“She was reading your statement,” Collier explained. “Don’t think she got very far.”
“Oh, damn.” Thayer breathed. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. You’ve just been in so much pain I didn’t want something else—”
“I’m sor…sorry.” Corry hiccupped.
“Shh.” Thayer brushed her tears away with her thumb, feeling her heartrate slow beneath her hand. “You’re okay. It’s okay, now.”
“He was there,” Corey whispered, her eyes opening to peer at Thayer. “He could have killed you. I didn’t know he would be there. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“What?” Thayer gaped. “Corey, are you worried you put me in danger?” Fresh tears rolled down her shattered face.
Thayer was speechless, her throat tightening with emotion as she busied herself straightening the papers Corey had been reading. She handed them back to Collier.
“I have what I need for now,” he said quietly, taking the pages and leaving without another word.
Thayer picked up the PCA pump and showed Corey she was holding it. “I’m going to push this now, okay?” She waited for Corey to acknowledge her with a small nod. Her agreement confirmed she was hurting. She pressed the button three times.
Corey inhaled deeply, her eyes drifting closed as the meds coursed through her system again.
“Now, I need you to listen to me carefully.” Thayer placed her hand against Corey’s face and wiped the last of the tears away. “I want you to remember every word I’m about to say.”
Corey’s normally bright, blue eyes were dull with pain and exhaustion when she opened them again. “I’m listening.”
“I am fine. There’s not a scratch on me. I am not injured in any way.” She spoke slowly and deliberately. Corey’s eyes ran the length of her body, narrowing suspiciously. “Okay.” Thayer stood and yanked her blouse from her skirt, unbuttoning it from the top. “Remember I believe what comes around goes around.” She slipped her arms from the sleeves and stood in front of her in just her bra and skirt so she could see for herself.
Corey’s gaze again traveled the length of her, lingering on her breasts. Thayer couldn’t help the flush that heated her skin.
She held her arms out and turned around letting her see her back and that she was completely unharmed. “Good?”
Corey blinked slowly, a slow smile coming to her lips. “Yeah.”
Thayer fought a smile of her own as she whipped her top back on and hastily buttoned it before dropping back in the chair and gripping Corey’s hand. “I know you’re fading, honey, but please listen. What you did was so completely selfless and brave I don’t even have words.”
Corey rolled her eyes. “Nearly getting us killed?”
Thayer sighed. “Well, yes, there were a series of decisions made that, in retrospect, could have been better thought out. But I was there, too, so I share in that responsibility. In our defense we couldn’t have known what was going to happen, and I don’t think either one of us really believed we were about to uncover a murder.”
Thayer gripped her hand hard. “I’m talking about your commitment and passion for your work. Your attention to detail and refusal to believe what everyone else was telling you because you knew something wasn’t right. You trusted your instincts and went after what you knew to be true, against the advice of experts. Because of that, a murderer was discovered and justice won. I’m talking about standing up for and speaking up for people who can’t do it for themselves. You did that.”
Corey was watching her with hooded, glassy eyes, and her breathing slowed. She kissed the back of her hand and held it to her cheek. “I am so impressed by you.” She trailed off, her voice hitching as she looked away. “And I promised myself I wouldn’t put this out there because it’s completely crazy and you have enough to worry about, but maybe it can be something for you to look forward to because it is for me… So, hell, I’m doing it.” She looked back and Corey’s eyes were closed, her face slack in sleep. Thayer smoothed her hand across her brow. “I’m falling in love with you, Corey Curtis.”
With Corey heavily medicated again, Thayer couldn’t justify staying, as much as she would have liked to just hold Corey’s hand for a little while longer. Simply being with her calmed Thayer in a way she couldn’t define.
She was early for her shift and desperately needed a coffee. Dana was right. The nurses made better coffee and she wasn’t ready to run into the residents yet, so she settled onto the sofa in the nurses’ lounge with her cup and collected herself.
