The Root of All Trouble (23 page)

Kevin had not only stepped in today, but he
'd stepped up. I thought of the way he'd taken Ana's hand when we first arrived at Mario and Perry's house... Taking care of her without even thinking twice about it.

Taking care of me.

"Well, I can take it from here," I said.

He tipped his hat and started to walk away.

"Doug?" I called. He turned. "Has there been any luck finding Ursula Krauss?"

"
She wasn't home."

"
Thanks for trying."

At the end of the hall, I spotted Perry talking with Dr. Kopec. Undoubtedly, he was hearing the same news about brain damage and heart function.

Anger slowly built in my chest. How could someone have done this on purpose? Why?

I thought back to the day before when I saw Bear and Ethan installing the water heater. Anyone could have tampered with it between then and this morning. The house wasn
't exactly Fort Knox—I could probably pick the lock on the back slider.

I thought about
Plum and how she'd been the only crew not working today...and wondered how her talk with Bear had gone. Because if it hadn't gone well, maybe she would have wanted him dead.

But why risk everyone else
's lives?

I needed to let Kevin know about
Plum and her fixation with Bear. I'd forgotten all about it while I was with him. But making a phone call meant having to leave Perry here alone. Something I couldn't do quite yet.

Perry slowly walked back to me with such a despairing look in his eyes that my heart broke all over again. I led him over to a chair and had him sit down.

"He's strong," I said. "And stubborn. He'll pull through."

Perry stared at a spot on the floor.

I sat down next to him and just held his hand for a while.

After ten minutes or so, he said,
"How're the others?"

"
Mr. Cabrera and Ethan are stable and expected to recover. The plumber Plum had called in to help is the same as Mario. You heard about Bear?"

Nodding, he said,
"He was a nice guy. A little rough around the edges but a nice guy."

I recalled his advice yesterday to Mario.
"Yeah, he seemed to be."

I didn
't mention my suspicion that he might have killed Joey.

We sat in silence for a little bit longer and stiffened when Dr. Kopec walked into the waiting room. He walked by us and headed toward the family of the plumber, asking to speak with them in a conference room down the hallway.

Perry squeezed my hand so tight I thought for sure bones would break, but I didn't let go of his hand or try to wiggle away.

An older woman shook her head fiercely and held onto a young boy
's hand much like Perry was holding on to mine. "Just tell us," she said.

The doctor crouched down.
"I'm very sorry to tell you he didn't make it. I'm so sorry."

The woman
's eyes opened wide and stayed that way until a chaplain came into the room a minute later. When she saw the man of the cloth, she broke down, crumpling to the floor.

I glanced at Perry.
"Let's go for a walk."

Tears shimmered in his eyes.
"Okay."

I jabbed the elevator button as the woman
's cries echoed down the hallway, and when the doors opened, I leaped inside and jabbed the button for the first floor as though my life depended on it.

Perry slumped in a corner of the elevator, and I said angrily,
"He's strong, damn it!"

His head snapped up, and his eyes were a watery mess. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand, lifted his chin, and said,
"Damn right!"

We both pretended not to hear the way his voice cracked when he said it.

Outside, the sun was shining and birds chattered as though nothing life-altering was happening within the walls just beyond the trees where they nested. I took a few deep breaths, breathing in the clean spring air, and trying to breathe out my anxiety, fear, and worry.

Perry sat on a bench, turned his face upward to the sun and closed his eyes. His lips moved, saying over and over again,
"He's strong, he's strong, he's strong."

My cell phone rang as I paced the sidewalk. Tam.

"Nina, thank goodness. Kit filled me in on everything. How's Mr. Cabrera. How's Mario?"

"
No change yet," I said.

There was quiet on the line, then a sniffle.
"I just can't believe this. Is Ursula there yet?"

"
Not yet. No one's been able to reach her. She's not answering her phone, and she's not at home."

"
Has anyone tried calling Claudia?"

Claudia, Brickhouse
's daughter. "I didn't even think about it."

"
I can do that."

"
Thanks, Tam."

"
I had another reason for calling," she said, her tone not quite right.

"Why's that?"

"
I've been doing that extra work for you, you know."

"
I know."

"
And well, the fingerprint stuff takes a while. It's not like you see on TV."

I knew that. I didn
't expect any news for a couple of days.

"
But," she said, "I found Honey Miller's information easily."

"
And," I said, feeling my anxiety rising again.

"
Did you read the full report on Joey Miller this morning? Did you see that vehicular homicide charge he was acquitted of?"

"
Yes..."

"
Well, turns out that Honey Walsh Miller was the victim's younger sister. She was twelve when Emmett Walsh died. I don't think it's just a coincidence that she married the man who'd been accused of killing her brother. Do you?"

My heart thrummed.
"You know how I feel about coincidences. I need to call Kevin."

"
If you could leave my name out of it...," she said meekly.

