An hour and a half had passed, and it was time for him to handle Zack. He quietly walked down the hallway past the nurses station. Carol had gone home, and the two night nurses were engrossed in watching the shopping channel on TV. He slipped passed them and made it down the hall to room 103. Zack was the first bed to the right with a curtain separating the two beds, so there was no chance that Dave would see what was about to happen.
Jack eased the door open just enough for him to squeeze in, making sure the light from the hall did not wake Zack up. Jack took the syringe out of his top pocket and pulled the plastic cap off. He slightly pushed down on the syringe, just enough for the liquid to push out. “So long, Zack,” he whispered to himself.
Jack slowly opened the curtain between Zack and Dave’s beds. A dull light shone in.
“Hi, Jack, you want to play?” Zack asked from the corner of the room where he and Dave were playing cards at a table.
“Just checking on you guys,” Jack said as he slipped the syringe back into his pocket and backed out of the room.
Both Dave and Zack knew he was not just checking on them. That would have been a first, even for Dave, who had been living there for years.
Jack had bullied Zack since the day he arrived, and the visit wasn’t to check on him. That much, he knew for sure.
Over breakfast, Zack and Dave discussed how neither of them slept the night before, after Jack left the room during the evening. They thought he had a motive other than just checking on them, which he had never done before. They hadn’t a clue of what it might be. After breakfast, they wandered into the garden area. It was one of the few things Zack liked about the place.
Zack had his favorite bench under a tree next to a big water fountain; it was peaceful and refreshing. Zack and Dave sat there most mornings and read the local newspaper. He brushed off the bench to sit down when the gardener, Andrew, asked if they would sit on the bench across the walkway. That way he could finish trimming the bushes behind Zack’s favorite seat.
They took a seat while Andrew cut the bush back. They were waiting for Andrew to clean the area before they started their morning mockery of the current events in the newspaper. It was hard to read the paper from that side anyway, with the sun beaming in their eyes. As Andrew cut the bush back, Zack could see something that was attached to the side of the house. He got closer and asked Andrew to trim around the plaque so he could see it better. As he cut away the vine, Zack could see a few words on the sign. It was like a lightning bolt hit him when the sign was visible.
“Oh, my god,” Zack said taking a seat.
“What’s wrong, Mr. Zack?” Andrew asked.
“Dave, read the sign,” Zack said.
“Ross Foundation, Evergreen Rehab Center,” Dave said.
“That is where my wife died. Had a heart attack the night before she was to leave Evergreen Rehab Center,” Zack said, holding on to the edge of the bench.
“Evergreen Rehab burned down about ten years ago. It was at the end of Canal Street near the cemetery,” Andrew said.
“I know the area. I worked that district for twenty years. How did it get here?”
Andrew took a seat next to Zack on the bench. He asked them to promise never to repeat what he was about to tell them. Zack and Dave agreed, and Andrew explained how the plaque got to Riverside.
He told them he started work as a groundskeeper at Evergreen about a year before it burned down. A while after he worked there, his wife had broken her leg. He didn’t have health insurance, and Dr. Ross provided them with free care. “She was admitted to Evergreen for rehab with all expenses paid. It was great that she was right on site where I worked. I could check on her a few times a day, and we even ate lunch and dinner together. After a week, she could have gone home, but Dr. Ross said she should stay for a few more weeks. It didn’t cost me anything, and she was getting better care than if she was home alone all day, so I agreed.”
Zack’s face was turning pale with his every word. He knew where this was going, and his mind had thoughts running through it rapidly. Dave stood closer, not wanting to miss anything Andrew said; sometimes he went into a whisper mode as people passed.
“I’m afraid to hear the ending,” Zack said as he put his hands over his face.
The big, tough, police detective had a sensitive side he didn’t like to show. He had witnessed a lot in his career, and some crime scenes were very gruesome. He never got used to the view of bloody and mangled bodies no matter how long he was on the force.
“On August nineteenth, my wife died. They said it was a blood clot that caused her heart attack,” Andrew said as a tear rolled down his cheek.
Andrew continued his story and explained that after the house burned, the Ross Foundation purchased this place and changed the name to Riverside Inn. He had asked Dr. Ross if he could bring the plaque to the new location, but he was told not to. They wanted no connection to Evergreen. He had taken the brass plaque before Evergreen was demolished, cleaned it up, and put it in the garden.
“It’s a place I come to when I feel down. Better than a cemetery, for me that is. Does that make sense to you?”
“If it makes you feel good, it’s fine,” Zack said.
“You must promise never to repeat this. You two would be the only people who know. Dr. Ross would fire me if he knew. I need my job, plus living here and my meals are taken care of too. All I have in the world is this place and my gardens,” Andrew said in a panic.
“It’s okay, don’t worry,” Zack said.
Andrew finished trimming the bush, but not too short. It was for his private viewing and couldn’t be too obvious. He swept the bench and offered Zack and Dave a clean seat.
“I can’t believe your wife died at Evergreen too. Isn’t that odd?” Andrew asked.
Zack’s mind went into detective mode, and it was making him sick to his stomach.
