Off the Record: An Avery Rich Mystery (Avery Rich Mysteries Book 1)

by Sara Gauldin

  “Ms. Rich, are you feeling more comfortable?”

  “Yes, but I can’t have this.” I pointed to the narcotic drip. “I need my thoughts clear for now.”

  “What about your discomfort? The x-rays showed you have several cracked ribs, a concussion, and more contusions than you want to know about.”

  “All of that means I'm still alive, and I need to be able to think this situation out to stay that way.”

  She raised her eyebrows, but nodded anyway. “I think you'll change your mind, but if you want the drip removed, that's your right.” She carefully unhooked the bag of relief from my I.V.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “While you're still feeling less pain, I think it's a good time to move you to your own room and out of the ER. That way it'll be quieter, and maybe you can get some rest. I’ll have an orderly come down and move you.” Her smile made her look like a caricature.

  I squeezed my eyes together to try to view the nurse as she truly was. “I need to go!” I spoke in the voice of authority I used on investigations, and hoped she would buy it.

  “Doctor’s orders.” She grinned as she slipped out of the room.

  ***

  I don’t know if it was the bureaucratic system within the hospital meticulously processing me, or the fact I was waiting on news of Kain’s surgery and any hint about what was actually wrong with him, but the whole hospital experience was like being in slow motion. It was after twelve o’clock before they transferred me to my own room for observation overnight.

  “Can’t I just go home? I’ve felt fine so far,” I protested to the nurse. My injuries protested as the effects from the pain medication wore off.

  She glanced at my chart on her tablet. “We need to be sure there aren't any injuries we don’t know about yet. Besides, the chart says you almost fell when you tried to get up earlier. What makes you think you can just walk out of here if you can’t keep your balance?”

  “I guess you’re right.” I wanted to call somebody, but since my parents were gone, nobody came to mind. I thought of my partner from my old job. I couldn't drag her into this mess. How could I ask anybody to go down this road to nowhere with me? “Is Ryan Kain out of surgery?” I asked.

  A strange expression came over the nurse's face. “I’m really not supposed to discuss the outcome of other patients' surgeries,” she said.

  “Oh, okay, I didn’t mean to put you in a bad position. He’s kind of my partner.” The word partner really didn't seem to fit.

  The nurse turned and looked at me with a long meaningful glance. She sighed. "All right, I'll find out what I can about your friend.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  She walked out of the room, pushing her cart with her as she went.

  I lay back on the pillow and listened to the beeps and whirls of all the machines. The pulse oxygen machine hooked to my finger took its turn. Then the blood pressure cuff activated. Its unpredictable interval of squeezing never failed to startle me. The steady beep of my own heart rate filled the room, but it did nothing to reassure me my heart would not break if the news about Ryan Kain was not what I hoped to hear. What was the extent of his injuries? Could he survive whatever had hit him? I lay back and examined the ceiling while I tried to fight the tears that wanted to betray my trust.

  The door opened. I looked up to see my nurse had returned. She gave my hand an encouraging squeeze. “He's out of surgery. There was some shrapnel from the blast causing some internal bleeding, but they took care of it. They expect him to be just fine.”

  I breathed out in a huge rush. Before then, I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath. “Is he awake?”

  “He is still waking up.”

  “Can I see him?”

  “I think it’s better that you stay here and rest. We’re working on contacting his family so someone can come and look over him.”

  “Family? I don’t think he has any. Isn’t the department posting a guard?” I asked.

  “Yes, of course, but that’s not really company. People need loved ones to help them heal.”

  “I understand,” I said. A lump rose in my throat as I thought of my own lack of family ties and the connections with my coworkers I had cut to come to this messed up world that was trying to kill me.

  The nurse looked at me, as though she wanted to ask me something, but she shook her head slightly, and continued checking all the monitors and machines. “Everything looks good. Try to get some rest, and if things stay stable, I bet they'll send you home in no time. Can I call anyone for you?”

