Page 7 of Code Trauma (Extreme Measures #1.5)

7

S itting at the kitchen table at the base, Holly studied the summary she’d written for her report while Raina worked in the kitchen. Penny’s shift had ended, and she’d gone home to her husband. Maxine, one of the other pilots, had arrived and was going through the chopper checklist in hopes of finishing it before their next call.

Reading back through the report she’d written just reinforced her confusion about Liza Hollister’s death. There was no medical reason for it—at least not that she could see. An autopsy would reveal the truth, but while motor vehicle accident deaths were ruled “unusual deaths,” an autopsy wasn’t done unless they needed to rule for cause of death.

She rubbed her eyes.

When she lowered her hand, her gaze fell on Andy, who’d just stepped through the glass doors. He had his hands in his pockets, and he looked so sad she wanted to run to him and throw her arms around him. Instead, she forced herself to stay put. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He cleared his throat. “I know you asked for space, but do you mind if I have a seat? I have some security footage from your townhome I think you should see.”

“Oh. Okay. No, I don’t mind.”

He sat next to her and slid an iPad in front of her. “Tap the screen and watch.”

She did so. The footage rolled, and she watched the person in the hoodie enter the townhome and leave again. Sickness curled in her belly, and she sucked in a deep breath. “Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“He definitely had Penny’s key.”

“Yeah.”

“But ... how? It has to be someone who has access to base lockers—which means it has to be someone I work with.” She didn’t want to believe that was possible, but with the evidence staring her in the face, what else was she supposed to think?

A knock sounded on the door, and she looked up to see Garrett Mann standing outside, eyes narrowed, jaw tight. “Great,” she whispered.

“Want me to get rid of him?”

“No, I can handle him. If he thinks I need someone to run interference, he’ll just keep pushing.” She stood and went to open the door. “Dr. Mann.”

“Holly.” His eyes slid past her. “Detective.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Andy rise. “Did you find your car?”

“Yes. It was parked in the motel parking lot across the street.”

“Interesting.”

“And your keys?”

A flicker of uncertainty crossed his face and he frowned. “They showed back up in my desk.”

“How convenient.”

The doctor scowled and looked like he might be ready to lay into Andy, so Holly asked, “Can I help you?”

“There seems to be some concern about the way you handled one of the patients yesterday.”

“What?” She blinked at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Liza Hollister.”

“What about her?”

“It’s been reported that you gave her the wrong medication, and that’s why she died.”

A cold chill swept over her. “That’s not true. I did everything exactly the way it was supposed to be done. I followed your orders.”

“But I wasn’t there, so I don’t know that, do I?”

“What is this?” Andy asked, stepping next to her. “Payback for giving you the brush-off? For the sheriff pulling you in yesterday?”

“Of course not.” Garrett crossed his arms. “I’m just passing on information.”

“That you got from where?” Andy asked.

“It’s from an anonymous source.”

“Well, that shouldn’t come from you,” Holly said. “That should come from Dr. Kirkpatrick. So unless you have anything else?—”

Mann held up a hand. “I was just giving you a heads-up.” He backed up and headed down the hallway.

Holly ran her hands down her face, then drew in a deep breath. She looked back at Andy. “I’m going to see Dr. Kirkpatrick.”

“I’m right behind you.”

* * *

“Do you want me to wait out here?” Andy asked her.

“No, you might as well hear everything firsthand. It will save me having to repeat it.”

Holly knocked on her boss’s office and entered when he said, “Come in.”

The man was seated behind his desk. He looked up, and his eyes narrowed. “Holly. I was just about to ask you to come to my office. How’d you know I wanted to see you?”

“I didn’t, but I figured it was coming. Garrett Mann said Morbidity and Mortality are looking into Liza Hollister’s death.”

Dr. Kirkpatrick huffed and leaned back in his chair. “How on earth did he know?”

“I guess the rumor mill is operating at warp speed.” She raked a hand over her ponytail. “But this time, I’m stumped. I have no idea how anyone would know anything about what went on in the chopper. I only voiced my concerns to Penny and Raina. How did you come to hear about it?”

“I got a phone call from someone who said you had ‘messed up’”—he used air quotes—“and that the patient shouldn’t have died. And that the incident needed to be investigated.”

“Well, shouldn’t there be an autopsy first? To determine cause of death?”

“I’ve already asked the ME to make it a priority, but until we hear back from her, you just keep doing your job.”

She studied him. “Are you sure?”

He sighed. “Look, this was an anonymous tip thing. I’m not a fan of those. If someone has information, proof, that you made a mistake, then they can bring it to my attention, tell me to my face. This is all hearsay, and I don’t bench my players based on that.”

Holly nodded, her relief evident, yet she was still concerned. “Will you face backlash because of this?”

“Did you do anything wrong?”

“No.”

“Then I’m not worried about it.”

She sighed. “At least not on purpose. I mean, I’m not perfect, of course, but”—she twisted her fingers together, then straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin—“no. I did everything exactly how it should have been done, and I’d do everything the same if I had to do it all over again.”

“Then, we won’t worry about it until we have something to worry about.”

She stood. “Thank you, Dr. Kirkpatrick.”

“Sure.”

She hesitated and glanced at Andy, then back to the doctor. “I didn’t put this in my report because it’s an opinion, not fact, but I think I’d like to run it by you.”

The man raised a brow. “Okay.”

Holly sat back down and walked him through the scenario on the helicopter. “I agree with your anonymous caller. I don’t know what happened, but I don’t think Liza Hollister should be dead, either.”

Dr. Kirkpatrick frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been thinking about this, and I believe, before the chopper is used again, it needs a thorough inventory with everything checked. Including the meds. And—in light of the current accusations—it can’t be me who goes through it.”

He hesitated. “If we ground that chopper and someone needs it...”

“I know. I’ve thought of that, trust me, but I just keep going over and over everything that happened with Ms. Hollister and I can’t help it. I don’t understand why she died. Something’s ... not right. I don’t know what, but ... something.”

He studied her a moment, and Andy thought he was going to refuse, then he gave a slow nod. “All right. I’ve never known you to overreact to anything. If you say something’s off, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.” His phone pinged and he glanced at the screen. “Autopsy’s in progress. We should know something shortly. I’ll have someone start going over the chopper, but if we get a call, you’ll have to go.”

She nodded. “Okay. Thank you. I’m just going to head back to base.”

“I’ll be in touch as soon as I hear something.”

Holly stood, and Andy led her out of the office. “That went well,” he said.”

“Better than I expected.” She bit her lip. “Someone’s out to get me, Andy. Someone wants me out of this hospital, and I don’t know why.”