by Beth Ziarnik
Clay planted himself in front of her. “Get that thought out of your head. You won’t do this alone. Someone has to watch your back. We’ll stop her. You and me. We’re a team, remember?”
She raised her stubborn chin. “Not this time. If anything goes wrong, it could mean prison. I won’t let that happen to you too.”
“Whatever you’re planning, we do together. Don’t bother to argue. If you think I’ll let you face this alone, you’re—” He was about to say crazy but didn’t think that was a good choice of words.
She opened her mouth as if she were about to throw out another argument. Then her shoulders relaxed. “You’re right … together.”
He wanted to protect her but was painfully aware that every dangerous mission had its price. Whatever plan they cooked up had better be a really good one. He could see the wheels turning in her head.
“Thanks to Brian,” she murmured, “we know the location of Dad’s room and the layout of the hospital floor.”
If only it were that simple. Lord, we need a lot more help to save that innocent man from death and Jill from prison.
Every muscle in Clay’s body tightened against the haunting image of Jill behind bars. No way would he let that happen. Serving overseas military duty, he had trusted God in a lot worse situations. With God’s help, he had survived. And with God’s help, he would get Jill and her father through this one too. “We need to pray.”
Eyes swimming with worry, she locked onto his and nodded.
He took Jill’s hands as a sign of agreement and bowed his head. “Lord, our eyes are on You, our helper in times of need. Nothing is too difficult for You. You already know we’re in big trouble. We desperately need Your wisdom to see us through. Please show us what to do.”
Jill squeezed his hands. “Yes, Lord, and please give us success and keep us safe as we attempt to rescue Dad. Amen.” Her voice quivered toward the end, sending his heart into a tailspin. Anything they attempted would reek of danger.
Help me keep her safe, Lord.
“We’ll need some kind of disguise.”
He backed up and grinned. “Just so you know, I’m not up for any bushy mustache and baggy pants.”
“Oh, Clay, get serious. We’ll both need disguises that help us fit into the regular hospital scene.”
Warning bells sounded in his head. “I’m listening.”
Knowing Jill, he wouldn’t like what he was about to hear.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Planning the details of their rescue mission took them into the wee hours of the night.
With their finalized course of action in place, Jill craved what sleep she might snatch in the few remaining hours. She yawned and bid Clay good night before heading for her bathroom to prepare for bed.
Crawling between clean sheets and relaxing under the soft blanket felt so comforting. Unfortunately, restless with excitement, Jill couldn’t shut her eyes and drift off. She stared into the shadows of the darkened room, wishing it was dawn. She and Clay still had so many resources to collect and get ready before their hospital mission.
Thoughts of her father alone and vulnerable in his hospital room almost stole her breath. Please, Lord, keep him safe. Praying for him through the night, she wasn’t aware when slumber finally overtook her.
Her phone jarred her awake. She stared at its electronic face. 9:00 a.m. So late?
After flinging the covers aside and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she grabbed her phone to answer Clay’s call.
“Good morning,” he said.
Was it good? Was she even awake enough to be certain? She yawned and stretched to relieve the kinks in her shoulders.
“If you hurry, we can still make breakfast.” His cheerful voice nudged her groggy brain.
“Give me a few minutes.” She needed a quick, bracing shower.
Ending the call from Clay, she paused for a moment, then selected the number for the hospital to reach the nurse’s desk on her father’s floor. “Please, can you tell me how John Taylor is doing? I’m his daughter.”
Silence ensued. “I’m sorry. Who did you say you are?”
“John Taylor’s daughter, Jill. Would you please tell me if he made it safely through the night?” Surely, they could tell her that much.
“I’d be happy to do that, but I’ll need the code word.”
Jill blinked and swallowed hard. “Code word?”
“To screen those allowed to receive updated information by phone.” The nurse waited. “You don’t have it, do you?”
The kind voice did not ease Jill’s heartache as she whispered, “No.”
“I’m sorry then,” the nurse said. “I’m not allowed to give out that information.”
Jill ended the call and headed for the bathroom. Her father’s misguided family might block her from receiving information, but they could not block her from doing everything in her power to rescue her dad.
No matter what it cost her.
Clay parked his truck in a garage that allowed several days’ stay and joined Jill in their rental car. With their GPS operating, it didn’t take long to access the nearest thrift store. Though it stocked used nursing scrubs, Jill passed them up. “Too shabby. We don’t want to attract any attention.”
He agreed, pulled out his phone, and searched for stores that might carry scrubs. “Let’s try Walmart. No one there will care whether or not we’re hospital personnel.”
This turned out to be a good solution for their purposes. Jill picked out colorful scrubs similar to the ones they had seen the nurses on her father’s floor wearing. She also picked up similar shoes and grinned at Clay. “Can’t be too careful.”
Clay did the same, though he never imagined himself as a nurse. Fortunately, these days, hospitals had male nurses. No one would give him a second glance, especially if he mostly kept his back to them. At least his plain scrubs didn’t sport the colorful floral pattern that Jill’s did.
