by Karen Rose
She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the old-school pay phone. Still here. She stared at it, then forced herself to remember the clothes she’d folded. He was preparing for the kids to return. On Saturday. He’d already begun the process the Saturday before. Making them feel welcome. Valued. Loved.
On Saturday he’d take the next step. He’d make them feel pretty. Handsome. Sexy.
Her throat began to burn as her stomach churned acid. Make the call, Mallory. He won’t know. How could he possibly know? He thinks he has me scared, too afraid to act. Because of Macy. Always because of Macy.
If you don’t make that call, he’ll be right.
She forced her feet to move until she stood in front of the pay phone. Hands trembling, she pulled out the heavy phone book that hung below so that it perched on the booth’s little shelf. She’d never used a phone book before, but she could read, so how hard could it be?
Harder than it looks. There were so many numbers and she only had so many coins. She’d found them in the sofa cushions, but she never kept all she found. She returned most of them to him because he’d know otherwise. He always knew because he had cameras in every room. He watched her. All the time.
She let the phone book drop, closing her eyes to fight the wave of nausea that swept over her. He always knew.
He’ll know, he’ll know, he’ll know.
She dug her nails into her arm, the pain distracting her mind from its never-ending litany.
If you let him hurt those kids, you are no better than he is. So pick up the book and make the call. She obeyed, breathing through her nose, hoping to control her racing heart.
She picked the number with the address closest to where she’d been shopping on Saturday. Because she didn’t know how to find out who the Fed was that was in the hospital, the one he wanted killed. But the policewoman would know. The one who’d been kind. Who’d realized something was wrong and helped stop it, even though she probably didn’t know it.
Mallory fumbled the coins, her hands were shaking so badly. Finally she put in the right number and dialed, swallowing back the bile as she did so. She’d want to throw up if she did call and if she didn’t, so she might as well call and make being sick worthwhile at least.
‘Cincinnati Police,’ a crisp female voice answered. ‘How may I direct your call?’
‘I’m . . . I’m not sure,’ Mallory stammered. ‘I’m looking for a lady . . . a policewoman. But I don’t know her name.’
‘All right,’ the operator said, her voice turning from crisp to kind. ‘Is this an emergency?’
‘No. I don’t need 911. I just need to find this lady cop.’
‘Well, I’ll try to find her, but I’m sure another officer could help you just as well.’
‘No!’ Mallory cried, panic grabbing her by the throat. ‘I mean, I mean, no, please. I really want to talk to this particular lady. She was on duty this past Saturday.’ Why didn’t you get her name? You stupid idiot! ‘I met her at the Kroger on Glenway. She was young. And really, really tall. And African-American.’
How many tall, African-American lady cops could there be? Mallory hoped not that many.
‘I don’t know her personally,’ the operator said, ‘but I’ll try to find out. Would you like her to call you back?’
Oh no. Oh no. Mallory had not thought this out. At all. How could the cop call her back?
‘Oh, um . . . I don’t have a phone. I’m calling from a pay phone now. Can she call me back on this phone?’
‘Honey, are you all right? You don’t have to give me details if someone’s listening, but maybe say, “It’s really hot today” if you’re in trouble and need help. I can have officers there in a jif.’
Tell her. Tell. Her. But Mallory couldn’t. She didn’t know this lady. She wanted the lady who’d helped her. Who’d chased the man away. Who seemed to care.
‘I’m fine, really,’ Mallory said, injecting false warmth into her answer. ‘I’m just trying to ask her some questions about being a lady cop. For a school project.’
Yeah. That’s good. It’s for school.
‘A school project?’ the operator asked carefully. ‘But school hasn’t started yet.’
Busted. Oh God. ‘Summer school. I failed my class last year.’
‘Okay,’ the operator said. ‘I’ll try to find out. How about you call me back at this number? Ask for Lilith. That’s my name. I’ll find out and hold the information for you.’
Mallory’s knees went weak. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered unsteadily.
‘I want to help you, honey. Please let me help you.’
