Coughing & Donuts: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery (3 page)

“Why don't you just tell me in your own words?” I had to show him that his avoidance techniques weren't going to work with me. That's not how our interaction was going to work.

“Why don't you look it up and can we loosen these straps up? My hand is going numb. I think Nurse Sweetie Pie will fill you in once her boyfriend is gone.” Again, Eli chose to avoid answering my questions.

“It must be so frustrating for you to go through this experience again and again.” I said, gauging his reaction.

He must have been surprised that I kept the focus on him, because when he started to respond, he promptly stopped himself. I could see the gears in his head begin to shift. I hoped that was a good sign. In order for this to work for both of us, he was going to have to let go of some of his machismo defenses and open up, if only for a moment.

He opened his eyes, answering, “Yeah, it sucks. I didn't even really do anything this time. Lou just can't stand people who are more popular than he is.”

Interesting choice of words. Was this some kind of popularity contest for him?

“So, you have a lot of fans?” I asked, studying his face, trying to see if I recognized his face from some movie or print ad I'd seen. Both Ruby and Amy mentioned that this place was a second home to Hollywood types.

He started to laugh. “Why are you looking at me that way? You're like twice my age, lady.”

My attempt to remain the authority figure took a hit. I hadn't been expecting those words to come out of his mouth. I didn't need to be reminded that I was no spring chicken.

“I don't know what you think you saw, but I can guarantee you that it wasn't what you thought, so don't flatter yourself.” I had to defend my middle aged behind.

Why was I blushing? This man was my daughter's age for crying out loud!

Luckily, the awkward moment was short-lived because Amy returned to the room.

“Okay, Mercy, follow me.” I turned to Eli, but he had his eyes closed again and groaned about the restraints being too tight.

Amy informed me that his file was on the nurse's desk, along with the forms the police brought with him.

“I'll meet you at the desk. Let me see what I could do about those restraints. I know they aren't too tight because I double checked when I fastened them.” Amy said.

I glanced up at the clock as I sat down at the nurse's desk, feeling like the night had gone on far too long already. Through the thick double pane windows, I could make out a hint of sunshine peeking through the dark clouds. The end of the shift couldn't come fast enough. All I had to do was survive another twenty minutes or so, then, I could finally see the apartment the hospital was putting me up in for my stay.

“You a coffee drinker?” Amy asked as she returned to the desk.

“You have no idea!” I answered, practically tasting a nice, hot, fresh cup in my mouth already.

She laughed. “I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I can imagine how disappointing it must have been to find out our coffee maker is on the fritz. I know the patients have been complaining a lot. Hopefully, someone will replace it soon, but if you really want some, there's one in the maintenance room downstairs. I'll show you when we leave.”

I could have hugged her right then and there. It had been over twelve hours since I'd had a cup of coffee and my brain was beginning to go into withdrawals.

The unit doors opened and a swarm of fresh faced nurses staff walked in, chattering as they walked onto the quiet unit.

Amy introduced me to everyone. Two of them were psychiatric aides, one was the ward clerk, and the other two were nurses.

One of the nurses made a point of letting me know that she'd been working there since long before it was a psychiatric hospital. She informed me that at one time it used to be the general hospital and the unit specifically used to be the maternity ward.

Wow! Amazing what time and circumstance will do to a place.

“It's really funny,” the nurse, Rose started, “some of the patients and employees here were born right here in this unit. Amazing, right? It's full of all kinds of hidden passageways that doctors used to use to come in and out of the building unnoticed. Now, they are only used when we have VIP guests, or by our facility administrator, who likes to think that he is a celebrity sometimes.”

I looked around at the antique fixtures and marble floors. This place had been impeccably designed. I wondered if the contractors ever envisioned that one day it would go from welcoming new heirs and heiresses to providing mental health treatment to those same children or their parents someday.

“Okay, so do you want to get started with report, so the two of you can get on out of here?” Rosa asked, feeling sympathy for me. I looked like I'd had a horrific night and I couldn't wait to get to the apartment, take a warm bath, and finally go to sleep.

“Yes, Mercy has had a rough night. We'll just finish up with the police hold admission, then, meet you for report.” Amy handed me a list of orders from the on-call psychiatrist, so I could contact the hospital pharmacy and have security bring the medications to the unit.

“Thanks,” I started, “I don't know if I'd be able to stay awake another couple of hours.”

“No worries. We just have to finish charting and get the medications ordered. That shouldn't take too long and report will be short because we've only had the one admit and everyone already knows the drill with Eli. He's in here so often, we might as well keep his medications in the medication room.”

I looked up at the monitors. Eli looked to be asleep and relatively comfortable, given his situation.

