Page 28 of Whispers Left Behind (Kinsley Aspen #1)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Kinsley Aspen October Friday — 11:04 pm

The hospital parking lot was nearly empty, the vehicles that had filled it earlier in the day now gone. The illumination from the midday overcast sky had been replaced by a gentle glow from the lampposts lining the perimeters in squares. In stark contrast, the bright lights of the hospital sign made it seem as if daylight had never left.

Kinsley slowed her Jeep before parking in the first row. Her seatbelt was already unfastened and the engine turned off before Alex pulled in beside her. Not knowing how long they would be or what would need to be done in the aftermath of the interviews, they had opted to drive separately.

Spending longer than intended at the station putting in for the proper warrants, Kinsley used the additional time to return some calls. She wasn’t surprised when her cell phone rang with an area code from Leeds.

“Aspen.”

Kinsley reached for the handle.

“Detective Aspen? This is Roger Stowe. You’ve been trying to reach me?”

“Yes,” Kinsley replied as she exited her Jeep. “Thank you for returning my call. I’m investigating a homicide, and I simply need confirmation that Gage Baird met with you last Wednesday. Your name and number were given to me as the third party of a business deal.”

“I wish I could supply one for him, Detective Aspen. Unfortunately, I was mugged a couple of hours before our scheduled meeting. I’ve been laid up in the hospital with a broken leg, a punctured lung, and a fractured collarbone. I was just released today.”

Kinsley closed the distance to Alex’s Camaro before opening the passenger side door. She pulled the phone away from her ear once she had settled in the seat and pressed the speaker button.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Stowe.” Kinsley reached out and shut the door to trap the heat. “Were the police able to arrest the individuals responsible?”

“Individual. One. And not to my knowledge,” Roger replied bitterly. “I hope they find that son of a bitch soon, though.”

“Did you at least speak with Gage Baird last Wednesday?”

Alex pressed the dome light overhead. It wasn’t long before he pulled a small notebook from the console, along with a pen. He quickly jotted down a question.

“No, ma’am. I reached out to Gage today to reschedule our meeting, but I haven’t been able to get ahold of him or his grandfather.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how much money did you have with you at the time?” Kinsley asked after reading Alex’s note.

“I usually don’t have any cash on me when conducting those types of meetings, but I’ve been doing business with some wagyu breeders lately. Those straws tend to sell for a pretty penny. We deal with wire transactions mostly, but I had a customer who paid cash that morning.”

Why had Gage lied about his alibi?

Kinsley thought back to the first time she spoke with Rachel’s brother. He had mentioned the Fallbrook Killer before following her from the porch to her Jeep. It was then that he had brought up his grandfather’s past gambling history. Why would he have done so if he believed Gantz was responsible for Rachel’s death?

“Mr. Stowe, did you happen to mention this meeting to Mr. Baird?”

The long pause gave Kinsley her answer.

Alex pulled his phone out from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He exited the car to allow Kinsley to finish the call with Stowe. She asked a few more follow-up questions before wishing him a speedy recovery. Once their conversation had drawn to a close, she remained seated while reconsidering the facts of the case.

“Is it possible that Gage murdered his sister?” Kinsley asked in disbelief after Alex had rejoined her in the car. “He is the one with the gambling problem, isn’t he?”

“That’s the theory I’m working with, too,” Alex said as he held up his phone. He hadn’t closed the door, and all the heat had been extracted in seconds. “I just got off the phone with Crosby. I had him go back a few months in Gage Baird’s phone records, and a number popped up. He spoke to someone for three months straight every Sunday morning. Crosby is running the number now.”

“Killing a sibling just to hide a gambling addiction, though?” Kinsley shook her head in astonishment. “That’s…well, extreme.”

“Is it?”

“Shut the door,” Kinsley directed as she leaned her head back against the seat. “We can’t go inside until we make sense of this.”

“Zayn is dying from lung cancer. He told you himself that he hadn’t expected to make it this long, and what if Gage was under the same assumption? What if Gage has known all along that his grandfather was dying? What if he had planned to sell the land after the old man’s death to pay off his debts?”

“A bookie only waits so long,” Kinsley whispered while tapping her phone on her thigh. Alex hadn’t bothered to shut his door, and she was getting colder by the second. “I just…Rachel was his sister, Alex.”

“Not every sibling has close bonds like you do with yours, Kin.”

“That would mean that Gage staged his own accident. There were no skid marks. No paint markings on his vehicle to suggest that someone else ran him off the road. He expected his brakes to give out on that turn, but he hadn’t anticipated the crash to be so severe. He was going to claim that someone ran him off the road, too.”