‘I’ll call back later,’ Mallory said in a panicked rush. ‘Thank you.’
She hung up, still gripping the phone’s handset. She held on to it, closing her eyes and breathing deeply for a long, long moment before she felt steady enough to let go. To straighten up. To go into the store and buy his steak and his goddamn strawberries.
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Thursday 13 August, 1.30 P.M.
Kate closed the door to Decker’s room and let out a breath. He’d heard her calling out to Jack in her sleep. And he’d remembered it. She wondered what else she’d said when he was in the coma. She wondered if he really was an Eagle Scout. And she wondered if she’d been wrong to lead him on by sitting at his bedside, talking to him, touching his face for the past week. It’s only leading him on if you don’t intend to pursue him.
Do you intend to pursue him? Well, do you? Yeah, she did. Because she liked him, more every moment she spent in his company. He was funny and irreverent and quick-witted.
Of course, she liked him in other ways, too. It had been a long time since her heart had beat that fast. At least when she wasn’t on the clock, chasing killers.
He’s probably in there looking me up right now. I would be if the situation were reversed.
‘Agent Coppola?’
Kate started. She’d been wool-gathering, having forgotten all about the agent standing guard. She looked sideways, then way up, her eyes growing wide. Why he’d been chosen to be Decker’s guard was immediately obvious. The man was huge. Had to be six-six or six-seven and he was built like a brick shithouse, as her father used to say.
Hell, he’d make Decker look downright average. Well, a little above average, she allowed.
The man would have been terrifyingly intimidating, with his shiny bald head and double-breasted black suit, had it not been for the fact that he was beautiful. Like model beautiful, with his dark brown skin, even darker eyes, eyelashes that should be illegal, and a winning smile. It took her a second to get her voice back and his smile became self-conscious, an aw-shucks kind of grin. Like he knew the effect he had on people but was a little too polite to openly enjoy it.
‘Yes, I’m Coppola. You’re Agent Triplett, Davenport’s guard?’
He stuck out his hand. ‘Jefferson Triplett. Nice to meet you. Welcome to Cincinnati.’
She smiled up at him as she shook his hand. ‘Thank you. I kind of jumped in with both feet as soon as my plane landed last week. I think you’re the first person to actually welcome me.’
He was young and earnest, somewhere in his mid-twenties, and his pretty eyes and open smile held none of the shadows that she and her teammates all seemed to share. Someday he’d have those shadows too, and that made her more than a little sad.
‘I’ve got the day shift here. Please let me know if you or Agent Davenport need anything.’
‘I’m going to run down to the cafeteria. He didn’t get lunch and I barely got breakfast.’
‘That’ll be a safer place to get his food,’ Triplett agreed. ‘Well, from a tainting standpoint anyway. I can’t speak to the risk of indigestion.’
Kate chuckled. ‘Especially given the list of food he asked me to bring back. Man’s got t
o have an iron gut. While I’m gone, please do not let anyone in the room unless you’re with them. No one is to give him any food or medicine, or even change his IV. His nurse might only be as tall as your kneecaps, but don’t underestimate her. She’s a pistol.’
‘No, ma’am. My mother’s only five foot, but she’s big on the inside.’
‘And she taught you to say ma’am.’ Kate sighed. ‘God, I’m old.’
‘No, ma’am, you’re nowhere close to old,’ he said with that aw-shucks grin. ‘I heard about that shot you made. We’re all talking about it.’
‘Really? And what are you all saying?’
‘Half of us don’t believe it. The other half want you to teach us how to shoot like that.’
Her lips twitched. ‘Which half are you, Agent Triplett?’
‘Solidly in the second half, ma’am. I’d be grateful for some training.’
‘We’ll do that,’ Kate said with a hard nod.
‘Excellent. So, what about her?’ He pointed to the opposite wall, where a woman waited, tapping her foot nervously. It was the nurse’s assistant who’d dropped the tray.
‘Oh shit,’ Kate muttered. I forgot about her.
‘She hasn’t moved from that spot,’ he said. ‘She said that you told her to wait.’
