Page 43

Chapter Forty-Three

Alan and I stopped at the nurse’s station so he could emphasize the importance of no visitors for Liz Spaulding, other than Clare Dolan, her sister. “If it’s not in her chart, you should know that she has been in hiding for ten days until we found her today. For at least one of them, she had nothing to eat or drink.”

“Yes,” the head nurse said, “and her friends and family will want to visit her.”

“Until we determine she’s out of danger,” Alan insisted, “no one should be admitted.”

“Sir, I understand the urgency, but we don’t have the staff to keep anyone from walking in. If it’s that important, her sister will have to be vigilant.”

Alan nodded, though he didn’t look pleased. “My wife and I will return after we check on her brother-in-law’s condition.”

She thanked us and moved on to her next task. I recognized, as did Alan, that nurses couldn’t be expected to keep an eye on every patient at every moment. We did, however, worry about things out of our control.

On the surgical floor, we were directed to the waiting room for word from Damien’s surgeon. My stomach lurched when I saw the large clock on the wall, although I tried to dismiss the feelings.

“I hate that clock,” I whispered to Alan.

He chuckled softly, trying not to disturb others who waited for news about their loved ones. “Is it the same one from when I was in surgery?”

“Yes, and it ticked all through the night. That clock has the loudest tick I’ve ever heard.”

He laughed out loud, and everyone turned their eyes to us, which embarrassed me.

Eventually, we spoke quietly about one of us staying near Damien in the ICU waiting lounge, if he pulled through, and the other sitting outside of Liz’s room. We’d stay together, however, until we spoke to the surgeon. I couldn’t help but notice that the clock didn’t tick loudly at all.

An hour later, a doctor in medical scrubs walked toward us. “Are you the couple waiting for news about Damien Sterling?”

We nodded. “His sister-in-law is in room 308, and we told her we’d check on him,” I explained.

“Unfortunately, he’s not conscious yet and hasn’t identified who may have access to his health information.”

“Can you just tell us if he made it through the surgery?” I pleaded.

“Yes,” he said with an encouraging smile. “He did.”

He walked away before we could ask any other questions, and I glanced at the clock to see that it was after six p.m. It had been a long day, yet we couldn’t leave until we knew both Liz and Damien were no longer in danger.

In the hallway, Alan connected with the county police chief who told him his team picked up Janice Walker for questioning. As we expected and cameras confirmed, she had gone to Damien’s house after her work day, then tried to get into the house. Police caught up with her there.

“She attempted to talk her way out of everything,” Alan told me afterward, “though she didn’t realize a security camera on the front porch recorded her actions. In fact, she said she didn’t know Damien had been shot.”

“I don’t believe it,” I exclaimed.

“Well, the cops have everything saved digitally, so it can be used as evidence.”

“Are Liz and Damien safe now?”

“Let’s hope so,” Alan said. “We’ll stop to tell Clare, then we can go home.”

That sounded really good to me.

^^^

Clare graciously accepted the milkshakes we’d brought for her and Liz. “My sister’s dozing, but she’s doing very well,” she noted after taking a sip. “How’s Damien?”

“His surgeon couldn’t give us any information other than he made it through the surgery,” Alan said. “Maybe you and Liz could check on him in the ICU after supper since she’s a family member.”

Clare nodded. “I’ll see if she feels able. Of course, Janice is his sister, so she might visit him. ”

“The county police have her in custody as she was caught on camera going to Damien’s house,” he explained.

“Was she checking on him?” she asked.

“We don’t know,” Alan said, “but we think she may have been involved in the shooting.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” she replied with a questioning gaze.

He raised his shoulder in a shrug. “Forensics will have to analyze everything. If we’re lucky, she’ll confess to her crimes.”

Liz awakened. “Who will confess to what?”

Clare took her hand. “Police are questioning Janice.”

“I don’t think she knows anything,” Liz remarked groggily. “It’s why I had to keep hiding in the cellar.”

Alan interceded. “We believe Janice created the ruse to get you out of the way, though we don’t yet know the motive. It may have had something to do with your husband’s accounts or her wanting access to your house. We won’t know until police finish questioning her.”

“Oh, my gosh,” she sighed. “Joe Wiley told me to be careful, but I didn’t understand his cryptic notes.”

“The pad of sticky notes?” I asked.

“Yes. He left them on my back porch, along with money to hire someone to settle my husband’s accounts. I thought he had overreacted because Ed and I didn’t have any enemies.”

Clare raised an eyebrow. “Why’d you hide the notes and money in places I’d be sure to find?”

“I honestly didn’t know if you’d actually come, but I tidied my house in case you did. I used my typical hiding spots.”

Clare nodded her understanding, but still had questions. “ Jane Windsor told me you called Joe ‘spyly Wiley,’ yet you seem to have trusted him.”

Liz gave a gentle smile. “He and Lindsey were friends of Ed and me for many years. Joe felt terrible that he couldn’t save Ed, and he became extremely solicitous of me after the funeral. I made up the rhyme as a joke, though I appreciated his concern.”

“Well,” Alan said, “I think you should rest now. Sue and I will let you have time with your sister, but we’ll check back with you tomorrow.”

I had more questions, though I doubted Liz had answers. I supposed Alan considered that, as well. It had been a long day for everyone, so we both gave our farewell.

Clare walked us to the door. “I’ve already checked with the head nurse, and I can stay with Liz through the night.”

Alan nodded. “That’s good. Call me when you need a ride home; otherwise, I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

She put out her hand to shake his, then mine. “Thank you, both. I’m so grateful that we found Lizzy.”

I smiled happily. “Me, too, and I think we can give credit to Sophie.”

She chuckled. “She’s a smart dog.”

I had no doubt of that.