Better the Devil You Don't Know

by Mairsile Leabhair

  “How come?” I asked, pulling out a gorgeous royal blue dress with plunging neckline and pleats in just the right places to accentuate my breasts while slimming my waist. I put it back. Nothing that looks that good on a hanger was going to look good on me.

  “Gary has never done security before, and Eugene has a permanent frown on his face. I don’t think the chief will be too happy with that.”

  “No, I don’t think she will either. What about Noel? I don’t think he was too happy that Lula was hired and he wasn’t.”

  “Do you know why that was?” Dorey asked, walking over to another rack of dresses.

  “No, and to tell you the truth, I was really surprised by how fast Lula was hired. Thrilled, but surprised.”

  “Lula didn’t hesitate to help when Byron went ballistic. She literally proved herself under fire. The chief noticed and hired her on the spot.”

  “We have an incredibly smart chief,” I said laughing.

  “Yes, we do. It’s only been a day and a half and she has completely turned things around. Josh and I were talking about how we’re starting to feel like real professionals again.”

  “I agree, things are starting to look up, but… I don’t know, there’s something…”

  “What? Something, what, Michele?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, I can’t put my finger on it. I feel like something ominous is coming.”

  “You’re just still upset about the poor woman who was murdered practically on our doorstep.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” I said.

  “You know what will get rid of that ominous feeling?” she asked, grinning.

  “No, what?”

  “Sex.”

  “Sure, for a minute or two, maybe.”

  She stopped and looked at me, raising an eyebrow in disapproval. “You need to find the right partner. Sex can last for hours with the right person. Under his… or her controlling hands, your body will scream from the sweetest agony you could ever imagine. And just when you think you can’t scream anymore, you’re suddenly digging your fingernails into his… I mean, her back and screaming again. Michele, I scream… a lot.”

  Flushing from a sudden wave of heat radiating from deep inside me, I fanned my face with my hand. “Keep that up, Dorey, and I’ll jump you where you stand.”

  She only laughed, oblivious to what she was doing to my body. No one knows that I am smack dab in the middle of menopause and things like that seem to send my hormones into overdrive.

  “Found it!” Dorey said, pulling the same royal blue dress out that I had rejected. “You have to try this on. It’s perfect for you.”

  Hoping to change the subject, I gave up and tried the dress on. She was right. It looked fantastic on me. Made me feel sexy and twenty years younger. I bought the dress, found the perfect shoes to go with the perfect dress and we still had time enough to have lunch at the Paper Lotus, a Chinese restaurant two doors down. An open-air restaurant where you can order and pick up your food, then sit in the food court.

  Dorey and I had eaten there many times before and always ordered our favorites, then shared them with each other. Neither of us were very good at using the chopsticks, but on occasion one of us would try and usually managed to get a bit in our mouths or on our clothes. Today I decided not to press my luck and went straight for the fork.

  “Okay, that’s just creepy,” Dorey said as she drizzled Worcestershire sauce in her egg drop soup.

  Dipping my egg roll into the pink sweet sauce, I asked, “What is?”

  “Don’t look now, but Byron is sitting over there on a bench by the escalator.”

  “What?” I craned my neck to see where he was.

  “I said, don’t look,” Dorey snapped. “We don’t want him coming over here and making a scene.”

  She was right and I quickly turned around, but I think it was too late. I saw him stand up just before I turned back. “Is he coming this way?” I asked in a whisper as I took a bite of my egg roll.

  Her fork in her hand, which was blocking her face, she rolled her eyes to the right and then darted them back again. “Yes, he is.”

  “Oh, shit. What do we do?” I asked, swallowing my half-chewed bite of fried dough filled with shrimp, pork, cabbage, bean sprouts and whatever else they stuff into those things. But not everything went down smoothly and something got stuck in my throat and I began to choke. I grabbed my glass of diet soda and tried to wash it down, but something was lodged sideways in there and it would not budge. I put my hands to my throat, gasping for air. I couldn’t breathe and I began to panic, which only made it worse.