He hoped their mission would succeed. It had to, or an innocent man would die. And Jill … no, he wouldn’t go there. He’d focus on success. Good thing they’d thought of a way to capture any conversations with Alice, though the woman would likely avoid saying anything to incriminate herself. Just as she had during their brief visit in John Taylor’s room. Still, they had planned for every possibility to ensure a good outcome.
“While we’re here,” he said as they headed toward the nearest main aisle in the store, “let’s see what they have in voice recorders.” Jill would wear one when she confronted Alice, hoping to entice a confession from her.
A half hour later, they piled their supplies on the checkout counter. As the clerk placed their items in a bag, Clay grimaced. Getting these things had been almost too easy. Putting together something that resembled a hospital I.D. was bound to be a mite trickier.
As they walked to the car, he mentioned it to Jill. “Let’s go back to the hospital for a bit of research.”
Leaving Jill in the car in the hospital parking lot, Clay entered the building and waited for the opportune moment. He pulled out his phone and pretended to be in conversation. When a nurse paused nearby, he used his phone’s camera and focused on her I.D. tag. After taking such pictures of three others, he felt he had enough images to work with. They’d need to produce something as near as possible to those used by the hospital’s personnel.
Back in the car, he used his fingers to enlarge the images and show Jill. “What do you think?”
“Good job. The whole time you were in there, I prayed you would succeed. Let’s find an office supply store for I.D. sleeves and something to clip the badges to our scrubs.” She snapped her seatbelt into place. “We should also look for something that might pass as security fobs.”
Clay put the car in gear. “On to Kinko’s for the print work.” They would need tiny I.D. photos, lettering in red that identified them as RN, and more lettering that simulated the logo on the picture of the badge along with each of their names. The question was, how
good a job could two amateurs do in very little time?
Three hours later as they sat in the car and examined the badges, they knew the answer.
Clay had to admit they turned out better than he had hoped, but not perfect. “They might pass if no one scrutinizes them.”
Jill turned hers over in her hands. “We’ll have to see that no one gets near enough to tell the difference.”
Back at the hotel, Jill sank onto the couch in her room. While she turned the TV to a local station, Clay plunked down beside her. No breaking news about her prominent father. If there were, it would be coverage of his death. She sagged against the back of the couch.
Thank you. Lord.
After the newscast, Clay stood. “I’ll get some supper for us. What would you like?”
His face creased with concern. That he cared deeply meant everything to her. But his willingness to face danger—even prison—for her sake weighed heavily on her heart. Even though food was the least of her concerns, she didn’t want to deprive him of his need.
“Surprise me.”
He kissed the top of her head, gently squeezed her shoulder, and left.
Thank you for Clay, Lord. What would I do without him? Or you?
It helped so much to know she wasn’t alone.
Lord, if only I knew how my father is doing. She grabbed her phone. Placing this call was probably a bad idea, but she was desperate. Surely, Brian knew something. Maybe he would tell her. It was worth a try.
“Jill!” His voice came to her in a mixture of surprise laced with concern. “Where are you? And more importantly, how are you?”
“I’m in my hotel room near the hospital, and I’m worried sick about Dad.” Her voice quavered. Someone close to her father’s family still cared about her. “Can you tell me how he’s doing?”
“Well, I …”
“Come on, Brian, I need to know. I tried calling the hospital, but they won’t tell me anything. Please. You know me. You don’t believe I had anything to do with his failing health, do you?”
“You’re right,” he admitted. “I haven’t changed my mind. I know you didn’t have anything to do with John’s condition worsening. But in my position, I don’t know how much I can violate the family’s wishes without losing both my reputation and my job. I still have responsibilities to Dora and your sisters.”
“Please tell me. Do you have any idea how awful it was, sitting outside the hospital today, so near my father and barred from seeing him?” Barred from keeping him safe, but she couldn’t let any detail slip that might alert him to the rescue plans.
More silence, and then a long sigh. “You do have a right to know. He’s semi-conscious, but not able to talk. The doctor said he’s stable but isn’t certain which way it will go. The family is very worried. Someone is with him nearly all the time. If not a member of the family, then Alice or another nurse.”
Alice! Jill’s blood chilled. If only Brian would accept the truth.
“We still hope John will pull through,” he said.
“Thank you.” Now she was softly sobbing—the last thing she wanted to do.
“Are you alone? Do you want me to come?’
“No. Thank you, but no. Clay is out getting our supper, but he’ll return soon.”
“That’s good. He’s taking care of you. I’ll admit I’ve been jealous, but he seems a decent guy. He’s obviously devoted to you. You’ve made a good choice, though I still wish it had been me.” When she didn’t quickly respond, he added, “Let me know if I can be of any more help.”
“Thank you, Brian. You’re a good man and a true friend. I’ll never forget your kindness.” She ended the call. His words semi-conscious and unable to talk haunted her. But it made sense. Alice wouldn’t want her father to talk to anyone. She would also need to make him appear ill enough to require her care and assure that his death seemed reasonable.