Thayer heard the door bang open and cracked an eye to see Dana hustle in, stopping short when she saw her.
“Hey,” she said softly. “Are you coming or going?”
Thayer sat up and tried to look alert. “Coming.” She sighed heavily. “Why? Because I look like I just worked a double?”
Dana smiled. “You said it, not me.”
“Yeah, I know.” She tried to run her fingers through her hair, but they got tangled in snarls she’d failed to brush out earlier. “With any luck I may keep the oglers at bay tonight.”
“That’s the spirit.” Dana dropped onto the sofa next to her and placed a hand on her leg. “How’s she doing?”
“Better, I think.” Thayer grimaced. “I don’t know really. Physically she’s improving but she’s in a lot of pain, but honestly that’s not what worries me most.”
“What do you mean?”
“She can’t remember what happened and that’s a really scary place to be. She heard a lot tonight when Jim Collier came by to take her statement. It was hard. She’s confused and feeling guilty, like she endangered me. She’s weak and hurting and has no memories to draw from.”
“It may come back to her in time.”
“Yeah, I know.” Thayer was quiet for a moment. “I hope it does. I think it will help her feel more in control.”
“That’s tough feeling like that. Kind of like Nana, right? The unexpected loss of her independence? A capable woman all of a sudden feeling diminished and reliant on others? It’s going to hit her hard.”
Thayer turned and stared at her friend. “Yes, that’s it exactly. Corey is so physically and mentally strong, and so accomplished. Everything she does and enjoys demands that strength.”
“She’s going to get angry,” Dana said bluntly. “We see it all the time and you know it better than anyone.”
Thayer nodded. “I can handle it.”
“I know you can.” Dana gave her leg a squeeze. “I have to get ready. I’m going to pop up and see her later.” She pulled a magazine from her bag. “It’s a whole issue of naked athletes in various sporty poses. I don’t really get it, but whatever.”
Thayer smiled. “She’ll love that.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
If Thayer looked even half as exhausted as she felt, the only looks she would be getting would be ones of fright. She trudged up the stairs to the third floor after her shift.
She had slipped in to see Corey once, but she had been sleeping soundly. It was just after nine a.m. now and the hospital was coming alive with the start of new shifts, visiting hours on all floors and the delivery of breakfast.
She looked up in time to avoid a nurse coming out of Corey’s room. Thayer had seen her before a few times and thought her name was Deb. She was an older, no-nonsense woman in her fifties with an unflappable attitude that said she had seen it all. Her bright, warm eyes said she still cared. She was removing the heart rate and oxygen monitors. “Good morning, Dr. Reynolds.”
“Good morning.” Thayer mustered a smile. “She awake?”
“She is now.” Deb snorted a laugh. “Having a catheter yanked will do that.”
“Ugh.” Thayer sighed. “Well, once she gets over the indignity of it all I’m sure she’ll be in a better mood.”
“Couldn’t be in a worse one,” the woman replied.
“Thanks, Deb.” Thayer gambled and said her name and was rewarded with a bright smile that said she was
pleased someone bothered to learn it.
Corey stared out the window, her face strained and stormy, not acknowledging the opening door. “Here to violate me again?”
“Only if you ask nicely,” Thayer teased and moved around to her good side.
She was unhooked from everything but her IV for fluids and meds. Her catheter and chest tube had been removed and her arm now sported a purple cast past her elbow immobilizing her arm at a ninety-degree angle.
“Hey.” Corey’s mood was dark enough that she didn’t reply in kind and her smile looked forced. “Rough night?”
Thayer smiled grimly. “It shows, huh?”
“I’d still trade places with you.”
Thayer studied her with a professional eye. She had a little more color today and was more alert but she still had the glassy, heavy-lidded look of someone on pain meds. “You’re looking better.”
“Better than dead, you mean?”
“Come on, now.” Thayer sat and reached for her hand. Corey didn’t pull away but she didn’t return her grip either. “It’s only been a few days. Give yourself a break, Corey. Your injuries are serious and you’re not going to get better overnight.”