“The hospital probably put Gage’s clothes and personal items in one of those bags. What are the chances that the knife he used on his sister is among his belongings? Kin, we need to resubmit those warrants.”

Kinsley had been staring at the front entrance of the hospital while going over their options. Had she been looking anywhere else, she would have missed the sight of Louise Baird exiting the glass doors.

The woman came to an abrupt stop.

Since Alex hadn’t closed his door, the dome light overhead illuminated their presence. Kinsley met the woman’s stare. Something in her body language had Kinsley reaching for the handle of the passenger door.

“Alex, look. Is she...damn it! I think Louise knows Gage killed Rachel.”

Both Kinsley and Alex began to run toward the entrance, but Louise had already raced back inside. She disappeared around the corner toward the elevator bank. Kinsley quickened her pace, and Alex matched her strides.

“Go,” Alex ordered as he began to veer off toward the information desk. “I’ll bring up security.”

“I’ll meet you in the ICU.” Kinsley reached out and pressed the top button on the elevator. “Come on. Come on.”

The short ride to the eighth floor was anything but, and she finally made her way to the waiting room moments later. A sleeping couple, huddled together in the far corner, were the only ones present.

Kinsley made her way to the window, but no one appeared to be on duty. Pressing the call button, she waited impatiently for someone to appear. She began to jab the button again and again.

“May I help you?”

The agitated nurse wasn’t someone Kinsley had met before, so she shifted the right side of her sweater to display her badge.

“Buzz me in, please. I’m here to speak with Gage Baird. It can’t wait until morning.”

“I’m sorry, but Mr. Baird has been transferred from ICU to the sixth floor.”

“When did this take place?” Kinsley asked, tamping down her frustration. She let her sweater fall back in place. “And why wasn’t the station notified?”

“I wasn’t on duty when the transfer took place, ma’am. I can contact the administrator if you—.”

“No, that’s fine,” Kinsley replied as she stepped away from the window. There would be time to examine mistakes and inconsistencies later. “Thank you.”

Kinsley closed the distance to the elevator, reaching for her phone. She called Alex after pressing the up arrow on the panel. It took a moment for him to answer.

“Baird has been moved to the sixth floor.”

“What? When did that happen?”

“I guess a few hours ago,” Kinsley responded as the elevator doors slid open. She quickly entered the lift and pushed the button for the correct floor. “I’ll meet you there.”

Upon arriving on the sixth floor, she paused only to study the signs secured on the wall. Since most hospitals were the same, she disregarded the information and jogged down one of the hallways in search of the nurses’ station. A large open area with elongated countertops had been constructed in the middle of the floor with two separate hallways lined with patients’ rooms.

“Excuse me.” Kinsley kept her voice low as she unclipped her badge. Her boots had squeaked with each step, echoing off the walls, so it wasn’t as if the nurse hadn’t heard her approach. “I’m looking for Gaige Baird’s room.”

“Room 618.” The nurse’s nametag read Heather. She stopped whatever it was she was doing on the computer and signed out, glancing at Kinsley with curiosity. She stood from the chair and motioned for Kinsley to follow her through the shortcut alongside the nurses’ station. “Is everything alright? If you’ll follow me, his room is on the other side, and I can—”

“If you could wait a moment, my partner is walking down the hall right now.” Kinsley nodded in Alex’s direction. Only one security guard was with him. She resecured her badge while waiting for them. “Heather, did you see Gage’s mother return a few minutes ago?”

“Yes,” Heather replied cautiously. “Regular visiting hours are over, but we’re not too strict with them. And seeing as Mr. Baird was settled into his room a few hours ago, his mother asked that we extend them for her. Is there something wrong?”

“I called for backup, and security is locking down the hospital,” Alex alerted Kinsley as he came to stand beside her, keeping the topic rather general in front of Heather. She had yet to move toward Baird’s room. “What about Glynn?”

“Heather? Is Douglas Glynn in the room, as well?”

“I believe so, but—”

Kinsley shared Gage’s room number with Alex before they headed in that direction. Alex instructed the security guard to remain in the hallway with Heather following close on their heels. Given that the soles of their shoes had probably made enough noise to alert Louise and Gage that someone was approaching, Kinsley didn’t hesitate to cross the threshold.

Douglas Glynn sat in a chair next to an empty bed.

Kinsley slowed her pace and eventually came to a stop while staring at the closed door of the bathroom. Louise was only delaying the inevitable.

