureen smiled. “Well, there are two crazy Americans I’ve grown fond of.”
“Fond?” Annabel grinned. “That’s a start anyway. We’ll work on that.”
“Yes, we will. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
“Not in the least,” Annabel said. “Now let’s make the call.”
Chapter 10
Maureen did make the call to the hospital. She talked to the doctor in charge and the nurse, as well. They were reluctant at first. But when Maureen told them of Dr. Kittredge’s connection with Trinity College and his friend, the famous psychiatrist Timothy Patrick Donavan McGowan, Maureen figured the doctor saw money flowing into the hospital and agreed. Next was letting Michael know. Her stomach was in knots as she paced back and forth, waiting to be connected to his room.
“Maureen?”
She smiled, hearing his voice. It sounded wonderful, even as weak as it was.
“Michael. How’re ya feeling?”
“Like the devil, but at least I’m out of hell. And Deirdre says it’s good to see my appetite back.”
“Deirdre?” Maureen shook her head.
“My nurse. I think you’ve talked to her. She’s a grand gal.”
She heard the sincerity in his voice and took the phone away from her ear. “Remember you’re still under the influence. Behave yourself.” She laughed along as she continued. “Now listen to me. We have to get you out of there.”
“Why?” he asked, his voice full of panic.
She briefly explained the call from his “uncle.” “So Doyle knows where you are, Mick. If he can find that out, he can find a way to get to you.”
“Can’t you just come and check me out? I feel much better.”
“I don’t know if Doyle has any of his men hanging about, and so far, I’m successful in avoiding him.” She felt the healing wound on her side. “Well, for the most part.”
“I get you. So what do we do? I’m still a little weak in the knees. Not sure if I can get up and out of here on my own.”
“I know. That’s why we have a plan. I have two friends that will pose as doctors, well, they are actually.”
“You have friends who are doctors? What’s been happening?”
She chuckled along. “It’s a long story. Now let me finish. They’ll be coming by for an examination. They’ll get you out of there then. I don’t know how yet. But we’ll figure it out.”
“Okay. Ya don’t sound too sure.”
“It’ll be fine. You just sit tight and do whatever they say when they arrive.” She gave him a brief description of Trevor and Annabel.
“She’s good-looking?”
“Yes, and she’s taken.” Maureen had no idea where that possessive posture came from; she decided to ignore it.
“Ahh. I see. She’s on your team. Good enough. Okay, sister of mine, I’ll wait until the cavalry rides in. Maureen…”
“Yeah?”
“I’m very grateful to you for this. I got myself in a big mess this time. Doyle won’t let me go that easy. And he’s got every peeler in his pocket. Ya know that.”
“Michael, not all cops are on the take. Kevin has been like a father to us.”
“I know. He’s been there for me when I didn’t deserve it.”
“For both of us.”
“Have ya talked to him yet?”
“Not since I got back from Paris.” Visions of Annabel flashed through her mind. God, not now, she pleaded when her heart raced and her breathing…
“Maureen? Are ya all right?”
“What? Oh, yeah, yeah. I’ll get in touch with Kevin soon.”
“There’s nothing he can do. Tommy Doyle was an arsehole when we were kids, and he’s a crazy arsehole now.”
There was silence for a moment. Maureen smiled. “We don’t have time for an anatomy lesson, Mick.”
Mick laughed, then let out a barking cough. “He won’t let go.”
“Yes, he will. I have a plan about that, as well. Remember your friend Matt Nolan?”
“The poor bugger, yeah.” Michael stopped for a moment. “Oh, hell, that’s right. The book with all the names. But Matt is dead, and I haven’t a clue where…”
“I’ve thought of that, as well. I have a plan, but I’ll go into it with you when I see ya. That’s enough for right now. I’ll tell ya more later on. You sound tired. Stay put and I’ll see you soon, boyo. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
She snapped the phone shut and took a deep breath. “This has to work.” She figured it was time to tell Annabel and Trevor the truth. If they were willing to take a risk on her, it was only right to trust them.
She found them in the back sitting on a park bench on the patio. For a moment, she watched Annabel as she smiled when she laughed along at something Trevor had said. Maureen felt something deep inside she couldn’t put a name to because honestly, she never had this feeling before. It was more than the sexual attraction, more than the lustful satisfaction. She never gave another woman enough time to explore any possible feelings. But now, watching Annabel, Maureen thought perhaps… She shook her head. With all this going on, how could she explore any intimate feelings? But she couldn’t deny how she felt waking up next to Annabel. The sweet scent of her stayed with Maureen, her warm body, her considerate nature. No, she could no longer deny the feeling. And what’s more, she didn’t want to.
