by VC Angell
Jim tried to speak but found his throat sore and managed only a single word, “No.”
“You are in the hospital. You were shot leaving work. You weren’t found until later Christmas Eve. A deputy had been assigned to check your building and found you,” the nurse said.
“The last thing I remember was everyone leaving, and I was the last one. I don’t remember going outside,” Jim said.
“In the case of trauma, most people don’t remember events just before the trauma occurs. I understand that your offices were ransacked as well,” the nurse said.
“Wait a minute! How long have I been out?”
“A little over a day and a half. When you were brought in, they immediately operated on you. If that deputy hadn’t found you, you wouldn’t have survived. You had two wounds. One to the lower left abdomen and one to the head,” the nurse said.
Jim tried with his hand to reach his head friends only to find out if he had an IV, so he asked, “Why am I still here if I got shot in the head?”
The nurse laughed and said, “You have got a hardhead, and the bullet didn’t penetrate. It’s something to tell your friends when they accuse you of being hardheaded. Your fiancé has been here ever since you’ve were brought in. I sent her down to the cafeteria to get some lunch. We weren’t sure when you would wake up because of the head wound.”
Jim didn’t answer immediately. “This is hard to absorb.”
“I’m sure it is. Do you want me to have your fiancé paged?” The nurse asked.
Jim thought a moment and then said, “If you page her, she’ll just be scared that something has happened. I can wait till she comes back.”
“Here is the call button if you need anything. Don’t be afraid to use it,” the nurse said. She smiled at Jim and left.
Jim was more aware of his surroundings than he had been earlier. He had an IV in his right arm, and the bag was a clear liquid. Jim took his left arm and hand to check his left side and found a bandage. He was still trying to figure everything out when Carol came into the room, smiling.
“You scared me. How are you feeling?” Carol asked.
“It hurts to move. I can’t believe I got shot in the head, and I’m still here,” Jim said.
“The doctor said you have a thick skull. The real danger to you was the hypothermia lying there by the door for so long. The doctor said it probably helped with the wound to your left side. It didn’t bleed as much.”
“Where exactly in my left side is the wound?”
“The doctor said that it missed your kidney but nicked some intestines. He had been a battlefield doctor in Vietnam and said you would fully recover,” Carol said.
“That’s good,” Jim said and then, against his wishes, fell back asleep.
* * *
It was the next day, and Jim felt less groggy. The nurse told him that it was probably anti-pain medications that were making him sleepy. Midmorning, Gladys showed up. Jim looked up and smiled, “It’s a good thing you didn’t come yesterday. I couldn’t keep my eyes open.”
“I am glad to see your eyes open. I thought our ideas of solving your brother’s murder got you killed,” Gladys said.
“They tell me that it was my thick skull that kept me alive.”
“I guess that could be. We recovered a 32-caliber slug from the wooden door frame. It was fired from a revolver. Probably one of the short-barreled types that they sell women for self-protection. They are better than nothing, but they don’t have the stopping power of a 9 mm.”
Jim thought a moment and then said, “My brother sort of kept a diary and a day planner. He mentioned that he bought a gun for Sally.”
“Did he say what model or caliber he bought?”
“Yes, but I don’t remember the caliber. I left that day planner diary
in my desk drawer at work.”
Gladys shook her head, “It might not be there. Whoever shot you ransacked your office.”
“I remember arming the alarm system. If there was any movement inside, it should’ve gone off,” Jim said.
“There was no alarm. I assume your alarm has a delay to allow you to get out of the building.”
“Yes, it gives you several minutes to get out of the building. That’s nice because if you have forgotten something, you can cancel the alarm. There’s a keypad, and all you do is hit all the numbers on the left side of the keypad from top to bottom in order, and that cancels the alarm.”
“That is a common sequence,” Gladys said.
“Then, whoever shot me knew how to turn off the alarm system?”
“That appears to be what happened.”
“All we have to do is find someone who knows how to do that,” Jim said.
“That sequence is the default sequence. If that’s what you’re using, it had never been changed. Hundreds, if not thousands of people, know that sequence. It’s really of no help in solving who shot you.”
“It sounds like we’re back to ground zero.”
“No, we have confirmed that somehow your brother’s ex-wife is involved since you only talked to her,” Gladys said.
“If that’s true, then can you arrest her?”
“I could, but it is still circumstantial evidence, and a sharp attorney could easily turn the fact you spoke to her proved nothing. He could say that she might’ve been out in a restaurant and talking, and someone overheard the conversation or a dozen other scenarios. We need pure hard facts before we moved to arrest her,” Gladys said.
“I’ll be glad to help again,” Jim said.
