Kathryn's Justice

by Marianne Spitzer

  She wrapped a robe around her and headed for the kitchen.

  ~ * ~

  “Waffles on a Saturday morning? I hope you didn’t do this for me,” Kathryn asked scooping fresh blueberries and heaping whipped cream on her waffles.

  “Not really,” Pam smiled. “Since Rob left for overseas and I work all week, I do my best to spoil them on the weekends. Rob’s mom is great with them and won’t take any babysitting money. She said watching them is like having Rob closer and they take her mind off her worries. I’m blessed to have her, but at the same time it makes me miss mom terribly.”

  Kathryn hurried to her sister’s side and hugged her. “I understand. I wish mom was here, too.”

  Pam wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Since I’m alone with them now, it helps to have them with Grace and Roger during the day or the occasional evening, if I have to work late. I worry. There’s a lot that can happen to kids.” Pam did her best to hide her distress. “Who wants more waffles?”

  Both Connor and Leah shouted, “Me.”

  As Kathryn sat back down and took another bite of waffle she thought, I can’t keep every problem away from the kids, Pam, but I’m going to do my damn best to keep as much away as possible.

  Leah’s eyes lit up when she looked at Kathryn. “Aunt Katie, Mom said it’s a pretty day out and we’re going to the park. Are you coming along?”

  “You bet I am,” Kathryn answered downing the last of her coffee. “I’m off to shower and get dressed and I’ll be ready whenever you are.” She kissed Leah on the top of her head.

  Pam shot her a grateful look and did her best to smile.

  Kathryn smiled back and gave her a thumbs up as she hurried to the bathroom.

  ~ * ~

  Leah was right and the weather was perfect for a morning in the park. Kathryn and Pam sat on a bench watching the kids interact and play with others on the playground equipment.

  Kathryn saw a man sitting alone two benches away. Her mind raced when she thought she might know him from somewhere. She didn’t want to use her phone to snap his picture or look up the neighborhood pedophile site. She wanted to remain as anonymous as possible when it came to the men featured on the site.

  She whispered to Pam. “You sent me that link about pedophiles in different neighborhoods. Maybe I’m going crazy, but that guy in the dark blue jacket looks familiar. He might have been on the site.”

  Pam quickly pulled up the site on her phone and said, “No, you’re right. He served time for having child porn. He lives on the next street over. Do you think he’s dangerous?” Kathryn could see her sister visibly shudder.

  “I don’t know.” Kathryn glanced at the image on Pam’s phone memorizing his name and street. If he wasn’t already on her list, he would be soon. “If he served his time, he’s probably allowed to go out, but I’m not sure about sitting in a park with little kids.”

  Pam was uncomfortable and dialed 9-1-1. She explained the situation and they assured her an officer would come and speak with the man to see what laws, if any, he was breaking.

  A few minutes later Pam and Kathryn watched a patrol car pull into the parking area and a uniformed officer walked up and spoke to the man. The man spoke and nodded. He stood, slipped his hands in his pockets, and slowly walked out of the park. The officer turned and headed back to his patrol car.

  Kathryn sighed. She hoped he would be arrested. She leaned toward Pam and whispered, “I guess he wasn’t breaking the law, but didn’t seem too comfortable talking to the police. Try and remember his face in case you see him hanging around any kids in the future.”

  Pam nodded. She called the kids and both complained they didn’t have enough time to play. Kathryn could see the concern on her sister’s face. She was determined to replace that concern with peace. If she couldn’t rid the entire town of pedophiles, perhaps she could scare those hiding to stay inside forever. She smiled and took Leah’s hand before they crossed the street.

  ~ * ~

  After helping Pam clean up the dinner dishes, Kathryn begged off for the night. She told Pam she was tired, grabbed a DVD from Pam’s entertainment center, and headed off to the guest room.

  Leah stopped her before she could walk down the hallway. “Aunt Katie, stay up and watch a movie with us. We’ll be quiet so you and mommy can hear it.” The child’s smile melted Kathryn’s heart, but she needed to think. She needed to be alone.

  “I have an idea,” Kathryn said. “I need to rest so I’ll be awake enough tomorrow to take you out for pizza after church.”

