Murder in the Maternity Ward

by Michelle Francik

  “Yes, doctor. We promise to behave.” Maggie tried to keep a straight face but started giggling as soon as she finished speaking. “Well, we promise to try, anyway.”

  The doctor shook her head. “I hope you both know how lucky you are to have each other. I see a lot of women who don’t have the love or support that you have in spades.”

  That reminded Maggie of Ashanti. As much as she wanted to go home, she was concerned about her friend. But before she could say anything, the doctor spoke.

  “Your test results are fine, there’s been no recurrence of the blood pressure spike or the tachycardia I saw yesterday in the office. As long as you’re feeling okay, I’m comfortable letting you go home.”

  Garrett let out a whoop of joy that rattled the windows and made the two women laugh out loud. “Sorry, ma’am,” he mumbled, embarrassed.

  “You have nothing to apologize for.”

  “What’s going on up in here?” Ashanti walked through the door, and her eyes went wide when she saw Garrett. “Oh, my goodness. I think I’ve died and gone to Heaven. And who might you be, handsome?”

  “Back off, friend, that’s my husband.”

  “Of course, he is; all the fine ones are taken.” Ashanti sighed dramatically, shook her head, then turned to the doctor. “Are you letting my friend here go home or am I gonna have to help that fine man there sneak her out the back door?”

  Doctor Gonzales snorted. “I’m tempted to say no, just to watch you try. But to answer your question, yes, she gets to go home.”

  “Well now, that’s wonderful!” Ashanti turned to Maggie and tried to smile, but her eyes filled with tears. “Excuse me for a moment. It seems my allergies have decided to act up. And in front of this fine man, too. I’ll be back.” She hurried out of the room and Maggie remembered her earlier idea.

  “I realize you’re not her doctor, but do you think Ashanti could go home with us?” She could feel Garrett’s surprise, but she kept her eyes focused on the doctor’s face.

  “Well, I don’t see why not. You two live close by and have transportation. She hasn’t had any contractions for the last 24 hours. We’d have released her already, if she had a safe place to stay.”

  “What do you mean, ‘a safe place to stay’?” Garrett asked.

  “Well, she’s been living on the street since she got pregnant. Her family tossed her out and she had nowhere to go.” The doctor sighed. “Her Braxton Hicks contractions were the only justification we had to keep her here, and that was flimsy at best.”

  Maggie’s eyes met Garrett’s and he nodded slightly. “Would it be possible to talk to her doctor and make sure she’ll allow it? I don’t want to ask Ashanti till I know it’s okay.”

  “I’ll go talk to her right now and let you know. I’ll have your nurse start your discharge paperwork, as well.”

  As she left the room, Maggie reached out to her husband. “Thank you, hon. I’m sorry I put you on the spot like that, but, as usual, you stepped up to the plate.”

  He held her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over her fingers. “Well, I guess I’d better tell you something, too. I asked Adam to come up and help out at the farm so I can spend some time with you before the baby comes. It was going to be a surprise, but if we’re bringing your friend home, maybe I should tell him not to come.”

  “Why on earth would you do that? Adam’s welcome any time and I’d love to see him.”

  “I know, but do you think the farmhouse is big enough for Adam and Ashanti?”

  Maggie laughed. “Good point. They’re both a little dramatic.”

  His left eyebrow shot up and he made a face. “A little?”

  “Okay, a lot dramatic,” she conceded. “But Adam will be busy with farm work and Ashanti’s close to her due date, so I think if we keep them occupied and at the opposite ends of the house, it should be fine.”

  The doctor walked in with a smile on her face. “Alrighty then, I cleared it with Doctor Rosales. If Ashanti wants to go home with you all, we can make it happen.” She jumped as a voice sounded behind her.

  “If Ashanti what’s the what? And what will happen?” Her eyes huge, she walked into the room and stared at Maggie. “What’s she talkin’ bout?”

  She grinned at her friend. “We wondered if you might want to come stay with us for a bit, so you’re not stuck here in this hospital.”

