Critical Diagnosis (18 page)

“Hello.” Stephanie appeared in the archway dressed in her regular non-work-hours uniform: black yoga pants and a black T-shirt.

James cocked his head. “Is...Lily here?”

Stephanie stepped back. Lily was sitting on the stool, a terrified look in her eyes.

“What’s going on?” The fine hairs on the back of James’s neck stood on edge. The coppery scent of blood filled the air. He swept his gaze over Lily from head to toe. Physically she appeared okay.
Where is that smell coming from?

“What is going on?” he repeated.

Stephanie pulled a gloved hand out from behind her back and pointed a gun at him. Instinctively, he lifted his hands. Years of army training kicked in. But could he use deadly force against his cousin?

Stephanie took a quick step back and pressed the barrel of the gun to Lily’s head. Lily closed her eyes briefly, her chest rising and falling. A tear ran down her cheek.

“Don’t try anything,” his cousin said.

“What in the world is going on?” Rage shook his voice.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had no interest in running Medlink?” If Stephanie hadn’t been holding a gun to Lily’s head, he might have thought he detected concern—contrition, almost.

James flinched. “What do you mean? I told you and Grandfather I wanted to reenlist a few days ago.”

“You would have saved me a lot of trouble if you had only told me sooner.
Much sooner.
Before I made all these plans. Plans I couldn’t undo. You knew how much I wanted to run Medlink.” Her tone reminded him of how she used to beg their grandparents for gifts on the few times she visited as a child. “I really want the doll with the pretty blond hair.”

“This is all about you wanting to be the boss?” James asked, a muscle working in his jaw.

Stephanie slid her hand under Lily’s chin. “It’s a shame, really. If you had only been honest, this all never had to happen.” She gestured to James with her chin. “I had paid Frank to come to the clinic to kill
you.
To
kill you.
Then I would have been the logical choice for CEO of Medlink. And then this one—” she patted Lily’s cheek roughly “—had to take a trip to the Dumpster. Get in the way.”

A jolt shot down his spine. He fisted his hand as he locked gazes with Lily. He tried to project with his eyes that everything would be okay.
Dear God, let everything be okay.
“Why are you doing this now? If I reenlisted, the position would still be yours.”

“Everything is black-and-white with you, isn’t it? My friend here—” Stephanie’s nose flared in disgust as if she couldn’t believe her own stupidity “—got greedy.”

James followed his cousin’s lowered gaze and saw for the first time the man on the floor behind the nurses’ station. His cold eyes stared into nothingness. “What happened?”

Stephanie dug her fingers into her scalp, then dropped her arm. She gestured with her gun at the man on the floor. “I hired this idiot to kill you.”

A ringing started in James’s ears. “What are you talking about?”

“With you out of the way, I’d get to run Medlink. But this idiot couldn’t even do that right. On his way to stage a break-in at the clinic, he runs into Lily. Once he recognized her photo in the local paper, he realized
she
was the researcher I had stupidly told him about. He knew how valuable her research was to Medlink’s future. To my future. So he blackmailed me.”

Lily leaned heavily on the counter and spoke for the first time. “Frank told me he could get me whenever he wanted. Now it makes sense. He wanted Stephanie to know he could hurt me if he wanted to. That’s why you were so eager to have me leave town. If he couldn’t get to me, he couldn’t blackmail you.”

“Yes. But you wouldn’t listen. You had to stay in town.” Stephanie swiped her free hand across her forehead. “You just couldn’t listen.”

James knew he had to keep her talking. “How did Talia get mixed up in all this?”

Stephanie narrowed her eyes, and she looked as if she wanted to hit someone. “Frank was using her. When I hired him, I told him about Lily’s research. How valuable it was. He took it upon himself to hang out at the social spots around Medlink, and he eventually struck up a relationship with Talia. Frank was going to find a way to extort money out of me one way or another. He used Talia to gain access to your research. And I ended up playing right into it.

“That Talia’s such a needy girl. I can’t stand needy people. If I could have twisted things around, I would have made her look guilty. But she went and killed herself. And I knew this jerk wasn’t going to go away.”

