Claws For Concern

THIRTY-FOUR

“Surely she can’t be that crazy,” I said. “She has to know that it would be incredibly risky to try to kill him again.”

“Who can tell with her?” Jack said. “I can’t really figure her out.”

“How far away are you now?” I asked.

“I figure we’ll be in Athena in about an hour and a quarter, roughly,” Jack said.

I thought fast about what to do. “Did you tell the sheriff we are pretty sure she was the driver in the hit-and-run?”

“I did,” Jack said. “I’m not sure he completely believed me, though.”

“Have you alerted him to the fact that she’s left town?”

“Not yet,” Jack said. “I wanted to call you first. I’ll call him and let him know. I think he needs to get in touch with the police there.”

“I agree. I would try it myself, but it would have a lot more weight coming from a sheriff than from me,” I said. “I’ll head to the hospital and keep an eye on things. He may still be in the ICU, and that’s good. It would make it harder for her to get to him without anyone seeing her.”

“Sounds good,” Jack said. “I’ll call you when we get close to Athena.”

I thanked him and ended the call. I shut down my laptop and put it aside. “Diesel, I’m afraid I’m going to have to be gone for a while. I don’t know how long, and you can’t come with me.”

As expected, the cat meowed, but I simply couldn’t take him with me. The hospital did allow visits with therapy animals, but the animals had to be registered with the hospital, along with their handlers. Diesel and I weren’t part of the program, although I had looked into it. Now I wished I had signed us up. Diesel would be good with patients. He wouldn’t have any trouble passing the behavioral tests they gave the prospective therapy pets.

Too late to worry about that right now. I would simply have to leave Diesel at home. Azalea would be leaving soon, and I had no idea whether Stewart would be here to look after him. If Stewart wasn’t available, I’d have to take Diesel to Laura’s house. He would love that because he could be near the baby.

I texted Stewart to inquire and heard back quickly. He was sorry, but he wouldn’t be home until around six. That meant Laura’s house. I called her, and Frank actually answered her phone.

“Hi, Charlie, what’s up?” he said.

“I need a babysitter,” I replied. “Would you and Laura mind looking after Diesel for a few hours? If it’s convenient, of course.”

“Sure, bring him on over whenever you’re ready,” Frank said. “We’re not going anywhere tonight, and Diesel can help look after little Charlie. It’s amazing to me how he watches over the baby.”

“Yes, it is. He loves that baby almost as much as I do,” I said. “Thanks. I’ll be over in the next twenty minutes or so.”

“Come on, boy,” I said as I ended the call. “We’re going to see Laura, Frank, and baby Charlie.”

Diesel perked up at the mention of those names. He hopped off the sofa and hurried ahead of me to the kitchen, anxious to be on the way.

Azalea was pouring the pecan pie filling into pie shells when we walked in. “Azalea, I’m going to have to go to the hospital for a while, and I don’t know how long I’ll be. I’m taking Diesel over to stay with Laura and Frank while I’m gone.”

“Everything will be fine here, Mr. Charlie. You go on and do what you need to do,” Azalea said.

“Thanks. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Diesel was already at the door, waiting for me to open it so he could get to the car. He was like an impatient child. I got him into the car, and moments later we were backing out of the garage and on our way.

The drive to Frank and Laura’s house took only a few minutes. I wanted to get Diesel there and be on my way to the hospital. I had a sense of urgency that I had to keep under control, otherwise I’d get pulled over for speeding. Elizabeth Barber couldn’t possibly have reached Athena yet, much less the hospital, but I was anxious about Bill Delaney’s safety. I forced myself to drive at a more reasonable speed, and we made good time.

I explained my errand to Frank. He looked concerned, but I told him I was certain there would be police officers there if they were needed. I was thinking that surely Elmer Lee Johnson would take this seriously enough that he would communicate with the police department here. And surely they in turn would take this seriously enough to send someone to keep an eye on Bill Delaney.

“Just be careful,” Frank said. Diesel had already disappeared inside the house, eager to find Laura and baby Charlie. “We’ll take good care of Diesel.”

“I know you will, and I will be careful. Thanks again.” I left him and hurried back to my car.

By the time I reached the hospital barely half an hour had passed since Jack’s call. More like twenty-five minutes, I reckoned, so Elizabeth Barber couldn’t get here for another forty minutes or so. I didn’t think she would drive recklessly. She wouldn’t want to attract police attention.

I made my way to the floor where the ICU was situated. The visiting hours were posted, and the next visiting time was from seven to eight this evening. It wasn’t five thirty yet, so I couldn’t go back for more than an hour and a half. In the meantime, however, I could call and find out whether Bill Delaney was still there or had been moved into a room.

I was about to call when a man in scrubs came out of the ICU and started down the hall. I stopped him. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m here to visit a patient in the ICU. I realize it isn’t visiting hours, but is there any way I could possibly go in to check on him?”

The man turned out to be the same one I had spoken to earlier, I realized when I heard his voice. “You can go back for a couple of minutes,” he said. “What’s the patient’s name?”