*

“Don't forget about your coffee.” Amy reminded me as we stepped off the elevator.

“Believe me, that's all I could think about during report. I'm like an addict. Where's that machine?” I asked, looking at a hallway full of closed doors.

“Just follow me.” Amy said, jostling the bags she held in her arms. “It's in the maintenance room, just down the hallway, last door on the right.”

She was just as exhausted as I was and she did have to wait over an hour for me to show up for work, so I couldn't make her have to wait around for me again. In the light of day, I was sure I could find my way back out to my car.

“You go ahead. I'll find it. Go home and get some sleep and I'll see you later. I swear, I'll be on time this time.” I said, smiling at her.

“Okay, if you're sure?” Amy asked. “Next time, park over here, right by the security building. Don't worry about Mike. He's rude to everyone. That's part of why he's no longer married and no longer a cop.”

Had I heard her wrong? The security guard used to be a police officer?

No wonder
, I thought.

He behaved like he had some power over me. I couldn't help but think what a jerk he'd been with me.

“See you later.” I waved to Amy as she stepped outside.

“Hey,” she called back to me. “Maybe, you should take a cup of coffee to Mike. He's a big coffee drinker and you could start all over again.”

My first instinct was to reject that idea, but if I was going to survive this assignment, I might as well have at least tried to get along with everyone. At the very least, I could tell him that I emailed human resources to let them know I'd lost my employee badge.

“I just might try that.” I answered her. “Get some rest.”

*

“Here goes nothing,” I muttered under my breath as I approached the guard tower.

As expected, Mike was sitting facing the monitors, with his back to the door. I wondered when his shift ended because he had to have been getting ready to head home soon.

I knocked on the window, holding up the cup of coffee I'd purchased from the vending machine for him. He didn't turn around. I tried again, but still no response.

“Great.” I said, putting my bag down on the steps. “I'll try the door.”

I then knocked on the door. Mike didn't budge. From that vantage point, I could see he had a small plastic baggie of donuts and some sort of breakfast sandwich sitting in front of him, but his head was hanging down.

Oh, caught you sleeping, Mr. Security Guy.

I knocked louder. This time, the door opened when I knocked. I knew that he wasn't going to appreciate me barging right in.

“Sorry, the door just opened.” I said.

He still hadn't budged.

“Hello?” I said, taking a step closer to him. “I brought coffee.”

Nothing.

“Hello? Are you awake?” I asked, getting the inkling that he was intentionally ignoring me. “Alright, well, I'll just leave the coffee here for you.”

I started to walk away, but let the little history, we'd shared, cloud my better judgment. “You know what? If you at least pretended to be a decent human being, people might be more inclined to like you.”

He still didn't move. I stepped closer, tapping my foot behind him.

“This is ridiculous. By the way, you're not allowed to smoke in buildings anymore. The first thing I smelled as soon as I opened the door was peanuts and smoke. Not a good combination.” I turned on my heels, losing my footing. I nearly toppled over, but grabbed the desktop to stop my fall. The stacks of papers he had next to him, flew to the ground.

Way to go! Now, you made a mess of his office.

For every piece of paper that had fallen down, another ten came flying off the desk.

“Sorry, sleepy head. I'll put the room back together.” I said, trying to put nice, neat piles of paperwork back onto the desk.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my name badge sticking out from under the bag of donuts.

“You could have mentioned that you found my name tag.” I said, yanking it out from under the bag, knocking the donuts onto the desktop.

“Do you eat all night long?” I asked, feeling my anger taking control.

The coffee I'd placed on the desk, toppled over when I tried to catch the wayward donuts.

“Oh, what in the world! A little help here?” I said, wishing I hadn't bothered to try to mend fences with the likes of him.

In my frustration, I was making a bigger mess than I would have, had the lug bothered to respond to me. My only recourse was to yell at him.

“Wake up! How can you sleep through all this? You know, none of this would have happened, had you bothered to do your job and answered me when I knocked on the door.” I yelled.

I took a step back to assess my efforts to clean up the mess. My foot kicked his chair leg and knocked his seat into the wall. Even that didn't wake him up.

I'd had enough. I had to get away from him before I said some very choice words to him. I grabbed my cup of coffee and walked out, slamming the door behind me. I grabbed my bags off the steps and ran for my car, before I did something I knew I'd regret.

I thought it was a bad dream. I'd been known to have the occasional nightmare, but when the banging noise didn't stop, I realized that it was worse than I could have imagined.

When I opened the door, the last person I would have expected to find was Captain Lou Benetto standing on the other side.