  Dorey jumped up and yanked me out of the chair. I vaguely remember hearing someone say I was choking and other’s gasping as if that would help me breathe. My head begin to spin as I felt Dorey wrap her arms around me from behind. Instead of seeing my life flash before my eyes, I saw Byron standing in front of me. Is he death waiting to take me to hell? Dorey’s fists thrust into my abdomen and something flew out of my mouth and hit Byron on the forehead. It was stuck there, like a third eye.

  “What the hell?” he growled and swiped the shrimp off of his forehead. He used his sleeve to wipe the adhesive spittle from his brow. “So, that’s how it is. Well, fuck you.”

  “For God’s sake, Byron, she was choking,” Dorey said, turning me around to face her. “Are you all right, Michele?”

  Hoarsely, I grunted, “Yes. I think so.”

  The waiter rushed over with a glass of water and handed it to Dorey.

  “Thanks,” she said, taking the glass from his hand. “Here, sit down and sip some water,” she instructed.

  I did as I was told, ignoring the angry man who I had witnessed being fired a few hours earlier. Not only was the whole choking thing awkward, but having him stand there, staring at me, was very intimidating and I was somewhat fearful. No. I was a whole lot fearful.

  “Was there something you wanted, Byron?” Dorey asked.

  “Yeah. I want my fucking job back,” he growled.

  “You’ll need to speak to the chief about that,” Dorey replied coolly. “That’s above my paygrade.”

  Tom Dooley, a security guard at the mall, rushed up to our table. “Dorey, everything all right here?”

  “Yes, Tom. She was choking, but she’s fine now,” Dorey replied.

  I raised my hand and gave him a weak wave before taking another sip of water. On occasion, especially around Christmas, some of the hospital security would moonlight as security guards at the mall and Tom had been their trainer. Dorey tried to convince him to come work at the hospital, but he said there were too many regulations he’d have to follow. Up until yesterday, most of those regulations weren’t enforced.

  Tom glanced at Byron and then looked again at him. Byron’s Taser was tucked into his belt. “Hey, buddy. You can’t have that Taser in here, all right?”

  “They sell them here so what’s the problem?” Byron asked, looking down at the Taser on Tom’s security belt.

  “For the safety of our customers, the store owner makes the buyer promise that they will not take them out of the box until they have left the mall. Yours is not in a box and that’s the problem.”

  Byron’s face was already flushed with anger, but it seemed to get even redder. Then suddenly, his face transformed into the cocky resolve I had learned to hate. “Of course, sir. I was on my way to the employment office and forget to leave it in the car. Are there any openings for a security guard?”

  “Right now, all we have is seasonal work. Are you interested?” Tom asked.

  “You betcha,” Byron replied.

  “The employment office is at the end of the mall behind the public restrooms. But leave that Taser in your car before you go there.”

  “Roger that,” Byron said, winking at Dorey before turning and walking away.

  Tom turned back to us. “Do you know him?”

  Dorey nodded. “Yes, he, uh… used to work at the hospital.”

  “Used to? Anything you
care to share?” Tom asked.

  “He’ll do fine as a temporary, but you should vet him before hiring him full time.”

  “And don’t give him a Taser to carry, either,” I added.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Casey Dennis

  The briefing with the CEO went better than I expected and faster than I thought it would. As I thought, he was not pleased to learn that Celine’s patients were possible targets and even went so far as to suggest that she take a vacation away from the hospital to concentrate on her clients. Typical big business bastard was only looking out for his own interests. I talked him out of that suggestion for the time being, assuring him that the hospital would look bad if they abandoned her before the truth was known. He reluctantly agreed, only because the hospital was already suffering from a bad reputation. No need to add fuel to the fire.

  With that meeting over, and my next one canceled, I swung by the cafeteria and picked up two sack lunches to go. Then I headed back to the pediatric ICU. Scottie wasn’t in the room with her son and I had a momentary feeling of panic. There was an untouched tray of food sitting on the overbed table next to the Vaseline that she’d been rubbing on Cody’s face to keep the oxygen mask from causing a rash. Her purse was on the bedside cabinet beside her cellphone, and I had to fight the urge to rifle through it. Luckily, Celine’s sister, the nurse I had talked with yesterday, walked in.