James kept his mouth shut that Talia’s suicide had been unsuccessful.

“So this has nothing to do with gang activity?” James asked.

Stephanie made a
get-real
sound. “No. That was Frank being clever. Trying to distract the police with some stupid theory that gangs were involved.”

“Stephanie, you’ve got to stop this craziness. Please.” James took a step toward her.

“You can’t tell me what to do.” She lifted the gun and pointed it at his chest. He froze.

“I did us all a favor. Now Frank can’t try to sell your research.” Stephanie’s mask of indifference and her flippant tone made Lily’s blood run cold. “Now that Regen is moving into clinical trials, I’m confident it will be a success, even if Lily here is not around to see it through.”

“Stephanie—” James warned, a muscle ticking in his jaw “—it stops here.”

Stephanie closed her eyes briefly, drawing in a deep breath. Tired. Resigned, almost. Her hand dropped from Lily’s neck. James sprang off the balls of his feet and slammed Stephanie into the counter. She hit it with an
oomph.
The gun tumbled to the ground. Lily bolted from the stool and picked up the gun, holding it away from her body as if she had a rat by the tail.

James yanked Stephanie to her feet and wrenched her arm behind her back. She grunted. He glanced over his shoulder at Lily. “Lock the gun in the top of the desk and call the police.”

Lily nodded, her eyes wide with shock.

“Sit on the ground, Stephanie.”

His cousin slid down the wall and covered her face. James pressed his fingers to the man’s throat. No pulse. James averted his gaze from all the blood, a violent image from his army days clawing at his memory.

Pivoting, he crouched next to Stephanie. “You didn’t go to all this trouble because you were mad Grandfather had picked me over you to run Medlink.” He angled his face to get a read on hers.

Stephanie lowered her hands and hugged her knees to her chest. She released a shuddering breath. “I stole money from Medlink.” Resting an elbow on her knee, she braced her forehead in her hand. “Grandfather wasn’t as involved as he used to be. No one was paying attention. I knew once you came back, you’d notice the discrepancies in the accounting.” She pounded her forehead with the heel of her hand. “I am so stupid.”

“Our grandparents gave you everything.”

Stephanie lifted her tearstained face. “I needed the money. I lost a lot of money gambling. I had some really bad guys after me. I had to pay them back.” Her entire body shuddered. “That’s how I met Frank. We became friends at the casino tables.”

“So you tried to have me killed to hide the fact you were embezzling money?” He sat on a stool, his knees growing weak. His cousin. His own flesh and blood.

“I couldn’t go to prison.” She lifted her palms. “I couldn’t lose everything I had worked so hard to get.” Her flattened mouth puckered at the edges. “Lily wasn’t supposed to be at the clinic that day Frank came.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Rage bubbled under the surface. “So you decided you’d come here today, kill me and Lily and then blame it all on Frank.”

“Yep.” Cockiness returned to her expression. Lightness in her eyes. “I was going to come in and kill him in self-defense. Tie up all the loose ends.”

James scratched his head. “I understand your motive to kill Frank, even me, but why Lily?”

“I thought I needed her alive for Regen, but once I learned her research was moving into clinical trials, I knew her value had plummeted. Another researcher could pick up where she had left off to find a cure, right? But for now, the treatment she had found would make Medlink rich. Maybe richer than finding a cure, thus ending the need for a treatment.”

“You’re evil, you know that?” James stood and her empty gaze followed him. She was huddled on the floor, a stressed-out mess. “You had everything....” Disbelief swirled in his head.

“I’ll never have what you have, James.” Stephanie’s head dropped into her hands. “As long as you and Lily were around, our grandparents wouldn’t care about me. They never really had.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” James dragged a hand through his hair. “Want to hear the ultimate irony, Stephanie?”

She glanced up at him with a question in her eyes.

“The other night, Grandfather told me the board of directors had audited the books. They had found some discrepancies.” James shook his head. “You killed a man for nothing. You were never going to get away with embezzling money.”