Thayer meant to cheer her but Corey’s expression darkened further. Thayer was grateful when there was a knock at the door, thinking it would be someone Corey might be happier to see.
“Good, you’re both here.” Collier didn’t waste time with niceties. “I have to be in court in an hour but I wanted to let you know we’ve wrapped things up. Mark Guilford has pleaded out to Murder Two for Gordon Akers’s death and three counts of assault, two against you, Curtis, and one against the doc. All lesser charges were dropped.”
Thayer glanced at Corey, whose face remained stony, her lips in a tight line. “Is that what you were hoping for?”
“He’s going away for a long time. All because he got fired.”
“What?” Thayer gasped.
Corey’s eyes flashed angrily. “Fired?”
“He did two years for a past assault and had long a history of alcohol abuse. Akers took a chance and hired him. They’d worked together in the past on the same crew and Akers was big on second chances.”
“Go on.” Corey said through gritted teeth. Thayer couldn’t tell if it was fury or pain tightening her voice.
“Akers asked him to stay after the other guys left to let him go. Gave him two weeks’ notice and severance, which is more than he deserved for shitty work and drinking on the job.”
Thayer felt a heaviness in her heart about a good, generous man’s unnecessary and violent death. “So, Mark Guilford killed him and tried to cover it up by making it look like he fell while smoking after hours?”
“Seems so. Guilford claims he’d been drinking. Was going to claim diminished capacity, which I believe to an extent because of how stupid he was to throw his own lighter down the shaft and not dispose of the murder weapon. He didn’t know Akers had quit smoking. It would have worked, too, if not for all the trouble he caused trying to get it back.”
Thayer shook her head in disbelief. “How did he know to go after Corey?”
“Claims he didn’t. After finding out from Akers’s wife that she didn’t have the lighter, he figured it might still be in the morgue. He was parked up the road deciding what to do when he saw Corey drive in. He recognized her from the site when she was out there taking pictures. He followed her in. The brick was in his truck so he just went for it.”
“Jesus Christ,” Thayer said. “It all just seems like such a waste.”
“No shit,” Corey hissed and turned to stare back out the window. Her anger and frustration was nearly palpable.
“Listen. There’s not going to be a trial but the press knows now. Did my best to keep your names out of it, but you know how it is.”
“We appreciate everything you’ve done, Jim.” Thayer smiled. “We’ll be okay.”
“Speak for yourself,” Corey murmured.
“Hey, Curtis.” Collier stepped closer to the bed and waited for her gaze to meet his. “I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“You tried to tell me something wasn’t right about this case and I didn’t listen. I should have. You’ve got good instincts. If not for you, Guilford would have gotten away with murder.”
“Don’t quit your day job, though, right?” Corey laughed humorlessly.
“No, don’t,” Collier agreed. “You’re exceptional at it.” He nodded to Thayer. “Let me know if either of you need anything.”
“Thank you.” Thayer waved him out and turned back to Corey. “Are you all right?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Corey, please talk to me.” Thayer gripped her hand. “I haven’t known you long but I sure as hell know this anger isn’t you.”
“The neurologist warned me some people experience personality changes,” she countered.
Thayer frowned. “That’s not what this is.”
Corey met her eyes. “No. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be such a bitch. I’m just so fucking pissed off.”
“I understand. I am too. I’m angry a good man is dead and my heart breaks for his family and the grandchild who will never get to know his grandfather. I’m angry you got hurt—more than I can even explain to you. I would give anything to make this better for you. Please, tell me what I can do.”
“You should go home and get some rest.” Corey sighed and picked up her call button, pressing it. “I need the bathroom.”
“I can help you.” Thayer stood.
“No. Don’t worry about it. Deb will come.”
“You rang, your highness?” Deb had apparently been nearby and was leaning in the doorway within a matter of seconds.
