by Heather Gray
“How did she end up here instead of at one of the hospitals with a burn unit?”
Lily shrugged. “I think the burn units were all full. One of our doctors evaluated her condition and determined we could treat her here. Truth be told, it’s not so bad. She’s going to heal. It’ll take time, but she’ll be okay.”
“Why are they keeping her in a coma, then?”
Eyebrow on the rise, Lily fought the frown that wanted to show itself. She wasn’t so old that she couldn’t remember her first year in the ICU. “Did you make any of these inquiries during rounds?”
Jacie’s shoulder-length hair billowed as she shook her head. “I didn’t want to sound dumb.”
“Ask the questions when they come up. That’s how you learn.”
When the younger woman said nothing else, Lily returned to the original question. “She’s being kept in a coma for now. They started to bring her out of it twice, but both times her heart rate and BP spiked crazy scary high.”
“Which means she’s in pain.” Sadness dripped from Jacie’s voice.
“Probably. Anyway, they’re keeping her in a medically-induced coma a bit longer to be on the safe side.”
“Does anybody ever wonder if the pain she’s in is physical or emotional? Maybe she realizes her family is gone, and that’s the first thing she thinks of as she’s coming to.”
Lily again brushed the hair out of her eyes with her forearm. “You need to ask that question during rounds, Jacie. It’s a good one, and one I don’t have an answer for. I was never in here when they tried to wake her, so I can’t say. I’d be asking the same thing if she were in my care.”
“Is that what happened with Mr. Miller?”
“Yeah, kind of.”
The charge nurse stuck her head in the door. “Lily, you have a phone call. A patient you recently discharged. She insists on talking to you.”
Lily glanced from Jacie to the charge nurse. The woman at the door reached for the antibacterial foam. “I’ll help finish up with Mrs. Kline. You go take care of your call.”
“I wanted to thank you for everything you did for me while I was in the hospital.” Mrs. Graham’s words warmed Lily across the phone line.
“It was my pleasure. Are you checking your blood sugar regularly, like we discussed? Did you print out one of those charts I told you about?”
“I’m testing it twice each day, and the chart is up on the fridge. Caleb was especially happy about the chart. He didn’t want to be forced to hound me, and I wasn’t ready to put up with it gracefully if he did.”
How is he? Lily swallowed the words before they spilled over.
“That’s good. You stay on top of those blood sugar readings, and you’ll avoid a whole mess of other problems that could come your way.”
Mrs. Graham cleared her throat. “I’m hosting a barbecue at my house this week and wondered if you’d like to come.”
Would Caleb be there? “What day?”
The older woman hesitated. “Wh-what day do you have off?”
Was she matchmaking? Of course she was. What did it say about Lily that she was willing to let a former patient fix her up with her grown son…? “I’m off Thursday and Friday.”
“Fabulous! What do you say to Thursday, then? Around four in the afternoon?”
Who else was she inviting? The senior citizen’s group? Everybody else would be at work. “I’ll be there. Give me your address.”
Lunch was upon her before Lily knew it. She settled in the break room with her meal and bowed her head to thank God. The swish of the door told her someone else entered the room during her brief prayer. As soon as she uttered her silent amen, Maddie sat down across from her.
Lily smiled at her. “How has your morning been?”
“I have a vomiter, but other than that, pretty uneventful.” Maddie took a bite of her sandwich and swallowed before asking, “How’re you doing? I heard about what happened in the parking garage. I can’t believe we were talking right before. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It was scary at the time, but in the end, he didn’t do anything to me.”
“Was he going to hurt you?”
Lily shook her head. “It felt like it at the time, but I don’t think so. He kept asking how Mr. Miller was. I don’t know if it was guilt or what, but his concern seemed genuine. He sure did pick a lousy way to express it, though. I was scared spitless.”
Maddie shuddered. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m surprised you’re still assigned to Miller, though. No conflict of interest?”
“Someone in the unit leaked the information that I was his nurse. Until they figure out who, I’m locked in during day shift. Minimizing the number of nurses he comes into contact with limits liability.”
“Makes sense.” Maddie finished off her sandwich. “They’re insisting on a buddy system now. We all walk out in pairs, get into one car, then drive to where the other car’s parked. It’s either that or security escorts you.”
“Let me guess. People are making a flap.”
Maddie tucked her thumbs into imaginary suspenders and flapped her elbows like wings. “Only two or three. The usual ones. Everyone else is just happy you’re okay and that it didn’t happen to them.”
They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes. Lily polished off her apple and folded her hands in her lap. “How soon till you knew Holden was the one?”
Maddie swallowed her last spoonful of yogurt before answering. “A couple months in, I started avoiding him because it hurt too much to be near him, knowing we couldn’t ever be more than friends.” She wiped her mouth on a napkin. “That’s when I realized how strong my feelings had grown. Why? You and the state trooper getting serious?”
Lily broke eye contact. “No. Yes. I don’t know. He drove me home after the whole parking garage thing. He’s a decent guy.”
“Decent, huh? I heard the entire ER emptied out the morning he brought his mom in.”
