Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 03 - The Priest Who Ate a Poison Petit Fore (24 page)

For a second, they stood staring at each other. Hannah then turned and pounded on the door.

“Mr. Rhoades?” Hannah called out in a loud, excited voice. “Mr. Rhoades.” She tried the door, but found it locked. Again, she called to the man but no one came.

Within seconds, the noise of her efforts brought forth several of the hospital’s staff. An older man in a physician coat approached.

“Miss?”

Hannah made an instant assessment of man.
Early 70’s. Average height and weight. Balding with grey sides. Grey eyes. Glasses. Physician.
She then attempted to explain.

“We were meeting an employee, Jackie Rhoades, but we heard a crash and now he won’t come to the door.”

The physician studied the women for a second before turning to the door, and trying himself as he called to Rhoades. Hannah watched, frowning at the man’s efforts. After what seemed an eternity to Hannah, the physician turned to a woman who stood to the side.

“Call the facilities manager. Tell him we have an emergency.”

Hannah assessed the woman.
Late 30s, of average height, weight and looks with dark hair. Mousy
. The woman turned and exited back up the hallway toward two large glass doors. The sign above read ‘Records.” Watching, the sleuth saw her go to a desk and pick up a phone. Again, the physician tried pounding on the door to no avail. Hannah grew anxious at the situation. She wondered if once the door was open she would find Rhoades injured.
Or worse,
she considered.

While waiting for the facilities manager, Hannah tried to divert her attention. She wondered what the Reverend’s friend could have found and where he could have found it. The man did not strike Hannah as one prone just to take anything as a clue. She recalled Magdalen’s observation moments before. Given that he was an ex-con, he would know a solid piece of evidence when he saw it. This drew her to one conclusion.
It’s something specific
, she determined.
Something the Reverend told him to look out for or mentioned.
Thinking further, she decided that it could be something related to what the Reverend worried about.
Maybe
Calvin or Susan?

The touch of Magdalen’s hand on her shoulder drew her back to the present. Her sister-in-law said nothing but pointed up the hall to a man half running toward them.
Mid 40s. Short. Maybe 5’3” or 5’4”. Heavyset. Brown hair greying. Gold rimmed glasses. Awkward trot. Slight limp on left.
He wore a light green jumpsuit like the one Rhoades wore. As he came closer, Hannah could see that he already held his keys. He moved past everyone, and saying nothing, proceeded to open the door. Doing so, he pushed it wide and the physician, Hannah, the woman, Gran, and then Magdalen followed.

Hannah made a quick study of the room as she pushed her way in. It was larger than she expected. Rows of metal shelving with supplies lined the forward area. It divided down the middle to create a corridor leading back. The room was bright, lit by several overhead lights. It smelled of paint and cleaners to her. She could just see a row of lockers beyond that also lined either way in an inset corridor. A small bench stood separating the two and a time clock hung on rear wall. More importantly, she eyed two of the last shelving rows that appeared tipped over. Open paint cans dabbled the floor as the liquid oozed out all over from the fallen, now twisted, metal shelves. As the facilities manager reached the area, he stopped and grabbed the first shelf. Lifting as best he can, he called out.

“He’s under here.”

The physician made his way between the last remaining shelf standing on the row and the first fallen one and he pulled upwards. They repeated the procedure on the second one until the collapsed form of Rhoades was visible to all present. The woman moved in to help as the physician stepped up and the facilities manager moved back. Taking his pulse, the doctor looked to the group.

“I’ve got a pulse. Get some help.”

The facilities manager took the doctor’s cue and exited. Magdalen crouched down beside Rhoades. When the physician glanced over to her she said, “I’m a nurse.”” He acknowledge with a quick nod.

Hannah watched as the three checked over Rhoades for a few moments. Doing so, Magdalen examined Rhoades’ head, where he bled from the scalp. She motioned to the doctor, pointing around his eyes, which appeared to be darkening. “Leakage here.”” She turned her head to look at his ear. “And here.”

“Brain injury. All right, we need a neck brace and board. Where’s that gurney?”

Magdalen rose just as two men pushed their way in through the door with the stretcher. Gran and Hannah stood back watching as the physician directed the action. Hannah leaned over to Gran, whispering.

“Whatever he had was in his locker. I’m going to need to get to it after they get him out of here.” Hannah cocked her head in the direction of the facilities manager. He stood between two shelving rows, watching. “You think you can keep him busy long enough for me to find the locker and get it open?”

Gran half grinned and whispered back. “Honey, distraction is my middle name.” She reached over and patted her granddaughter’s arm before moving to stand across the way from the manager. Both the elder Starvling and the man watched for a few moments more as the medical personnel stabilized Rhoades. Then they loaded him onto the gurney.

Hannah was unsure of her grandmother’s plan, but she knew it would be dramatic. Gran had a flair for the theatrical. She was not disappointed. After Rhoades’ removal, followed by the physician, the woman, and Magdalen, Gran started after. Just as she stepped before the facilities manager, she stumbled into him. Doing so, she knocked over several more containers, almost pulling another shelf down.

“Oh!” Gran cried out as she flailed about, coming to land on the hapless manager.

“Careful there, young lady,” the man said as he attempted to catch her.

Hannah watched, as the elder Starvling half dragged the man to the floor before he steadied her. The sleuth half laughed as she drifted back into the far reaches of the shelves, hiding herself. She continued to listen as Gran hammed it up.

“Oh, I think I’ve twisted my ankle.”

“Well, let me see.”

“Owwwwwww.”

“Oh…I…better get that doctor or that nurse back in here.”

“Would you, dear? I’ll just wait till you get back.”

“Okay.”

From her hidden spot, Hannah watched as the man exited. She then headed out toward where Gran sat smirking.

