Journaled to Death

by Heather Redmond

  ‘I left about five minutes after Dylan and Alexis did,’ Linda explained. ‘To take the cookies to the shelter.’

  ‘Oh right, sorry. You were gone before Ryan fell,’ Mandy mused. ‘At least we know Dylan and Alexis have alibis for part of the time just before he died. My mother predicted they were the killers, if he was murdered.’

  ‘I’m sure it will turn out to have been an accident,’ Linda soothed. ‘It’s an unexplained death, that’s all.’

  ‘Yeah, because no one else was there.’ She hadn’t overheard a fight, though that didn’t mean the pair weren’t somehow involved in whatever state Ryan had been in that caused him to fall. They didn’t always fight when they were over, though she’d never thought them capable of being quiet enough for her to miss them being there. On that sour note, Mandy realized the time. ‘I’d better run.’ She gave Linda a quick hug then dashed across the side street.

  At her house, nothing seemed to be going on. She wished she dared go in and pack up whatever was left in the refrigerator so she didn’t have to buy lunch, but she didn’t want to find herself in trouble with the police. Instead, she climbed into her car and got the defroster going, then took her ice scraper from the trunk and attacked the windows. When she had the front window scraped almost clear, she spotted a pair of cheap tan gloves on the front passenger seat. She squealed with pleasure and pulled the door open so she could put them on and warm up her icy fingers.

  By the time she made it to work, she was only a little late for prep. Since she’d made the cookie batter the night before, it didn’t matter. She worked diligently while the oven warmed, prepping iced tea and iced coffee, along with the bases for a lot of their blended drinks. Though it was freezing outside, the warm temperature in the hospital, not to mention the stress, had many people ordering ice-blended or cold drinks all year round.

  About half an hour after she arrived, some of the day staff started to turn up. Fannah had been at the front counter since six. Mandy was due to take over for her at seven. At ten minutes before seven, she walked across the foyer until she reached the security-protected private staff door.

  She waved hello to a number of her customers as she headed toward the maintenance office.

  ‘Any specials today?’ one of her regular nurses called.

  ‘I mixed up a base for a white chocolate cinnamon ice-blended,’ Mandy told her. ‘Give it a try.’ Breathing a sigh of relief when she saw the lights were on in the maintenance department, she opened the door.

  ‘Hey, Mandy,’ Scott greeted her from across the room. A little above average height, a beer gut had started to overcome his once athletic body. The weight had yet to ruin his face. He still had a firm jawline and taut features.

  ‘Hey,’ she called back. ‘Glad you’re in a little early.’

  ‘Nowhere else to be. What about you?’ He folded his hands over his desk blotter.

  She sat down in the visitor’s chair, already hating being there. No external windows, florescent lights that hummed, and walls lined with metal racks full of cleaning supplies. The only personal items were a couple of family photos. A younger Scott with a man that was probably his father, holding up a big fish; a slightly younger Scott with a kid on each side and a cat on his lap. ‘Did you talk to the police yet?’

  He frowned. ‘Can’t say I have. What’s up?’

  She stared at the John Wayne thermometer on the wall. ‘My cousin died last night.’

  Scott’s eyes widened. ‘You mean Ryan?’

  ‘Yes, of course. Do you know my other cousin, his sister Jasmine?’

  ‘I don’t think I ever had the pleasure. I’m sorry, Mandy.’

  ‘It isn’t much of one right now. She turned forty this year and isn’t taking the milestone well.’ Mandy slumped in the chair. ‘I wonder if I should have called her last night, but they barely spoke. I assume the police contacted her or her mother as next of kin.’

  Scott made a sympathetic noise.

  Mandy pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes. ‘I didn’t get much sleep last night. We had to stay at my mother’s.’

  ‘Vellum OK?’

  ‘Sort of. She didn’t see the body.’

  Scott leaned forward. ‘Do you think it was suicide?’

  The tissue dropped from Mandy’s hand. ‘Why?’

  Scott lowered his voice, though no one else was in the room. ‘He was about to be fired.’

  Mandy’s lips trembled. She knew how important Ryan’s job was to him. He was proud of his long tenure at the hospital. ‘I thought he was good at his job.’

