“It’s a friend of Ray’s from Widmer. She’s not actually sick. She got banged up pretty badly going down a flight of stairs headfirst.”
“Ouch. You say she’s a friend of Ray’s. Does that mean she’s not a friend of yours, too?”
Julie Monroe had a way of honing in on critical information with astounding speed and precision, an ability that could be impressive. Sometimes exasperating.
Gail blew on her coffee, trying to decide how to answer. “I know Amy, too, but Ray knows her better.” She thought it best to let it go at that.
Julie stopped the cup halfway to her lips and cocked her head. “What’s going on? I’m detecting a little petulance or something.”
“It must be your imagination.”
“Bull. Something’s going on. Spill it.”
“I swear talking to you is like being hooked up to a polygraph machine.”
“So I’m right then.”
“I hate it when you gloat.”
Julie washed down a chuckle with her coffee.
Secrets couldn’t be pried out of her with sweet talk or vise grips; it had been tried by some of the best. It was what made her Gail’s most trusted confidante.
”So, what’s up with this Amy person?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Gail admitted. “That’s why I’m going to see her.”
“That’s awfully vague. I need more details.”
Gail took her time, choosing her words carefully. “Ray is… He’s preoccupied with her.”
Julie scowled and leaned closer. “As in obsessed?”
“No, that’s not how I’d put it…not exactly. It’s just that he’s so wrapped up in her case that she seems to be on his mind all the time.”
“Her case?” Julie’s back straightened. “What the heck? Is she a suspect in a murder investigation or something?”
“Only at first, not so much anymore thanks to Ray’s unyielding efforts on her behalf.” Her irritation bled through. “Ray found evidence that’s likely to clear her. What has me worried is that she and Ray…” Gail considered how in-depth she wanted to go, then backpedaled. “When we were living in Widmer, Ray got to know Amy pretty well. Now that’s she’s in trouble, he’s developed this knight-in-shining-armor mentality. Every time I turn around, he seems to be running off to her rescue. She’s become the damsel in distress while I’m starting to come off as the fire-breathing dragon.”
“Sounds to me like what you and Ray need is a good ‘nooner’.”
“Are you kidding? Lately he’s been so busy we’re lucky to find time for a ‘nighter’.” She could tell Julie was having a hard time suppressing a smile.
“Gail, I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about. Ray’s crazy about you.”
“You haven’t seen her, Julie. Amy’s still shy of thirty, beautiful, and…and nice. If things were different, I’d probably like her myself.”
“Well, damn. How can you compete with that?” A full-blown smile accentuated Julie’s high cheekbones.
“I don’t even genuinely dislike her,” Gail said. “I’m just not sure I trust her.”
“Relax, Gail. You and Ray have a good thing going. He’s no pushover.”
“Maybe not, but given enough time, even a boulder gets worn down by constant erosion.”
Julie grinned. “So now you’re comparing her to a force of nature. That’s pretty intimidating all right.”
Flustered, Gail sipped from her cup and shook her head. “Know what’s really annoying? All I have to do is shed three measly tears and I look hideous for hours: red nose, puffy eyes, the whole works. Not Amy, though. I’ve seen her cry. She looks as good as always, just damper.”
“Well, that settles it. Kill the bitch.”
“You go ahead and laugh, Julie, but this thing is driving me crazy.”
“Obviously.”
“Well, let me tell you one more thing. Yesterday Ray went to the hospital to see her in the morning, then went back again after supper like one visit wasn’t enough. When he got back, he gave me a single, long-stemmed, red rose.”
“Okay, two visits might bother me, too, but what’s wrong with him giving you a rose? I’d love it if Dan was that romantic.”
“You don’t get it, Julie. It probably came from a bouquet he got for her.”
“For heaven’s sake, Gail, you make Ray sound like Scrooge McDuck.”
“Well, if he bought the rose for me, it was probably as an afterthought.”
Julie propped both elbows on the table and dropped her face into her hands. “Do you mean to sit there and tell me you’re going to the hospital to see if Ray gave her flowers?”