“Mr. Glynn, I’m going to need you to step out of the room,” Alex instructed before Heather came to a stop just inside the doorway. “We would like to—”

“Does Mr. Baird need assistance?” Heather asked as she attempted to cross the room. “Detectives, I understand that you have jobs to do, but Mr. Baird is my respon—”

“Step out of the room, Heather,” Kinsley directed when Douglas made no move to follow Alex’s directive.

Maybe it was the room’s muted lighting casting shadows on the wall, but the air was suddenly thick with tension. Douglas’s features were taut, and a sheen of perspiration was visible on his forehead. Alex took a few steps away from Kinsley. Such action had been ingrained in them from their time at the police academy.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” Heather muttered as she sidestepped Kinsley’s reach. Heather knocked rapidly on the door. “Mr. Baird?”

“Heather, move away from the bathroom. Now.” Kinsley held up a hand to indicate Douglas should remain in place. The nurse hesitated, but Alex stepped forward and took Heather by the arm. Once she was removed from the room, Kinsley lowered her arm. “Mr. Glynn, what am I going to find when I open this door?”

Kinsley unfastened the small leather strap of her holster before resting her hand on her firearm. She didn’t need to glance over her shoulder to know that Alex had now positioned himself properly to help if the situation warranted it.

“Please.” Douglas’ plea was a harsh whisper. “Louise is only trying to protect her son. She can’t lose another child. It would destroy her.”

It was obvious that Douglas wasn’t going to give Kinsley a straight answer. She braced herself before turning the handle and yanking the door open.

The bathroom was dark, but there was enough light from the room to reveal no one inside. Alex immediately ordered the security guard to contact his supervisor to provide an update on their current situation.

“Mr. Glynn, Louise stands to lose her life if I can’t find them immediately,” Kinsley said sharply, not concerned with the man’s emotional well-being right now. She waded into personal territory, knowing such direction usually reached an individual on a deeper level. “Gage slit his sister’s throat and stood there while she bled out. He won’t hesitate to do the same to his mother.”

“Louise is trying to get him away from the hospital," Douglas revealed as his eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t know. You have to believe me. I didn’t know until a few minutes ago when—”

“Don’t leave this room,” Kinsley ordered, not giving Douglas time to finish his speech. He could save it for a judge. “Alex!”

Kinsley exited the room, closing the door behind her. She caught sight of Alex near the nurses’ station. He was on the phone while the security guard had positioned himself next to the stairwell entrance. The doors at the end of each hallway began to close as an alarm blared from the overhead speakers.

“I’ll go room to room,” Kinsley called out to Alex. Concern for the other patients took precedence. “See if security can determine an exit or if they are still on the floor.”

Alex lifted a hand in acknowledgment as Kinsley began to search each room. Most beds contained sleeping patients who were now stirring upon hearing the alarm. She reassured them as best she could while clearing each space.

As she finally reached the last room on the right, a male nurse emerged with concern.

“What is—"

“Please join Heather at the nurses’ station,” Kinsley urged as she glanced at his nametag before quickly explaining their situation. Another thought came to mind. “Aiden, how many nurses are currently working this floor?”

“Just me and Heather.” Aiden gestured toward the other side of the floor. “We also have two orderlies with us tonight. Should I go and find them? I can—”

“No,” Kinsley swiftly replied with as much of a reassuring smile as she could under the circumstances. “Please go and stay at the nurses’ station. Let Detective Lanen know if you need to tend to a patient, and he or a security guard will accompany you.”

The piercing alarm abruptly stopped, only to be replaced by a brief buzzer. Kinsley turned her attention to the double doors on her side of the hallway. Two more security guards came rushing through, one of them remaining near the exit while the doors closed completely shut. She took the time to direct them to the other side of the floor.

She glanced down the hallway, but Alex was no longer in her line of sight.

Her mind raced as she considered the likelihood of finding Gage and Louise Baird. If the nurse believed Gage might need assistance in the bathroom, then his physical state must be too weak for Louise to have gotten far.

There was a really good chance he was still on the sixth floor.

After searching two more rooms across the hallway, she came upon a supply closet. As with each search thus far, she kept her firearm in its holster yet easily accessible. There was no need to turn on the light. That fact alone was what brought her up short.

A spike of adrenaline shot through her, but it was also too late for her to back out. Her gaze dropped to the droplets of blood on the linoleum floor, the trail beginning at the wheel of an IV stand.

“Gage, Louise…step out where I can see.” Kinsley used a measured tone, not willing to raise her voice so Alex and the other guards could hear her. There was no telling what would set Baird off, and she wasn’t willing to put the other patients in danger. “There is no reason for anyone else to get hurt.”