Stephanie slammed her head back against the wall. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

“James?” Lily’s voice snapped him out of his nightmare. “The police are here.” She tipped her head toward the waiting room, where an EMT was checking on Mrs. York.

An officer strode in and arrested Stephanie. EMTs tended to Frank, but any sense of urgency seemed lost. The man was dead. As the chief led Stephanie out, he called over his shoulder, “I’ll be back in to take your statements.”

Lily came in from the waiting room. “Mrs. York’s going to the hospital in an ambulance. She’s groggy from the pain medication Nancy gave her, and she needs her leg x-rayed.” Her teeth chattered.

James reached out and took her hand, pulling her into a fierce embrace. He smoothed his hand down her hair and back, and a quick shudder racked her body.

“Thank God you got here when you did,” she whispered into his chest.

James tilted his head back and looked into Lily’s glistening eyes. A small smile lit her face. He touched his lips to hers and thanked God.

EPILOGUE

Nine months later...

“T
here you are.”

Lily spun around, a slow smile spreading across her face at the sight of James strolling around the side of her cottage out in the country. He had on jeans and a T-shirt on one of the first spring days warm enough to forgo a jacket. The bushes at the back of her cottage had started to sprout new buds. It was her favorite time of year.

New beginnings.

Lily inhaled deeply, smelling the damp soil, the pine needles, the fresh new scent of spring. “There
you
are. We’ve been waiting for you!” Lily said.

She turned around and grabbed the rope of the tire swing hanging from a huge maple tree. “Now, make sure you’re holding on tight. Okay?”

Chloe tipped her head back, her braids spilling down her back. She squealed in delight. “Higher, Momma Lily, higher,” she said in the adorable way only a three-year-old could say.

“Not too high.” She’d never grow tired of the way the precious child called her Momma Lily.

James came up behind Lily and slipped his arm around her waist. She lifted his hand and kissed it, the sun glinting off the gold on his ring finger. “How are you, Mrs. O’Reilly?”

She nudged him gently with her elbow. “That’s Dr. McAllister-O’Reilly.”

James nuzzled her neck. “It has a nice ring to it.” One she was still getting used to. They had gotten married last month after a whirlwind courtship, romance and legal proceedings, which made them an instant family.

James caught the tire swing and kissed his daughter. Their daughter. Happy tears blurred Lily’s vision.

“How’s my peanut?” James asked, pulling the tire swing close. Chloe reached out, wrapped her arms around his neck and held on like a little koala until he dragged her off the swing.

“Momma Lily says we’re gonna eat hot dogs and have a picnic.”

“Is that what you want?”

Her brown eyes opened wide. “Hot dog with ketchup.”

Chloe wiggled and James put her down. She ran after the soccer ball and kicked it around the yard.

Lily tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Talia called me this morning.” James’s eyebrows drew together. “She’s doing well. She’s seeing a therapist.” Lily shook her head. “It’s so sad that she had such low self-esteem she allowed Frank Smith to manipulate her to the point she felt her only out was to try to take her life. I told her I’d help her any way I can.” Lily scratched her forearm. “I think she’s going to take some time to heal before making plans.”

“Do you ever wonder if Talia would have gotten caught up in this if Kara hadn’t sabotaged her chances of getting into the Ph.D. program?”

“I have. I don’t know what Kara was thinking.” She swatted at a dirt mark on her shorts where Chloe’s sneaker had touched. “Maybe Kara was jealous of Talia’s academic success. Regardless, she apologized to Talia and decided to leave town for a while. I think she’s taking a few classes at a local college. I think Talia forgave her. Now Kara will have to forgive herself.”

“Is Talia going to enroll in the Ph.D. program this fall?” James tugged at his collar. The spring sun was surprisingly warm.

“Talia needs time to heal.”

“How’s Mrs. York? Has she been able to keep the house clean?” James and Lily had hired professionals to work with the elderly woman to get the junk cleaned out of her house.