‘That I did. Thanks, Agent Triplett.’ She turned to the waiting woman. ‘Miss? Would you come with me, please?’
She led the woman to the same waiting room where she and Troy had talked to Zimmerman earlier. The nurse’s assistant said nothing, wringing her hands and staring at her shoes as she walked. She looked damn guilty, but Kate knew better than to trust appearances.
‘Let’s have a seat,’ Kate said and glanced at the woman’s badge. Teresa Robbey, CNA. Certified Nurse’s Assistant. ‘Miss Robbey, thank you for waiting.’
Robbey looked up, eyes narrowed. ‘You really didn’t give me any choice. I hope I don’t lose my job because of this. They had to have someone take over my shift. I’m hourly. My pay is gonna get docked and I got groceries to buy and rent to pay.’
Kate sighed. ‘I’ll see if I can do something about that, okay? Can you walk me through your morning – where you got the meals you were serving, who prepared them?’
‘I thought you knew who did it,’ Robbey said suspiciously. ‘Eileen Wilkins.’
‘Perhaps. Until we have proof, we need to make sure we’ve asked all the appropriate questions. So . . . where did you pick up the meals?’
‘Same place I always do. Down in the kitchen. The ladies down there fill the trays according to the prescribed meal. They load the carts. I just go and pick up the ones I’m supposed to deliver.’
‘So whoever loads the carts knows the room each tray is going to?’
‘Yes. I suppose they have to.’
‘Do you know who loaded up your cart?’
‘Probably Jessie. She usually does it. But I didn’t see her do it, if that’s what you’re asking. I got down there and the cart was loaded up, waiting.’
‘Okay. Did you see anyone down there who didn’t belong?’
‘Like Eileen? No, she wasn’t down there. Just the normal crew.’
‘Do you know Eileen Wilkins personally?’
‘Yeah.’ And Miss Robbey didn’t seem too pleased about that. ‘I don’t like her.’
Kate arched her brows. ‘Because?’
Robbey hesitated. ‘Look, there’s a tight-knit organization here. The RNs like me and that makes my job easier. I don’t wanna be telling no tales here.’
‘If I can possibly help it, I won’t pass on to any of the staff here what you tell me.’
Robbey sighed heavily. ‘Whatever. Eileen Wilkins is a user.’
Kate waited for more, but Robbey had tightened her lips. Not making it any easier for me, are you? ‘A user like she’d take advantage of you, or a drug user?’
‘Both.’
It was Kate’s turn to sigh, and she did so impatiently. ‘I’m trying to be nice, Miss Robbey, since I made you wait for me.’
‘And you scared me shitless!’
‘That too. But you need to be more detailed in your answers. Do not make me pull it out of you a word at a time. That would make me irritated and I don’t think either of us would like that. Now, Eileen Wilkins. Does she use drugs on the job?’
‘Yes. Dilaudid. It’s what they give folks who are allergic to morphine.’
‘Have you seen her using?’
‘Yeah, but she don’t know it. For a long time she was dropping the leftover vials in her pocket then taking them home. I guess she’d had a hard day, because she was in the restroom, and . . .’ She rolled her eyes. ‘This is gonna make me sound like a pervert, but I was really just making sure whoever was in the stall was okay. I heard huffing and puffing going on, like someone was having some kind of an attack. I called out first, asked if she was all right. I didn’t know it was Eileen at the time. She made a funny sound, like a groan, then she said she was fine. But she didn’t sound fine. She sounded hyped up. So I peeked through the crack. Saw her sitting on the toilet lid, a needle in her arm and a vial in her hand.’
‘And you’re sure the vial said Dilaudid?’
‘Yeah. I’m studying for my nursing diploma. I pay attention to everything. I don’t want to be a CNA for the rest of my life. I got kids to put through college.’
‘All right then, do you know how long she’s been using?’
‘A year. Maybe more. Started not too long after she met the guy she’s dating.’
‘Tell me about him.’