  Leah and Connor jumped up and down yelling, “Yeah, pizza.”

  “You spoil them,” Pam said with her hands on her hips and a broad smile on her face.

  “We’ll go to Anthony’s. You love his lasagna.” Kathryn answered. “You’re the best and deserved to be spoiled, too.”

  She hugged Pam before retreating down the hall.

  Kathryn closed and locked the door, slid the comedy DVD in the player, and pulled a notebook out of her overnight bag. She jotted down the name and address of the man in the park. His name was number seven on her list. She would add it to her formal list when she returned home and shred the notes she was now writing.

  She lay back on the bed and smiled while she listened to the laughs coming from the TV. Kathryn was confident she had the perfect hiding place for her notes. She kept all notes on one sheet of paper. If the police ever suspected her, they would have to search high and low to find the list and possibly still miss it. She had rolled it carefully and slipped it inside a tall, bright red, Christmas tree topper that was in a box in the back of her closet. She and Pam had divided the ornaments and decorations when their mom passed away. Kathryn kept these special decorations well packed away from the rest of her holiday items. Unless someone slipped a finger inside to feel for the paper, they would never find it.

  ~ * ~

  Kathryn woke early and found Pam in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the kids. She stood and watched her for a few moments. She was carrying the world on her shoulders. Kathryn knew that Pam’s boss was a tyrant and loved to push his employees too far. She worked too many late evenings. The kids needed her home more with Rob being far away. There wasn’t much she could do to help that, but if she could ease Pam’s mind about strangers in the park, she would do it.

  Kathryn’s mom would be happy to see her attend church with Pam and the kids. Kathryn had strong beliefs she carried over from childhood Sunday school, but she gave up on weekly services after her mom passed away.

  Leah held Kathryn’s hand as they walked into the church. She whispered, “Aunt Katie, can we sit in the back? Mommy likes to sit up front, but Pastor Swendon sometimes yells and scares me. I once had a bad dream about him yelling.”

  “Sure, honey. How about right here?” Leah nodded and smiled.

  Pam whispered, “We don’t sit back here.”

  Kathryn looked up at her sister and answered, “We can today. The pastor scares Leah. Leave Connor with me, too, and you can sit up front.”

  Pam sighed and sat next to Kathryn.

  She leaned close to Kathryn and said, “You spoil them.”

  Kathryn snapped, “No adult should ever terrify a child for any reason, Pam. I’m surprised you still attend here.”

  “I was married here and the kids were baptized here. It’s tradition. Just because you and James eloped…never mind.” Pam dropped her head.

  “I didn’t mean to snap,” Kathryn whispered back. “I just hate to see Leah upset. She said she had a nightmare. With Rob away, I thought you should try to lessen your stress load as much as possible. You lose sleep when she has nightmares, too.”

  Pam nodded as the service began.

  Pastor Swendon began his sermon on a gentle note speaking of the good each of them was capable of and how to share it with others. Then he hit his fist on the pulpit causing both Leah and Kathryn to jump in their pew. His voice raised, and he began to preach about the punishments
waiting for those who do wrong. The agony of hell. Kathryn was surprised he didn’t mention fire and brimstone, but his sermon came close. Leah was clutching her arm.

  The sermon convinced Kathryn that she made the right decision not to attend weekly services and certainly not at the family church. Pastor Swendon had accomplished one thing with his sermon; he convinced Kathryn that hell was the right place for the pedophiles on her list. She hid her smile when she thought she had the ticket to send them there soon.

  “Told ya,” Leah said as they left the church.

  “I know, but pizza is the best way to get rid of scary thoughts. Pizza, garlic bread, and maybe a dish of gelato.” She smiled at Leah, and the little girl giggled and skipped at her side. The sermon forgotten in dreams of gelato.

  Chapter Three

  Kathryn’s alarm woke her at six, and she stretched. She smiled happy to be at home and in her bed. She loved Pam and the kids more than she could express, but home was where she could make plans and decide her next move.