“Talia says she has.” Lily curled her bare toes into the green grass. “I hadn’t heard Talia sound as hopeful as she did today. She also mentioned they were going to church. I think things will come together for them.”

James kissed her forehead. “You’re a good person, you know that?”

Lily laughed. “I hope so. You married me.” She spun her rings around her finger. He had given her the diamond ring his father had given his mother on their engagement.

“I wish my cousin had as bright a future.” A dark cloud passed behind James’s eyes.

Lily reached out and ran her thumb across the smooth flesh of the back of his hand. “I’m sorry. I know your grandparents were estranged from Stephanie’s mother, but I really thought Stephanie felt welcomed. Part of the family.”

James released a breath, as if he were cleansing himself of any dark thoughts. “It was her gambling habit that led her down this path. She owed money to some bad people. She figured stealing from Medlink was an easy way to pay them back.” He covered her hand with his and squeezed. “But it kept snowballing, especially once Frank Smith started blackmailing her. It’s a shame, really. My grandparents are devastated.

“Well, I’m glad they didn’t delay their plans to travel. But my grandmother has been complaining my grandfather keeps calling the office. I suppose he’s still getting used to the idea that an O’Reilly isn’t running the company.” With Stephanie out of the picture and James deciding to run the clinic full-time, his grandfather had promoted one of their trusted vice presidents within the company to the position of CEO.

“The O’Reillys still own Medlink. That will have to be enough for now.”

“My grandfather’s holding out hope for the next generation.” James squeezed her hand again. Contentedness whispered across her consciousness and settled in her heart.

“Thank goodness Frank was only bluffing when he claimed to have the files on Regen. He was trying to manipulate Talia into silence and blackmail Stephanie.” Lily crossed her arms and drew her shoulders up to her ears. “I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if my research had been compromised.”

A soccer ball whizzed by and crashed into his ankles. He bent and picked up the ball when Chloe yelled, “No hands, Daddy.”

He dropped the ball and kicked it toward their daughter. “I’m so happy Chloe’s adjusted so well. She’s been through a lot for a little kid.”

“You’re a great father. Mrs. Benson knew what she was doing when she asked you to make sure her granddaughter had a good home.” Lily thought her heart would explode as she watched James track the movements of his daughter, the love for her apparent on his face.

He wrapped his arm around Lily’s waist and pulled her closer. “You’re a great mom.”

“Something I never thought I’d be.”

“Hey.” He ran his knuckle down her cheek, his voice deep and soothing. “We’re going to have more children. We’re going to fill this yard with little O’Reillys.”

“I never thought I’d be a mom or a wife. You made me realize there was more to life than work.” Lily tilted her face into his touch. “I can’t believe Regen is now showing signs of actually
curing
patients.”

God is good.

“Maybe someday we’ll be ready to have another child.” He placed his hand on her stomach. “Or maybe we’ll adopt again. Or both.”

Lily playfully tapped James’s arm. “How many children do you plan on having?”

James laughed. “As many as God blesses us with. I trust in His plan.”

Lily placed her hands on his cheeks and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I trust Him, too.”

Lily brushed her hand across James’s hair, grown a little longer now that he was officially retired from the army. He was content to stay in Orchard Gardens and run the clinic full-time now that his grandparents had stopped pressuring him to become CEO of Medlink.

She stared into his brown eyes, and the thought of having children with him swirled in her mind. Part him. Part her.

Or another beautiful child just like Chloe would be a blessing.

Lily’s gaze drifted to her daughter running around in the yard with her green galoshes on. Her daughter.
Yes, God had brought Chloe into their lives for a reason.

Cupping her face in his warm hands, James kissed her back. Tears filled her eyes. Her daughter squealed, and they broke the kiss and both stood staring at her.

“Look at me. I can push the swing, too.” Chloe smiled brightly.

“Yes, you can.” James scooped up Chloe to delighted squeals. Lily’s heart filled with joy as the warm spring sun shined down on her family.

A new beginning...

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from CAUGHT IN THE CROSSHAIRS by Elisabeth Rees.