Love M.D. (19 page)

“And you can use this tablet to
communicate in case it’s too painful to talk.” I show her the tablet.

“The police need to speak with you.
Do you think you’re ready to talk with them?” Maria asks.

She nods. Maria leaves the room and
quickly returns with some medication that she injects through the IV.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs, moments
later, when we’re alone.

“Baby, please don’t apologize. I
want you to focus on your health.”

“Pixie and Peaches?”

“Gail let Megan into the house, and
she’s been taking care of them.”

She looks surprised. “My staff?”

“They are fine. You were at the
office alone. Leo, Lisa, Trevor and Sheila came by to visit you yesterday. Jada,
Jonathan, and Megan were all here, too, both last night and this morning. Dad
says he’ll come by later. Robin wanted to as well, but she’s at a conference in
San Diego.”

Her tears are now in a constant
flow. I’m not sure if it’s because this is overwhelming, she’s scared, or a
combination of the two.

“It’s going to be okay, Zoë. I
promise you.” I feel like wrapping her in my arms, but her cherry red skin
reminds me of how sensitive to the touch she is.

A while later, a gentle knock
sounds through the door. Detective Bradshaw enters.

“Hi, Doctor Drake. Ms. Jenkins, I’m
Detective Bradshaw.”

She whispers a soft hello.

“Doctor Drake, can you give us a
minute, please?”

“No,” Zoë murmurs. “Morgan stays.”

“Ms. Jenkins, are you sure?”

She nods.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“I was in my office. I heard a
noise in the lobby area.” She pauses, swallowing hard. I’m not certain if it’s
because this is difficult for her to talk, or because it’s difficult for her to
talk about.

“Would you like to use the tablet?”
I ask. “Is it too painful to talk?”

She nods. I hold it up to her. With
one finger, she types her response. It takes a minute, she sighs, and I sense
this is frustrating for her.

When she’s done, Detective Bradshaw
reads her response aloud.

“When I looked out the office door
a masked man slammed me into the wall and strangled me with both hands. I must
have blacked out because when I woke, I was in my office surrounded by fire.”

“Did you recognize the suspect?” Detective
Bradshaw asks.

She shakes her head.

“Can you tell me anything about his
physical description?”

Again, she shakes her head then
motions to me to hold up the tablet.

“All black clothes, stocking over
his head. Black cap and gloves. It happened quickly. I had little time to see,”
she types.

“Can you tell me how big or tall he
was?”

She shrugs.

“Was he bigger than me?” I rise to
my feet so she gets a visual.

 She nods and clears her throat. “When
he raised me, my feet couldn’t touch the floor.”

Detective Bradshaw takes notes then
asks, “Do you know anyone who’d want to hurt you?”

Shaking her head, her eyes become
glassy once more.

“Did you have any altercations with
anyone?”

She types, “Just my ex, but I never
believed he’d do anything.”

“What about Jodi Mathews, I
understood you two recently had words?”

She nods and types, “She’d have
nothing to gain… I don’t think she has anything to do with it. I’m not
suspicious of anyone. No idea.”

“Maybe if you tell me what’s
happened in the last few weeks, something might come up. I’m sorry about your
brother. Doctor Drake told me he died after surgery.”

She nods. Turning away slightly,
she looks at me and as her tears fall, I wipe them away.

“I’m sorry I have to put you
through this now, Ms. Jenkins. I realize this is difficult for you. Did he have
a life insurance policy? Is there anyone who would gain anything financially if
you were killed?”

She shakes her head. “He left me
everything. If I were to die tomorrow, I left him everything I own. I haven’t
gotten around to working that out yet.”

“What about business relationships?
Any go sour recently?”

“The last one was my ex-husband. I
have no clue…”

“Think, recently… have you gotten
angry with anyone, scolded anyone, maybe even threatened anyone?”

She looks across at me and smiles. Detective
Bradshaw looks my way.

“She was angry with me for not
telling her I was the doctor overseeing her brother’s case at the hospital when
he died. He died and I wanted to know what caused his death so I had our
medical examiner perform an autopsy.”

She clears her throat and
interjects softly. “Morgan has nothing to do with this.”

“What did the autopsy results say?”
Detective Bradshaw asks.

“He had an allergic reaction to an
antibiotic. That is what eventually killed him.”

“Doctor Drake, I’d like to talk to
Ms. Jenkins alone for a moment, please.”

She places her hand over mine,
shakes her head and whispers, “He stays. Morgan and I may have had
disagreements, but I know he’d never hurt me. At least not intentionally.”

I had hoped she’d know that, but I
am relieved to hear her utter the words.