“I wouldn’t call it odd. It’s looking like a trend to me,” Zack said rubbing his head.
Zack could not ignore that Andrew’s wife and his wife were both of moderately good health, but both died at Evergreen Rehab of a heart attack. He wondered how many more people might have died under the same circumstances.
His detective instincts pointed to Jack as the most likely one to be involved. He and Dave were motivated to prove the connection. The plan was for Dave to keep an eye on Jack while Zack conducted his investigation.
Jack went into his room and closed the door behind him. Dave stood post in the hall while Zack nosed around the rooms. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for and opened doors, making notes of what was in the rooms and which doors were locked. He made his way through the hallway back to Dave, much like canvassing the surrounding area of a crime scene.
“We have three locked doors,” Zack said.
“There could be anything in those rooms: drugs, files, who knows what. How is that going to help us?” Dave asked as he pointed to Jack’s office, seeing him walk out and lock the door.
“Make that four locked doors,” Dave said.
“It’s time to play nice guy. I’m going to approach the problem,” Zack said as he walked off to catch up with Jack.
He stopped Jack at the end of the hallway and nicely asked him if he was sure there was nothing he needed when he came into his room during the night. Jack assured him he was just checking the rooms. It was time for him to push Jack to the limit and see his reaction.
“Let me ask you this, Jack. Why are there so many locked doors around here? Do you distrust us old people, or do you have something to hide?”
Jack’s reaction proved he had something to hide. He immediately looked down, indicating he was guilty, and it was a lot more than an affair with Christie.
Jack took his keys out and opened his door. He pulled Zack into the room with one hand and closed the door behind him with the other. He grabbed Zack by the neck with one hand and lifted him off the ground. “Old man, you have been a problem since you got here.” He lifted Zack a littl
e higher off the ground with his hand. “You best mind your own business. You hear me!”
Zack could not talk and was turning blue when he was dropped to the floor. Jack picked him up and pinned him against the wall by his shoulders. Zack knew not to fight back for it was a losing battle. He had to wait it out and hope Jack caused no more pain.
“You have no idea how many ways I can hurt you without showing any marks. I can slowly destroy your fragile old body, and then I’ll kill you. Stay out of my business.” He opened the door and pushed Zack into the hallway. As much as Zack didn’t want to believe it, there was something dreadfully wrong at Riverside.
Dave helped Zack back to the room. He was out of breath from the struggle and sat on the side of the bed to rest. Dave brought him a cold bottle of water.
“What the hell happened?” Dave asked, taking the cap off the bottle.
“Something is going on here,” Zack said as he took a sip of water.
“This Jack guy is crazy. I mean killer crazy. I’ve seen it many times. He is covering something up, and there is no limit to what he will do to stop anyone from interfering.”
It was near lunchtime, and Zack and Dave met up with Emma Lou and Pearl Ann. They sat at their usual table, and one by one walked to the buffet with a plate on a tray and picked through the salad bar. Freda, an older black lady who mostly did sitting with the elderly, was standing next to Zack. Every step he took, she got right next to him to where he was uncomfortable. She finally ran into his back with her tray, just like he expected.
“Excuse me,” Freda said in a tone little more than a whisper. Then she softly spoke again. “Don’t turn around. Listen, you have to watch yourself. I saw Jack pull you into that room this morning, and I heard everything. Stay on his good side, and you’ll stay alive.”
“Thanks for the support, but I learned that the hard way,” Zack replied.
“You didn’t hear this from me,” Freda whispered.
“I understand. Don’t worry and thanks,” Zack said as he walked back to the table.
“What was that all about?” Dave asked.
“I’m not sure. It seems like just about everybody is aware of Jack’s crazy side.”
When lunch was over, the residents met in the front of the building, where a bus picked them up for a day of shopping at Maxwell’s, a well-known department store for over fifty years. Maxwell’s offered men’s and ladies’ clothing, furniture, kitchen appliances, and even tools. Zack, Dave, Emma Lou, and Pearl Ann were always ready to change the everyday routine and joined the shopping trip.
The bus pulled up on time and about twenty people boarded. Maxwell’s had participated with Riverside Inn for years, but the store had recently been sold to a New York company. The company was known for fashionable clothing by some of the top designers in the country. A campaign was underway to promote the upcoming grand reopening of the New Orleans store.
The bus pulled up to the front entrance and two security guards met them. Their orders were to stop these bus groups, along with groups of teenagers who might just wander around the shopping mall. The store thought it could do without these kinds of customers. By the time the group had walked into the store, the two security officers had met them. They explained the new policy the best they could.
Zack could see there was no changing the system, even for a one-time visit, so he organized the group, and they all returned to the bus. Most were very verbal about the treatment, but Zack calmed them and explained his plan. He directed the bus driver to park on the other side of the building, near the rear entrance. Zack grouped everyone into fours and let the first group off the bus. It proceeded into the mall. Once the first group was in the building, he directed four more to follow. Once they were all inside the store, they went their separate ways, and security never noticed.
Once Zack was inside, he and Emma Lou found the two security guards who looked like their primary interest was to watch the ladies at the cosmetic counter. They walked up to them and said, “Remember me? We’re some of the old people you wouldn’t let in. The rest of them are spread all through the store. Dumb-ass,” Zack said as he took Emma Lou’s hand and walked off.