Annabel and Trevor looked up when she walked out onto the patio. The morning was cool and crisp, but the sun had burned off the fog, leaving the sun streaming through the trees.
“We gave you up for dead,” Trevor said with a smile.
“Is everything all right?” Annabel asked.
Maureen nodded as she watched the concerned look on Annabel’s face. “Yes, I think so,” she said softly.
Annabel cocked her head but said nothing. Maureen continued to smile, and for a mome
nt, she lost all sense of time. She nearly jumped when Trevor cleared his throat.
“Well, that was a pleasant moment,” he said, looking from one to the other.
Annabel chuckled nervously; Maureen felt the blush creep up her neck, and suddenly, she shivered and pulled her sweater around her. “Got a chill.”
“It’s pretty warm where I’m sitting,” Annabel said.
“All right. I’m either going to have to leave you two alone or…”
Maureen raised her hand and sat next to Annabel on the bench. “Hmm. It is warmer here,” she said with a grin.
“Told ya.” Annabel gently bumped shoulders with her. “So fill us in?”
“Right.” Maureen cleared her throat. “Before we talk about getting Michael out of there, I want to tell you a little more of what’s going on.”
Annabel reached over and touched her forearm. “Are you sure?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Bellie. Let the woman talk before she changes her mind. Go on, Maureen.” Trevor then gave Annabel a scathing glare.
She stood then and paced, trying to figure out how to start this mess and have it make sense. She decided to start when Michael began his slide into Tommy Doyle’s world.
“When Michael was a teenager, he started hanging around with Tommy Doyle. We sort of grew up with him, well, Mick did. I hated the kid. He was just no good. There was another fella, Conall Murphy. We were all wild, I guess. I was trying to keep Michael out of trouble, but he was constantly in with Tommy and Conall. Kevin couldn’t do anything, either. Hard as he tried.”
“Who’s Kevin?” Annabel asked; she then laughed quietly. “I think we need a scorecard here.”
Maureen nodded with a sad smile. “I see what ya mean. Kevin Martin is a policeman. He’s been with us since we were kids. He was the one who brought us back after we ran away the first time. He’s been like a father to us.” She stopped pacing and looked out the woods. “He tried hard with Michael, but he was a wild kid. Conall wasn’t as bad as Tommy,” she said almost thoughtfully. “He’s not into the drugs like Tommy. Gambling is his preferred vice. He might help.” She chuckled when she looked at Annabel and Trevor and saw a mixture of patience and curiosity. “Sorry. My mind is all over the place.”
“No, no. Go ahead,” Annabel said.
“Well, as I said before, Michael got in with Tommy. I…Well, Conall and I were…”
“Lovers?” Trevor offered eagerly.
Maureen winced. “Gawd, no.”
“Trevor,” Annabel said with exasperation. She extended her hand toward Maureen. “She’s gay.”
“Oh, right.” He looked up eagerly. “Is Conall?”
“No,” Maureen said, rubbing her forehead. “Let’s not get any more jumbled than we are. I had, or have, a gift with numbers.”
“Now I get it. So Conall being a gambler, you and he had something in common.” Annabel sat forward. “That’s what you were doing in Paris?”
“Yeah. I needed fast money to pay off Doyle for Michael and to keep Michael in the hospital. That’s when I met Francesca.” She looked at Annabel and winked.
“Wait.” Trevor shook his head. “Who’s Francesca?”
The look on Annabel’s face was priceless and most endearing to Maureen. Her neck and cheeks broke out in bright crimson. Trevor offered a smug grin and sat back.
“You look like a thermometer, darling. Or should I say, Francesca?”
“Shut up, Trevor. Or I’ll tell Maureen about—”
Trevor’s mouth dropped. “You promised!”
“Kids?” Maureen offered. “Can we get back on track here?”
“Certainly,” Trevor said, glaring at Annabel.
“Anyway. When Michael got in too deep, I got involved. And all the sudden, I’m under Tommy’s thumb, as well, trying to free Michael.” She took a deep breath and avoided looking at both of them. “I’m not proud of what I did. And this is the only thing I can’t go into with you now.”
There was silence for a moment until Trevor spoke up. “We all do things we wish we could take back. Sometimes, it stays with us for a lifetime even when we try to be at peace with it.” He sat forward again. “The worst feeling in the world is to know you can’t go back and change what you’ve done. But the best feeling is taking ownership of it, understanding why we do what we do, and moving forward.” He smiled and sat back, stretching his arms across the back of his chair. “That’ll be two hundred dollars. Well, with the rate of exchange here…”
Maureen laughed then. “Thank you, Trevor. It does weigh very heavily on my mind. But you’re right. I can’t change it. I’m trying to set it right. And until Tommy is stopped…”
“So you’ve been forced into associating with this Doyle fellow because of Michael, and we’re going to get him out of that hospital and here so he’s safe and you can do whatever it is you’re planning to stop Tommy Doyle. Is that the picture?” Annabel asked.