“He can be pretty intense. Add the uniform to that, and I think anyone who’d ever so much as stolen a paperclip from work was afraid he was there for them.”
“So, not an angry sort?”
“No, but that single-minded focus he gets can be daunting.”
“Hm.” Maddie didn’t bother hiding her laughter. “Particularly if it’s directed at you?”
Lily’s pocket vibrated as she walked toward the locker to store her lunch bag. She tugged the phone out and read the message.
I just got up. Ma told me about bbq. I’m glad you’re coming, but I hope she didn’t pressure you.
Hm. How to respond? She thought about how to respond. She did feel a bit manipulated, but she also looked forward to seeing Caleb again.
How many people did your mom invite?
The phone was silent long enough that Lily almost put it back in her locker with her other things. When it did light up, she cringed at the message’s implication. She won’t answer me.
Her fingers moved at a rapid-fire pace. Guess we’ll wait and find out. Lunch is over and phone needs to go in my locker. Hope you have a good afternoon!
Thursday couldn’t come soon enough.
Something about the incident in the parking garage bothered Caleb, so he decided to make his way down to the jail and check on Mr. Ashton Raynott, the man who’d accosted Lily. He couldn’t shake the image of the man standing by the squad car, his eyes dead.
Luckily, he’d been taken into custody late Friday, and the typical weekend delay meant he hadn’t been seen by a judge yet. The guard showed Mr. Raynott into a room then nodded to Caleb, giving him permission to enter.
The prisoner stared, his eyes blank. Fish about to be dropped in the fryer had more spirit. If the man didn’t care what happened to him, getting answers would be a challenge.
“I’m told you’ve been informed of your rights. Is that true?”
Raynott nodded.
Caleb tapped a finger on the table. “I need you to answer audibly. Have you
been read your rights?”
“Yes.”
“Have you requested a lawyer?”
“No.”
“Do you wish to have one present while I speak to you?”
“No.”
Caleb took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be easy. It never was with single-syllable answers.
“You want to tell me why you went to the hospital?”
Ashton Raynott glared at him for a whole minute before he spoke. “I wondered how Ken was doing.”
“Did you intend to cause Miller’s injury?”
The eyes flashed that time. “No.”
“Why’d you turn the machine back on?”
“I didn’t know it was supposed to be stopped.”
“It was announced over the PA.”
Raynott stared at his hands and mumbled something.
“It’s disrespectful not to look at a person when you speak to them.”
The prisoner glowered, hate burning in his eyes, but the hate wasn’t directed at Caleb. “I went outside for a smoke. Had my earbuds in. Didn’t hear it.”
Guilt. He was drowning in guilt, and he hated himself for causing such a catastrophic accident.
Caleb ran his hand over his face and sat down across from Raynott. “Has anybody told you how he’s doing?”
The dead look flooded back into the eyes.
“He’s going to live.”
Raynott’s glare sought to incinerate him. “Right. You haven’t seen what those machines can do.”
“I didn’t say he was fine, but he is going to live. Miller’s a strong man and he’s got a wife who loves him. They’ll get through it together.” A spark of something entered the prisoner’s eyes. Maybe hope, but Caleb wasn’t ready to assume too much. “How did you get his nurse’s name?”
The man dropped his gaze.
Whatever he’d done, he was ashamed of it.
“I need you to tell me.”
Raynott glanced back up at him. “Can I talk to her?”
Lily? Over his dead body.
“I want to tell her I’m sorry.”
“She’s at work.”
“You got her number. Dial it, and I’ll leave a message.”
It was voicemail. He could always hit the button to erase it if he didn’t like what the man said. “Fair enough.” He took out his phone and picked her out of his contacts. Within seconds, Lily’s recorded voice came over the line. He waited for the beep. “This is Caleb. I’m here with Ashton Raynott, the man who approached you in the parking garage on Friday. He’d like to say something to you.”
He leaned over the table with the phone, forcing the prisoner to lean forward as well. Sweat beaded on the man’s brow, but he took a deep breath and spoke. “I’m sorry about scaring you. I needed to see if Ken was okay. I didn’t mean no harm — to him or to you — but nobody would tell me anything, and I thought if I caught you alone, you might tell me something. I… Anyhow, I’m sorry I scared you. I wouldn’t have hurt you. I wasn’t sure what else to do.”
Raynott sat back in his chair, and Caleb brought the phone back to his own mouth. “Call me later.”
The prisoner had no way of knowing whether or not Caleb had actually dialed anybody, let alone Lily. Except he didn’t seem to doubt. Men used to lying tended to suspect others of lying, but Raynott… He appeared to trust Caleb. Which meant dishonesty wasn’t natural to this guy.
“So tell me how you found out who Miller’s nurse was.”
The eyes dropped away again, studying the floor off to Raynott’s right.
Time to change tactics. “Would you like a chaplain to visit you?”
The man snorted. “God ain’t got no use for the likes of me.”
Caleb smiled his first genuine smile of the day. “That’s where you’re wrong. God specializes in redeeming the unredeemable. Haven’t you heard of the thief on the cross?”
Another snort.
“The chaplain can visit if you’d like.”
