01 Untouchable - Untouchable (43 page)

I jerked off the Porsche’s car cover
and threw it to the ground. I made the twenty minute drive in
eight. I couldn’t take the chance of Ricky or Jack getting to me
before I could help my mother, so I pulled right up to the entrance
doors and jumped out and ran inside.

“
You can’t park there,”
someone was saying.

I ran past him to the reception desk.
“I need to know how to get to the Administrative board
office—quickly, please.”

“
End of the hallway, turn
right and follow the signs for Finance. They’ll direct you
when...”

I was back in motion before she could
finish getting out the last words. I was on pure adrenaline by the
time I reached the proper door. I pushed it open and the first face
I saw was Robert’s. He looked extremely surprised to see me. Doctor
Figarrio was there as well as another physician seated next to
Robert, and the hospital board which consisted of two men and one
woman. The one gentleman I recognized as being the person I
threatened with a visit from my non-existent attorney if my mother
didn’t received better care. I wasn’t sure at the moment if that
was going to be a help or a hindrance to my case.

This was no time to look like someone
who didn’t have her act together. “Hello,” I said, trying to rein
in my breathing. “I’m Nadia Winslett’s daughter. I got here as
quickly as I could.”

“
She has nothing to do with
this,” Robert began.

“
She is my mother,” I said
turning to face him. “I have every right to be involved where her
health is concerned.”

“
Please, Ms. Winslett, have
a seat,” the older administrator spoke up, indicating a chair
beside Doctor Figarrio. “Ms. Winslett we’ve heard from Doctor
Figarrio that he changed your mother’s medications after having a
conversation with you on Monday morning, is that
correct?”

“
Yes, I was here Sunday, as
I’m sure you recall, Doctor…”

“
Doctor Phillips,” the man
responded.

“
Doctor Phillips, I was very
upset that she was being heavily medicated, when…”

“
The patient attempted
suicide,” the doctor beside Robert spoke up. “This
necessitates…”

“
Excuse me,” I said turning
to him. “What is your name?”

“
Doctor Williamson,” he
responded with that smug attitude that told me he thought he was
much more intelligent than I was.

“
Well, Doctor Williamson, I
wasn’t finished when you so rudely interrupted me. Do they teach
you any type of manners in medical school?”

He gave an annoyed sigh and
rolled his eyes at me. “How old are you,
young
lady?”

“
Old enough to know an
over-paid, jackass puppet when I meet one!” I replied. I turned to
Doctor Phillps, “May I continue? Or, should Doctor Williamson be
allowed to cut me off mid-sentence?”

“
Doctor Williamson, please
refrain from making comments until Ms. Winslett is
finished.”

“
If she’s a minor,” he
continued, ignoring Doctor Phillips, “the whole point of her
argument is void anyway and she is just wasting everyone’s time.”
Evidently Robert had already informed him I was.

“
Although it’s true that I
am a few months away from my eighteenth birthday…” I could see
Robert and Doctor Williamson starting to smile. “I am an
emancipated minor, recognized by a court of law to be an adult.” I
produced the papers from my purse and handed them to Doctor
Phillips. He shared it with the other two members of the board and
they returned it to me.

Robert’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a
liar!”

“
Oh, I can assure
you,
Dad
, that the
liar in this room isn’t me.”

“
You are nothing but a
spoiled, runaround whore who hasn’t even been home for nine
months!” He spat the words out as if they were gospel.

I turned to face the board members, “I
would like an opportunity to address the three of you privately,
and then you can make your decision. I’m not going to be able to
speak without interruption as long as Mr. Winslett and Doctor
Williamson are present.”

“
This meeting,” Doctor
Williamson spoke up before the board members could respond, “isn’t
private.”

“
Really, Doctor Williamson?”
This jerk was starting to get under my skin and I knew there was no
way I was letting him get anywhere near my mother. “You’ve been
here for the last two hours or so trying to convince the board,
privately, that my mother doesn’t belong under Doctor Figarrio’s
care any longer. I think that should entitle me to an equal share
of the same privacy.”

“
I for one,” the female
administrator spoke up, “would like to hear what Ms. Winslett has
to say without interruption. I believe you two gentleman should
step out,” she said looking to Robert and his crony.

“
I agree,” Doctor Phillips
added, and the other gentleman nodded as well. “Please, wait out in
the hall and we’ll call you back in when we are
finished.”

If looks could kill, Robert wouldn’t
have needed to hire a hit man.

Once they were outside the room, I
began to explain what had been happening to my family over the last
few years, beginning with my grandfather’s supposed suicide, up
until the recent incident at the Pensacola High School.

“
I’ve hired an expert in
this field and he has uncovered plenty of documentation to show me
that Robert has been having an affair for quite some time. He also
uncovered that Robert has squandered most of his own family’s
fortune, and now he’s trying to take my mother’s away to cover his
losses. Doctor Phillips, I’m sure you noted the condition in which
my mother was in when she arrived here. Have you spoken with her
today?”

“
Yes, I have, we all have,”
he stated, motioning to the other two board members.

“
Then you had to have notice
the extreme difference in her mental state. She’s not crazy, not
even close; she was simply over medicated.”

“
Well, it is a very serious
matter,” spoke the second gentleman, “to take a patient’s
well-being and place it in the hands of a minor…”

“
It’s more serious,” I
asserted, leveling my eyes at him, “to put a patient at risk when
they are showing significant improvement by sending them back to a
drug induced state of stupor.”

“
She attempted suicide,” the
gentleman continued.