“Pretty much, yeah. There’s more to it, but I really think you’re better off right not knowing. Is that all right with you?”
“Yes, it is.” Annabel answered with hesitation. “You can trust us.”
“I know that. And believe me, it means the world to me. It’s not easy for me to ask for help or to take it even.”
Annabel walked over and stood in front of her. Maureen looked into the smiling blue eyes. “You’re crazy to get mixed up with me.”
Annabel cupped her face; she placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “It’s too late to turn back now. And even if I could, I don’t want to. Not now.”
“Is that line from a movie?”
Neither one paid any attention to Trevor. Maureen turned her face and kissed the palm of Annabel’s hand. “God bless you, Annie. I shoulda made love to you that night in Paris.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You will,” Annabel assured her with another kiss.
Maureen looked past Annabel to see Trevor, his hand to his heart and a grin spread across his face. She pulled back. “God bless you, too, Dr. Kittredge.” She kissed Annabel on the forehead before stepping back. “And speaking of doctors…”
“Nice segue,” Annabel muttered.
“Shush,” Maureen said. “You have an appointment tomorrow morning at eleven. Now we need to figure out how to get Michael out. Let’s go plan our invasion of River Edge Hospital.”
Annabel eagerly returned to the bench. “Okay. How are we going to do this?”
“Like I said, they agreed to see both of you. Trevor, you’ll have to comment on your friend who owns this house. It seems you’re right, and he’s well known in your circle. They were reluctant to see you until I mentioned his name. Now since Doyle obviously knows Michael is there, he’ll be looking for me, as well. His men have seen the rental car, so we can’t take that.”
“We’ll take my car. That’s a given,” Trevor said. “And you can’t be seen, so what are you going to do?”
“I hate the idea of not being there.”
“But you can be. Trevor’s car has tinted back windows. If you were to sit low, maybe no one could see you.”
“That’s possible…” Maureen chewed at her bottom lip. “The most important thing is that Doyle doesn’t know Michael’s gone or where he’s gone to. Okay, we’ll plan it this way. We all go. You park as close to the entrance as possible. I sit in the back. You go in, check in, and see Michael. He’s expecting you, by the way.”
“How do we get him out?” Annabel asked.
“We wear the lab coats and put him on a gurney and wheel him out,” Trevor said.
“They’re not going to let you out the front door with a patient on a gurney,” Maureen said.
“And you’re sure you can’t just check him out?” Annabel looked at Maureen.
“I could, but I don’t trust the idea that someone will see me. I’d have to go in and sign papers. And if he’s not ready to be released, there’ll be questions as to why I want to sign him out too soon. No, this is better. There’ll be too much visibility
any other way, and I can’t run the risk of one of Doyle’s men seeing me.”
“Leave this up to me and Bellie,” Trevor said. “We’ll figure it out once we get in there and see the lay of the land. Have your cell phone ready just in case you need to move the car.”
He sounded so sure of himself, which scared Maureen. Trevor grinned. “I had a similar experience when I was getting my PhD.” He looked at Annabel. “Remember?”
“No. Oh, wait…” She laughed then. “It’s not quite the same, but I see your point.” She looked at Maureen. “Smartass over here wanted to teach somebody a lesson. So he and another assistant professor in the anatomy department pulled off the joke of the century.”
“What happened?” Maureen looked at Trevor, who preened like the Cheshire cat.
“We snuck into the lab wearing our lab coats and switched out a cadaver, being very respectful, mind you, and we had a lowly underclassman—our little minion, we’ll call him—who needed money, slip onto the lab table, covered with the sheet, before class. When our pompous friend came in for his class, he bragged about how well he’d done on an exam. Better than everyone, blah, blah. Our minion then jumped up and screamed. Everyone was terrified, and the object of our prank screamed like a little girl, started for the door, ran into it, and fainted. It was priceless. And the assistant had it all recorded. It went viral.” Trevor sat back. “Ahh, college days.”
Maureen felt the tiny ripple of trepidation while she listened to Trevor telling his story with great enthusiasm and wondered if this was a good idea.
“Trust me,” Trevor said.
Now she was really worried.
Chapter 11
With a preliminary plan in place, Maureen relaxed somewhat. There was one more thing she needed to do. As she picked up the phone, Annabel walked into the living room.
“So we’re all set? Oh, sorry, you’re on the phone…”
“No. It’s all right. I just need to call Kevin. He’s been leaving me messages on my cell. I should have called him the minute I had this thing charged. I’ll just be a minute.” She reached for Annabel’s hand as she turned to go. “Ya don’t have to leave.”