Orchid Beach

CHAPTER

4

Two minutes passed before Hurd Wallace made his entrance. Holly stood up and stuck out her hand. “Let’s start over,” she said. “I’m Holly Barker, and I’m coming to work here today.”

Wallace shook her hand. “Glad to meet you,” he said. “Welcome aboard.”

“Have a seat, and let’s talk for a minute before the watch change.”

Hurd did as he was asked.

Holly thought him the calmest person she had ever met. He seemed to have no reaction whatever to the news that he had been passed over for promotion, and that a strange woman was now his superior. “I know this comes as something of a surprise to you, and in a way, it is to me, too. I didn’t know that there had been no announcement about my arrival.”

“That was a surprise, yes,” Wallace said.

“The chief hired me more than a month ago. I’ve been arranging my retirement from the army; I arrived in town last night.”

“Anything I can do to help you settle in?”

“Thanks, but I think I’m okay. I’m at Riverview Park, in a trailer. I was already living in it off base.”

“I see.”

“Hurd—may I call you Hurd?”

“Of course.”

“And I’m Holly to you, when we’re alone, but not to the rest of the force. Hurd, I’m aware that you might have expected to get this job, and I’m sorry that things have been complicated even more by the shooting of the chief last night. I hope we’re going to be able to work together smoothly.”

“I’m sure we will,” Wallace said.

“Before I meet the others, I’d like to be brought up to date on the shooting last night. Who’s handling the investigation?”

“Bob Hurst, detective sergeant. He’s our best man on homicides—that’s how we’re treating this.”

“I’d like to talk to him as soon as possible.”

“He was up all night working the crime scene and going over the chief’s car. I told him to get some sleep.”

“Don’t wake him, but I want to talk to him at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime, tell me what you know.”

“In a nutshell, a passerby found the chief lying in front of his car on the shoulder of A1A, just after eleven last night. He’d been shot once in the head, but he was still alive. Bob Hurst got there right after the ambulance arrived; I got there right after the ambulance left. The ground was dry, so there were no footprints; nothing was amiss inside the chief’s car.”

“Were the flashers on the chief’s car running?”

“No, but the headlights were on.”

“Car doors open or closed?”

“Closed and unlocked. The driver’s window was down. The chief usually kept it down—he didn’t like air conditioning much.”

Holly looked at her Rolex, a gift from her platoon leaders on her retirement. “Okay, we’d better get out to the squad room so I can meet the others. I’d appreciate it if you’d introduce me. I’ll do the rest.”

“Sure, glad to.”

They got to their feet and walked into the squad room, where the watch had assembled.

“Let me have your attention,” Hurd said loudly. Everybody got quiet. “I want to introduce a new member of the department—Deputy Chief Holly Barker, who’s starting work today. Chief Barker?”

Holly stepped forward. “Good morning. I know I’m a surprise to all of you, but Chief Marley hired me five weeks ago, and he expected to introduce me to you today, but of course, the events of last night changed that. I expect I’ll get to know you all in due course, and I’m looking forward to that. There’ll be no changes in assignments or duty rosters—there’s a good system in place, and I don’t want to change it. I know you’re all good people, because Chet Marley hired you, so I come into this job with full confidence in every one of you. My first priority is going to be the solving of the chief’s shooting and the apprehension of the perpetrator. I’m not going to take over the case personally, but I’ll be keeping close tabs on it.

“Each of you can help in this investigation by questioning every source, every snitch you have any contact with. From what I’ve heard so far, that’s going to be our best bet. I’m going to see what I can do to get a substantial reward offered, and maybe that will help us.

“I know you’ll have a lot of questions about me. I’m going to post my résumé on the bulletin board, so that you can all read up on my background. I’ll get to know you and the ropes here as fast as I can. I expect to make some mistakes. Feel free to point them out to me, I’ll learn faster that way. Any questions?”

“How’s the chief doing?” an officer asked.

“We’re waiting for information; you’ll know shortly after I do. I’m heading over to the hospital now. Any other questions?” Nobody spoke. “That’s all, then.”

“I’ll assign somebody to ride with you,” Wallace said.

“Thanks, good idea.”

Jane appeared and handed her a small cell phone. “This is for you. It fits into a pouch on your belt, and the number is taped to the back of the phone.”

“Thank you, Jane. I’m going to the hospital now. Call me if you hear anything before I do.” She turned to Wallace. “If Detective Hurst comes in, call me and ask him to wait.”

“I’ll do that.” He waved a young officer over. “This is Patrolman Jimmy Weathers. He’ll ride with you today.”

“Hi, Jimmy,” Holly said, shaking his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Chief. Bob Hurst has released the chief’s car, so we’ll use that.”

“Let’s get rolling.”

Holly approached the chief’s car, a newish, dark blue Ford Taurus, unmarked, and walked around it slowly, looking for dents or marks. She found a couple of short, deep scratches in the paint on the hood and nothing else. She went over the interior thoroughly as well and found nothing of note.

Holly drove, and Weathers gave her directions. “How long are you on the force, Jimmy?”

“A year and a half, ma’am.”

“What duties have you pulled?”

“Just patrol—on bikes and in cars.”

“Motorcycles, you mean?”

“No, ma’am, bicycles. They’re good for the business district and beach areas. The ground is flat, and they keep us close to the public—less intimidating than patrol cars. It was Chief Marley’s idea.”

“What do you want to do on the force?”

“Criminal investigation, of course. Just about everybody does.”

Holly laughed. “Sure, they do.” Following Weathers’s directions, she pulled into the hospital emergency entrance and parked in a reserved place.

