Tate (Lighthouse Security Investigations Book 6)

by Maryann Jordan

  Once at the nurses’ station, she glanced in his direction, but he had disappeared into his father’s room. Sucking in a deep breath, she let it out slowly. She still had no idea how he was handling her news from the previous evening and knew they had much more to say to each other, But it finally feels good to let go of the secret… at least part of it.

  With Tate filling her mind, Nora had little time to wonder about her new patient. She waited by the service elevator, stepping back when the doors opened and the gurney was rolled out. Three uniformed guards flanked the patient, and she turned, waving them toward the room directly across the hall. It was not until two male hospital nursing aides shifted the patient into the bed and she heard the metallic clink of the handcuff onto the bed rail that she got a good look at her patient.

  He was older than she’d anticipated as evidenced by the amount of gray streaking through his brown hair, deep crinkles emitting from his eyes, and leathery skin. He was slender, and his muscles were lean and appeared strong. One arm was bandaged from his wrist to above his elbow. She leaned closer, the blood pressure cuff in her hand, but he slapped out with his good hand, knocking the cuff down. Startled, she had no time to react before she was pushed back and one of the guards handcuffed the patient’s other hand to the bed rail.

  “I’m sorry, Miss,” the prisoner grunted, his voice depicting one who’d probably had a two-pack a day smoking habit for years. “I’m in a lot of pain.” He leaned to the side and coughed before grimacing as he tried to catch his breath.

  “Mr. Carlson, my name is Nora, and I’ll be your nurse. I’m going to place the automatic blood pressure cuff on your upper arm and then I can leave it. The cuff will inflate every fifteen minutes and record your blood pressure. And the pulse oximeter will measure the oxygen level in your blood. Right now, can you tell me on a scale from one to ten what your pain level is?”

  “When I’m not moving my arm or coughing, it’s probably about a four or five. When I move, it shoots up to about a nine.”

  She typed his stats into the computer and nodded. “Okay, I’m going to step outside to see what tests the doctor wants to order. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  She was familiar with family members sometimes trying to crowd around a patient, but this was the first time she had to move amongst large law enforcement officers. The only one she recognized was Billy Perkins who worked for the sheriff’s department. Offering him a quick nod, she scooted past the others and into the hall, not surprised when Billy followed her.

  “Hey, Nora, you doin’ okay with this?”

  “I’ll treat him just like any other patient, Billy.”

  His face scrunched as he shook his head. “I understand what you’re saying, but you need to have your wits about you. The sheriff brought him in from the county jail. He wasn’t picked up in town, so I didn’t know anything about him until this morning.” Tilting his head toward the room, he said, “The deputy in there told me about him, and I want to make sure to give you the same warning.”

  She glanced behind him and could see a few nurses looking their way from the nursing station. “I know Dr. Hawkins wanted to keep this quiet, but there’s no way in a gossipy little hospital anyone can keep a secret. Come on. Let’s step over here where we can have a little more privacy.”

  She walked to the end of the hall, still near the door to Mr. Carlson’s room, and leaned close to Billy. “What do you think I need to know? I mean, I know he’s a prisoner, but he looks pretty harmless.”

  “From what the deputy from the jail told me, David Carlson lives up in the hills somewhere. Thinks the government is out to get him, so he’s built his own hideout.”

  Sucking in her lips, she shook her head slowly. “Okay, but that’s not illegal.”

  “No, but stockpiling weapons and running drugs are.”

  Her eyes jerked open wide, and she said, “Seriously?”

  “Oh, hell yeah. They now think he’s the one suspected of running a meth lab somewhere in the area. They’ve been after him for a while, but it wasn’t until he got pulled over for having a brake light out that they finally got him. From what I understand, his truck was filled with drugs. Believe me when I tell you he is one seriously wanted man who’s going to go to prison for a long time.”

  Dr. Hawkins walked down the hall, glancing at Billy before his gaze landed on Nora. “You ready?”

  Plastering a smile on her face, she nodded. With a quick goodbye whispered toward Billy, she followed the doctor into Mr. Carlson’s room.