“Bill Delaney,” I replied. “I believe I talked to you earlier about him. I’m his cousin, Charlie Harris.”

“Right, I remember,” the nurse said. “You’ll be happy to hear that he’s been released from the ICU. In fact, they just took him to a room. I believe it’s room 227.”

“Thanks, that is great news,” I said, although Bill would now be more vulnerable outside of the ICU. “One more question, if you don’t mind. Has he had any visitors today?”

The nurse shook his head. “No, nobody outside of hospital staff.”

On a sudden hunch, I asked another question. “Did one of the staff happen to be Dr. Finch? Leann Finch?”

“Actually, yes, she did come in and check on him probably an hour ago. Only stayed a couple of minutes because she had to get back down to the ER.”

By now the nurse was clearly eager to get away from me. I thanked him, and he hurried off down the hall.

Room 227, he said. Two floors down. I headed for the elevator.

When I reached the second floor, I pulled out my phone and sent Jack a text to inform him that Bill was out of the ICU and in a room. I headed down the hall toward 227.

The door stood open. When I looked inside I saw two women in the room with Bill Delaney. They appeared to be working with monitors and IV equipment. I stepped back to wait until they were finished. I wanted to talk to them before I entered the room. I didn’t want to pop in on Bill without knowing more about his status now.

His heart must be stronger than they thought, I decided, if they moved him out of the ICU this quickly. That didn’t mean, however, he should be subjected to any sudden shocks. I would have to be really careful when I approached him. I prayed that the realization that I hadn’t left things alone wouldn’t cause another setback. Surely it was all weighing on his conscience, whatever his role in the murders had been. I thought I knew what it was, but I couldn’t be sure unless he or Elizabeth Barber was finally willing to tell the truth about that night.

While I waited, I thought about the fact that Leann Finch had visited him briefly this afternoon. She was far too smart, I was sure, to try to harm him right there in the ICU, though she might have been willing to risk it. It boded well that he had been released from the ICU.

I had figured that Leann Finch’s role in all this was that of the supportive best friend. Willing to lie and cover up for Elizabeth Barber, but not an active participant in what went on in the Barber house that night. That she was protecting Elizabeth, I had no doubt. I didn’t believe she was protecting Bill Delaney, except whenever protecting him meant protecting her best friend.

I had to wait almost another ten minutes before the two women came out of Bill Delaney’s room. I waited until they were several feet away from his door before I spoke to them. I focused on the nurse. The other woman was a personal care assistant.

“Excuse me,” I said. “I’m Charlie Harris, Mr. Delaney’s cousin. I arrived a little while ago to find out that he was released from the ICU. That must mean he’s doing a lot better.”

“He mentioned you, Mr. Harris,” the nurse said. “I know he wants to talk to you, but he was falling asleep when we left the room. I’d give him at least half an hour before you try to talk to him. He needs as much rest and quiet as possible.”

“But he is stronger now,” I said.

“Yes, he’s really improved, according to his cardiologist,” the nurse replied. “He’s not ready to give up just yet.” She pointed down the hall. “There’s a waiting area down there at the end of the hall. If you’ve got time to wait, you can stay there. Like I said, give him at least half an hour to sleep before you go in.”

“Thank you, Nurse, I will.” I smiled and let her go. I headed down the hall to the waiting area. I noticed as I passed Bill Delaney’s room that the door was partially open. I resisted the urge, however, to look inside. I would follow the nurse’s instructions and not go in for half an hour.

I discovered that I could position one of the chairs at an angle that allowed me to keep an eye on Delaney’s door. I settled in to wait. A check of my watch assured me that I ought to be able to get into the room before Elizabeth Barber would arrive at the hospital. I hoped that a police officer or a deputy would arrive before her. I wasn’t really afraid of her, but I knew that an officer in uniform would be a much better deterrent than I would.

About twenty minutes later, Jack called. “We’re just getting into Athena,” he said. “Looks like she’s heading toward the hospital, as predicted. Probably be there in less than fifteen minutes. How is he?”

“I haven’t seen him yet,” I replied. “I’m in the waiting area down the hall. I’ve been watching his room. No one’s gone in there for the past twenty minutes. There’s no policeman anywhere around that I can see.”

“Maybe one will still turn up by the time we get there,” Jack said. “Elmer Lee surely got in touch with the police there.”

“He may have done,” I said, “but they might not have considered the threat level high enough. Who knows? Text me when you actually get to the hospital. I’m going to slip into his room and hide in the bathroom.”

“Will do.”

I ended the call.

Eleven minutes later I received a text from Jack.

In the parking lot. Entering hospital now.

I texted back simply OK.

I walked down the hall to room 227 and peered inside. Bill Delaney appeared to be asleep. I slipped into the room.

The bathroom was immediately to my right. The bathroom door faced the bed. It was closed. I opened it carefully and positioned myself inside with the door nearly shut. I had a good line of vision to the bed. I was ready for Elizabeth Barber.