Coughing & Donuts: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery (7 page)

While we were doing that, Diana did a quick web search and pulled up dozens of articles about me or the company I worked for. Most of them were positive, thankfully, but the last 'situation' I was in, completely detracted from all the good I'd done. Someone would have to have read the entire article to know how that case ended, but in this day and age, people rarely bothered to read that far down a page anymore. I was doomed. No wonder Lou thought I was as guilty as they come.

I spent the rest of the morning going over every possible scenario that could go wrong. Brandi had been a wealth of information, but neither Diana nor I knew what to do with that information.

I'd asked Charlie not to come out to California. I didn't see what good that would do any of us and I was in no way prepared to entertain guests while I was under investigation for a crime. Well, that is probably a bit dramatic, but at the moment, I didn't know how else to define it.

“Want to go search for that Alma lady again?” Diana asked after we'd exhausted the only options we could think of.

“Where?” I asked, feeling defeated.

“By the hospital. Isn't that where you saw her when you first got here? She has to live nearby. Let's take Barney for a walk and see if we can find her. Besides, she owns a Chow Chow, there can't be that many around here, can there?”

*

In the light of day, the neighborhood surrounding the hospital didn't look so bad. It looked rather affluent. I found that to be odd. Not that I was in the know or anything, but nothing about Alma read wealthy to me.

I suppose that I must have looked like a walking zombie to her though. After being out in the rain for so long, I must have scared the living daylights out of her. It's no wonder that her dog was barking up a storm.

“Wow, this is beautiful!” Diana stared up a large new build about a block from the psychiatric hospital.

“I've never seen a house that large.” I said, unable to believe my eyes. This home was like something out of the pages of the latest design magazine. “Who do you think lives here?”

Diana looked up at it, with stars in her eyes. What I wouldn't have given to have been able to give her the life I imagined the home owners led.

“Someone pretentious, probably.” She answered finally.

I didn't know where that answer came from until I noticed the car pulling into the drive. It was a Pleasant Cove squad car. I suddenly felt faint.

Lou got out of the car, smiling at us. “What do we have here?”

Diana looked at me. “Did we do something wrong?”

I whispered. “No, but that's the police captain.”

Lou held out his hand. “I'm sorry, but did I invite you for Easter dinner?”

Now, I was really going to faint.

“This is your house?” I looked back at the grand home and quickly changed my opinion of the house. It was atrocious.

“Sure is. This is why we moved here. Isn't it great?” He puffed out his chest, showing how proud he was of being the owner of this home.

Diana answered. “It is gorgeous!”

“As are you.” Lou winked at her, causing her to blush and my skin to crawl.

I figured that he already knew that she was my daughter, but I felt he needed a not-so-gentle reminder that she was
my
daughter and more than half his age. “Captain Benetto, this is my daughter, Diana. She's visiting for the weekend.”

“So I heard.” Lou said, shaking her hand.

Diana shot a glance at me. I rolled my eyes.

“Are you just out for a walk or were you coming to pay me a visit?” Lou asked, speaking to Diana.

I cleared my throat loudly, throwing myself into a coughing fit.

When I recovered, I urged Diana to keep moving while I said our goodbyes to Lou. He watched us as we walked on down the block.

Diana whispered, “Why didn't you ask him about the dog lady?”

“Are you kidding? I'm not asking him.” I didn't want to give him more reason to dislike me.

By the time we got to the corner, there was no question that we were on the right track. I recognized the bark. Both Barney and I reacted in the same way. We yelped.

Diana, on the other hand, took off running toward the source of the noise.

“Mom, run before we lose them!” Diana yelled.

I lifted Barney off the ground and took a deep breath before running – okay, jogging – after my fearless child.

When Barney and I finally reached her, Diana and her were already old pals. I don't know how she does it, but ever since she was a little tyke, she could make people fall in love with her instantly. I'd never admit it publicly, but that probably came from her father's side of the family.

Diana smiled and waved as we made our slow approach. I hoped that I didn't look like I felt.

Alma turned around and her lips tightened, before she offered a tentative grin. “Oh, I remember you.” She said to me.

My chest was heaving and I think my intestines had coiled around my lungs, so I didn't dare try to speak. I nodded and smiled. Phoebe, the world's largest dog, sat with her head in Diana's lap. She growled at me, so her feelings about me hadn't yet changed.

Barney got a sudden burst of energy when I ran carrying him in my arms. He had a case of Small Dog Syndrome and started to yelp at the much bigger dog, but Diana had relaxed her so much that she didn't seem to care at all that Barney was acting like a bully.

“I heard about what happened at the hospital. That's just horrible and to think that I live so close.” Alma put her hand to her chest.

Diana could see that I was in no condition to talk. I got the feeling another one of her 'you need to get healthy' lectures was in my near future, but for now, she took pity on me and asked the questions for me.

“Did you know Mike Slowicki well?” She asked.

Alma answered right away. “No.”

“What did he say to you that night you saw my mom?” Diana was on a mission.