  “It’s Chief Dennis, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “Yes, and you’re Celine’s sister, right?”

  “Sure am. My name is Evelina Bertagnolli, but everyone just calls me Eve.”

  It was then that I noticed the wedding ring on her finger. Good, it was safe to turn on the charm. “Evelina is a beautiful name. It’s nice to meet you, Evelina.”

  “Likewise, Chief.”

  “Please, call me Casey. Do you know where Scottie is?”

  “She just went upstairs to take a shower. She won’t be too long.”

  “Has she heard from her in-laws yet?” I asked, steering the conversation to what I was really after. “I was hoping to speak with them, but I think I wrote their phone number down wrong.”

  “I didn’t know she had any relatives at all. She never talks about anyone other than her son.”

  “Oh, okay. It’s probably against the HIPAA thing anyway,” I said. Although I had yet to go through the hospital orientation for new hires, I knew all about HIPAA from different investigations I’d conducted as a detective. “Do you mind if I sit here and wait for her?”

  “No, not at all, Chief. I’m sure she’d be happy for the company after the bad news she’s going to get. Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “What bad news? Is he worse?”

  “I’m sorry. Like you said, it’s a HIPAA thing. The doctor will be in this afternoon to speak with her.”

  “Thanks,” I said, walking over to the chair by the bedside cabinet. Cody was still on the oxygen mask, and I could hear him whizzing. I was pretty sure that wasn’t a good thing. I put my hand on his arm, relieved that it wasn’t burning up with fever. He was cool to the touch, so I pulled the sheet up closer around him. Scottie’s cellphone chirped and the caller ID showed a photo of an older man and woman with the phone number across the bottom. Screw it. I picked it up and accepted the call.

  “Uh… hello,” I said.

  “Hello, may I speak with Scottie, please.”

  “She’s taking a shower at the moment, can I help you?” I shot an eye toward the door to make sure no one was watching me.

  “Who is this?”

  “I’m sorry. My name is Casey Dennis. Is this Scottie’s mother-in-law?” My guilt was climbing but I couldn’t stop myself. I had an idea that I couldn’t let go of.

  “Yes, I’m Sarah Douglas. Do I know you?”

  “No, ma’am. I’m an acquaintance of Scottie’s, but I have good news for you.”

  “Cody is better? Please, God, let it be that Cody is better.”

  “You know about—” I cut myself off, fearing that I could be betraying Scottie’s confidence.

  “Yes, I know he’s been very ill and we’ve been praying for him non-stop. We wanted to fly up there, but Scottie said it wasn’t necessary. Deep down, I knew that it was, but I took her word for it.”

  “Well, that’s the good news I wanted to tell you. I can have two round-trip plane tickets waiting for you at the airport if you’ll just tell me which airport to send them to.”

  “Really? Wait. Why are you doing this? This is a scam, isn’t it?”

  “No, ma’am. No scam. It’s the real deal,” I said. “You can fly out this afternoon. I know that Scottie really needs to see you.”

  A quiet pause on the phone, then she said, “All right. We live in Little Rock and you can send them to the Clinton National Airport, but my husband won’t be able to come with me.”

  “Good deal. Now, I do have one favor to ask.”

  “I knew it. You want something.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I want you to keep this between us. Don’t tell Scottie that I was involved. It’s important for her to know that it was your idea, all right?”

  “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but I am very grateful. I won’t say a word about you. I don’t even know your name?”

  “Oh. It’s Casey Dennis, and thank you, ma’am,” I replied. Then I saw Scottie come through the unit doors. “Oh, gotta go, bye!” I clicked off the phone and placed it back on the cabinet just as Scottie walked into the room.