‘He’s built like the agent in the bed. Davenport. Big guy. Brawny. But dumb as an ox. Has a temper, too. She brought him to the ICU Christmas party this past year.’ The look she gave Kate was defensive to the point of being almost hostile. ‘I tend bar at night to earn extra money. I got hired to work all the department parties.’
‘Seems like they should have invited you,’ Kate said quietly, and Robbey smiled bitterly.
‘Not likely. They like me, but not enough to join in their reindeer games.’
Kate’s lips twitched. ‘Sorry. I’m seeing Nurse Choi head-butting all the other nurses like the deer do when they get their antlers tangled up.’
Robbey’s lips twitched too. ‘Yeah. She’s fierce, all right. But she’s one of the good ones. You’re lucky she didn’t tear you a new one today. Choi takes care of her patients.’
‘Does Eileen?’ she asked, and Robbey scoffed.
‘No. Half the time they’re not getting the painkillers they’re supposed to because she needs a fix and keeps back a lot more than she gives. She skims and her patients suffer.’
Kate wondered if any of Johnnie’s nurses had done that to him, and what she would have done had she caught them. Especially toward the end, when he’d really needed them. Any nurse that cruel would have needed painkillers when I’d gotten done with her. ‘I’m curious, Miss Robbey, not judging – honest – but did you try to tell anyone? Report her?’
‘No.’ And she looked ashamed as she admitted it. ‘The last CNA who reported a nurse ended up getting all kinds of anonymous complaints against her later. She was really good at her job, but she ended up getting fired. I couldn’t get fired.’
‘That sucks,’ Kate said quietly. ‘But you’ve got kids to feed. I understand. Really.’ She rubbed her forehead, weary again. ‘Tell me more about Eileen. If she did this thing to Agent Davenport, there has to be a reason. He’d never met her before, so she couldn’t have had her own beef with him. Did she need cash?’
‘Sure. Everybody does. Her kid’s older than mine and she’s single like me. He’s got special needs, too, so I’m sure she needs money.’
‘You said she had a boyfriend, that she brought him to the holiday party. What happened?’
‘He was a jerk. He’s a lot younger, and I mean a lot younger. She thought she was hot stuff, struttin’ around, dancing with him, but the other nurses were laughing at her. Called her a cougar. Made comments about the size of his . . . you know.’ She held her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart. ‘All quiet-like, behind their hands.’
Kate blinked. ‘They laughed because her boyfriend wasn’t well endowed?’
‘Yeah. Because of the steroids. Nobody gets that buff without them. Except for your guy in the bed there. Davenport.’ She looked upward, like she was embarrassed. ‘I may have looked at his tox results. No steroids.’
‘Good to know,’ Kate said wryly, earning her a small grin from Teresa Robbey.
‘Anyway, Eileen’s boyfriend was a jerk that night at the party. Drank too much, talked too loudly, even got slapped by one of the nurses because he grabbed her ass. Let’s just say I was busy that night, because everybody drank a lot. Those nurses can put it away. Like they got hollow legs or something.’
‘What was the boyfriend’s name?’
She bit her lip. ‘Ray? Roy?’ She nodded decisively. ‘Roy. I remember the nurses called him Boy-Toy Roy. But I don’t know his last name.’
‘That’s okay. What did he do when the nurse slapped him?’
‘He hauled back, ready to slap her too, but Eileen dragged him out. She wasn’t so proud of him at the end. And the next time I saw her, she was wearing a hella lot of eye makeup.’
‘He hit her?’
‘Somebody did.’
‘Did he say or do anything to make you think he was using drugs other than steroids?’
‘Asked me if he could buy a couple of dime bags, like I was a dealer or something. Said he was buying for him and his “old lady” but that he’d share his with me if I’d meet him after the party – which I of course did not. Does that count?’
Kate sat back in her chair. Shit. ‘You know you could have led with that.’
Robbey shrugged. ‘Hell, a couple of the nurses asked me where they could get hooked up, and at least that many spouses or boyfriends. Eileen’s boy toy wasn’t alone there. I don’t think any of them remember asking me. They were all pretty toasted by then.’