Where There's a Will ....There's Murder

by Julie Ramson

  I smiled. “Thanks, John, but you never retained me for anything except the estate. You've paid that. You don’t owe me anything else.”

  “I disagree. I owe you a lot. And I’d like to do this.” He pulled a sealed envelope out of his pocket and placed it on the desk. “Please,” he said. His eyes were smiling and slightly moist.

  “Thank you.” I smiled and nodded. As I said, a very nice man.

  He then lifted the bag at his side and took a small black box out and put it in front of me. I looked at him curiously and opened it. Inside was the brooch we had found on one of the velvet opera capes in Lily’s attic. It was the spray of crystal stones set in silver.

  He grinned. “Those are diamonds. Set in platinum. Digs told me you like pins. Or are they called brooches?” I gasped as John continued. “I want you to have this. Please. You gave me a mother. This was Lily’s and I think she would want you to have this. Especially if she had been lucky enough to know you.”

  Speechless, I stared at the pin. It was breathtaking. “Thank you, John. I will treasure this always.” I had tears in my eyes as I pinned it on my sweatshirt.

  “You’re welcome.” His smile was warm. He reached into the bag again and pulled out one more thing. A large porcelain dog dish. The words across the front read, “Maggie’s Hero.”

  “Killer!” he said, “You get something, too!” Killer perked up and put his head on John’s knee.

  I laughed. “Killer will be delighted,” I said. “He loves anything to do with food.” We both paused, thinking of what Killer had done. He had saved my life. Then Killer, ever the dog, turned over and lay belly up. We both shook our heads as John obligingly scratched Killer’s belly.

  “A hero with no pride,” I rolled my eyes and sighed.

  John rose to leave. I walked around the desk and we hugged again.

  “Thank you, Maggie, for all you did. Let’s keep in touch.” I nodded. I wanted to keep in touch with him, too.

  John left and I stared at the brooch. My eyes blurred as I touched it. I had a feeling I would be wearing it a lot. Then I opened the envelope and gasped at the amount. It would keep me in my office and my apartment for quite some time to come.

  I packed up to go home. I thought of another sleety, snowy day. The day Emily had come in, looking like a lost waif. Evil comes with all kinds of faces, I thought.

  Driving home, I looked at the dog dish on the seat next to me. Who would have thought that my cowardly, goofy Killer would be the hero of the day?

  I got home and let Killer out of the car. He jumped around, running in circles and chasing snowflakes. I waited while he did his duty thing then entered the building. We rode up the elevator and I unlocked my apartment door. I threw my keys on the table, walked in and....Yikes! I let out a small scream.

  A man sat in my living room. I relaxed. A familiar man. He rose. “Ah, Toots, still keeping those easy hours,” he said. He pulled me into his arms, removing my coat and tossing it down.

  “And you blew in from.....?” I asked, laughing.

  “Don’t ask,” he said. “I think I have a couple of days before my next job calls. I couldn’t think of anywhere else I wanted to be. So here I am.” He grinned.

  “How did you get in?” I really had to do something about the locks on my apartment.

  “Locks have never been much of a problem for me, Toots.” He kissed me. I kissed him back.

  “A couple of days, huh?” I gave him a wicked look.

  “Yep,” he said sternly. “And I think school’s in, don’t you, Maggie?” He kissed me again, harder and deeper. “I need those lessons. I have a girl I want to impress.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

  “Hmmmm. Don’t know that I want to be part of that,” I said in my best school nun’s voice.

  “I do.” He started with the slow kisses again and I melted. We were both really getting into the swing of things. We moved to the bedroom. This was going to be good.

  Then his cell phone rang.

  And now………Some sneak peeks at more Maggie Flaherty mysteries and one novel …….

  Sneak Peeks at Maggie’s second and third Murder Mysteries…….