“Just put down the visor,” he said. “There’s a badge printed on it.”

She did as he said, then got out of the car and went into the hospital, looking up surgery on the directory. They took the elevator to the fourth floor and went to the desk.

“I’m Deputy Chief of Police Barker,” she said to the woman. “Can you tell me anything about Chief Marley’s condition?”

“No, ma’am,” the woman said, “but I can get Dr. Green for you. He did the surgery.”

“Thank you.”

The woman picked up the phone and paged the doctor. A moment later he stepped up to the desk.

“I’m Dr. Green. Can I help you?”

Holly introduced herself. “What is Chief Marley’s condition?”

“He’s still in the recovery room, on a respirator. I had hoped he would be conscious by now, but it appears that he’s in a coma.”

“What’s the prognosis?”

“Guarded, perhaps doubtful.”

“Can you describe his injuries?”

“Just one—a small-caliber bullet to the right frontal lobe.”

“Did you recover the bullet?”

The doctor took a Ziploc bag from his pocket containing a chunk of lead. “I was wondering when someone was going to ask.”

Holly looked at it. “Looks like thirty-two caliber,” she said.

“That’s what I figured.”

“And nobody asked about this?”

“I understand there was a detective here during the night, but he was gone by the time I got out of surgery.”

“Did he see the chief at all?”

“No.”

She nodded. “I’d like to see the chief.”

“He can’t be disturbed yet,” the doctor replied.

“I don’t want to disturb him; I just want to get a look at him, with your help.”

“All right, come this way.”

“Jimmy, you wait here,” Holly said.

The doctor led the way down the hall and through the intensive-care-unit doors. There were four beds in the room; only one was occupied. Chet Marley was surrounded by monitoring equipment, his head swathed in bandages. A nurse sat on a chair beside the bed.

“Any change?” the doctor asked her.

“No, sir, still the same.”

He turned back to Holly. “Well, there he is.”

Holly approached the bed and looked closely at Marley. His head was made to seem larger by the bandages, and his face was distorted by the respirator mouthpiece. She switched on a light over the bed and looked at his right cheek. “Major contusion here,” she said.

The doctor looked at it. “I didn’t see that before. His head was already draped when I came into the O.R.”

She picked up his right hand and looked at it. There were scrapes and bruising on the knuckles. She walked around the bed and examined the left hand. Two nails were broken off to the quick, and there had been bleeding. “I need to look at his torso,” she said.

“I don’t want to move him to undo the gown,” the doctor replied.

“Then cut it open for me.”

He turned to the nurse. “Get me some scissors.” The woman opened a drawer and handed him a pair, and he cut down the front of the gown and opened it.

Holly held the gown back and looked at Marley’s trunk. “Big bruise on the left ribs,” she said. “Some swelling down here.” She pointed.

“You’re right.”

Holly closed the gown, and the nurse taped it closed. Holly gently pulled back the sheet and examined Marley’s legs and feet. “No injuries here,” she said.

“I concur,” the doctor replied.

“Did you note any powder burns around the bullet wound?” she asked.

“There was some blackening; it wasn’t severe.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” They walked out of the recovery room together. “With a wound like this, what are the chances for any kind of recovery?” she asked.

“Well, the damage was limited to the frontal lobe. Theoretically, he could make something like a full recovery, but I wouldn’t want to promise that. On the other hand he could come out of this with what amounts to a prefrontal lobotomy.”

“I’d like to see the chief’s clothes,” she said.

The doctor nodded and went to a phone. A moment later, a nurse appeared with a small trash bag and handed it to the doctor, who handed it to Holly. “Would you like to use my office?” he asked.

She nodded and followed him into the room, the nurse bringing up the rear. She emptied the trash bag onto the desk and spread out the objects. The shirt was spattered with blood and both the shirt and trousers had been cut off the chief’s body. She turned them over and found dirt and grass stains on the backs of the garments. His shoes and gun belt had the same stains. “Where is his pistol?” she asked.

The nurse spoke up. “He wasn’t wearing one,” she said. “I had someone check the ambulance to be sure it wasn’t there, and it wasn’t.”

“Thank you,” Holly said. She unpinned the chief’s badge, put it in her pocket, then stuffed the items back into the bag. “I guess that’s it,” she said.

The doctor led her back into the hall. Holly stopped walking before they reached the front desk. “Doctor, who are you reporting his condition to?”

“His secretary was here most of the night.”

“Do you know if the chief is married?”

“I assume not. A wife would have been here by now.”

“It would be a great help to my investigation if, in dealing with anybody but me, you would put the most pessimistic light on any assessments you make of his condition. And I’m not excepting other police officers.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” the doctor asked.

“Last night somebody tried to murder the chief. I’d like whoever did it to think he was substantially successful. If word got around that the chief was recovering, his assailant could try again. After all, the chief certainly saw who shot him and may have even known him. We don’t want assassins prowling the hospital’s hallways, do we?”

The doctor’s eyebrows went up. “I see your point,” he said.

“I think it would be a good idea if the hospital released a statement to the local press and the wire services saying that the chief has been critically wounded and may not regain consciousness, and that even if he should, the resulting brain damage would probably greatly impair his communication skills.”

“I can do that,” the doctor said.

Holly shook his hand. “Thank you very much. And if he should regain consciousness, I’d like not to be just the first person notified, but the only person.” She jotted down her home and cell phone numbers, then rejoined Officer Weathers.

“How’s the chief doing?” Weathers asked as they walked back to the car.

“Bad, Jimmy, bad,” she replied. “Do you know where the chief was shot?”

“Yes, ma’am. I drove by there before they moved his car.”

“Let’s take a look at it.”