“Yeah.” Corey pushed herself up in the bed with effort and a groan of pain. “You reap what you sow, Deb. I need to pee.”
“Right this way, milady.”
Thayer was forced to move to allow Deb in. She tried not to take it personally, but her heart hurt nonetheless at Corey’s distance and rejection of her help. “You’re right. I need to get home and sleep. I’m back on tonight. Can I come see you before my shift?” She put extra cheer in her voice but in her own head it sounded like she was fighting tears.
“Yeah, sure.” Corey grunted, her gaze focused on the bathroom door as Deb took her weight and they shuffled across the room.
Thayer left without another word.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Corey was determined to get off IV meds by the end of the day. They made her feel sicker and weaker than she already did. She would rather feel unmedicated pain.
She was disgusted with herself and her bad attitude. She had been a total bitch to Thayer and hadn’t even mustered the energy to thank Collier for his work on the case. She knew her anger, guilt, and resentment weren’t completely unfounded, but she just couldn’t unpack it and deal with it yet.
Fortunately, she hadn’t had too much time to think about it as a steady stream of visitors kept her mind occupied. Dr. Webster ambled in with a goofy-looking teddy bear holding a mug with a rainbow sticker and a Get Well balloon, clearly from the hospital gift shop. She doubted he knew how funny that mug was, and she knew it would be her new favorite drinking vessel.
He didn’t stay long but took the time to assure her that the morgue was being well taken care of; he was enjoying doing some more teaching and the pathology residents were doing a pretty good job on the posts. In a surprising moment of contrition, he admitted he’d never read Corey’s email with her concerns about Gordon Akers’s injuries and praised her for her work. He had also approved an order for a new Stryker saw.
Cin came in and smuggled her lunch. She still didn’t have much of an appetite but picking at a perfectly cooked burger and fries was far preferable to picking at the totally inedible bland chicken and applesauce the hospital served her.
Cin’s version on coverage in the morgue was slightly different than Dr. Webster’s. Corey cracked up—painfully—h
earing about the resident who cut into an incidental ovarian cyst and got a serous fluid shower. She groaned at the one who tried to Y-incision a woman instead of going underneath in a U-incision, thus totally deforming her breasts and enraging the funeral home.
Dana and Jules came together and brought her back issues of Maxim, which she found particularly adorable but had no intention of looking at. They told her hilarious horror stories of the first-year ED residents, who got vomited, bled or shat on during any particular shift. She wanted to ask about Thayer but resisted. It was her own fault Thayer had left so abruptly and she had no right to ask Thayer’s friends to talk about her.
By dinnertime she was exhausted and moderately hungry. She had just raised the lid on her tray, uncovering another sad, pale, tasteless hospital meal when Rachel burst in.
“Put that down and back away slowly.”
Corey grinned and salivated at the brown paper bag with the Loco Coyote logo on it. She could smell the Mexican food. She didn’t even care what was in the bag since she liked everything on the menu.
Rachel grabbed the tray between two fingertips and wheeled it away from Corey like it was venomous, flinging it the last few feet toward the door. It rolled and crashed against the wall and the pudding cup shot onto the floor. “Jesus, that was close.”
She perched on the edge of the bed, dug through the bag and handed Corey a chicken and cheese burrito, brimming with rice and beans. “So, talk to me. How you doing?”
Corey slowly unwrapped her burrito one handed and quietly appreciated Rachel’s understanding of her need to do things on her own, however awkward. “They’re letting me go home on Thursday.”
“Fucking, yeah,” Rachel cheered around a mouthful of food.
“Conditionally,” she added and eyed Rachel over her burrito as she took her first tentative bite.
“Uh-oh.” Rachel returned her look. “What does that mean?”
“It means that I need a babysitter for the first few days.”
“Ah.” Rachel nodded. “Someone to call the meat wagon if you die in your sleep? Who would post you, anyway? Is that like Schrödinger’s autopsy?”
Gallows Humor Page 14