  “Um…no, thank you,” I said. I knew that sleep was the worst thing for my health. How could I let my guard down now?

  As soon as the door was closed, I switched on the television. I needed something to help me keep my eyes open. The nurse had set my purse on the bedside table and I fumbled through it until I found my cell phone. I turned it on and scrolled through the apps until I found my contacts. There were names there, former colleagues and estranged cousins. A couple of girls I would go out on the town with at my old job. One ex-boyfriend, Greg, and there was the Commander, the station, and Ryan Kain—none of whom I could call about any of this. I considered calling the station to check on the investigation, but as a witness, I wasn’t sure if they would tell me very much before they interviewed me. I was about to switch off the phone when I noticed a text message I hadn’t spotted before. “Call me at 804-298--7461“

  The number that had sent the message seemed vaguely familiar. It was time-stamped almost an hour earlier. I dug in my purse for a scrap of paper and a pen. I scribbled down both numbers, and then flipped to my recent calls. I scrolled back through the weeks of calls that had come and gone through my department-issued phone, but no luck. I had seen the phone number before, but I hadn’t called it from this phone.

  I sighed. It could be a mistake, but I had to know who was reaching out to me now. I pushed the call button and waited. Finally, the call went through. It rang twice.

  “Hello?” a female voice answered. She spoke quietly.

  “Hello, this is Avery Rich. I received your message.

  “Oh, thank God, I thought they got to you,” the woman said.

  “Lou Johnson?” I asked.

  “It’s me. I had to contact you. I didn't know who else to call.”

  “Why are you calling me? Where are you?” I could hear my heart rate monitor accelerate, giving away my calm bluff.

  "I'm at the hospital, on duty. I'm waiting for Mr. Kain to come out of recovery. I didn't know where else to go." Her voice was monotone.

  "What? Why are you here? Haven't you interfered enough?" I pulled the tiny pistol I kept in the lining of my purse out, and sat up on the bed. The world spun.

  "I feel really bad about that. I read Tom's reports, and I think you may be right. He was involved in the whole thing."

  "As much as I appreciate your vote of confidence, I'm not sure that you are the ideal guard for Ryan Kain."

  I scooted so that my feet touched the floor, and looked around for the bag that held my clothing. Running down the halls with a gown that opened at the back would not be the ideal way to avoid drawing more attention. My clothing was nowhere in sight.

  “Oh, look, something is happening. I bet his family is here.” Lou’s voice gave me chills.

  “What do you mean?” I asked as I unwound the tape that held my IV in place and pulled the needle from my skin. After I had freed myself from the equipment, I stood up and headed toward the door. My legs felt like I was walking on a trampoline, but they held me up. My back and ribs screamed in protest.

  “There's a lady here. She just rushed in and spoke to the nurses.”

  “A lady? Who is she? If you’re the guard you're supposed to approve his visitors.” I kept going to the end of the hallway where a map of the hospital was posted for evacuation purposes. I searched for the surgical suites. To my relief, they didn’t appear to be that far away.

  “She showed an ID to t
he nurse’s station. I think they called her,” Lou said.

  “You need to find out who she is!” I gripped the hallway railing with my right hand and held my purse with the pistol ready inside with my left. The hallways had looked simple on the map, but walking the halls was like trying to follow a poorly labeled maze. The dark spots returned to my vision, obscuring my view of the signs. The hallway rippled before me like hot pavement in the summer.

  “I’ll try to find out her name.” Lou’s voice was far away.

  “Stand down, I’ll handle it,” I said, only my words sounded strange and garbled.

  “What?” Lou Johnson asked.

  “Detective Rich! You should not be out of your bed!” I heard my nurse behind me.

  I turned to respond, but her face faded into the darkness consuming my vision. After that, the sensation of falling was the last thing I remember.

  Chapter 32

  I could hear the whirring and beeping of machines around me. I tried to make sense of it.

  “I think she’s coming around,” a female voice said.

  I opened my eyes and allowed the blurry light to accost me.