“Nothing, really. Phoebe was excited. The storms had her a little on edge, so I took her for a walk to show her that everything was fine. That's about it.” Alma explained.

Diana nodded, but didn't let her get away with her non-answer. “You spoke to the guard. What did you talk about?”

A flash of sadness came over Alma and tears welled in her eyes. “He was such a good guy. Who would do this to him? What about his poor family?”

I didn't know what to make of her sudden emotion. Maybe I'd thought this all wrong and maybe she and Mike were on friendly terms. She was the first person I'd heard say anything nice about the guard.

Alma wiped her tears. “I know Eli and he had problems, but were they worth killing him for? It was Mike's job to arrest him. Eli shouldn't have blamed him for all that went wrong in his life. That wasn't fair.”

I finally caught my breath. “Mike arrested Eli before? Was that here? Why would Eli have blamed him for his problems?”

She looked at us, fresh tears filling her eyes. “Maybe I'm speaking out of turn. You should really talk to Brandi – that's Mike's ex-wife – about all that. I don't really know. I just know what I've heard. Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything.”

I was finally done with training. It wasn't the worst experience of my life, but I could have done without that first night.

The next few nights working side by side with Amy were relatively uneventful for a psychiatric unit. She was polite and patient with me as I learned the ropes, but after our patient went missing and she conveniently blamed it on me, I wasn't particularly interested in getting to know her much better.

Diana had begged me to confront Amy about what she'd said, but I honestly didn't believe that she did it to be mean or spiteful. I think she just panicked.

Because it was the Monday after a holiday, no management was present for my first shift alone. I didn't have to worry about Rollie micro-managing everything I did. I could focus on my patients – the female patients only, of course – that hadn't changed and, I have to admit, I was no longer bothered by the fact that I wasn't allowed anywhere near the police holds, male patients, or more specifically, near Eli.

I hadn't heard anything about him since our little meeting in between the buildings. I knew better than to ask and no one spoke about him in my presence. To be completely frank, no one
spoke
in my presence, except for the patients and the occasional nurse or aide that needed help. Had there not been a murder, I may have been inclined to say something about that to them, but because we all knew a murder had taken place just feet from where we parked our cars for our shifts, no one brought it up.

There was something about tragedy that made people suddenly behave as if they couldn't make mention of it or go anywhere near where that trauma took place. I guess, I didn't understand it and I probably never would.

“Are you alright?” Rose looked up from behind the desk. “You can take a break if you want to. It's pretty quiet in here now. There's a police hold on the way, but they are going to stop at ER first, so it will probably be a while.”

“Oh. I'll eat now then. I should be done before they get here.” I said.

“Well, even if they get here early, just do rounds or something.” She didn't come right out and say it, but I knew what she was getting at.

I nodded. “Okay. Well, I'll take my break now.”

I opened the break room door and started to walk in when she called me. “Mercy, I know you didn't do anything wrong.”

When I looked at her, she averted her eyes, pretending to be focused on the chart in front of her.

“Did you just say something?” I asked.

She didn't answer, so I turned to head back into the break room again and I heard her speak again.

“Don't look at me, but I know that Amy lied.” Rose whispered.

Am I dreaming
, I thought.

If I couldn't look at her or be seen talking to her, then, how was I supposed to find out what she was talking about?

I had to say something. How could I just let her comments go?

I went to my locker and pulled my cell phone out of my purse. Of course, the charge was low, but I didn't think this would take too long.

Rose answered the phone, “Pleasant Cove Psychiatric Hospital. This is Rose. How can I help you?”

I said, “Hi.”

“Are you kidding me? What are you doing?” She didn't appreciate my effort apparently.

“Well, how else was I supposed to speak to you?” I asked, surprised by her response to me. She was the one who started this, after all. I was perfectly content to speak to her, no matter who was standing nearby.

Rose slammed the phone down. I sat down at the conference table and listened as she stomped out from behind the nurse's desk and into the break room.

“Why would you do that?” She slammed the door behind her.

Way to be discreet!

I took a bite out of my sandwich and said the first thing that came to mind. “You started it.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “How old are you?”

I apologized. “The stress of the past few days and all the accusations have me a little stir crazy. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to make you mad. It's just that there's not too many people around here that are on my side, so I'm desperate.”

She sighed and sat down in a seat across from me. “Things have been a little crazy, haven't they?”

She wasn't kidding!

I gulped down my coffee to prepare for the rest of what she had to say. “Okay, so tell me what you know? How do you know that Amy lied?”

She stood up and looked out the door before answering. “I saw the footage from that night. It clearly showed that Amy loosened Eli's restraints, but that's not all I saw.”

I knew it! I knew that footage would save my behind, but why is this the first time I'd heard about it?

“Did you tell anyone?” I had to find out who else was aware of this.

“I can't say exactly, but I know for sure of at least two people who saw it.” She kept looking at the door like she was afraid that someone was going to catch her talking to me.

“Were you told not to talk to me? Is that why everyone is acting so strange?” I tried not to sound annoyed, but the truth was that I was annoyed. I didn't appreciate being forced to work with people who had been told not to speak to me.