  “Hello, Frank, I’m Jeanette.”

  Tate glanced up as an older nurse came into the room then looked toward the door to see if Nora was following. He stood to the side as Jeanette checked on his dad, wondering why Nora had not come back into the room. Even though she had not run from him this morning, a niggle of doubt slithered through him that she might be avoiding him once again.

  Stepping just outside the door, he looked up and down the hall. A police officer was standing at the very end near the window. Shifting slightly, Tate was able to see the officer talking to Nora. Her attention was held rapt by whatever the officer was telling her. The same doctor who had been in to see his dad now walked toward the end of the hall, spoke to Nora, and they quickly disappeared into the last room.

  His Spidey senses at full alarm, he looked down as Jeanette was walking out of his dad’s room. “What’s going on down there?”

  Jeanette looked back and forth quickly, her eyes round. Leaning closer, she whispered, “A prisoner from the county jail was brought in. I don’t know anything about him, but I can tell you that he came up on the service elevator and not through the ER, and he’s got deputies guarding him in there.”

  What the fuck is Nora doing down there?

  “One of the nurses on the floor overheard Dr. Hawkins, the Senior Physician of the hospital, assign just one nurse to the prisoner’s care. He wants to keep the gossip down.” A chuckle slipped out and she added, “With so many police and guards down there, why he thought they could keep this a secret, I’ll never know.”

  She hurried out of the room, and after a quick glance toward his father, satisfied his mother had things well in hand, he stalked down the hall. As he neared the door, the police officer leaning against the doorframe saw him coming and shifted quickly to his feet.

  “You’re Frankie Tate, right?” Without giving him a chance to reply, the officer grinned widely. “I’m Billy Perkins. We were in school at about the same time, although I think I was a year or two behind you.”

  Fighting the urge to plow Billy out of the way, he stopped and smiled in return, careful to plant himself so that he could see Nora just inside the room.

  “I heard your dad was in here. Hope he’s doing okay.”

  Nodding, he said, “Thanks, Billy. I see you’ve become a deputy.”

  “I’ve been with the sheriff’s department for a while. Man, I can’t believe it’s you. Your dad always talked about you being in the military and now working for a hotshot security specialist. Hell, I’ve been right here in Rawlins my whole life and you’ve traveled the world.”

  Surreptitiously keeping an eye on Nora, he smiled in return toward Billy. “Don’t let that impress you. I’ve been to a lot of places that I would never want to go back to and often thought the sunsets here were better than anywhere.”

  “You can say that again. I’m married and have two kids and wouldn’t want to raise them anywhere else.” Billy turned and glanced into the room, then looked back at Tate and lowered his voice. “Got a prisoner in there. We think he’s a big-time drug manufacturer who got busted just for having a broken brake light on his car.”

  And I’m not carrying a fuckin’ firearm. Choking back a sigh, he asked, “So, what’s he in here for?”

  Hefting his shoulders in a shrug, Billy said, “I just got called in when they arrived at the hospital today. From what I can tell, he busted up his arm when they tried to arrest him. The jail has a nurse, but no doctor
—”

  “Tate? What are you doing here?”

  He had watched Nora coming out of the room, catching her eyes only when Billy shifted out of the way. “I saw Billy down here and thought I’d come to find out how he was doing.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and he knew she was not fooled by his casual answer. She stepped out of the way as Billy walked back inside the room. “I swear, the police are worse gossipers than the nurses.”

  “How secure is the prisoner?”

  Hands on her hips, she glared up at him. “I’m not going to discuss another patient with you, Tate.”

  “Not asking for anything personal, Nora. I just want to make sure of your safety. How secure is he?”

  Hesitating, she pinched her lips tight, then finally huffed. “He’s handcuffed to the bed rails. I’m perfectly safe. Geez, I can barely get to the patient through the guards.” She glanced down the hall then back to his face quickly. “Is everything okay with your dad?”

  “He’s fine. Mom and Caroline are with him and he’s getting ready to be discharged. I was curious why you got switched out and then saw Billy down here.”