"
I will. Thanks, Tam. You're amazing."

I hung up and glanced over at Perry. He still had his fa
ce toward the sun, still mouthing a silent mantra.

I dialed Kevin. He didn
't answer. I left a message saying I needed to speak to him right away, that it was urgent, and so help me he would regret it if he didn't call me as soon as he got this message.

I
'd just tucked my phone in my pocket when I turned and saw Cain Monahan striding up to the hospital doors. He spotted me and altered his course, heading straight toward me.

I cursed my luck that the man had his sunglasses on again.

"How're your friends?" he asked as he neared.

I didn
't question how he'd known they were my friends. I had an eerie feeling that he knew much more about me than I did him.

I tried not to stare at his scars as I said,
"The same. The other man, the plumber, didn't make it."

I hated that I didn
't know the man's name. But sure as I stood there, I would never forget his wife's grief.

"
I know," he said. "That's why I'm here."

"
Ah," I said, feeling foolish for not putting that together.

"
I heard you stopped by my office this morning."

It seemed like forever ago.

"You had a question for me?"

In light of everything, my wild goose chase felt incredibly silly. Indulgent. I shrugged.
"It wasn't a big deal," I lied.

He tipped his head to the side. My throat closed a little. Seth used to do the same. Then I told myself that lots of people did that. Even so, I couldn
't help but ask, "Did I see you at the park the other day?"

"
Maybe," he said evasively. "I'm there a lot."

"
Running?"

He nodded.

"Did you run cross country in high school?"

He did the head-tipping thing again.
"Why do you ask?"

"
Curious." My heart was pounding now, my pulse throbbing in my ears.

"
Look, Ms. Quinn."

"
Nina, please."

"
Nina." He suddenly frowned, then said my name again. "Nina..."

"
What?"

"
Nothing."

"
It's something."

"
It's stupid." He grimaced. "I just...for some reason..."

"
What?" I pressed.

He laughed this time, and I felt light-headed. He
'd laughed Seth's laugh.

He said,
"I just had the biggest urge to say Nina Bo-bina. And I'm sorry, that's really stupid."

I swayed a little. Nina Bo-bina was a childhood nickname given to me by my brother. All his friends used to call me Bo-bina.

Reaching out, he grabbed onto my arm to steady me. "Are you okay?"

"
Take off your sunglasses."

"
Pardon?"

"
Please take off your sunglasses."

He held onto me with one arm, and with the other, he slowly reached up and took off his glasses.

Suddenly, I didn't want to see. I didn't want to know. I slammed my eyes shut.

"
Nina?"

His voice questioned, but there was something else there... A quiet plea. He wanted me to look. And that was all the invitation I needed.

I cracked open one eye, then the other, and slowly lifted my head to look him in the eyes.

He searched my face, seemingly looking for answers to his own questions, and my knees went weak with what I saw.

The confusion. The doubt. The hint of fear. The milk chocolate brown irises dotted with flecks of gold.

Feeling woozy, I could barely force the name from my lips.
"Seth."

And almost as though that effort had been too much, my body went slack, and my world went dark.

Chapter Twenty-one

I
woke up in a hospital bed with Kevin hovering over me, kissing my face.

"
Stop that!" a voice from across the room said. "She's not Snow White, and you're making me sick."

Maria.

I popped open an eye and squinted. The room was bright, and I wished I'd kept my eyes closed because suddenly my head throbbed like my skull had been cracked open. "What happened?"

Maria appeared at my bedside.
"You cracked your skull open!"

"
What?"

Kevin held my hand.
"It's not that bad. You fainted and hit your head on the sidewalk. The doctor says it's a concussion. You've been in and out of it for a few hours now."

Fainted.

Seth
.

I struggled to sit up, but Kevin pushed me back down. He said,
"The doctor said no sudden movements."

I stared at him.
"Were you
kissing
me?"

His jaw twitched.
"You don't have to make it sound like it's a bad thing."

I wasn
't sure it was a
good
thing.

"
Plus," he added, "it always works in the movies."

I flicked my gaze to Maria.
"Mr. Cabrera? Mario?"

She smoothed the hospital blankets.
"Mr. Cabrera's awake and talking. The doctors want to keep him for observation tonight and he can likely go home tomorrow. Kit and Ana are up with him."

"
No Brickhouse?"

Maria said,
"Tam called Claudia who told her that Ursula had taken an earlier flight. We're trying to track her down in Florida."

"
Mario?"

"
He's a little bit better. Still getting oxygen treatments."

"
Is he awake?"

"
Not yet," Maria said. "Perry's with him."

"
Ethan?"

"
Same story as Mr. Cabrera," Kevin said.

I closed my eyes and fought against the pain. My thoughts swirled, one taking precedence over the others.

Why was Seth Thiessen pretending to be another man?

"
Looks like she's out again," Kevin whispered.