  10 cc’s CAN BE….MURDER

  The second in this series finds Maggie, a funny, sarcastic, now solo attorney ready for more cases – just not a case like her last one please! This time, she’s waking from emergency surgery when her hospital roommate asks for help – then disappears. And she’s not the only one at Chicago Meadows Hospital who’s missing. Several people are – a patient, a nurse, a hospital administrator, a social worker. Then the bodies start showing up. Mangled bodies. Murdered bodies. Digs tells her there are missing hospital people – and bodies – not only in Chicago but also a couple of other cities. Bodies missing organs like kidneys and hearts. Organs that show up in transplant patients. Who is stealing them? How? Someone at the hospital is involved and as Maggie, Digs, Sean – even Brice and the Perfect Olivia all try to figure it out and as Maggie gets close, someone wants to stop her. Forever.

  10 cc’s CAN BE….MURDER

  CHAPTER ONE

  MONDAY, MAY 12

  “You couldn’t just let it go. I wanted you to. If you had just Let. It. Go. But no. There’s so much money involved.” Sigh. “It’s your own fault I have to kill you.”

  I stared at the figure in front of me, waving the syringe of fluid. I couldn’t see any way out of the room. Or any way to save my life.

  FOUR WEEKS, TWO DAYS EARLIER

  SATURDAY, APRIL 12

  Forest Preserve, Chicago's West Side

  The two uniformed officers stared at the body on the ground in front of them. A man, a dead man, probably in his 40's, was lying on his side, chest and abdomen gaping open, lungs and intestines spilling out. The organs were chewed and ragged, covered with mud, flies and maggots.

  “God Almighty,” the first cop said. “I don't think he's been dead long.” He walked away and started dialing the police station to report the body.

  The second officer, the younger of the two, swallowed hard. “No,” he said, “but long enough for the animals to find him.” He started marking off the area with yellow crime tape, fighting nausea. He circled around behind the man's body and stopped suddenly, gasping. “Frank! Get over here!”

  The older officer moved quickly to join him. “God in heaven,” he whispered. “Good God in heaven.”

  Chicago Meadows Hospital, Same Night

  “Help me. Please. Help.” The voice was weak, shaky.

  Startled out of sleep, I tried to turn over then stopped. Everything hurt and I had to move slowly, my mind fuzzy. Where was I? When I looked over, I could see a curtain pulled around another bed in the room, but there was a gap. A woman's face. An older woman with long gray hair, loose on her pillow. She was lying on her back or so it appeared.

  Oh yes. I was in the Chicago Meadows Hospital. I felt like I was trying to move through cobwebs.

  “Please.” The woman said again, almost whispering. A light was on over her bed and there were tubes crisscrossing across her face.

  “Ma'am? I'll call the nurse.” I was getting a little scared. My side pulled when I moved and I didn't know what she needed. I pressed the red call button next to me.

  A minute or so later, a slim nurse tiptoed in. She was young, with a long blond ponytail. Her name badge said, “Wendy.”

  “Do you need something?” she whispered to me.

  I shook my head slightly. “No, the other woman does. She needs help with something.”

  Wendy turned to look at the other bed, then disappeared around the curtain. I could hear her whispering to the other woman and saw her checking the tubes through the gap in the curtain. My mind was still half asleep and my eyelids drooping as I saw Wendy bend over and stroke the woman's forehead gently. I heard her tiptoe over to me and opened my eyes again.

  “She's resting now,” Wendy said to me. “Thank you for calling me.” She paused. “Are you having any pain?”

 
; I shook my head. “Just tired,” I mumbled.

  Wendy nodded and pulled my sheets up a bit more around me. “Call me again if you have any pain.” Dimming the lights, she quietly left the room.

  I knew I was in the hospital but I couldn't remember exactly why. I tried to sleep but it was restless and fitful. The pain in my side woke me every time I shifted and my dreams were really weird. I was on a boat, I was in a desert, I was flying. I was parched for water. I was floating. I heard voices.

  “Not her - The other one. I heard through cotton. “Be quiet.”

  “She’s asleep,” another voice said irritably. “Get a grip. Why is there another one?”

  I saw the dragons then. Or leprechauns. They were green. They turned on a light. It hurt my head. I dreamed they were dancing, moving in and out. They carried silver clouds. Then the lights were gone and when they left I thought they carried a rainbow. Maybe even a pot of gold. The room was quiet. I went back to sleep.