  ‘He did the work, but he often smelled like alcohol after his lunch break.’

  Mandy squeezed her fingers together in her lap. Oh, Ryan. He’d never mentioned his job being in trouble. ‘His drinking was that out of control?’

  ‘You didn’t notice?’

  ‘He didn’t come to the coffee bar unless we were commuting together. His car died a lot. But it’s been at least a month since he had trouble.’ She realized his car hadn’t been in the driveway when she came home the night before. ‘Is his car at the hospital? Did Dylan or Alexis pick him up?’

  ‘Who are they?’

  ‘Friends,’ she said vaguely.

  ‘I don’t know about his car.’ Scott made a note on a pad of paper. ‘I’ll ask Security to search for it.’

  ‘Speaking of security,’ Mandy said, catching sight of the clock over Scott’s head. She needed to take over from Fannah at the coffee bar. ‘That’s the other reason I’m here.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘We have a thief targeting the coffee bar. Yesterday, I’m sure some teenagers stole fifteen bucks from me, and food has gone missing too.’

  ‘How terrible,’ Scott said with an edge of sarcasm.

  ‘It is,’ Mandy said stoutly. ‘You know I’m a single mom now. Cory quit his job so he gets to pay almost nothing in child support, and I have to cover the mortgage by myself.’

  ‘He’s working under the table?’ Scott asked blandly.

  Mandy pushed the chair back. ‘It doesn’t surprise me that you’d be on his side. Men. I hate you all.’

  Scott laughed and put up his hands. ‘Calm down, Mandy. Cory’s a good guy. I’m sure he’s having a tough time with the divorce.’

  Mandy ground her molars together before speaking. ‘He’s the one who cheated.’

  ‘There’s two sides to every story.’

  Mandy shook her head. How could she ever have liked Scott? Men sucked. She had enough misplaced wifely guilt without having it reinforced. She stood up. ‘I’d like you to put up a security camera to catch the coffee bar thief. If we had footage, we could catch them in action.’

  ‘I’ll look into it, Mandy. I’m sure you’re feeling jumpy, but now we’re down a guy, thanks to this.’ He looked at Mandy. ‘I’ll get it on our list.’

  Mandy’s lips trembled. ‘Ryan’s death was an unfortunate accident. But I’m sorry to hear he was about to lose his job. I suppose he knew that?’

  ‘Next time I caught him smelling of alcohol,’ Scott said easily. ‘Sorry, Mandy.’

  She imagined a string pulling her head toward the ceiling and straightened her posture, then walked out of the room as regally as a queen. This was going to be a very long day if she let every comment about her sadly flawed cousin wound her.

  About nine a.m., she saw Detective Ahola approach the coffee bar with another man. He had pouchy half-circles under his eyes today, but despite them, could still have modeled. Her gaze dropped south, checking for badges. It felt uncomfortable to deliberately check out a man’s beltline. Yes, Mandy, both men had badges hung on their belts. She quickly moved her gaze back to eye level.

  ‘Ms Meadows,’ Detective Ahola said in a business-like tone.

  ‘Yes, Detective?’ She gave him her professional smile. ‘What can I get you gentlemen? We have a great ice-blended drink today.’

  Detective Ahola curled his upper lip, as if revolted. Given how trim
the man was, she doubted he ever let sugar cross his lips.

  ‘I’ll just have a mocha,’ the other man said. His physique was more, well, Russell Crowe-esque, to say the least.

  ‘What size?’

  ‘A large one.’

  She looked to Detective Ahola for his drink.

  ‘Black coffee.’ Detective Ahola wiped his upper lip. ‘Why is it so warm in here?’

  ‘It’s always like this. Most people don’t keep their coats on.’ She rang up the sales and went to make the drinks. Fannah appeared from the back and took over the cash register.

  The detectives stepped around the counter to the wood block they used to place finished drink orders, in between the espresso machine and the blenders.

  ‘Any news?’ Mandy asked in a low voice.

  ‘Just here to interview the deceased’s supervisor, Scott Nelson, and co-workers,’ Detective Ahola said. His eyes narrowed at her. ‘Anyone I should pay special attention to?’