  She threw off the covers, turned on her coffee pot, and headed for the shower. By the time she finished and wrapped her body in a warm terry robe, the coffee called to her. Three days in the hospital and a weekend at Pam’s cut into her schedule. Her refrigerator was fairly empty, and she settled for a blueberry cereal bar from the box in the back of her food cabinet. She tossed the wrapper in the garbage and carried her coffee cup into her bedroom. Lunch would be a sandwich from the hospital cafeteria which made surprisingly fantastic turkey breast sandwiches. Hot or cold, her choice, would not disappoint.

  Between sips of coffee, she managed to pull her hair up off her shoulders and hold it with a clip. She dressed casually knowing she would change into scrubs similar to what nurses wore and a lab coat.

  Humming, she filled her travel mug with the last of the coffee and headed to work. A little flirting and sweet talk would help her get information about guns and whatever other useful information the male orderlies would share.

  ~ * ~

  She parked next to Dr. Graydor’s sports car in the parking garage. Pulling into the reserved spot, she smiled remembering the argument the Chief of Morgue Services aka the County Coroner had with the garage manager. He insisted that when he needed his assistants, he didn’t want them wasting time wandering the parking garage looking for a parking spot. In the case of multiple deaths from a car accident or similar tragedy, he insisted his attendants and assistants be able to rush in if called. After the parking garage manager had agreed to add two reserved spots for his department, Dr. Graydor smiled at her and told her winters were too cold to walk from one end of the garage to the elevator.

  Exiting the elevator, Kathryn noticed the hospital morgue was dark as midnight. “Where is everyone? Must have been a quiet night,” she murmured. As she approached the double glass doors, she pressed the remote in her pocket and the doors opened and the bright overhead lights came on flooding the room with more light than a sunny day. Dr. Graydor insisted on the additional lighting stating that things can be missed in a small shadow. Kathryn enjoyed the light. Too much ugliness happened in the dark.

  She turned on her computer and stepped into the lady's dressing room to change into her dark lavender scrubs. They were new. Dr. Graydor liked lavender and wanted his employees to dress in a color other than the bright pinks, greens, blues, whites and yellow found in the E.R. or other departments.

  As she slipped the top over her head and viewed the result in the mirror, Kathryn spoke to herself. “I look great in this color, but you would think black would be more appropriate down here. Maybe that’s why Doc chose the darker shade.” She turned and checked out how she looked and winked. “This should get the attention of a talkative orderly.” She closed and locked the locker, but carried her purse back to her desk. She would lock that in one of her desk drawers.

  A quick check of her computer indicated a quiet weekend. She pulled up Brad’s file and saw that his body had been released to family while she was hospitalized. It also listed that two detectives had stopped by to discuss matters with Doc. He ruled Brad’s death a homicide. The police would no doubt file it in their unsolved files listing the perpetrator as “person or persons unknown.”

  A quick look at internet obituaries listed Brad’s funeral at a local funeral home not far from the hospital. It stated he was cremated and had a family only service on Saturday. It was over, and no one bothered her.

  “Goodbye, Brad,” she said as she closed the internet and returned to her hospital files. A quiet weekend meant not much preparation was needed today, but she checked to be sure everything was ready for Doc, if needed. The room was clean, and a stainless steel wall of drawers glistened in the overhead lighting. Each drawer was empty now, and all Doc’s instruments were clean and ready.

  Kathryn heard the automatic doors open, and she spun to see who was there. Nick, one of the orderlies, was standing just outside the door eating a donut and holding a large coffee and a white bag in his other hand.

  “Stop, you can’t bring that in here. You know the rules.” Kathryn glared at him.

  “I know, I know. That’s why I waited out here. Come sit and talk to me a while. No one else is here yet. I brought you coffee and a donut.” His smile was broad and friendly.

  He turned and sat on one of the chairs families used while waiting to identify a body. There was a small table, and he set the coffee down.

  She walked out with her travel mug, “I brought my own coffee, but thanks. You can drink the one you brought. You still look tired.” She smiled and sat next to him pulling a powdered sugar coated jelly donut out of the bag.

  “Thanks, I do need it. I stayed up too late last night watching wrestling. I knew I would pay this morning, but hey we’re only young once.” He tried to smile and sip his coffee at the same time. He managed to make an odd slurping sound that made Kathryn laugh.