  CHAPTER TWO

  SUNDAY, APRIL 13

  I woke slowly, confused. Where was I? Why did my stomach hurt? I struggled to remember what had happened. I kept my eyes closed and thought back. I had been sick for a few days with a pain in my side. Then last night, I think I had surgery. Pieces started to come back to me as I remembered....

  Last night I had wakened in a big room. There were dim voices echoing as if through water.

  “She’s coming around. Maggie, can you hear me?” I knew the voice but couldn’t place it.

  “Maggie? Maggie?” I felt a light tap on my arm. I opened my eyes. Oh, yeah. Dr. MacDonald. His light brown eyes came into focus. Medium build with thinning brown hair.

  “Yes, I hear you.” I thought I had said that but it might have been only a grunt.

  Dr. MacDonald smiled down at me. “Good, you’re awake. That probably won’t last long but I’ll be back later to see how you are and we can talk more then.” He paused. “Your surgery went well. Your appendix was just rupturing as we removed it. It may have started leaking some infection into your abdomen so we are going to watch you for a couple of days.” He wasn’t really in total focus. Something was weird about him. He was in green. He was usually beige. Khaki. Green. Surgery? Scrubs?

  “Ummm. Yeah. Okay.” I tried to think. Oh, yes. Appendix. Surgery. I took a deep breath and gasped as the pain sliced my abdomen.

  “Maggie, it’s okay,” my mother, Helen, said soothingly, leaning over me. She smoothed her hand over my forehead. Mary Grace, my sister, nodded. She had her hand on my arm. Sean, my brother, stood at the end of the bed, frowning.

  My name is Mary Margaret Flaherty - Maggie to most people. I am an attorney. Solo practice, which is a nicer way of saying not employed. I am also way tall - 5'10ཁ and have shoulder length dark red hair, greenish blue eyes and far too many elbows and knees to ever be graceful. Some say I tend toward the dramatic – even the melodramatic but that is not true. Well, at least not true most of the time, although I can certainly put on the drama when I need to. Right now, I was much too tired to even think about it.

  Surgery. Dr. MacDonald said surgery. Oh, yeah. I tried to sit up. Whoa. Bad idea. In fact, this whole surgery thing had been a bad idea. Now, not only my side hurt, but my head did too. And my throat. They’d put a tube the size of a baseball bat down it. As soon as I got my strength back somebody was going to pay for this.

  I heard Dr. MacDonald tell someone else I would be fine and they would be taking me to my room. A few minutes later, a couple of strapping guys came in and pushed my cart onto an elevator and then into a two bed hospital room. I had a great view of the ceiling but not much else. It hurt like hell when they moved me to the bed. I glowered even as my family was thanking the men and Dr. MacDonald for all they had done for me. I didn’t want to thank them. I wanted to deck them.

  I also remembered a tall, imposing man with dark salt and pepper hair walking in. He was older, maybe in his 50's and had scrubs on. There was blood on them. Mine? He was frowning and strode over to the bed. Not one of my family spoke which was proof of just how intimidating he was. My brother, Sean, is a homicide cop for the Chicago Police Department, my sister is a part time advocate for women and my mother is a cream puff wrapped around steel. Intimidating them is almost impossible. But when he came in, I remembered there was silence.

  The man had ignored them as he marched to my bed with a chart in his hand. I vaguely recognized him. He had been in the ER. I had been really hurting by the time he came. He didn’t talk to me except to ask if it hurt when he started poking his cold hand hard into my side. Moron! Of course it hurt! He then started barking out orders to the others in the room. I really don’t remember anything else - except that I hadn’t liked him. He was abrupt and never really looked at me. Only my belly and some papers in his hands.

  “I’m Dr. Thornton Waters. I performed your surgery.” He had his head down and began writing. He still didn’t look at me. “This would have been easier if you had come to us sooner.”

  What? Was he saying it was my fault my appendix went nuts? I’m to blame because I didn’t recognize my stupid appendix needed surgery sooner? That set my blood up - even in my anesthetic stupor. Jerk! I don't usually make snap judgments – well, okay, I do, but this time I was right. This guy's bedside manner stunk and that was an understatement.