The man’s shoulder jerked up the slightest bit before dropping back down. “I guess it can’t do no harm.”
“My name’s Graham.” Caleb stood. “I need whoever leaked the information. When you decide you’re ready to talk, find me.” He slid his business card across the table, and Raynott took it.
“Sure. Whatever.”
Their conversation wasn’t over, but Raynott didn’t need to know that yet.
Caleb drove to the vast underground parking garage. The mall it serviced bustled, full of shoppers, but way back in the corner was a small section partitioned off from the rest. Reaching the electronic barricade, he punched in his security code. The mechanical arm made no sound as it slid upward. He drove through and found a parking spot.
He got out of his truck and walked the short distance to a grey metal door where he entered a different string of numbers. The door clicked, and he opened it. He crossed the threshold and faced forward. The door closed automatically behind him. Three feet of space stood between him and the next door. A boxy black phone hung on the wall to his right, and he lifted it from its cradle. Silence met him.
“Caleb Graham here for Nick Quintaine.”
A beep came over the line, and he returned the phone to its place on the wall. The next door swung wide, and a well-armed guard greeted him with a nod. “Mr. Graham. Third door on your left.”
He marched down the solitary hallway until he came to the appropriate door. There hadn’t been any need to frisk him. While he’d stood in that three feet of space between doors, their equipment had scanned him for firearms, explosives, and who-knew-what-else.
Caleb stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. Nick rose and welcomed him with a handshake. “So tell me how it’s going.”
Straight to business. That was Nick.
The two had met in college. After graduation, Caleb had taken a position with a Texas sheriff’s department. Nick had gone to work for the FBI. A decade later and at his wife’s suggestion, he’d taken a job with the Virginia Attorney General’s office. It allowed him to be home more, be a dad to his kids, and even occasionally go on a date with the aforementioned wife.
They’d kept in touch over the years, and Nick had attended Mr. Graham’s funeral. When Caleb had expressed concern about his mom being alone, his long-time friend had made a job offer. Now there they sat.
“I can’t find any evidence of wrongdoing.” Caleb had no reason to mince words.
“You’re on a list to testify at a hearing about road conditions.”
He gave an affirmative nod. “A car I chased ended up wiping out, partly because of the bad road. She asked if I’d testify to that.”
“Coercion?” Nick’s eyes took on a laser-like intensity.
“Within acceptable limits. Some pressure to show up and a little coaching on what to say, but no attempt to force me to change facts.”
“But you agreed with her that the road was at fault.”
“I agreed that it was a factor.”
Nick grunted. “This would have made a better test case if you’d refused to testify or argued that the road wasn’t to blame. Then we could see how she handles adversity.”
Caleb tipped his chair back on two legs. “Well, now, if I had any idea why I’m investigating Browning, I might have known that.”
Nick grinned. “All right, put your claws away. I kept you in the dark so you could be objective.”
“If you doubt my objectivity, you shouldn’t have hired me.”
“Politics are king around here. I believe in you, but your findings need to stand up to scrutiny on paper, not just in my mind. That shouldn’t come as a surprise. This is the big time.” He snatched up a nearby can of soda and popped the top before pushing a second can across the table to Caleb. “So how’s your mom doing?”
“Matchmaking.”
Nick winced. “Sorry to hear that, man. It’s the risk you run, living close to family.”
“I’m okay with it.”
Obsidia
n-like eyes widened. “Do tell.”
“A nurse. Name’s Lily.”
A grin spread across Nick’s face. “I know you. You wouldn’t even be telling me her name unless you planned to propose. Where’d you meet her?”
It was Caleb’s turn to wince. “I pulled her over.”
“Ha! So on your wedding day, you’ll toast me for bringing you two together, right? Face it. Without my investigation of Captain Browning, you wouldn’t have any reason to be working with the state police.”
Of course his friend would look at it that way. “I’ll get back to you on that.” Caleb nodded toward the door. “So, you ever going to tell me how you got hooked into this set-up? This place can’t be run by the attorney general’s office.”
“I have friends in high places.” Nick crossed his arms and leaned back comfortably in his chair. “When I was with the FBI, I worked with a couple different outside agencies. Learned a few things. As soon as the governor requested I head up a sting checking into some state officials, I called in some favors and got myself a safe place to meet with my undercover investigators.”
Caleb finished off his soda, then stretched out his arm and set his empty can on top of the file folder sitting in front of Nick. “Did the governor ask you to investigate the captain? That seems a little outside his purview.”
Nick moved the can into the garbage and frowned. “Your investigation into Browning is spillover from another case we’re handling. Always better to know if a hornet’s nest is hidden in the leaves before you start shaking the tree.”
Caleb wouldn’t question Nick about the other investigation. He knew his friend too well to bother. Like everyone else, he would have to wait and see what the tree dropped.
“How is your pain level today, Mr. Miller?”
The patient studied Lily but couldn’t hide his grimace.
“I can give you something for the pain, but you need to tell me how bad it is so I know which med to use.”
“Bad.”
His wife had gone home to shower and sleep — at her husband’s insistence. The softer side he showed in his wife’s presence was currently in hiding, his rough edges poking out again.