“Mercy, I'm going to need you to come with me.” Long gone was the friendly smile and the wink he'd offered me the night before. It was replaced by a pair of furrowed brows and a tiny bead of sweat right above his full lips.

“Wait. What?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “Why?”

He touched his left hand to the butt of his gun.

Whoa! What in the dickens was going on here?

“This isn't a joke. Step outside, please.” Lou moved his boxed shaped frame off to one side of the door to allow me to step out of the apartment.

I didn't move. Even if I wanted to, I physically couldn't get my pajama clad behind to move one inch.

“Mercy,” he started again, agitation in his voice, “step out of the apartment now.”

My throat went dry. Was he for real?

I tried to make sense of his words. “You want me to go with you? Where? Why?” The first thing I could think of was that something had happened to my daughter or to my ex-husband, James.

“What? What's wrong? Is it my daughter?” I began to panic, imagining all sorts of scenarios in my head.

Lou looked confused. “No, I don't anything about your daughter. This is...” he started, scratching his head, “This is a murder investigation and a missing person's case.”

“Murder? Missing person? What are you talking about? If it's not my daughter, then, who is it? Is James okay?”

Lou was becoming more agitated. His eye began to twitch. “I don't know anything about some James guy. Will you just come with me?” That was an order, not a question.

A door down the hallway opened and someone poked their head out to look at the spectacle that was me and Captain Lou.

Was I under arrest? How could that be possible?

“I don't understand. How could someone be dead and missing
and
what does this have to do with me?” I moved forward to see how many more of my new neighbors were enjoying this show.

“Why are there so many police officers here?” I asked Lou, motioning for the line of officers that lined the hallway. They were at the ready to do some damage, if I didn't cooperate.

“Are you here to arrest me for something?” I'd like to say that this was the first time this had ever happened in my life, but that would be a big fat fib.

“Should I arrest you?” Lou asked, placing his body in front of mine.

I swallowed hard, wondering when exactly the rest and relaxation point of my trip to Pleasant Cove was supposed to begin.

The whole reason I'd accepted this assignment was to forget about my last assignment. Now, this one was turning out to be even more complicated than that one.

“Okay, look, this is how this is going to work. You're going to come with us and answer a few questions. That's it. This isn't up for debate. Now, grab some shoes and let's go. Officer Lerner here will help you out.” He pointed to a female officer with cold, dark eyes.

“Help me what?” I asked, not feeling too confident that I'd be able to handle his response.

She answered my question. “I'll follow you while you lock up here and, then, you can come with us back to the station. How does that sound?”

Like I'd rather have my eyes gouged out.

“Okay, I guess, but I still have no idea why you're here. What do I have to do with a missing person or murder?” I asked, feeling woozy about what was happening. Who is dead? Who is missing? Why are you asking me questions?

She looked at Lou for guidance.

He nodded.

“Mike Slowicki was found dead this morning.” She answered, like I was supposed to know who that was.

When I didn't respond right away, Lou added, “The security guard at the hospital.”

“Wow! He died! He was young. How did he die?” I asked before I realized why they were there for me. “Wait! He was murdered? Whoa! Who killed him?”

The officers stared at me blankly.

I touched my hands to my forehead. “Do you think I had something to do with that?”

No one answered me.

“I don't even know him. Why are you asking me questions?” I asked in an effort to get their interest off me.

“No one has asked you anything, have they?” Lou stepped forward, “There's nothing to worry about, is there? That is, unless you start to play games with us.”

“Play games? What game would I play? I don't know anything about him being murdered. He was alive last time I saw him.” I said.

Lou interrupted me with a question. “And, when was that?”

I stumbled over my words.
Was that what this about?

“Hold on. He was alive when I saw him. I sure of it. I just went to make amends with him and...” I started to explain.

“Amends for what? Were you and he having some kind of problem? How long have you known Mike?” Lou pulled a small notebook out of his back pocket.

“I don't... I didn't know him. We didn't have a problem. I mean, we did, but it was no big deal.” I knew I wasn't being very clear. Thoughts were racing through my mind. This was unbelievable. “What I'm trying to say is that he wouldn't help me and, well... He was kind of a jerk. I mean, what a horrible example of a security guard. I'm sure he saw me on his cameras, but he...”

Lou couldn't write fast enough and I can't say that I was doing myself any favors by rambling.

“Wait a minute. What do you mean he was a horrible guard? I'll have you know that Slowicki was the best cop I'd ever worked with.” Lou raised his voice.

Cop? The guard was a cop?

“He was a cop?” I asked to see if we were talking about the same man.

Lou shouted, “Yes!”