“In part.”
“Wow.” Julie shook her head. “So what’s the other part?”
“I want to find out if she’s got designs on Ray.”
Julie peeked out from between her fingers. “You’re going to come right out and ask her? Gail, that’s nuts.”
“Give me a little credit, okay? I think I can get a feel for what’s going on by talking with her. I can be subtle, you know.”
“You should just let it go, Gail. Besides, what’s Ray going to say if he finds out you went to see her?”
Gail shrugged. “After he got home last night, he rambled on about what a tough time Amy’s having—that she has no family left and her friends are dropping by the wayside. My guess is Sir Galahad would be pleased to hear I paid her a visit.”
“You really are upset, aren’t you?”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“Why don’t you take your coat off and we can kick the subject around some more.”
“No, I think I’ve made up my mind. I’ve got to do this.” Gail stood and called down the hall. “Joey, I’ll be back in a little while, honey. You be good for Julie, okay?”
She heard him giggle and holler, “Bye-bye, Mommy.”
Julie followed Gail to the front door. “What if the answers you get aren’t what you’re hoping to hear?”
Gail gave her friend a wan smile. “I’ll jump off that bridge when I get to it.”
29
Gail felt an underlying chill as she thought about what she was doing. She continued to drive, trying to convince herself it was no big deal, just a friendly visit. Still, it was Amy.
Ray’s Amy.
She bit her lip, angry with herself for thinking in those terms. Deep down she knew Julie was probably right; she should just let it go. Ray’s preoccupation was with Amy’s case, not Amy per se. Still, in the back of her mind, a nagging voice taunted, “As far as you know.”
Gail hoped she’d been making a mountain out of a molehill. If the visit put her fears to rest, she convinced herself it would be worth the feelings of guilt and pettiness consuming her.
Her thoughts returned to the single, red rose Ray had given her the night before. Had it been a loving gesture, an afterthought, or a smokescreen? For another eighteen minutes, she continued on her way to Abbott Northwestern, wrestling with her doubts.
The doubts won.
At East 28th Street she waited for a break in the traffic, then turned right and pulled into the hospital lot. Once she’d parked, Gail gave her makeup a quick once-over in the rearview mirror.
“Okay, you had your chance,” she said to her reflection. “If you’re going to do this, just do it and get it over with.”
She walked in and got Amy’s room number from a fiftyish woman, whose disposition was as sweet as her perfume. Gail got into the nearest elevator and got out on Amy’s floor, following the arrows right, left and right again with stern determination. After the last turn, there was no further need to check the room numbers. A blond officer stood leaning against a wall beside a vacant chair. It was a dead giveaway.
She approached him and cleared her throat. “I’d like to see Amy Conley, please.”
He pushed away from the wall and looked her over with suspicion. “I’ll need to see some identification, ma’am.”
Gail fumbled through her p
urse for what seemed like forever. “Sorry. My purse is a mess. I need to do some reorganizing.” She smiled apologetically as she handed her driver’s license over. “Here you go.”
He looked from Gail’s picture to her face, then checked the name on the license a second time. “Schiller.” His eyes narrowed. “Any relation to Detective Schiller?”
“Ray is my husband. Do you work with him?”
“Uh…no.” He glanced at his jacket, checking for tell-tale catsup stains. “I’ve only run into him twice, ma’am, but he makes a lasting impression.” Officer Lathrop handed her license back. “Actually, you just missed him.”
At the news he’d been there again, a lump rose in her throat.
“Can I go in?”
“Um… Well, uh…” Lathrop looked as uncomfortable as he sounded. “No one but medical staff is allowed to… Oh crap.” He winced. “Sorry. It’s just that—”
“I understand, Officer Lathrop,” she said. “Believe me, I don’t mean to put you in a bad spot. I didn’t realize Amy wasn’t allowed to have visitors.”
“Right. Sorry, ma’am.”