Detective Bradshaw looks at me
directly. “And he has not coerced you in anyway?”

Closing her eyes, she continuously
and irritably shakes her head. “He has nothing to do with this, detective.”

“I have to ask. It’s my job.”

She closes her eyes, sighs and
sinks back into bed.

“Detective, do you think you can
come back tomorrow? She’s tired.”

He looks at Zoë and nods in
agreement.

“Doctor Drake, do you think this
might be in any way connected to you? Vengeful ex-girlfriends or wives? Someone
wanting to get back at you for seeing Ms. Jenkins?”

“No. I just went through a nasty
divorce, but we’ve settled our differences and my ex has moved on. I found out
sometime last week she’s engaged to be married soon. She’d gain nothing from
this.”

“What about at any of your jobs,
old or new?”

“No. I’ve only been at my new job
for about two months.”

“Haven’t ruffled any feathers?”

“No. I don’t even know all the
doctors there yet. Trust me, Detective Bradshaw, I want to know who’s
responsible for this more than you do. I’m happy to assist.”

As he shakes my hand, he says, “I’ll
be back tomorrow. We can talk about this more then. Ms. Jenkins, get well soon.”

Nodding, she closes her eyes. It isn’t
long before she drifts off again. That night, I relax a bit and drift off on
the chair by her side.

A few days
later, the hospital releases me. I’ve been
in here for about a week, and I can’t wait to go home. Before I leave, Megan
stops by for a visit. I’m so happy to see her. I’ve had tons of questions for
her regarding Zach, but did not want to overwhelm her at the time of his death.
I ask Morgan for some time alone with her.

“How do you feel?” Megan asks.

I smile at her, but I’m a little
nervous about my exit today. I’m not sure what lies ahead.

“I’ll be okay. Thank you so much
for taking care of Peaches and Pixie.”

“It’s the least I can do. You’ve
been there for me.”

“Megan, I know this is difficult,
but I need to know what Zach said before he died.”

“Zoë, I’m still
so angry with him,” Megan says as a
tear slips down her cheek.

“Me, too.”

“Zach didn’t say much. He told me
he loved me, and he said he was sorry he didn’t tell us. He thought he’d be
fine. He told me to tell you not to be mad at him and Morgan. He said Morgan
encouraged him to let us know, but he chose not to.”

“Is that all?”

Tears pour down her face, “Then he
said you’re the love of my life.”

As she cries, I cry, too. My heart
breaks for her.

“I was so mad at Morgan,” I whisper.
“He should have told me. I would have been there.”

“I understand how you feel Zoë, but
he couldn’t, it’s the law. If he broke that law, he could lose his medical
license.”

“The rational side of me knows
that. I’m still so… unsettled about this.”

“Morgan arrived moments after Zach
died, and he was visibly upset. He was angry, too. At one point, he raised his
voice with the doctors about why he hadn’t been contacted when things went
wrong. He said that when he left Zach was fine, and he was on his way to making
a full recovery. He couldn’t understand why, when something went wrong with a
patient of his, that he wasn’t contacted.”

“That’s exactly what he told me.”

“Zach consciously made this
decision, and even though I understand his reason, it makes it even harder. The
week before, he told me that he’d be heading to Los Angeles for a few days to
meet a client. The morning after he dropped you off at the airport, he stopped
by my office, surprised me with flowers, and said goodbye.

I thought he was heading to the airport.
Instead, he admitted himself to the hospital and had surgery. Late that night,
he called me and told me he was at the hospital. I rushed there to see him. He
was so weak. He was having problems breathing. He told me for the first few
hours he felt fine. Soon after I arrived, he stopped breathing and they rushed
him into surgery. He never came out.”

“Why didn’t he call Morgan?”

“We didn’t get to that,” she sobs
as she speaks. “It’s seems he called me when he realized something was
wrong—when things got bad, and he wanted to tell me he was sorry and that he
loved me.”

I feel a little relief regarding
Morgan as I hear her words, but I still don’t feel that there has been a
complete resolution. And with all Megan’s going through, I really don’t want to
tell her that something is not sitting right with me about Zach’s death.

“Thank you for sharing this with
me, and for taking care of my crew. When I’m better, we’ll do something
together.”

“Sure… but Zoë, life is short. I
learned that the hard way. You have to let go. Let Morgan be there for you,” she
hugs me gently then says goodbye.

I prepare to
head home
and slip into some
clothing Morgan got me. As I look in the mirror at the faint strangulation
marks around my neck, the hairs on my neck stand erect. I still feel the
attacker’s hands around my neck. I look at the other sweaters Morgan brought me
and change once more into a turtleneck. That way, I won’t have to see reminders
that linger.

