Page 43 of Simon Says… Fight (Kate Morgan Thrillers #11)

R odney frowned at her. “Really? Simon saw me in a vision? In a boxing match?” Definitely a little bit of nervousness filled his tone.

“Yes, and, as much as I don’t want to believe him, he has been right time and time again, so be careful.”

“So, you’re benching me?”

“Yes. I’m heading down to talk to this woman, seen driving Oscar’s gray van, making deliveries on his behalf.”

“That’s fine and dandy, but I’m coming along. We need to talk to the woman’s father, her brother, and now Oscar again, as he failed to tell you about the niece driving his van. This seems like a big mess and about to get bigger. No way you’re going alone.”

“Fine,” she snapped. “This is our first actual lead, and, with all the fighting involved—”

“Boxing isn’t fighting,” Rodney declared.

“Maybe not,” she admitted, “but you don’t know that they don’t do other forms there too.”

“Sure, but boxing’s still not fighting.”

“I hear you. I just don’t know what you want me to say.”

“And what about the theory that our serial killer could be a woman?”

“I’ve been pondering that,” she shared, picking up her jacket, motioning for them to head on out. “The only way it’s a woman is if she’s got help. Dennison, Sonny, John?… None of them were lightweight, by any means.”

“That’s true,” he admitted, frowning. “Hell, I’m not even sure I could have lifted Dennison.” He held open the front door for her.

She nodded. “Exactly. Or maybe they were made to walk on their own, but what about the floaters?”

“I guess she could have taken them to the docks at nighttime and dumped them, and that vehicle would definitely give some cover for it, but not easily.”

“I was thinking about that too,” she added.

“She and her helper would still have to pick them up and get them into the water… unless they were rolled,” she noted, frowning.

“They could have found a corner behind a warehouse, something that ends up right on the water’s edge.

” She walked to her car, slipping into the driver’s seat, as Rodney took the passenger seat.

“True,” he agreed, staring at her with a spark of interest. “As delivery drivers, they would certainly have known about those places.”

“Maybe,” she conceded. “I’ll say maybe for now, since it’s obviously not something we have as a solid tip.”

“No, but…”

“I know.” Kate knew he was referring to Simon, and she got that. “What about the other related bodies though?” she asked, staring at him. “What about the ones in Burnaby and the two other areas?”

Rodney nodded. “That could just be smart on his or her part to dump them at various places.”

“I was considering that as well,” she muttered.

“It’s never easy, is it?”

“No, it sure isn’t. These guys always use some trick that we never really find out about until right at the end. What I don’t want is any more victims,” she stated, looking at him, as they drove downtown.

“I agree, and I don’t want to be a victim either,” he stated.

She nodded, looking back at the road. “Then be smart and don’t get into any cabs, walk with any strangers, or go to the spooky warehouse, or now this gym alone.”

“And what if it’s not a stranger?” he asked, looking at her.

“Clearly I didn’t think that through,” she muttered. “Just be careful, will you?” With that, she pulled up in front of the care home that they had on record for Oliver. She looked at it and frowned. “Wow, it’s a full-care facility.”

“That makes sense though, right? He’s got brain damage and is far from fully functional.”

“You’re right,” she said, “and this place is very expensive, even if they are subsidized.”

“I think expensive is the answer for all this stuff,” he muttered. “We might have free medical, but it always comes with a price.”

She didn’t say anything as they hopped out of her vehicle and walked into the facility, asking to see the man in question.

The woman at the front desk replied, “He’s got visitors right now.”

“I need to see him right away,” Kate stated.

“I am sorry, but, if you aren’t on the visitors’ list, I simply can’t,” she noted apologetically. “No way I can let you in to see him.”

Kate just nodded, then pulled out her badge. “How about now?”

The woman flushed. “Again I can’t. I have no such authority.”

Kate asked, “Who is his doctor?”

At that, the woman pulled up his computer records and shared, “Dr. Markin Roy. He does happen to be here right now.”

“Good.”

“Do you want to call him for us?” Rodney asked, charm in his tone.

Happy to do something constructive, she picked up her phone. When a man ambled toward them a little bit later, he was talking on his phone. He ended the call as he turned his attention to Kate and seemed surprised when she pulled out her badge. “What can I help you with, Detective?”

“You have a patient, Oliver Hardy.”

“Yes,” the doctor confirmed. “He’s been here for a number of years.”