“Drama queen,” Hannah commented with a wink to her grandmother as she passed by going toward the lockers.

“You need some help?”

“I think I got it. Listen for them.”

Gran rose and headed to the door, cracking it to peer out. Hannah, reaching the lockers, scanned them. Marked on a piece of faded tape was Rhoades. She looked down to the lock.
Padlock. Great
. Upon further examination, she found to her amazement that the key was in place. She twisted the key, removed it, and opened the door. Inside, she found nothing that stood out as evidence. There was a change of clothes, a towel, and Toiletry items, two books. However, there were no
packages, bags, or boxes; nothing that looks like evidence.
She ran her hands over the clothes, finding nothing. Examining further, she pulled out the two books. One was a Bible:
King James Version
. She ran her thumb along the pages to leaf through them. A business card rested in Revelation. Hannah pulled it out. After reading it over, she slipped it into her blue jeans pocket. The other book caused her eyes to widen a slight bit.
A Murderous Little Town.
Hmm
.

“Hannah,” Gran called out.

Knowing this meant that someone was coming back, Hannah slipped the Bible back into place but held onto the copy of the other book. She closed the door and slipped the lock on. Then she moved over to where Gran had resumed her position on the ground. Just as she knelt beside her grandmother, the door opened and the facilities manager entered. Behind him, to both Starvlings’ surprise was Magdalen.

“Are you all right, Ms. Starvling?” Magdalen asked.

Hannah noted the curious look on her sister-in-law’s face when their eyes met. Hannah’s semi-pursed lips said everything without saying anything. She let it fade as fast as she had assumed it. Magdalen caught on and tried to hide a bemused expression.

“Oh, I think I’ll be okay, dear. Just had a clumsy fall is all. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s nothing. Hannah, be a lamb and help me up, will you?”

Hannah resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Gran’s dramatics. She rose but the facilities manager stepped in to help.

“Oh, you are such a good man. Handsome too. Your wife is a lucky woman…” Gran smiled as she glanced over the name embroidered on his jumpsuit. “Lee.””

“You wouldn’t know it to hear her talk.”

“Well, you tell her that if she wants to get rid of you, you know one lady who’d take you in a second.”

Lee half laughed and half blushed. “Well, you seem okay now. Are you sure that you can walk? I can get you a wheelchair if you like.”

“Oh, no, I’m fine now, just was a bit all panicky. That poor man and all. I think I’d just like to make my way down to the cafeteria and get some hot tea or something. Thank you for everything. You’re a peach.”

With that, Magdalen and Hannah ‘helped’ Gran walk out. Within a few steps, she announced that she was good, and she was ready for her tea. As they exited the room, Hannah shook her head as she kept her eyes downward to the floor.

“You think maybe you overdid it a little? Handsome. You’d take him in a second. He’s no Papa Jay.”

“Oh, hush you. No one’s like your Papa Jay, but you got what we wanted, didn’t you?”

“I think so. I’m just not sure what it means.”

“What are you doing?” Magdalen inquired.

“See this?” Hannah pointed to several small smear marks that appeared one after the other down the hall, back toward the elevators. “It’’s paint.”

Chapter Twenty

“They run back in the other direction too,” Gran noted.

“Yup, but I’m interested in these. Come on.”

As the women followed the markings, Hannah noted the spacing.
Small stride
. She also took note of the length and shape of the marks.
Medium sized. Outward curve.

“Hard to tell if they are male or female,” Gran observed.

“Yeah, and it’s thinning.”

Half way down the corridor, the trail ended.

“It wore off.” Hannah glanced back up the corridor. “They took Rhoades that way.”

Magdalen gestured yes. All up the hallway were large footprints and streaks left in multicolored paints.

Hannah wiggled her nose before answering. She pointed to the smaller spots that led in the direction of the elevators. “I think these belong to whoever did this to him.”

“Why?”

“Because everyone went that way with Rhoades. See the wheel marks and footprints? All are from the spilt paint on the shelving. Even the facilities manager went in that direction when he went to get you. Whoever left this…” Hannah motioned the other way, ““went in the opposite direction toward the elevators.”

“So it wasn’t an accident,” Magdalen asked.

“No, the padlock on his locker had the key in it but it wasn’t open.”

Gran tapped at her lips with a vertical index finger. “Something interrupted him.”

“Someone, you mean.”

“But why pull a shelf onto him?” Magdalen asked. “Why not just kill him outright if you’re going to that much trouble?”

“Pushed onto him, and it was to make it look like an accident, I’m sure. Bet you a cookie his injury did come from a blow to the head, just not one that came from the shelves or something on it. It happened before.”

“Whoever did this wanted what he had. They waited for him,” Gran inferred.

“But they got scared when I started pounding on the door.”

Magdalen frowned. “But there was no one in the room when we came in.”

“No, because they left after we entered. We all rushed past the front shelves. That’s where I hid. I’d imagine this person did the same. I noticed the markings leading up to the door, but they mixed with those of the doctors, nurses, and yours.”

Magdalen looked down to see paint smears along the edges of her sneakers.

“Ah, dang it, these were new.”

Gran patted Magdalen on the arm. “They’ll clean right up, dear. Promise.”

“Whoever did this didn’t get much on their shoes. From what I could tell, it was just on the bottom. So they never got close to him or got to the locker.”

Gran agreed. “Because they would have had to walk through the paint, right? Like everyone else.”

“Uh huh. Instead, they just got a little under their feet which means they stood back for a second, looking the scene over.”

“Remorse?”

Hannah shrugged. “Maybe, or they were enjoying it.”

Gran placed her hands on her hips. “So, this is all fine and dandy, but did it pay off? What did you find?”