The phone started ringing on the desk. We both knew who it was - the ER calling to alert us when they were transferring a patient to us.

“I have to get that.” Rose ran out of the room to answer the phone.

“And, I have to hide.” Our little conversation killed my appetite. I stuffed the other side of my sandwich back in its wrapper and put it back into my lunch bag. If I kept this up, I might actually lose a little weight or a lot, depending on how long this would drag on. I might even start a fad – the can't stomach food when you're accused of aiding a murderer diet. Who knows?

*

“Hi, Mom!”

“Hi, honey! Why didn't you call me when you got home yesterday?” I asked as I situated myself in my car before going to the apartment to sleep the day away, I hoped.

“Sorry. I was taking care of some... Sorry.” I could always tell when Diana was up to something.

“Why did you clam up? What happened? Are you okay?” I envisioned all kinds of crazy scenarios.

“Mom, I'm fine. I just had plans to meet up with someone. No big deal.” Diana said.

“As long as everything is okay, I forgive you.” I said yawning.

“Go get some sleep.” Diana said. “Call me when you can. I love you, Mama.”

I was exhausted. Luckily, my car wasn't and it started right away, without a problem. Go figure!

I just needed to keep my eyes open for another ten minutes and I'd be safely tucked away in bed, dreaming about all the places I'd rather be and what I'd rather be doing.

*

Boy, I must be getting older. I never leave without closing the door.

One of my temporary neighbors walked out of his hospital issued apartment and nodded at me. I smiled back, wondering how many times he'd walked in and out of his apartment over the last twelve hours and never bothered to close my door. If something had come up missing, I'd probably have to pay for it out of pocket and my pockets had been looking pretty empty as of late.

At first glance, I didn't notice that anything was out of place. My eyelids were growing heavier, so I didn't do a real thorough job of ensuring that all was fine, but I wasn't too worried.

I had tunnel vision. I wanted to sleep and I wanted it as soon as yesterday.

After securing the door and peeling off the layers of clothes I had on, I jumped into the shower and let the warm water soothe my aching bones. Five minutes later, I was wearing flannel pajamas and I was under the covers, ready to sleep for the next twelve hours.

As I drifted off to sleep, I noticed the empty spot on the nightstand next to me. I don't know why, but it alarmed me. Although my body was begging me to let it rest, my thoughts began to consume me.
What was there before?
I knew it wasn't empty.

I don't think I slept for more than a few minutes before I sat up in a panic.
My laptop!

*

Any hope of getting more sleep was off the table. My adrenaline was up and my nerves were on high alert.

My first instinct was to call Ruby, but thankfully I remembered that she was out of town with her mother-in-law. I didn't want to call Diana because telling her would just send her into a frenzy and I couldn't allow myself to be the reason for her to be in an uproar.

The next logical person to call was Charlie, but his phone went straight to voice mail, which is unusual for him because he's the Sheriff and I would imagine that he would have to be easily reached. I had no other options, except for the local police, but why in the world would I do that? I didn't have too much faith that they'd be eager about helping me.

A knock on the door startled me.
Who would be here to see me?

A second series of knocks followed the first. I was so busy trying to figure out who could be on the other side of the door that I hadn't yet moved to open the door.

“Who is it?” My voice shook as I asked.

I could see a shadow under the door, but whoever was there didn't respond.

I tried again, louder. “Who is it?”

The floorboards creaked under my feet.

“I'm not opening this door until you tell me who you are.” I thought that sounded firm enough.

“Mercedes Mares, do you have to make everything so difficult?”

“Charlie, is that you?”

“Do you always yell at visitors or is that something you picked up here at Little Hollywood?” Charlie scolded me when I opened the door to let him in.

“What are you doing here? I told you that you didn't have to make a trip.” As the words left my mouth, I tried to hide my relief at seeing him. His timing was impeccable.

“I'm so happy to see you too.” He walked past me, taking in my spiffy attire. “Sexy.”

When I opened the door, it hadn't dawned on me that I wasn't dressed. I didn't know him well enough to let him see me like this. I tried to shield my flannels by placing my arms down awkwardly in front of me.

His eyes traveled up to my face and, then, I remembered that my hair was wet when I went to lay down.
My hair!

“Whoa! That's your new hairdo? I think you might need a new hairdo.” He teased as my face turned red.

“I'll be right back.” I excused myself and ran down the hallway to the safety of the bedroom.

When I returned to the living room, Charlie was talking on his cell phone. He had two cups of coffee sitting on coasters in front of him and handed one to me.

I sat down on a recliner opposite of him, contemplating whether or not I should tell him about what happened. With him here, I knew that he'd want to involve the local police out of professional courtesy. Had he done what I told him and not hopped on a plane to come to California, I would have had no problem telling him that I'd been robbed, because he wouldn't have been able to control what I would do, but here in California, he'd use the art of persuasion to convince me to do things right and let the police handle it.

Charlie, speaking to the person on the other end of the line, said, “Follow him. Don't get too close though. The last thing we need is for someone to see you. I'll stay here with her. She's fine.”