  “Thank goodness, Detective. I thought you were gone. I can’t have another death on my hands. I already feel horrible about what happened to the Commander and to poor Mr. Kain.”

  I turned my head toward the voice, but a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach already told me who was speaking. “Officer Johnson?” My mouth felt like I'd been eating a plate of gym socks. My heart rate on the monitors accelerated.

  “Calm down. I can get the nurse for you.”

  “What did you do? You killed Commander Calbert? Why aren’t you sitting in a cell?” I croaked the words out.

  “I didn’t bomb the Commander. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. I wanted to protect Tom!”

  Slowly, the memories of what had happened before I blacked out came back. “Where's Ryan Kain? What did you do to him?”

  “Oh, Detective, I’m so sorry.” Tears formed in Lou’s eyes. “It was right after the lady came to visit him. Something went wrong after his surgery. I guess they missed something…”

  Her meaning hit me all at once, and the wave of grief was immediately followed by a second, more intense, influx of anger. I reached through the plastic railing on the side of the bed and grabbed Lou Johnson by the arm. “Whatever you did to him, I will find out. You will pay for it. Do you have any idea what they do to police in jail?” For a moment I wondered if I could kill her with my bare hands.

  “I do. That's why I wanted to help Tom!” She sobbed. “I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I tried to stop him, I really did, but he threatened to kill Tom and make it look like a suicide. When I got to the courthouse it was too late.”

  I looked into Lou’s eyes for a long moment, but there was nothing there but fear and sorrow. “He who?” I spoke through clenched teeth, as the pain of my injuries reassured me they had not disappeared. I patted the bed beside me for my purse. I needed my gun close if she was here to finish me off as well.

  “I’m supposed to let him know if you wake up. He's busy cleaning up his trail at the precinct.”

  “Who? Give me a name!”

  Lou looked down at her hands. “His family's tied up in this thing pretty deep. You wouldn't think Luke Henry was so cold blooded. I never thought he meant it when he said he was getting rid of witnesses. He seems like such a nice kid.”

  I swallowed hard and shook my head. A tear escaped from my eye. I turned my cheek to the pillow, wiping it away. I would not let her see my grief. “You expect me to believe that a rookie officer, one who has been nothing but helpful in this investigation, is really the person tasked with getting rid of witnesses?”

  “Exactly. You never suspected him, did you? He was the perfect decoy--sweet, almost puppy like. Not the bomb-planting, evidence destroying sort at all, but he did his job well. And if I don’t meet his demands, my Tom will be next on his list.”

  A new surge of adrenaline caused me to clench my grip on Lou’s arm even tighter, yanking her body against my bed frame at an awkward angle. The pain in my body objected, but it could not break through the rage I felt. I pulled the pistol from its hiding place in my bag and pressed it into Lou’s ribs. “So, you admit that you were here to kill us the whole time. Right now, you need to worry more about your own skin than Tom's”

  She gasped. “Luke Henry wanted me to take care of you both, but I can’t do it. I joined the force to help people, not kill them.” She whimpered.

  “Yet Ryan Kain is dead, and on your watch.” I spoke between clenched teeth.

  “I didn’t kill him. I was trying to keep him safe. I needed both of you on my side. I don’t know how to get out of this on my own.”

  “You can’t, neither of us can.” I pushed the barrel of the gun against her ribs as she squirmed, and wished I could pull the trigger with no guilt. “Ryan Kain was the one person who could get me out of this mess, and you took that from me.”

  “I’ll do anything you want. I swear, I didn’t kill him! Please, just don’t do it!” Her voice raised more than an octave.

  I paused for a long moment. The decision to let Lou Johnson live was not a difficult one, but I could not seem to put down the gun. I was always a step behind; I had to make a change. I let go of Lou, keeping my gun trained on her. “Get that wheelchair parked at the doorway, and bring it over here, now.” I tried not to break eye contact. I couldn’t afford to let my guard down, but clearly I was not getting out of this hospital on my own power.