 I have not told Morgan or anyone
this, but the thought of being home alone scares me—despite the fact that
Peaches is there, despite the state-of-the-art alarm system, despite the fact
that my house is hard to find. I’m anxious.

I know Todd threatened me on
numerous occasions, but not once did I ever believe he’d hurt me. I always
thought it was just talk. For some reason, after all that has happened, I still
don’t see my ex as the one being responsible for this. Could I be wrong?

The drive home is quiet. There is
so much I know I need to say to Morgan that goes beyond thank you… and I’m
sorry. After some of the hurtful things I said to him, I never expected him to
drop his whole life so he could be with me. I never expected him to pay my
hospital bills without hesitation, not knowing if I’d even make it through to
pay him back. I never expected him to take care of my wounds and be at my disposal
the way he has.

The more I think about it, the more
I feel like a total bitch for treating him the way I have for the last few
weeks. Regardless of what my thoughts or fears were, I should have given him
the benefit of the doubt. There is no excuse for saying some of the hurtful
things I said to him. I regret that.

We drive through the wooded road. As
we approach the house, I notice my car parked in front the garage.

“How did my vehicle get here?”

“Jonathan and Megan got it here.
The garage door opener was destroyed in the fire so they couldn’t open it. Megan
got the car and house keys off Zach’s bunch of keys.”

“Wow.” I’m almost speechless. I
have so many people to thank when I’m back up on my feet. But for now, I’m on
crutches. I still can’t put too much weight on my feet. Especially on my left
foot, I still have a nasty wound on it. The stairs up to the front door looks
like a mountain to climb.

Morgan brings my crutches up the
stairs then carries me into the house and sets me down on the sofa. Pixie
immediately jumps on my lap. Peaches barks and wags her tail.

Flowers fill the room. I’m so
overwhelmed by everything, the show of support and the fact that someone wants
me dead…

Morgan returns to the car to get
the rest of my things. While he’s gone, I hobble on my crutches to the wall
switch. In one swipe, I close the great room’s floor to ceiling draperies.

I’ve never closed them before, but
as the sun starts going down, the unknown that lurks in the forest beyond
scares me. I head into the kitchen and the foyer and close the wooden mini
blinds.

The house darkens. No light filters
through any more except a tad from the skylights above. I switch on all the
lights then double-check all the exits to make sure the doors are locked.

The only thing I’ve ever been
scared of was losing the people that I love. I was never afraid to live in this
secluded area. I’ve never been afraid to work at the office alone late at night.
I’ve never been afraid to relax outside at night, alone. Now, all these things
scare me.

 I took a few self-defense classes
once, but right this minute, I’m anxious about being alone. It doesn’t help
that despite those self-defense classes, I was attacked in my own office and
could do nothing to stop the perpetrator.

“What are you doing?” Morgan asks
from behind, startling me.

“Nothing. Just closing the
draperies,” I say. I don’t want to look at him for too long. I’m afraid he’ll
see straight through me.

“You don’t have to be scared. I’ll stay
here with you.” Then he asks, “Is there anything I can do to make you more
comfortable?”

Shaking my head, I hobble to the
sofa. It’s not often I find myself in this situation, but I have to swallow my
pride.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He sits
next to me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, looking into
his hazel eyes. “I treated you horribly, and I want you to know how sorry I
am.”

“Zoë, you don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. I feel terrible about
the way I treated you. I should have never said some of those mean things. And
still, after all that, you’ve given up so much for me.”

“I told you I’d always be here for
you, and I meant it. All I want is for you to get better. And I want whoever
did this behind bars.”

“I know I hurt you. I should have
trusted you.”

“Zoë, I’m not here to buy your
affection. I don’t want you back in my life out of obligation.”

“I don’t feel obligated. I realize that
I made a mistake.”

He massages his forehead. “I’m here
as your friend. There’s no need for us to rehash the past. Until you’re back on
your feet and this person is found, you can either stay with me or I can stay
here if you wish, but I won’t leave you alone. Gail fixed the guestroom in case
you prefer to stay here, although I think it would be easier on you if you were
with me because everything you need is upstairs on one floor. I’ve set some
stuff in the minibar upstairs to ensure you’d be comfortable.”

Finally, I get the guts to ask, “What
about us?”

“Zoë, there is no
us
. Any
feelings you have right now are just from being grateful that I’m here. I
appreciate that, but I think we both know how you feel. This last week is not
going to change that. Anything you think you feel beyond a friendship is not
real.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is. Zoë, this is just an
attachment. Trust me, I know. That’s how we cope as humans. You feel this way
because of what’s going on around you—the fear, the uncertainty. I’m not doing
you or myself any favors by falling into this false sense of reality. I will
always care about you, and I’m here to help you through to the end. But I know
how this will end if we try to take it somewhere based on some need or attachment
that was developed because of this highly stressful situation.”