  “Now we’ll have to watch for infection in case there was leakage of bacteria into your abdomen.” He went on writing.

  Clearly I was inconveniencing him.

  “We did it by laparoscopy and I expect you to be fine but it will take a few days. We’ll keep an eye on your abdomen and the incisions.” He continued writing.

  Oh, good. He was going to watch my belly. Apparently the rest of me could shrivel up, turn green or go to hell for all he cared. What a guy. I rolled my eyes and glowered at him. He didn’t even notice and that ticked me off even more. I excel at eye rolls and glares. I have honed them to a fine art. Been thrown out of Mass by the nuns for them! And he didn’t even notice?

  “Doctor, how long do you think she will have to stay?” My mother spoke.

  “Day or two. I just said that.” He sounded impatient and didn’t look at her when he spoke either. My mother does not take this kind of thing well, especially when one of her chicks is involved.

  “I heard you.” She can do ice, too. “What exactly do you mean by ‘day or two” and ‘watch her’ and what specifically is your plan of care?” She had pulled herself up to her full 5'2"ཁ height and moved directly into his personal space. As I said, she’s steel.

  He finally looked up. His cool gray eyes assessed her. She is a small woman, with dark hair lightly threaded with gray. Her eyes are bright sky blue and fringed with black lashes. She has a definite presence, despite her size. He looked at her in silence for a minute then said, “We’re watching for signs of infection, such as fever or inflammation around the three small incisions. We call this a band aid surgery because the incisions are so small. As I said, she may have had some leakage of pus, however, so we will need to keep her a day or so on antibiotics as a precaution.”

  As soon as he looked at her, my mother smiled charmingly and placed her hand on his arm. “Thank you, Doctor. I am sure you understand why we are concerned. You must deal with worried families all the time.” Her blue eyes were totally focused on him.

  Mary Grace rolled her eyes at me behind my mother’s back and grinned. We had seen Mom go into full Irish Charm Mode before to get what she wanted. Even the ice machine Dr. Waters thawed under my mother’s warmth. I’d seen that before, too. I shook my head.

  Dr. Waters smiled at my mother for the first time. “Mrs. Flaherty, she really will be fine in a few days. There's no large incision which makes recovery much faster and easier. We just want to make sure she doesn't develop an infection but there's nothing to worry about. Really.” He patted her hand. “I don't expect any problems but we had to do a lot more exploring with the instruments than usual so she's going to have a bit more pa
in than usual. But, despite that, she’ll be fine and you can probably take her home tomorrow or the day after.”

  “Wonderful! Thank you so much, Dr. Waters.” She beamed at him again, dimples flashing and eyes glowing.

  Suddenly in a better mood, he turned to me. This was the first time he had even looked at me. “I’ll be back to check your incisions later and see how you are.” Great. I would look forward to that. Not.

  He smiled at my mother again and left. My family started to settle in. A nurse came in and checked my blood pressure and pulse. She turned to my family. “She’s doing fine and since it’s after visiting hours, I suggest that you all go home and get some rest. Really, I’ll watch her tonight.”

  I finally could speak up. “Go on. I’m fine. It’s almost midnight and I just want to sleep.” I sounded cranky because I was. And my throat hurt when I talked and I was so tired. I'm grateful for my family but more gracious about it when I'm not in pain.

  After they left, I closed my eyes. That's when the other woman called me –

  The other woman! Now I remembered ! How was she?

  I looked over and was startled to see the bed empty and made up. No one was there. Hadn't there been a woman? Older, with gray hair? In pain? Hadn't I called a nurse? What was her name? Did I dream that?

  At that point a dark haired nurse came in, smiling brightly. Her name badge said, “Susie.”

  “Hi, Ms. Flaherty, how are you doing?” She came over and checked my IV tubing. “I'm going to take your IV and other tubes out and then get your vital signs.” She put some band aids on the night stand and, pulling my curtain closed, continued, “Then we can get you up and standing.”