  ***

  Lou rolled my wheelchair toward the front entrance. We called ahead for the hospital to bring her car around. I had serious doubts about leaving with her--there could be no trust between us--but I couldn't think of another option. The longer I was in that hospital bed, the more likely it was I would mysteriously succumb to my injuries, while the evidence that knitted all of this together was being erased. I slumped into the passenger’s seat with my purse, my hand inside, holding my pistol pointed and ready. I glared at Lou as she parked the chair and walked around to the driver’s seat. The hospital staff seemed satisfied that the disobedient patient was safely loaded in the car with a uniformed officer, and out of their hair. They smiled and waved.

  “Get well soon, and don’t overdo it!” I recognized the nurse from the night before, still in the same uniform. The dark circles under her eyes were more noticeable in the morning sunlight. She closed the car door.

  I looked over at Lou. She looked physically ill. “You are certain that Ryan Kain is dead?” I wanted to go back for him. It couldn’t be real.

  “I think so. It was right after I talked to you. The lady that showed up said the hospital had called her.”

  I felt a strange twinge of jealousy. Who was this mystery woman the hospital had found to contact as Kain’s next-of-kin? Did he have a wife he'd never mentioned? “Just drive. Go to the station,” I grumbled.

  “Okay." Lou held the wheel with white knuckles.

  “What happened next?”

  “Oh, she went into the room with Mr. Kain. She was only in there a few seconds. I was heading over to talk to her, to ask her for her ID, just like you said, but it was already too late. She came running back out of the room, screaming for a nurse. I could hear the monitor toning. The hospital staff came running. They tried to revive him, but it was too late.”

  “So you saw him?” I asked. It felt morbid, but somehow, I had to make sure it was real.

  She shook her head. “No, there was too much commotion."

  I glanced back at the hospital. I needed to see Kain for myself, but I had to stop this mess before I ended up dead. “And the lady?” I asked.

  Lou glanced at my hand in the purse, then put her eyes back on morning traffic. “I’m not sure, what with all the staff running here and there, and the alarms. I don’t remember seeing her after that.”

  “So you never got her name,” I said.

  “No, but I’m sure the hospit
al has it. They contacted her.”

  “That’s great, except that’s now part of his confidential medical files, and we would need a warrant to find out.” My stomach churned. How could any of this make sense? The nurse had said that Kain’s surgery went well, he was doing better, and his bleeding stopped. And now I was supposed to just accept his death. He was gone, and there was nothing I could do to bring him back. I fought down the nausea and panic that threatened to swallow me and focused on the gun I kept pointed at Lou Johnson.

  “Yeah, I guess so.” Lou flipped the signal and took the exit toward the station.

  I cleared my throat, trying to get rid of the knot. “When we get to the station, you stay where I can see you. I have your statement locked away, somewhere safe. It goes straight to internal affairs, and I’ll arrest you myself the first time you try anything. Do you understand?”

  Lou nodded. Her eyes focused on the pistol. She parked the car near the entrance. We walked in together. I leaned on her, the pistol in my purse still in hand.

  As soon as we made it through the door, I spotted Derick Adams having a heated conversation with Luke Henry, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. Adams glanced up and saw me coming in with Lou, and his eyes bulged, and his mouth gaped. Less than a second passed before he charged in my direction, leaving Officer Henry mid-debate. I wondered what was going through their minds as I limped toward the pair, with Officer Johnson's support. Adam’s veins bulged, looking dangerously distorted against his old scar. Henry looked more confused than angry. I glanced at Lou. All of the color had blanched out of her face as she saw the perfect storm coming in her direction.

  “Both of you, in the interview rooms, now. It's time that we get to the bottom of all of this,” I ordered.

  Two uniformed officers standing nearby looked up from their desks, disturbed by the commotion. “Detective? I thought you were still in the hospital,” the older of the two men stammered.

  “I was, and I should be, but since I don’t want to end up in the morgue like the Commander, and like Ryan Kain,” I paused as I choked on my words, “I need to find out which one of our fellow officers here is responsible for their murders.”