I cringed. My friends and family kept warning me that my mouth would someday get me into trouble. Looked like this was my someday.

Officer Lerner intervened before either one of us said anything we'd regret. “Okay, that's enough. Let's just go grab some shoes and roll on out of here.” She grabbed my arm a little rougher than I felt comfortable with and escorted me through the apartment toward the two bedrooms at the back of the unit.

When we were out of Captain Benetto's line of vision, she released my arm and told me to put some shoes on and grab my purse.

I looked down at my bunny rabbit pajamas and asked, “Can I change first?”

She shook her head. “I wouldn't push my luck if I were you. Just grab some shoes and let's get out of here.”

“I have to go like this? I just woke up. I haven't had a chance to brush my teeth or comb my hair yet.” I protested.

She sighed. “Don't you get it? This isn't some beauty contest we're entering you in. You're going in for questioning? A man is dead and another is nowhere to be found. Both of whom you spoke to last night.”

What?

“Who? What? Who are you talking about? I was working last night. Lou saw me at work last night. How could I know anything about a missing man
and
a murder?”

She clicked her tongue, annoyed by my questions. “I'm trying to help you, but you're not making this easy. You were the last one to be seen with Officer Slowicki and you were the last one seen with Eli Pardo.”

Eli Pardo? The patient?

I didn't bother to tie my shoes and ran out of the room to confront Lou. “What is she talking about? Eli Pardo is missing? How can he be missing if you were the one that took him to the hospital last night and escorted him in?”

Lou smirked, answering me in a low voice, “I left him with you and you're the last one to have spoken to him. We've already spoken to Amy and she informed us that you asked that his restraints be unfastened. Now, he's gone and a man is dead. A man you both had issues with and a man you were last seen arguing with. Any other questions?”

His response left me at a loss for words. How could Amy have pointed the finger at me and why do they think I had anything to do with the guard's murder? Who saw what and what about all the cameras?

Without saying another word, Lou grabbed me by my elbow and escorted me out. I glanced back and saw that Officer Lerner had my purse in her hand. She secured the door shut and followed us, along with the other officers.

“But, Eli was only wearing the gown.” My words were barely audible.

*

“Is this a joke?” Ruby laughed nervously into the phone.

“No, this is very real.” I answered, wrapping my bathrobe around me. After four hours at the police station, I felt dirty. I'd never sweated so much in my life. There I was, innocent as all get out, feeling like there was no end in sight to the hard line of questioning Lou spewed at me.

Ruby cleared her throat. “Start all over again. They took you in for questioning because a patient eloped and killed a guard? I don't understand. Were you working when the patient eloped?”

I loved Ruby like a sister. She and her psychiatrist husband, Hank, were my best friends in the world. We'd all met in college. They stayed by my side through my marriage, the birth of my child, divorce, the loss of my parents and grandparents, and beyond. Truth be told, Ruby's way of approaching a situation, especially one that I was embroiled in, did rub me the wrong way sometimes. I needed a shoulder to cry on, not an analytical approach to solving my problems.

“Ruby,” I began, “I told you already. I wasn't there when that kid took off. At least, I don't think I was. I didn't have anything to do with that and no one ever said that he killed the guard. He just happened to take off around the same time. I don't understand how though, because we had him with four points and he was wearing a gown.”

Ruby always knew how to put me in my place. “Okay, listen. As your supervisor (I always forgot that fact), I need to know everything from Point A to Point B or I can't help you. If you weren't on duty, how is it that they are blaming you? And, tell me again, what happened to the guard. No offense, but you sure can get into a whole lot of trouble in a really short amount of time. My goodness, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours since you left here and why didn't you use your cell phone to call me when you couldn't find your way inside the building?”

I sighed, because I knew what she was going to say when I answered her. I had a knack for forgetting to charge my phone. It was a bad habit, but one that I just couldn't seem to break myself from. I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to the punch.

“Let me guess – your phone wasn't charged? Mercy, how many times have Hank and I told you to make sure that you keep the phone charged, especially when you're traveling? What if something had happened?” She stopped and we both laughed at the irony of her question.

When our laughter died down, we got back to business.

“So, I don't know why... Well, I guess I do, but it still doesn't make it right. Apparently, I was the last one seen speaking to the security guard and the nurse I was working with claims that I was the last one with the patient. She must be confused, because I distinctly remember that she asked me to finish his intake paperwork while she checked his restraints. Anyway, it's a hospital. There are cameras everywhere. I'm sure someone will finally look at the tapes and they'll see that there's no way I could be responsible for the patient's escape or for the guard's murder.” I think I was trying to convince myself of this at the same time I tried to convince Ruby that all would be fine.