  Cocking her head to the side, she said, “And you just had to find out what was going on, didn’t you?”

  “Guilty,” he said with a grin. Glancing back into the room, he said, “I’m going to be nearby for the rest of your shift. I know you’ve got lots of people around, but I want to make sure you stay safe.”

  She opened her mouth and he was sure she was going to protest, but then she surprised him. Shrugging, she said, “Okay.”

  He battled the urge to lean down and take her lips in a kiss. Slow… I need to take this slow. I fucked it up years ago and don’t want to do that again.

  She held his gaze for just a moment, confusion in her eyes as she stared. “Look, Tate, about last night—”

  “Not now, Nora.”

  “But it wasn’t fair for me to just drop that—”

  “Not now, babe. We have plenty of time to talk later, but right here isn’t the time or place.” He reached out and placed his hand on her arm, squeezing slightly. “Yeah?”

  Her head jerked in a nod. “I’ll see you later.” Turning, she walked back into the prisoner’s room.

  Moving to a quiet corner near the waiting room past the nurses’ station, he pulled out his phone, calling LSI. “Josh? Need a favor. There was a man arrested recently in Carbon County, Wyoming. He was carrying drugs. He’s now been transported to the Rawlins Medical Center. I need a name and anything you can find on him.” Chuckling, he said, “Yeah, my dad is doing fine. But this is right down the hall, and I want to know what I might be dealing with.”

  Disconnecting, he looked down the hall, wishing Nora was in his sight.

  10

  “Talk to me.” Tate, seeing the caller was Josh, had picked up his phone on the first ring. Ten minutes… good man, Josh… no wasting time. He stepped out of his dad’s room and once again moved toward the waiting room near the visitor elevators.

  “David Joshua Carlson. Fifty-nine years old. Born in Oklahoma. His parents were barely of legal age, living in a commune. Mid-1960’s, love, sex, rock ‘n’ roll, as well as drugs. His dad died from a heroin overdose when David was about five. Looks like mom left him at the commune with others to take care of him more often than she was there. Arrested several times for solicitation and drugs. She finally died of an overdose by the time he was twenty. I did some digging on the commune, and while they didn’t have a lot of trouble with the law, they did gain notoriety when an investigative journalist lived amongst them for a while. It seems they eventually went from free love to fearing government takeovers. Mostly stockpiling weapons, food, and drugs for an eventual siege.”

  With his gaze pointed down toward his boots, he rested his free hand on his hip while he absorbed Josh’s information. “Recent activity?”

  “Employment history is sketchy. Looks like he was a rambling man, according to his tax records. Started out in construction and eventually fell into long-haul trucking between Texas and Montana. He was married at one time to Betty Frieder, but he was arrested several times for drug distribution. Did a few minor stints in prison, and that was it. Betty and David had two kids, but she divorced him ten years ago. She and her kids live in Fort Collins, Colorado, not far from where you’re at. Gotta tell you, in the last ten years, he’s like a ghost. No employment trail. No taxes recorded. No bank or credit card activity.”

  “Not liking the sound of that.” He heaved a sigh, “And today?”

  “He was flagged yesterday by the Carbon County Sheriff’s Department for having a faulty brake light. He made a stupid error by trying to outrun them, probably because the trunk of his car was filled with drugs and drug paraphernalia, including meth and possible fentanyl. So, they gave chase. His car skidded into a tree, and he was injured. Paramedics did a quick fix, and he was taken to jail. As the night wore on, it became apparent that he needed medical attention that the jail was not equipped to offer.”

  “Tate, you’re on speaker with the rest of us,” Mace said. “What’s the situation?”

  “Someone I know is the nurse attending him. They brought him into the hospital but didn’t go through the ER. Brought him up through the service elevator, and he happens to be in a room at the end of the hall where my dad is. I told Nora… the nurse that I’d keep an eye on things.”

  “Nora?”

  He recognized Blake’s voice and sighed. “Yeah.”

  “Do you need anything from us?” Mace cut in.