  Ashanti looked from Maggie to Garrett and back again. “For reals y’all? You better not be playin’ with me.”

  Garrett smiled at her. “Seriously, we’d like you to come stay at the farm with us. We have plenty of room and you can keep Mags here company, so she doesn’t go too stir-crazy.”

  “It’s up to you, Ashanti.” Maggie watched the emotions play across her friend’s face.

  “Wait a minute. You said farm. What’s that mean? You got like horses and chickens and such?”

  “We sure do. And cows and goats, too.”

  “I don’t gotta clean up after ‘em, do I?” The look of horror on her face made Maggie giggle.

  “Of course you don’t. All you have to do is take care of yourself and your baby and keep my beautiful wife company. So, what do you say?”

  She looked at Maggie who was grinning like a loon. “You sure you wanna let me ‘round this gorgeous man of yours? I’m pretty irresistible, you know.”

  “I think it’ll be fine, but I guess I should warn you. His brother Adam is coming up to help with the farm. So, you’ll have two handsome Donahue men to deal with.”

  “I think I’m up to that challenge. Let’s do this.”

  Chapter Five

  The discharge process took longer than expected, but finally the two women were ready to leave the hospital. Nurse Jackson helped Maggie into a wheelchair.

  “I still don’t understand why I can’t walk out on my own.” Maggie’s grumbling earned her a frown from the nurse.

  “You already know the answer, young lady, hospital policy. What I don’t understand is why you feel the need to grumble about it--you get to go home.” She turned to Garrett. “Would you like to do the honors?”

  “Yes ma’am.” He grabbed the handles of the wheelchair.

  “All right you two, Ashanti’s nearly ready, so you can head over to her room.” She paused. “What you’re doing is really nice. It does my heart good to see people taking care of each other.” Her eyes filled with tears and she left the room at a fast clip.

  Garrett pushed Maggie’s wheelchair across the hall to Ashanti’s room. “You about ready?”

  “I’m waiting on someone to wheel me out. The nurse called for transport so someone should be here soon.”

  “Okay, I’m here. Let’s get this over with.”

  A familiar, disgruntled male voice came from behind Garrett, and Maggie heard Ashanti mumble, “Are you kidding me?”

  Roland walked into her room and grabbed the wheelchair. He pushed Ashanti out the door and towards the elevator, leaving Garrett and Maggie behind.

  “We should probably catch up,” Maggie whispered.

  “Oh, yeah.” They reached them just as the elevator doors opened, and they rode down together.

  Garrett had already pulled his F-150 up to the curb, so the nurse stopped the wheelchair near the back door, locked the wheels and stood impatiently waiting for Ashanti to stand up.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll help you,” Garrett’s deep voice broke the silence, the hint of condemnation lost on Roland. He helped her out of the chair and into the truck.

  “Thank you for bein’ such a fine gentleman.” Ashanti smiled at him, then glared at Roland who was already pushing the wheelchair back into the lobby.

  Garrett helped Maggie into the front seat of the truck, then placed a kiss on her cheek. He shut the door and returned the wheelchair, running back out to jump into the driver’s seat.

  “How ‘bout we get out of here and get home. Reed’s waiting to make you ladies some of his famous omelets.”

  “Yes, please.” Maggie turned to look
at Ashanti. “My brother-in-law makes the best omelets. You’ll love ‘em.”

  “Is he the brother y’all were telling me about?” She fluffed her hair and pursed her lips, making Maggie laugh out loud.

  “No, silly. Reed’s engaged to Susan, so he’s off limits. I was telling you about Adam.” She turned to her husband. “What time is he supposed to arrive, anyway?”

  “Last I heard, later tonight or tomorrow morning. He had some business to take care of, so it depends on how that goes.”

  “I can’t wait to see him again, it’s been too long,” she sighed. There were five Donahue brothers and even though they all lived in Texas, it was such a big state, geographically, they didn’t get to see each other as often as they liked. He had three sisters, too, which is another story altogether.