She looked up at him, offering a warm smile. “It’s just that Amy is a personal friend of ours, and my husband told me how badly she needs support right now.” Gail all but batted her eyelashes at him. “Never mind. Ray will probably understand when I tell him you turned me away.”
She heard Lathrop mutter under his breath as he crossed the hall and opened Amy’s door. “It’s me again, Ms. Conley. Someone’s here to see you. If you have no objection to me being in the room during your visit, I guess I can bend the rules a little in this case.”
Gail heard her say, “Company? Great. No, I don’t mind.” The mechanism that raised and lowered the head of the bed hummed as Amy angled it higher.
Lathrop held the door open. “Mrs. Schiller,” he said, motioning her inside.
“Gail,” Amy said as she walked in. “What a nice surprise.”
She approached the bed, trying to squelch a sigh. Even lying injured in a hospital bed without benefit of makeup Amy looked good. Tired, yes, but young, pretty, and—infinitely worse—helpless. “How are you, Amy?”
“I’m doing pretty well. I’m so glad you came.” Amy motioned to a chair. “Please, sit down.”
Gail looked over her shoulder as Lathrop positioned himself nearby. “Ray’s been here quite a bit,” she began. “I thought I’d take a turn looking in on you.”
“I appreciate that. Friendly faces are far and few between these days.”
Gail noted that Amy didn’t mention Ray had just been there. An oversight or an intentional omission? She slipped out of her jacket, draped it across her lap and sat down, half-expecting the seat would still be warm. Gail decided to bring up the topic herself. “I understand I just missed Ray.”
Amy looked surprised. “Oh. I assumed the two of you would’ve run into one another in a hallway; it was that close.” She struggled to situate herself more comfortably and laughed. “With all the hours Ray puts in, maybe the two of you didn’t recognize each other as you passed in the corridor.”
Gail didn’t smile.
Amy’s jaw dropped slightly. “I’m sorry. That was a crummy thing to say. It must be the pain meds. I usually think before I speak. The crazy hours Ray puts in must be awfully hard on both of you.”
“We manage.”
“I’m sure you do a lot better than that. Ray is lucky to have you.”
The compliment took Gail by surprise. Thrown by its unexpectedness, she thanked Amy, then opted for a safer topic. “I hear you’re going to need surgery.”
“It’s been done.”
“Already? When?”
“Early this morning. They gave me a two-for-one special.” Amy leaned forward and rapped on the cast beneath her blanket. “My knee and lower leg. One trip to the operating room, two procedures.”
Gail looked at Amy’s left arm confined to a sling and swathed against her body. “What about that?”
“My arm’s fine, but my collarbone is broken. It looks like I’m stuck in this sling for a few days. They told me it could be six to twelve weeks before it heals completely.”
“Left arm, left leg. Well, at least your right side is okay.”
“Aside from a few grapefruit-sized bruises, it’s great. That makes me a whole fifty percent functional. Yippee.”
“Hey, better fifty percent functional than the alternative.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t complain.”
Gail paused, thinking about Amy’s situation. “With a broken collarbone, I guess getting around on crutches will be out of the question. You’ll probably be in a wheelchair for a while. When you’re released are you going to be able to manage?”
“Sure. I can either stay with Liz or at Nicki’s place until I’m up and around again. They both made the offer.”
Gail breathed easier. “It’s nice to have friends you can count on. I’m glad I got to meet them.”
Her eyes shifted to the colorful bouquets near the head of the bed. “The flowers are beautiful. I imagine a couple of these arrangements are from them.”
“Yes. The one with the carnations and daisies is from Nicki. Liz sent the one with the lilies and irises.”
“What about the other one—the roses and lilies?”
“Oh, those. They’re from Hugh’s partner.”
“Larry Benedict?”
Amy’s forehead creased. “You know him?”
“I met him at the luncheon the other day. We only talked for a couple of minutes.” Anxious to get off the topic, Gail said, “I’m sorry I didn’t bring anything for you, but this visit was sort of spur-of-the-moment.”