“
That remains to be seen.
She went to sleep and woke here in the hospital—Robert could have
been the one to cut her wrists, hoping it would help his Power of
Attorney request. Please,” I implored, giving myself a moment to
pause and gaze into each person’s eyes, “give her a chance to prove
her intelligence and stability—she’s not a suicide risk, nor is she
crazy.”

They spoke quietly for a few moments
and then said they would like me to go out into the hallway and to
have Doctor Williamson join Doctor Figarrio for one final
conference.

I did as I was asked, but there was no
way I was sitting beside the traitorous Robert. I stood on the
opposite side of the hallway as he glared at me. Suddenly I had the
notion that I needed to sit beside him; I wanted to tell him
something that I hoped would stick inside him and eat away at his
very tiny conscience.

“
What’s wrong with you,
Leese?” he began immediately when I came closer. “You know I have
your mother’s best interest…”

“
I know about Sharon,” I
simply stated, causing him to become silent. “I know about
everything, including the hit you placed on my life.”

“
You’re as crazy as your
mother,” he said dismissively.

“
Did you know Sharon put a
contract on me too, dear old Dad?”

He gave me a confused look.

“
That was where the
Pensacola shooting came in. When she’s finished with me and Mom,
you and Kimmy are next on her list. I may end up dead before this
day is over, but I’ve left enough evidence for the police that you
will go to prison for the rest of your miserable life. You’re a
stupid fool who never thought to ask the woman whose life you’re
preparing to destroy if she would get you out of your financial
hole; instead you’ve dug yourself a grave.”

The door opened and we were asked to
return into the room. Robert followed me inside, apparently still
digesting what I’d said to him.

“
We’ve decided,” Doctor
Phillips began, “that, barring legal intervention by either party,
we believe Doctor Figarrio and Miss Winslett have the patient’s
best interest at heart. Mrs. Winslett will continue on her reduced
drug therapy until we are instructed to do otherwise by a court of
law. I recommend, if either of you,” he said directing his remark
to Robert and me, “wish to keep or discard this ruling, you do so
through the courts as soon as possible.”

“
Thank you,” I said,
reaching out to shake each of their hands. When I turned, Robert
was already out of the room.

Doctor Figarrio put his arm around my
shoulders and walked me out into the hallway. “Leese, you’re going
to need a lawyer as soon as possible.”

“
Doctor Figarrio, I may not
have time to get an attorney. I can’t explain right now, but get my
mother checked out of here as soon as possible. And, one more
thing, please tell her I said she’ll need to hire twenty-four hour
police protection for a while until this whole situation with
Robert is exposed.”

“
Aren’t you coming up to see
her?” He seemed very surprised that I wouldn’t take this
opportunity to visit her.

I knew I couldn’t. I might have Jack
and Ricky following me right at this very moment and I certainly
didn’t want to endanger her any further. “I wish I could but I’ve
got to take care of some—some business before today is
over.”

I could see the worry in his face. He
didn’t know what I was up against, but somehow he understood that I
was in some type of peril. “Be careful, Leese. You’re mother and
your sister will both need you if you’re right about
Robert.”

I gave him a hug and told him
goodbye.

It was going to be a long walk back to
the entrance. Every step I took was difficult. I imagined how it
would feel when the bullet hit me. Would they be so bold to shoot
me and run, right here in front of everyone? Each face that came
into view as I got closer was suspect. I gripped my keys tightly in
trembling fingers.

I turned the last corner before the
exit doors when I saw that my car was gone. I felt a stab of panic
wash through me. I turned to the receptionist, but she was on a
call. I didn’t want to go outside the relative safety of the
hospital doors to look for it. I’d have to call for a cab. I had
left Micah’s phone at the motel and I didn’t carry
change.

The receptionist hung up and looked up
smiling, “Can I help you?”

“
My car was parked by the
doors.”

“
Yes, Ma’am. You can’t park
there, but someone rolled it out of the way before the towing
service was called. I believe it’s at the bottom of the ramp to the
right.”

“
Oh—thank you.” It would be
a foolish gamble to try to make it that far and the only chance I’d
have would be to wait for a taxi. “Could I use your phone, I
need…”

“
No, Ma’am, I’m sorry but
this phone is for hospital use only. If you go down to the waiting
area behind me and down on the left, you’ll see a bank of pay
phones for public use.”

“
I didn’t bring any change.”
I tried a smile, but it was weak. I was hoping she could make out
the desperation in my face and have a change of heart.

“
They take Visa and
MasterCard,” she stated.

That I did have. “Thank you.” I turned
the corner behind the large desk and started toward the waiting
area. I was almost there when I felt a steel grip on my arm. I
turned, expecting to see Micah standing there but it was someone I
didn’t know, but I was certain within two guesses I’d get it
right.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“
There you are,” he stated
gruffly. “I’ve been looking all over hell and back for
you.”

I opened my mouth to scream when I felt
the gun barrel shove against my ribs.

“
Let’s have a little talk,
shall we,” he hissed, pushing me into one of their small chapel
rooms.

The door closed behind us and I had to
speak and try to keep him distracted from what was about to happen.
“The hospital is a pretty crowded place for a shooting, don’t you
think—Jack, or are you Ricky?” I was trying to sound calm, but I
could feel my knees turning to jelly.

He looked mildly surprised that I had
their names. “Your boyfriend has kept you well informed, hasn’t
he?” he smiled, pulling a brightly polished, nickel-plated barrel
around from my side and placing it between my breasts.

“
So which one are you?” I
continued to ask, ignoring the pain as he pressed the barrel too
hard into my chest.

He was older, perhaps in his forties.
He was a little taller than me but not quite six foot. His eyes
were chocolate brown and blood shot. He wasn’t an ugly man, but he
was a man who wore his hard living on the outside of his demeanor.
“Jack,” finally came his one word reply.