  She felt pinned by that icy blue gaze. ‘I didn’t see Ryan much at work. He told me about the job opening, so he was partially responsible for me working here, but he didn’t even drink coffee.’

  The other detective picked up his drink. ‘Was he generally liked around here?’

  ‘This morning, his supervisor told me he was about to be fired.’ There it was, that choking sound again. She turned her head away. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Why?’ Detective Ahola asked.

  ‘For drinking on the job. Allegedly,’ she added. She didn’t know if it was true or not.

  ‘I see.’ As Detective Ahola spoke, the other detective tilted his drink and took a long, noisy gulp.

  Detective Ahola cleared his throat and picked up his own drink. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Can I go home after work?’

  ‘I can’t let you do that yet, Ms Meadows. The scene wasn’t processed completely last night.’

  ‘Oh.’

  He lifted those heavy brows and waited for her to speak.

  She felt forced to fill the silence. ‘Did anyone speak to my neighbor, Linda Bhatt, yet?’

  ‘Where does she live?’

  ‘Across the side street. She said she saw my cousin’s friends leave just before five-thirty, and then she left too, and missed everything.’

  The detective put his hands on his hips. ‘Mr Meadows was in the house shortly before his fall, along with multiple people?’

  She could feel his displeasure, but she hadn’t known about that when he interviewed her. ‘Yes. Dylan Tran and Alexis Ivanova. But I didn’t hear them.’

  ‘No?’

  She shook her head. ‘Except I remembered this morning that I didn’t see his car anywhere. It wasn’t in the driveway and it couldn’t have been in front of the house or the police cruisers wouldn’t have parked there.’

  ‘Was this a normal occurrence?’

  ‘Not recently. He had a lot of car trouble last fall, but not in the past month or so. I asked Scott, his boss, to see if it was in the hospital garage.’

  The detective pulled out a notebook and jotted down a few notes. ‘Do you happen to have his license plate number?’

  ‘No, but Scott will. It’s in our employee records.’

  The detective snapped his notebook shut. ‘Thank you. I’ll be in touch when you can return home.’

  ‘I don’t have my phone,’ she reminded him.

  ‘Your daughter’s?’

  ‘No. She’d have a fit if I took it. She’s fifteen.’

  The other detective grinned. ‘I remember that phase.’

  Fannah walked up to Mandy and handed Detective Ahola the coffee bar’s card. ‘You can reach her here until three p.m., Officer.’

  ‘Detective,’ Mandy corrected. ‘They’re homicide detectives.’

  Fannah’s face became very still.

  ‘Ryan died last night. I’m sorry, I haven’t had a chance to tell you.’

  Her supervisor didn’t speak.

  ‘In my house,’ Mandy explained.

  Fannah turned away and moved rapidly into the back room. Mandy stared at her, then heard the bell ring. She had customers waiting at the cash register, including Dr O’Halloran. ‘I’m sorry but I need to work.’

  Detective Ahola ignored her plea. ‘Was she a friend of Mr Meadows?’

  ‘No. I mean, I don’t think so.’ Mandy glanced at the surgeon, who gave her a cheery wave over the fruit basket. Always rushing, he’d be annoyed if she didn’t wait on him right away. ‘I really have to get back to my job.’

  Detective Ahola tapped the business card on the wooden block. ‘You do that. We’ll be in touch.’

  Mandy’s morning went downhill after that. Once the news about Ryan’s death spread around the hospital, her whimsical notion of the USea Hospital being like a small town proved true. Some people stopped by to be kind, but others came to gossip and she was forced to listen to their casually cruel words about Ryan while she rang up their drinks.

  Eventually, Fannah took pity on her and settled her at the drinks station. She didn’t have to speak to people as much when she made their drinks, and the wooden block put a physical barrier between herself and the customers. All three of the weekday staff were scheduled for full shifts, so Mandy hoped to stay where she was until she was off work at three.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Kit asked. She had her apron around her neck just before her shift started at noon.