  “Hi,” she said, looking at me curiously. Then she leaned over and kissed Cody on the forehead and combed his hair back. She looked at the monitor where his temp, pulse and heartbeat were digitally recorded. Finally, she checked his arm where the IV needles were taped down. Her practiced moves told me she had been here too long, caring for her sick child.

  “I brought you some food, I thought we could have lunch together, but I got a call that I have to run and take care of.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” she replied, eyeing the brown sacks.

  “You can have my chocolate chip cookie if you want, as an apology.”

  “No need to apologize. It was sweet of you to think of it. But I will keep your cookie, for when Cody wakes up.”

  I smiled at her, hoping she couldn’t see the concern in my eyes. “Good idea. I’ll bring him a whole box full as soon as he’s better.”

  She walked over and pulled the cellophane wrapped cookie out and put it on the table. Then she folded the bag up again.

  I walked up to her and stood very close. Opening the bag again, I pulled out the sandwich and unwrapped it. “Eat this, woman. You can’t help your son if you make yourself sick, too.”

  She smirked at me, but accepted the sandwich. I waited, my hands on my hips, until she took a bite. “Good girl. I’ll be back as soon as I can and I expect that sandwich to be gone.” I turned to leave and then turned back. “And by gone, I mean digesting in your stomach, understand?”

  She straightened and saluted. “Aye-aye, Chief.”

  Walking back to my office, I paged Michele on the two-way. “Dennis to Michaels, over.”

  “Michaels, go ahead, Chief.”

  “Are you done with lunch yet? I need some help.”

  “On my way, Chief.”

  “Roger that. Dennis out.” I put my radio back on my belt, thinking that I probably wasn’t being fair to Michele, but I was in a hurry. I’d just have to make it up to her later.

  I found Robby and the two recruits in the conference room eating lunch. I pulled up a chair and sat down with them. “So, how’s your first day so far?”

  “About what I expected,” Eugene said.

  “How so?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Except for the sick people, the job’s the same as walking the mall or guarding a bank.”

  “Yeah, I guess it would be,” I replied. “So, you’ve been in the security game long?”

  “Yeah, about twenty years now. The pay is awful, but th
ere’s always steady work.”

  “How about you, Mr. Bennett?” I asked, my second impression of Eugene leaving little doubt that I would not hire him. I don’t want someone who’s only after a paycheck, especially an awful one.

  “I’ll be honest, I was laid off at my last job and this temp job is a Godsend.”

  “So this is the first time you’ve done security?”

  “Yes and no. I was in the Marines for a stretch, so I know about rules and regulations and how to follow the chain of command. But the last ten years I was an accountant at one of those mega law firms. Times got tough and they laid off half their employees.”

  “That’s a shame. Maybe you’ll find a new career in security services.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. This morning, when Dorey took us into the pediatric ICU and I saw that tiny little boy fighting for his life, his mother so exhausted that her head rested on the bedrail, I felt an urge to run home and hug my own children.”

  Was he talking about Cody and Scottie? “You have kids?” I asked.

  “Yes, a girl and a boy. My son is six and just started first grade. He’s going to be in the pee-wee league next spring. My daughter is three, beautiful and quite a handful.”

  I could hear the love in his words and thought what a good dad he must be. You can’t fake that kind of pride. I decided to give him more time before I cut him. “I hear that you don’t want to work nights, which is understandable with two youngsters at home. I don’t know if Ms. Davis has had a chance to mention it, but the staff sets their own schedules here. Even the temps need a flexible schedule sometimes. Work with Ms. Davis if you need time off from the night schedule.”

  “Thanks, I’ll do that.”

  “Did someone call my name?” Dorey asked as she and Michele walked into the conference room.

  “Impeccable timing, Ms. Davis,” I said, standing up. “They’re all yours.”

  “Thanks, Chief,” she replied, waving a hand at the two men. “I’ll take it from here, Robbie, thanks. All right, probies. Let’s get going,”

  As Dorey herded them out the door, I looked at Michele, who had an odd look on her face. She seemed to be glowing and anxious at the same time.