Jill wrapped her arms around herself to still her trembling. Another two hours would pass before she and Clay returned to the hospital to put their plan into effect. In the meantime, please, Lord, watch over my father.
The room phone rang. She stood and picked up the receiver.
“Jill?” Alice’s voice caught her instant attention.
“Yes?” What could she possibly want?
“I heard you wanted to know how John is doing.”
Had Brian told her? Jill swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“I’m happy to tell you he has improved … somewhat.”
Really? She didn’t know whether to be relieved or alarmed. Her father’s improvement was not Alice’s objective. Was she playing games with him? Torturing him with false hope? Jill said nothing.
“Not enough, of course, to be able to talk.”
Convenient. She surely wouldn’t want that.
“And too weak to write or otherwise indicate how he is feeling.” Her words sounded so reasonable, so normal as if she were kindly reporting facts to a patient’s concerned loved one. “Though he is lucid enough to understand what is happening around him.”
Jill’s legs buckled beneath her. She sank onto the bed, a numbness overtaking her. Alice had her father trapped and helpless.
The nurse went on. “But we are making him as comfortable as possible.”
Meaning barely alive—until Alice made her final move. Jill wanted to scream at the woman. But she refused to give Alice that satisfaction. Instead, she did her best to still her trembling and quiet the outrage that fought to break loose. She forced it down. For all she knew, Alice had her phone on speaker, allowing her father to listen in. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I thought you might want to visit John … one last time.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
One last time.
Alice’s words chilled Jill’s heart. “You know I’m not allowed to visit Dad.”
“True, but I feel certain you will find a way”—her pause sent prickles along Jill’s spine—“since time is running out.”
“Running out?”
“You know what I mean.” She paused again and then resumed speaking in her sickeningly sweet voice. “Soon enough, the police will pick you up and charge you.”
The muscles in Jill’s throat tightened. Alice didn’t have to say for your father’s death. “Where are you? In his room? Can he hear you?”
“Funny thing, your father’s night nurse was unavailable this evening. The hospital being short staffed, my dear friend who is in charge tonight asked me to fill in since I know his case well.” She spoke so cheerfully Jill could almost hear her smile. “And, yes, he can hear me. He’s wide awake.”
Jill clenched her teeth. Was the woman insane? “Do you have to torture him?”
“Why, yes. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Lord, stop her.
“Are you there? Do hurry along. Don’t be late now. You don’t have much time.”
The call disconnected.
Jill’s heart fluttered with fear as she pressed the phone code for the front desk and asked to be reconnected.
“I’m sorry,” the woman who answered said. “There’s no number listed for that direct call to your room.”
As Jill placed the receiver in its cradle, Clay walked through the open door connecting their rooms. He set their food bags on a round table flanked by four upholstered chairs on wheels and pulled out white, boxed containers. As he opened them, rich aromas of Chinese take-out filled the room.
Her favorites, if her nose was right. Too bad she wasn’t hungry.
“I thought you might like this better than what the restaurant downstairs offered tonight,” Clay said, pulling out paper plates, napkins, and plastic forks. When Jill didn’t answer, he stopped to check on her. She looked crushed. “What happened?”
“Alice called.”
Alice? That could only mean trouble. “What did she say?”
“She wants me to come … soon. She said Dad doesn’t have much longer.”
He strode across the r
oom and stood in front of her. As she filled him in, hot anger rose from his gut. He guided her to one of the chairs by the table and took another for himself. “She’s said that before, and we’re not quite ready. The I.D. badges—”
“We don’t have time to tweak them. They’ll have to do.”
When she pushed her shoulders back and set her jaw in that way, he knew changing her mind wasn’t an option, but he had to remind her. “We haven’t made our practice run.”
She stared into the room with vacant eyes and spoke so quietly he had to strain to hear her. “We don’t have the time. I know it.”
If only he could convince her. Their plan was risky enough. “We can’t rush over there unprepared.”
“Alice said not to delay.” She held her stomach as if in pain.
“She wants you arrested. The last thing we should do is move too fast. Especially when she’s playing on your emotions. She knows you’re desperate to help your father and is using that to manipulate you.”
“But—”
Clay placed his hands on her shoulders. “If you let her, you risk not only your own arrest but a swifter death for your father.”
“How do we know she’ll wait?”
The tension in her shoulders seeped through his hands and into his heart, but he worked to remain calm and focused. “I don’t think she’ll take his life until she’s sure she can pin it on you. For that to happen, you have to be present. Let’s wait. It will keep her a little off-balance. Then we’ll do our best to make our plan work.” Clay touched her soft cheek. “Right?”
She lowered her head. “Yes.”
“We’ll follow every detail of our plan. Arrive before 8:00 when the hospital locks down for the night and hide out in a supply room until the middle of the night. Then, when fewer personnel are around to monitor, we’ll make our move.”
“What if we’re too late?”
He snorted. “That won’t happen. She wants you and your father to suffer.”
“You mean she’ll want me to see my father die.”
“And him to be aware in his final moments that you will be charged with his murder.”