  She enjoyed her impromptu breakfast with Nick until he said he better report for his shift. “Maybe I’ll see you at lunch,” he said as the elevator doors closed.

  She smiled at him and waved her fingers.

  The second elevator servicing the basement was for deliveries. It made a distinct low ping sound compared to the soft bell of the main elevator. She wasn’t expecting a delivery and she thought the coroner’s van must have dropped off a body. Kathryn looked up when she heard the elevator doors open.

  Joey Coyle’s booming voice announced, “Freeway accident. Got two new customers for ya.”

  The hospital was the biggest in the county, and their morgue took care of all non-illness related deaths along with those who passed away in the hospital.

  “Ugh,” Kathryn mumbled as she stood up. She strode to the elevator and blocked Joey before he was able to push the gurney off the elevator. She put her hand on the gurney stopping Joey in his tracks. “When you bring the deceased down here, you treat them with dignity and respect. Do you understand me?” She stepped back to allow Joey to push the gurney off the elevator followed by Rand Gordon with the second victim. He smiled at her and kept moving.

  “Geez, Kat. Lighten up. They can’t hear me.” Joey laughed.

  “I can hear you and you never know if there might not be a family down here. Respect is important and don’t call me Kat. My name is Kathryn.” She felt her face flush, and if she could shoot daggers from her eyes, she was sure they’d find their target in Joey’s chest.

  “Whatever. Where do you want these two? Who died and made you boss anyway?” Joey growled at her.

  “That would be me,” Dr. Graydor said as he walked out of his office. “I may not be dead, but if I’m not here, Kathryn is in charge when she’s on duty. Got it. If you don’t like the idea of the word respect, we could discuss another word…unemployment.”

  Joey’s face paled, and he stammered. “Sorry Doc, I was just trying to lighten the morning. I’ll check for others before I say anything from now on. Honest. I will.”

  “Don’t just stand there, Coyle. Help
Gordon move those bodies into the cooler.” He turned and walked back into his office.

  Kathryn followed. “Excuse me, Doc, but I should be helping them with the bodies.”

  He smiled and said, “Save your back for later. They know what they’re doing. I want to know how you’re doing. You went through quite a trauma. Are you sure work is where you want to be? I’ll sign off on a bit of sick leave if dealing with this place is too much right now.”

  Kathryn sat in the chair across from his desk, “I'm all right, Doc. My sister voiced the same concerns, but I like my job. Aside from Coyle, it’s quiet here. No one yells or complains except for the occasional distraught relative. The dead are at peace; it’s the sick and dying that get to me. Seeing Brad die in front of me was difficult. I never want to go through that again, but here it’s okay. I’m fine. If not, I’ll tell you.” She nodded and smiled.

  “All right, then. I believe you. I have work to do. Turn on the CD player, and we’ll get busy,” Doc said smiling back.

  ~ * ~

  Kathryn set her lunch tray on a cafeteria table near the window where she could watch the small hospital park visitors and ambulatory patients used on nice days. A turkey breast sandwich, bowl of fresh fruit, and ice tea were what she needed. She settled into a chair and saw Rand Gordon approach out of the corner of her eye.

  “Hi, anyone sitting here?” He looked down at her and smiled. “I’m sorry about this morning, but you know Coyle can be a jerk.”

  “Yeah, I know. Sit. It wasn’t your fault.” Kathryn returned his smile wondering if he had any useful information she could get from him.

  He placed his tray on the table and sat across from her. “I’m not sure how much longer he’ll be working here if he keeps getting in trouble.” He sipped a dark liquid through a straw in his cup.

  “I’m afraid to ask. Did he upset someone besides Doc?”

  “Big time. He wanted this weekend off, and he did his best to suck up to old lady Bronden in scheduling. She agreed to change the schedule until she caught him up on three where he was doing his best to flirt with an uncooperative nurse in a linen closet. He grabbed the nurse. She slapped him. Bronden witnessed the whole thing and told Coyle he could expect a double shift this weekend.” He raised his eyebrows and nodded. “You don’t want to be on her bad side.”