“I won’t put you in danger again. Besides, if I did, the Sheriff would disown me, and I like my job.”
They continue to chat for a few minutes more before Gladys left.
* * *
Carol stopped during her lunch hour and promised to stop again after work. Jim thought about what he could do if Gladys and the Sheriff wouldn’t put him in danger. He could do it himself. Jim was angry. They had killed his brother and tried to kill him. He would find a way to take them down.
After his release from the hospital, Jim applied for a concealed carry permit. The Sheriff granted it. The only question the Sheriff asked him was if he could handle a handgun. Jim told the Sheriff that he had been high school pistol club champ. Now he was part of the informal group of people interested in a quick draw competition.
Carol asked, “Are you going to carry that thing?”
“After what happened, I think I need some kind of protection. Don’t you?”
“I just don’t want you getting hurt again.”
“I want to be sure I have something to fight back with if something happens, besides I’m not going to get caught off guard again,” Jim said.
* * *
At work a few days later in the afternoon, Jim called Sally. Jim wanted to find out once and for all if Sally had murdered Alex. He asked, “Could I come over and see you tonight?”
“I guess so. What you want to see me about,” Sally asked.
“I want to talk to you about Alex’s murder and the person who shot me,” Jim said.
“Oh, I guess that’ll be okay.”
Remembering how Gladys had proposed to get Jim off the phone before Sally could ask questions, Jim said, “Sorry, but Will just walked into my office. We gotta talk about the upcoming editorial. I’ll see you about seven,” and hung up.
The rest of the afternoon passed so slowly for Jim. He didn’t want Carol to worry, so he called her to tell her he would be working late and he’d see her when he got home. Jim didn’t like lying to her.
Jim drove over to Sally’s place.
She invited him in and asked, “Would you like some coffee?”
“No, thank you.” Jim reached inside his winter coat and brought out the day planner diary book that belonged to Alex, “I wanted to talk to you about this,” Jim put it on the table in front of Sally.
“What is it?”
“In part, it is a diary that Alex kept. If you open it to September 3,
you will see that Alex made a notation that he bought you a 32 caliber handgun for protection. It was a 32 caliber gun that put me in the hospital. I bet if you give me that gun, its ballistics will match the slug they pulled out of the door frame at the Journal. I just want to know why you shot me?” Jim asked.
“It wasn’t her. It was me,” Karen stepped through the door to the kitchen, “It will be me who shoots you again. Permanently, this time,” pointing a revolver at Jim.
Jim, who had kept his hand in his winter coat around the 9 mm he had bought, said, “I don’t think so,” Jim pulled the 9 mm out of his coat pocket and fired in one smooth move.
Karen went down, and Sally screamed then started towards Karen’s body.
“Stop! Don’t go anywhere near her. Sit down over there in that chair,” Jim said, gesturing with the 9 mm.
There were tears in Sally’s eyes, but she complied and sat down in the chair. “What are you going to do with me? Kill me?”
“Not unless you force me to. Tell me something – why did all this happen?” Jim said, glancing at Karen’s body. It was clear she was dead.
“I think Alex spoiled me. I didn’t realize how much I needed the physical side of our marriage until menopause hit me. It could be painful making love. We stopped making love. Maybe if we had worked together and seen a doctor, we could solve those problems. I’ll never know,” Sally said, suddenly seeming very calm.
“How did you meet Karen,” Jim asked.
“It was almost an accident. I saw the tea shop and just stopped to look around. Karen invited me to sit down and talk over a cup of tea. That’s how it started.”
“I don’t know how to ask this, but how did it become physical?”
“It just sort of happened by accident too. I’ve thought about that many times. She seduced me. I didn’t know I could feel that way about another woman. She completely satisfied me. It was even better than when Alex and I first got married,” Sally said.
“Why did you have to kill Alex?”
“That also happened by accident. I was thinking of telling Alex about Karen, but there were money problems. Alex told me one day he would get a life insurance policy out of the blue because of the drug story he was working on for the newspaper. It was about the same time he gave me the gun. It seemed like an ideal solution. The drug dealers would be getting their revenge by killing Alex, and no one would look further than that.”
“So, was killing Alex your idea?” Jim asked.
Sally glanced at Karen’s body, “It was her idea at first. Her tea shop wasn’t doing all that well. The more I thought about, the better it seemed.”
Jim reached into his other coat pocket with his other hand retrieving his phone, and thumb dialed 911.
Add ons
To my muse, who is both malevolent and benevolent.
Link to author’s website
I have another mystery novel that will be published soon. It is titled Darkhouse Lure. If you would like to be notified when it’s published in Kindle format, drop me a note at https://vcangell.com/