“I understand that, in order to see him, we would need to be on the approved visitor list.”

“Yes, that is a standard practice for any center of this nature,” he stated, with a smile. “May I ask what the purpose of a visit would be? Why do you want to see him?”

“I need to confirm the condition he’s in,” Kate explained, “and I want more information on what happened to him.”

“I can certainly help you with both of those things. Follow me, and we’ll go to my office and go over his stats first.” As they settled into his office, he brought up the online case files and motioned for them to sit down.

“He was in some fight—boxing, as I understand it—going on maybe ten years ago,” he shared, checking his computer screen.

“He took one-too-many blows directed at his head, and unfortunately he suffered a stroke. That was followed by a series of other strokes. When all was said and done, we had significant brain damage, and, over the years, that has not improved.”

“So, he isn’t exactly there anymore?” Kate asked.

“Yes and no.”

“You want to be more specific?”

“He’s generally nonresponsive, though he eats when we put a spoon against his mouth, but he’s not at all capable of caring for himself. He’s been here ever since his accident.”

“So, this is a full-care facility.”

“Yes,” he said.

“So, for our own peace of mind and to confirm that this is exactly what it is, we want to see him.”

He stared at her. “I’m not lying, Detective.”

“I’m not suggesting that you are, and frankly it doesn’t matter if I think you’re lying or not,” she spelled out. “All I’m requesting is the opportunity to see him. I won’t talk to him or in any way upset him. Looking through a glass door would be fine. I’m just doing my job.”

Surprised at the request, he nodded. “You have a very suspicious mind.”

“I have my reasons,” she declared, still with a smile. “So, let’s just leave it at that.”

He got up, apparently perturbed at her request, but walked them down the hallway to a room where several people sat in wheelchairs.

They were seated around a TV, but they didn’t appear to even be looking at it—or anything else for that matter.

She winced as a caricature came to mind.

This sad scene looked like somebody attempting to have a life, yet it really was no life at all. It was just a facade.

The doctor pointed to a middle-aged man off to the side. “That’s him there.”

She looked at the man and asked the doc, “So you are confirming for me that this is Oliver Hardy?”

“Yes,” he replied.

She nodded. She walked closer, even walked around the man, but he showed absolutely no sign of recognition that anybody was even there in front of him. As she walked back over to the doctor, she asked, “His brother, Oscar, he comes to visit Oliver a lot, doesn’t he?”

“Oh, yes. Oliver’s brother is very involved in Oliver’s life. I know it’s been very hard for him, but he comes regularly,” the doctor shared. “Oliver had a bad day yesterday, so Oscar was here this morning.”

“Yes, I understand that,” Kate confirmed.

As they walked back to the main entrance, she raised an eyebrow to Rodney to see if he wanted to add anything.

Rodney just shook his head. She thanked the doctor.

“We appreciate your assistance.” And with that she walked outside, knowing that both the receptionist and the doctor were staring behind her.

As they got back to the car, Rodney noted, “You really do have a suspicious nature, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she declared, “and it’s twigging pretty strongly.”

He nodded. “A twig is one thing,” he pointed out, “but finding the proof—”

“I know.… It’s a completely different story,” she muttered.

“One of the first things we need to do is grab that vehicle,” Rodney suggested. “And I suppose you’ve sent out calls for it already?”

“Yeah,” she said, “based on suspicion of its being involved in a crime. I want it at forensics, and I want it there now.”

“But if it isn’t them, Oscar could very well lose his business.”

“No,” she corrected, shaking her head. “We would give him a chance to rent a vehicle for tomorrow’s deliveries,” she explained.

“That would cause quite a load of chaos.”

She nodded. “It sure will, but they should be grateful that I’m doing that much.”

Oscar was anything but grateful, when they told him what they were doing and shared their idea that would allow him to operate his business. Yet it clearly wasn’t enough.

“I’ll sue you for this,” he exclaimed.

“You can try,” Kate replied, “but you better hope I don’t find what I suspect I’ll find.”

He stared at her and shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I didn’t have anything to do with anything.”

Such a note of helplessness filled his tone that she felt bad for him.

“I hear you, and I believe you. However, still your vehicle could have very likely been used to perpetrate a crime,” she explained.

“And you failed to tell me that your niece sometimes used your van and made your deliveries, In fact you failed to even mention you had a niece and a nephew. Up until I heard about that, I believed what you told me, Oscar.”