I try to remain stoic but my heart
is breaking. I screwed up any chance we had just over a week ago when I told
him to move on with his life. Now, I have absolutely no right to be upset. He
did what I told him to do. He moved on with his life.

I’m so vulnerable right now,
especially physically. The hospital made it clear that the only reason they
released me is because Morgan was with me. I can’t even walk up the stairs on
my own. Now that I realize how things
really
are between us, I can’t
continue to expect him to take care of me. How can I possibly stay here by myself?

I suppose I can hire a nurse, but I
don’t trust many people. Jada and Jonathan need to take care of their family.
It’s too much to ask anyone else and, quite frankly, there are not many people
I’d ask for this type of favor. At that precise moment, I think of Zach; and
although the tears threaten, I hold them back.

Eventually, I say, “You’ve done so
much already. Thank you. But I don’t think I can allow you to put your life on
pause much longer for me. I’m sure this is very uncomfortable for you. I’d be
grateful if you stay tonight, but tomorrow I’ll make other arrangements. I’m
sure I can get security for here, maybe get a nurse or Leo to come stay with me
until I’m on my feet.”

“Zoë, let me be abundantly clear
about something. I’m not leaving you alone until an arrest is made.”

“This is going to be uncomfortable
for both of us—”

“That is secondary to your life.”

“Morgan, I appreciate everything
you’ve done, but I can’t ask you to do that.”

“Zoë, the choice is yours: my place
or yours? Make up your mind, and if you don’t give me an answer, I’m going to
fix you dinner. You barely ate today.”

I’m stressed and tired, and because
I want him to be comfortable and not be any more of a burden on his life, I
reluctantly agree to stay with him at his house until I’m back on my feet—he
says until an arrest is made…

An hour later, after he’s pulled
some things I need from my office and bedroom, he loads my animals, me, and all
we come with into the vehicle. At his house, he carries me upstairs to a prepared
guest room complete with fresh linens and towels. I wonder who did this. He’s
been with me the entire time.

 
“My dad’s housekeeper was
here. Her name is Marguerite. She will be back tomorrow. From now on, she’ll
spend half the day at my dad’s and the other half here. I trust her. She’s
worked for my parents for years. I’m going to fix you some dinner.”

He exits the room and Peaches
follows him downstairs, Pixie curls up next to me on the bed.

I am beginning to see that there
are many facets to Morgan Drake. In so many ways, he seemed so cold tonight. It’s
too bad I didn’t tell him how badly I missed him just over a week ago. I was so
stubborn, so determined to protect myself.

I’m overwhelmed right now. I rest
my head upon the crisp white pillows. Now, even though my mind runs wild, my
body decides that it’s had enough. I give way to sleep.

When I open
my eyes, I realize it’s morning. I’m
thirsty and notice the pitcher and glass Morgan must have left on the bedside
table. Peaches wakes, pulls the slightly ajar door open, and heads out. Pixie follows.

Moments later, a gentle knock
sounds through the door. Morgan enters with a breakfast tray in hand. He’s dressed
in navy slacks and a light blue shirt. It looks like he might be heading out.

“Hey, hungry?” he asks.

“Thirsty.”

“Here’s some juice.” He hands me a
glass with a straw. “Most of this is partially solid. It will be easier on your
throat.”

“Thank you. How are you?”

He looks at me and smiles, “I’m
okay. I have to head out to the hospital for a couple hours. I’ll be back by
ten or eleven. Armed guards surround the house, so I don’t want you to worry. You’re
safe here. Marguerite is downstairs. She’ll get you anything you need. And Dad
is here as well.”

“I should reimburse you for all
this expense.”

“Focus on getting well, Zoë,” he
says. “I’ll be back in a while to get those burns dressed. Can I get you
anything else?”

“No, thank you.”

I hate this tension between us. I
hate it even more that he has to endure this in his home, a place that is meant
to be his sanctuary. I swallow some cantaloupe and yogurt, but I have little
appetite for more. I’m not sure how to address this dynamic unfolding between
us or what I can do to change it. I suppose the best I can do is focus on
getting better as soon as I can, so I can end this imposition on his life.

He reenters the room with a bowl of
water and towels. He starts work on my feet, carefully cleaning my wounds.

“How do you feel today?”

There’s nothing technically wrong
with his question, but it comes across in a doctor-patient sort of way. I think
of confronting him head-on about his attitude, but decide against it and try a
little humor instead.