“Your visit is enough. Besides, Ray just gave me something from the two of you.” Gail looked around for an overlooked, fourth bouquet. “Not flowers, Gail.” Amy wriggled to her right and reached into the drawer in the bedside table.
“Need a hand?” Gail asked.
“Thanks, but I can get it.”
Gail played Twenty-One Questions with herself while she waited. Whatever Ray had given her, it had to be smaller than a breadbox and apparently not intended for display. The suspense was killing her. Candy? Earrings? A necklace? A bracelet? Perfume? She waited to see the size and shape of the package.
There was none.
Amy pulled two, soft-covered books out and handed them to her: one Soduko game book, the other a book of crossword puzzles—each still sporting a hospital gift shop sticker.
“This is what Ray gave you?”
“Yes. They’re perfect. So thoughtful. Thank you, Gail. Please thank Ray again for me when you see him.”
Gail’s heart soared. Ray’s trip to a florist and the single, red rose were for her and her alone. “I will. I promise,” she said as Amy’s cell phone rang.
“Excuse me, Gail.” Amy said as she answered. “Hello?” Her smile vanished in a heartbeat. “Why are you calling me? I don’t care if you are in the building, Jessie; I don’t want to see or talk to you. There’s nothing you can say that will— What? Don’t talk to me about fairness. After what you did, you don’t deserve— How can you deny it?” Amy’s scowl transformed into confusion. “Larry Benedict? What does he have to do with this?” She lowered the phone to her lap for several seconds before putting it back to her ear. “All right, you’ve got five minutes to state your case, but you’re going to have to do it over the phone. Five minutes, Jessie. That’s it. Hang on; I’m going to put this on speaker.”
Gail stood up. “I’d better go.”
“Please don’t,” Amy said. “I know I’m putting you in an awkward spot, but I’d really appreciate it if you’d stick around. I could use a little moral support.”
“All right, if you think it will help.” Unsure what she had let herself in for, Gail took her seat again. A quick glance at Officer Lathrop told her he felt as uncomfortable as she did.
Amy hit the speaker button. “I’m giving you notice, Jessie—not that you des
erve any consideration from me—but before you start, there are a couple of people in the room with me.”
Jessica’s voice came through the speaker, soft and pleading. “I hoped we could discuss this privately, Amy.”
“Afraid not. Go ahead and tell me your lies. Your time starts now.”
“At least listen to me before you call me a liar,” Jessica said. “You owe me that much.”
“I don’t owe you a thing…not anymore.”
“Please… At least hear me out before you convict me.”
“I’m waiting,” Amy warned. “Your time’s running out.”
Jessica’s sigh was audible. “You can’t believe I slept with Hugh. I’d never do that to you. I’m your friend.”
“Friend? I find a nude photo of you in my husband’s dresser drawer and you call yourself my friend? How dare you. You’re nothing but a two-faced, lying bitch.”
“I swear it’s not what you think, Amy.”
Shocked by what she was hearing, Gail shrank back in her seat.
Amy, on the other hand, had plenty to say. “So far, what you’ve said falls under the heading of argument, not explanation.”
“All right, I’ll tell you exactly what happened.”
“I’m waiting.”
“First, I want you to think back, Amy. Do you remember my telling you not to trust Larry Benedict when you said he’d offered to pay your legal fees?”
“Yes. What about it?”
“Do you think that came out of thin air? It didn’t. I warned you because I know from personal experience that the man’s a slimy bastard. I didn’t want you finding that out the hard way like I did.”
“What does Larry have to do with this? It’s you and Hugh I want to know about.”
“There was no me and Hugh,” Jessie said. “Not ever. You’ve got Larry Benedict to thank for creating that impression.”
“Bringing him into this is low even for you.”
“Damn it, Amy, are you really going to make me go into the sordid details with other people listening in?”
“Looks that way.”
Jessica reacted with a moment of hesitation, then said, “Okay, if that’s how you want it, here it is. After the barbecue you and Hugh threw last summer, Larry and I left together.”
Targeted: A Ray Schiller Novel (The Ray Schiller Series Book 3) Page 19