  Ashanti’s eyes grew big as saucers as they turned into the driveway and passed under the sign, “Stony Gulch Farm.” Maggie had turned to watch her expression, remembering her first time. She’d been amazed that Garrett lived on a farm and ran it so well.

  Ashanti was speechless as she took in all the sights, sounds and smells.

  “It’s really something, isn’t it?” Maggie asked.

  “I ain’t even got words, Miss Maggie.”

  Garrett helped Maggie out of the truck and was reaching for the back door.

  “Here, I got that.” Reed stepped up and opened the door. “Hi, I’m Reed. Nice to meet you,” he said to Ashanti.

  “Dang, you the other brother that’s taken right?” she asked as he helped her out.

  “Yep. I’m taken all right.”

  “Maggie, you tryin’ to kill me or what?” Ashanti shook her head. “I don’t know if my poor heart can take all this off-limits handsomeness.”

  Maggie laughed. “I have faith in you. You’ll be just fine.”

  They all trooped into the house and Garrett got Ashanti set up in the guest bedroom while Reed started cooking and Maggie took a quick shower.

  It felt so good to be home. Maggie rinsed off and stepped out of the shower. She looked around and felt her heart expand. She really was a lucky woman. She had a wonderful husband, an amazing job and a fine home.

  She sat on the edge of the king-sized bed with its down comforter in shades of blue and green. The walls were an eggshell color with large photos of the farm framed in blue. The photos had been taken by Adam and they took her breath away, they were so good.

  The door opened and Garrett walked in. He sat beside her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her, drawing her close.

  “Hi beautiful.”

  “Hi yourself. How’s our guest doing?”

  “Well, that’s a good question. When she saw her room, she nearly fainted. She walked over and touched the canopy bed, like she didn’t think it was real. She sat down at the vanity and I could see her reflection in the mirror. She had tears in her eyes.” He sighed and rubbed his chin with his free hand. “We did the right thing bringing her home with us. It breaks my heart to think of her all alone and on the street.”

  “Thank you for being such a fine man, Garrett Donahue.”

  “Marrying you helped me be a better man, Maggie Donahue. Before I met you, I was happy to go with the flow, never asking too many questions. Then you came along and changed all that.”

  “You’re welcome.” Her sassy tone made him grin, but he shook his head.

  “Truth be told, I’m not sure I’m thankin’ you. It’s hard work livin’ up to your standards.”

  “Yes, you are. You are totally thanking me.” Maggie placed a kiss on his cheek. “You were always a good man on the inside. I just brought it to the surface.”

  “Grub’s ready,” Reed’s voice rang through the farmhouse.

  “Come on, your wife and baby are hungry.” Maggie turned to look at him when he didn’t stand up.

  “So am I.” His look of longing let her know he was talking about a different kind of hunger, and she blushed. He stood up, certain that she understood, and they joined the other two in the kitchen.

  Chapter Six

  “Dang, y’all eat like that all the time?” Ashanti and Maggie were sitting on the front porch swing, having enjoyed a meal of Denver omelets, home fries and bacon.

  “No, when I’m working, I tend to pack a lunch and I just grab a cup of coffee for breakfast. Dinner’s generally a big deal, though.” Maggie replied, absently rubbing her belly. She was surprised how tired she was. Carrying this little child around was way more draining than she’d expected.

  “Do you like being a marshal?”

  “I really do. I like that I never know what’s going to happen and when something bad happens, I have an opportunity to help. It’s hard when people get hurt or killed, but I’ve never been one to sit by the sidelines, so being able to act helps me cope.” Maggie had been a marshal for 4 years and she’d never regretted the decision to join. She’d been stationed in Texas, which was a new experience for her, coming from Oregon, but she’d adapted well to her new home.

  “Ever since you said I was good at investigatin’, I’ve been thinkin’ about it. If I want to give my baby a good life, I need to get a real job. But I can’t be like everyone I know and work a job I hate. I want somethin’ that makes me feel alive, like when we went up to check out that hospital room.”