Emma Lou was surprised at Zack’s comments and even more so that he took her hand. They had been friends since they both arrived at Riverside, but this was unexpected. Unexpected, but very welcome as it had been many years since a man had held her hand.
“You told them, Zack,” she said as she squeezed his hand. They smiled at each other and walked hand in hand through the department store.
It was during lunch one day that Zack was surprised by a visit from his son, Tom. It was unusual for him to come over during the day, especially unannounced. He always called and set a time to meet with him in the recreation room. Zack and his friends were very active for their age and had an agenda set every day, with little downtime from the moment they got up until they turned in for the night.
Zack, Emma Lou, Dave, and Pearl Ann were just finishing lunch when Tom joined them at the table. Tom greeted them with a smile and engaged in meaningless chitchat for a while. Zack could see from Tom’s demeanor that something was on his mind. He knew that look; something was bothering him.
One by one they excused themselves, leaving Zack and Tom to visit. There was no reason to beat around the bush, so Zack asked the question.
“What’s wrong, Tom?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Patty has cancer,” Tom said trying to keep his emotions under control.
Zack poured a glass of water from a pitcher that sat on the table and put it in front of Tom. “I thought she was doing fine?”
“She was. They discovered cancer when they did her hysterectomy. The doctor thought they got it all, but her last follow-up visit came back positive.”
Zack could see the worry on Tom’s face. “What is the next step?”
“She has to go for treatment. Her doctor recommends treatment at a hospital in Houston, which specializes in the type of cancer she has.”
Zack knew there was not much he could say after hearing the bad news, so he just reached over and patted his hand. “I’m sure she will be okay. Patty is a strong woman.”
Tom explained he would be helping Patty during her chemotherapy treatments and would be taking off six weeks from work. He would be staying in a furnished apartment connected to the hospital where other people stayed during the treatment of family members. It wasn’t anything fancy but was better than staying miles away at a hotel and having to rent a car. It served its purpose.
“We’re leaving for Houston on Monday. I’ll stay in touch and let you know how she is doing,” Tom said, standing up to shake hands with Zack.
Zack shook his hand and gave him a big hug. “Everything is going to be okay, don’t you worry. Just focus on taking care of Patty and getting her better.”
“Thanks, Pop.”
They were walking together out of the dining room when Tom stopped.
“I almost forgot,” he said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. “Here is the phone number for the hospital and the apartment in Houston.” He pulled out a business card.
Zack took the card and walked him out to his car. “I’ll call Patty tonight.”
“Great, she will be happy to hear from you,” Tom said as he got into his car and drove off.
It took time for the news to sink in and Zack needed some quiet time to reflect on the situation, so he diverted to the garden. He sat on his favorite bench, quietly remembering when Patty came into his family’s life. It had been over twenty years ago but seemed like yesterday. It’s a horrible disease, and the treatment is often worse than the illness, so he’d heard. He thought of all the fuss he gave Tom about buying him a cap at the department store and couldn’t help but snicker at the thought it was Patty who would need a cap for a while.
“God, it’s bad enough when a man goes bald. But a woman and under such circumstances,” Zack said o
ut loud to himself.
“Did you say something, Mr. Zack?” Andrew asked as he picked up some trash nearby.
“No. Just thinking out loud,” Zack said.
“It’s okay to talk to yourself. I do it all the time. I like to think the person can hear me; it’s comforting,” Andrew said.
“I understand, Andrew. I’m happy it makes you feel better,” he said as he stood up.
“You know, Mr. Zack. God has a plan for all of us. Everything happens for a reason,” Andrew said stuffing trash in a bag.
“Yeah, so I heard. I wonder what the plan was when my wife got assaulted and later died. Or for the millions of people who are stricken with cancer, get raped, or have other horrifying things happen to them. At what point do you find out the grand plan of why these things happen?” Zack blurted out.
Andrew had no answer for him and knew it was best to leave Zack alone.
It was three in the afternoon, and that meant it was coffee time. You could always find Zack and his friends in the dining room every day, same time, same table. Little changed from day to day. Zack poured a cup of coffee from the big silver pot and sat down. He didn’t want to dwell on Patty’s problem but felt he wanted to share it with his friends. They all had encouraging things to say and talk about; it seemed to help, even if it was for just a little while.
Freda came to Zack and handed him an envelope.
“Mr. Zack, that man you were talking to after lunch dropped this. I put it in an envelope to save it for you.”
Zack opened the envelope, and to his surprise, inside was Tom’s bright orange ID card he used to get in and out of the department store.
“Thanks, I’ll let him know you found it,” Zack said, putting the card in his pocket.
That night Zack called Patty to wish her well and talked positively as much as he could about her condition. There was not much he could say without repeating himself and dwelling on the problem, and that was something Zack was trying to avoid. He cut the conversation short by asking for Tom and explained to him that a resident had found his ID card. Tom was not aware it was missing and asked Zack to keep it in a safe place until he returned from Houston.
True Blue Detective Page 5