  “As long as he gets stitched up and gets the fuck out of here, then no. I just didn’t like her dealing with a situation that I wasn’t apprised of. I’ll let you know if I need anything more.” Thanking them, he disconnected and walked toward his dad’s room. Time to get Dad discharged.

  Thirty minutes later, he stood by Caroline’s SUV, supervising as his dad climbed into the backseat. They’re going to wonder why I’m not coming along.

  “Dad, I’m going to hang around the hospital for a bit.”

  His dad cocked his head to the side. “Something I should know about, Son?”

  He hesitated for a few seconds, then said, “A prisoner was brought in for medical care, and Nora’s been assigned. It just doesn’t feel right leaving—”

  “Stay. Knowing that possible threat, I’d rest a lot easier being assured that she’s safe. Take your time. Lord knows your mom and sister will have me at the ranch with my feet up. At least I’ll get them to prop me in front of the TV for a while.”

  Grinning, he gently clapped his father on the shoulder, then stepped back and shut the door. Looking at his mother’s worried face, he said, “I’ll be home as soon as I can.” Watching as Caroline pulled away, he turned and stalked back into the hospital.

  With David Carlson handcuffed to the bed, Nora noticed the guards seemed to relax. A portable x-ray machine had been brought up from radiology to do the initial evaluation on David’s arm and ribs. Drug toxicology came back, and while David was clean, due to a history of drug use the doctor only prescribed a mild pain reliever. He seemed comfortable lying in bed, the medication allowing him to rest.

  Billy had gone downstairs to the cafeteria to get lunch, leaving the other deputy in the room. Originally there had been two deputies in the room, one older, heavier, with a sharp eye and a no-nonsense attitude. He had left just before lunch, and Nora overheard him giving instructions to the younger deputy who looked as though he was barely in his early twenties and irritated that he was being lectured.

  He walked around the room, stopping by the window and stretching, flexing his arms. She sucked in her lips to stifle the grin, thinking the deputy looked more comical than muscular. He turned and patted the weapon at his side, puffing out his thin chest. When she did not comment, he continued to walk around the room, finally moving to the other side of the hospital bed.

  “I was surprised when you got assigned to be the nurse.” The deputy's smile was wide as he stared at
her.

  Glancing at his name tag, she said, “Deputy Oliver, I assure you, I’m a perfectly capable nurse.”

  Eyes popping open, his head jerked quickly back and forth. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. I just meant that I figured they’d give us some big, older male nurse. Not someone so pretty.” His eager attempts at flirting passed over her, but it appeared he was not finished. “And you can call me Bart.”

  “I think, Deputy Oliver, that it’s best if I stick with a professional title.”

  He chuckled, but the sound was too squeaky to be sexy. “Then maybe I’ll have to take you to dinner, and we can get rid of the titles.”

  A snort came from the bed, and her gaze landed on David. He moved his head slowly, his narrow eyes focused on the deputy. “Boy, if you can’t see that she’s not interested, you need to get glasses.”

  Bart, now scowling, jumped to his feet, his fingers fisting at his side. Sneering, he looked down at David. “Don’t forget who works at the jail… I can make your life hell.”

  “Okay, that’s enough,” she cut in, her eyes flashing. “I would think maintaining your cool would be part of being in law enforcement.”

  Shooting her a glare, he walked toward the window and looked out, his hands on his hips, his back to the room. She turned toward the door, hearing footsteps approach, and her gaze landed on a man in green scrubs. She didn’t recognize him, which was unusual, considering the hospital was small. She glanced toward the identification badge attached to his chest, but it was flipped backward, keeping her from seeing his name. “Yes?”

  Nora watched with wide-eyed shock as he lifted his hand and pointed a gun straight toward her. She gasped, and with eyes pinned on the weapon, was barely aware of the sound of Bart turning from the window, now facing the room.

  “What the hell—”

  “Shut up and stay quiet.”

  The man in scrubs now pointed the weapon toward Bart. “You, Deputy Dog, keep your fuckin’ hands where I can fuckin’ see them. Missy, you stay right where you are and don’t move a muscle.” Looking down at the bed, he grinned. “David, how you doin’?”