  “Well, being a marshal isn’t all excitement,” Maggie cautioned. “There’s a lot of down time, waiting around and paperwork. But yeah, I like the thrill of investigating, too.” She grinned at the other woman who was looking out into the pasture, watching the goats graze. “You know, we never did find out what happened at the hospital. It’d be a bit harder to investigate from here, but it’s not impossible.”

  Ashanti’s eyes snapped to her face. “Really? We could do that?”

  “Sure. I mean, we’ve got computers and we can do some background checks on the main suspects.”

  “Do we got any main suspects?”

  “Well, I guess we don’t, not yet anyhow. But if you’re up to it, tomorrow we can make a list and start checking ‘em out.” Ashanti’s grin let Maggie know her idea was a good one. She didn’t know if they’d actually learn anything, but it would give them something to do and boost the woman’s self-confidence. “Let’s do it, then!”

  “Come on, Santiago, you’ve known me for how long? And I was there! The blood dripped on my head, so I have a right to know what’s happening with the case.” Maggie was frustrated. Since she was on maternity leave from the department, they’d deactivated her credentials. She couldn’t get into the case files or use any of the resources she needed to look into the murder.

  She’d called Santiago as a last resort. He could activate her credentials if he wanted to, but so far, he wasn’t going for it. “I mean, really, I AM a U.S. Marshal still, so it’s not like I don’t have the clearance.”

  “You know that’s not it, Maggie. You’re supposed to be resting, not investigating. I’m pretty sure the sergeant, your partner and your husband would kick my butt if I gave you access and something bad happened.”

  She knew he was right, but she was determined. “Fine then, if you won’t help me, I'll just have to investigate the old-fashioned way.”

  “Wait a minute, what does that mean?”

  “It means, you dunderhead, that I’ll just hit the pavement and go check out each of my suspects in person.” Maggie winked at Ashanti who was listening closely to every word, a rapt look on her face.

  “Now come on, Maggie. Why would you do that? You’re putting me in a really bad position here.”

  She knew she had him on the line, so it was time to reel him in. “Thanks anyway, Santiago. I got this.”

  “Wait, wait. Fine then, I’ll grant you access. But don’t go do anything stupid. You get a good lead, you call me.”

  “Of course, I will,” Maggie said sweetly, shaking her head no. Ashanti snorted with laughter.

  “Access granted.” Santiago’s gruff voice was followed by the sound of a dial tone.

>   “You did it! I can’t believe how you twisted that man ‘round yo finger like that.”

  “Oh, I definitely know how to get a man’s attention. How do you think I got Garrett?” She winked at her friend and they both jumped when Garrett’s voice rumbled from the doorway.

  “If I recollect rightly, I was the one who had you wrapped around my finger.”

  “How long have you been standing there?” Maggie tried to look innocent but failed miserably.

  “Long enough to know that you are shameless.” He walked over to her and kissed her cheek. “I can’t stop you from being you, but I want you to promise that you won’t go doin’ anything without me or Reed with you.”

  “I promise.”

  “Hold your hands up in front of you and say it again.”

  Maggie’s cheeks turned pink with embarrassment, but she lifted her hands. “I’m not a child, Garrett, but I promise.”

  Still not convinced, he looked at her for a moment longer. “Mm hmm.”

  As he left the room, Ashanti held up her hands to show Maggie that her fingers were crossed. “You promised, but I didn’t.”

  “That’s why I love you, girl. Now pull your chair over here and let’s start looking at these hospital employees.”

  “Where should we start?”

  “At the beginning. Let’s check out the victim and see what kind of guy he was.”

  Four hours later, Maggie stretched and looked at Ashanti, asleep on the sofa in the corner. As her friend snored, she stood up and walked to the window, looking out towards the barn where her husband was tossing bales of hay from the back of the pickup truck.

  “What are you lookin’ at?” A tired voice spoke up from behind her. “From that smile, I’d guess it’s either chocolate or Garrett.”

  Maggie grinned and turned to look at Ashanti. “It ain’t chocolate,” she admitted.