  ‘Ryan died last night,’ Mandy said. How many times had she said that today? Her stomach clenched. She didn’t think she’d be able to eat any lunch, though her break started in a couple of minutes.

  Kit’s eyes went unfocused. After a moment, her fingers scrabbled around her waist, looking for her apron ties. She looped them around her back then knotted them in front. Tiny, exquisite, her-life-ahead-of-her Kit. A dozen years younger than Mandy, she envied Kit for all the excitement still ahead. Career, boyfriends, marriage, babies. Some days she felt a lot older than thirty-six.

  Mandy waited for the obligatory ‘I’m-so-sorry’ comment, but Kit seemed completely checked out. She had faint purple bruises under her eyes, like she hadn’t slept well. ‘Are you sure you should be here? Are you ill?’

  Kit rubbed her nose. ‘I’m fine. Just tired.’ She yawned.

  ‘Yeah, well …’ Mandy trailed off, but still her co-worker didn’t speak. ‘Are you clocked in so I can go on break?’

  Kit ran into the back room and put her badge under the scanner, then returned. ‘I am now.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Mandy muttered, ripping off her coffee-stained apron. A couple of overenthusiastic gossips had tilted their cups while chattering away and splashed her. Neither of them visited the coffee bar regularly and apparently didn’t know to keep the lids on their drinks at the counter.

  Mandy’s afternoon didn’t get much better. As staff took their breaks, they came to gossip. Then her non-regulars, people who had family being cared for at the hospital, would start asking questions about what they’d overheard. A couple of rude elderly people were overcome with horror at the idea that she’d seen a dead body, as if people didn’t die in this exact hospital every single day. They left without ordering.

  Five minutes before her shift ended, the phone rang in the back room. Fannah had left for the day, so Mandy dashed into the back to answer it. ‘USea coffee bar. How may I help you?’

  ‘Ms Meadows?’

  She suspected she knew this voice. ‘Speaking.’

  ‘This is Detective Ahola. We have released the scene and you can enter your home now. I suggest you call a professional death scene cleanup company and let them do their job before you enter the basement area.’

  ‘I doubt I can afford any of that.’

  ‘A reputable company will take pictures for your insurance company. In fact, you might want to give your insurance a call.’

  ‘Are there any companies you recommend?’

  The detective rattled off a couple of names. ‘You can find them on any search engine. Both of thos
e companies should be able to have cleaners there within twenty-four hours.’

  She sighed. If only she’d done her laundry ahead of all this. ‘Thank you. I appreciate your help.’

  ‘We’ll be in touch.’ He disconnected, leaving her holding the empty line.

  Right now, she couldn’t even do a search, because she didn’t have a phone.

  ‘Kit,’ she called from the back room.

  Her co-worker turned around from the espresso machine.

  ‘Can I borrow your phone?’

  Kit shook her head and turned back to the nozzle.

  Mandy muttered a rude word under her breath. She’d have to go home before she called anyone. It’s not like there was a phone book anywhere these days, and the hospital help desks weren’t usually manned, due to the lack of volunteers. She could get in trouble if she bothered front desk staff in any of the medical departments.

  Five minutes later, she was in the parking garage, debating whether she should drive around and see if she could spot Ryan’s car, but for all she knew, it had already been found and towed. She made a mental note of things she needed to do. Bring Vellum back home, but maybe not until the basement was cleaned. Call the crime scene cleanup company. Call her cousin Jasmine, even if her mother had already made contact.

  When she reached her street, she turned left, ready to pull into her driveway, on autopilot as usual, but something caught the corner of her eye. She slowed down and squinted. Surely her eyes were deceiving her.

  If they weren’t, a child was sitting in her front yard, wearing only shorts and a T-shirt. Was that really a crying child on her icy lawn?

  FOUR

  Mandy forgot her to-do list and stopped her car beside the alley. She picked her way along the stone retaining wall that held up her lawn and ran up the steps to her front yard.

  ‘What is it, honey? Are you hurt?’ She skidded across the damp grass, hoping nothing on her property had injured the child. When she recognized the freckled face of Aiden Roswell, a ten-year-old neighbor, she really hoped that nothing was seriously wrong. His mother, Crystal, was nuts.