Muffled cries came from somewhere in the back behind a shelving unit. Kinsley glanced down to find a rubber stopper, so she carefully used her boot to wedge it under the door. She needed a quick exit if things went sideways.

Kinsley took a cautious step forward with her weapon trained in front of her.

“Gage, do you hear me? I need you to acknowledge me.”

Louise released another whimper, but Gage continued to remain silent. The air in the storage closet was cool, but that didn’t stop Kinsley’s hands from perspiring. She did her best to even out her breathing as she peered around the corner of the shelving unit.

Gage’s back was pressed against the far wall, his eyes wide with desperation. He clutched his mother to his chest while holding a scalpel mere centimeters from her neck. There was a slight tremor in his hand, and it wouldn’t be long before the blade cut into her skin.

“Gage, it’s over. There is nowhere to go. Think about what it is you are doing right now.”

“Do you know what it is like to be ignored your entire life?”

Kinsley could hear Alex calling her name, but she didn’t dare move from her position. Gage’s question indicated a deep hatred directed at everyone in his life, including his mother.

“Gage, I know you can hear my partner. You also heard the alarm. The hospital is on lockdown. You’re bleeding, and the only thing holding you upright is that wall.” Kinsley figured it was only a matter of time before Alex materialized in the doorway. There was a possibility he could have a clear shot through the shelving unit, which meant she had to buy him enough time to get into position. “Let your mother go. I’ll stay, and you can talk to me.”

“Pops paid for Rachel’s college. Bought my sister her first car. Paid for her damned wedding,” Gage said with a painful laugh. Kinsley didn’t doubt it was a mixture of emotional and physical pain. “I worked the farm. I kept his dream alive. What the hell did I get in return?”

Gage slipped a little, one of his knees giving out right before he caught himself. Louise cried out when the scalpel cut her neck, and Kinsley tensed in fear that the woman would begin to struggle.

“They all took advantage of me. I worked that farm for years while my mother and sister lived out their lives without a care in the world.” Gage pulled his mother closer, causing her eyes to widen with terror. He whispered in her ear with such severity that droplets of spit landed on her cheek. “I told you over and over and over that I wanted out. You didn’t care.”

“I did c—”

“You didn’t love me like her,” Gage screamed as he shook his mother in anger. The outburst caused Kinsley to rest her finger on the trigger. Louise began to cry harder. “I asked Rachel for money, you know. My own sister would have rather seen me beaten to death than help me pay off my debts.”

“Gage, I need you to put down the scalpel,” Kinsley instructed quietly while noticing movement in her peripheral vision. She didn’t want to remove her focus from Gage to identify if the individual was Alex or one of the security guards. “I know you love your mother. I’ve heard you talk about her when I was at the farm. She loves you, too. But your mother is very frightened right now, and she is bleeding. You both are. Release her so that I can get the two of you medical attention.”

“Do you still love me? Do you? Will you treat me now like you did her now that she’s gone?”

“Hasn’t she proven her love to you already, Gage?” Kinsley stepped to her left in hopes that his attention would follow her. She had been able to detect Alex as being the individual near the exit from the way he moved, and she wanted to give him the ability to obtain a line of sight on his target. “If I’m not mistaken, your mother was the one who told you we were entering the hospital. She was willing to risk jail to help you. Doesn’t that prove her love?”

Gage blinked rapidly as her words penetrated the fog that was no doubt blanketing his thoughts. His fight or flight response was gradually fading as his facade began to crack.

“Louise, tell your son how much you love him.”

Kinsley no longer had a line of sight on Alex. He had disappeared behind the shelving unit. Her position didn’t afford her a view beyond the items stored on the shelves. It wasn’t often that they were put into a situation where their weapons needed to be drawn, but she had every confidence Alex would give her the opportunity to talk their suspect down without further bloodshed.

“Louise?” Kinsley prodded, noticing Gage’s knuckles turning white.

“Gage, I h-have always loved you. Always.”

Kinsley wasn’t certain if it was Louise’s words or the crack in her voice that had Gage shoving her away from him. The scalpel dropped to the floor with a clatter, and Kinsley immediately lowered her weapon and all but shoved Louise toward the door. Alex was there instantly to guide her the rest of the way while Kinsley moved swiftly toward Gage.

His legs had finally given out and the wall helped guide him to the floor. His breaths came in short, heavy bursts, and his eyes glazed over as if he were staring into some unseen distance. The frenetic energy that had propelled him to desperation had evaporated into the sterile air, leaving behind nothing more than a shell.

“I’m so tired,” Gage whispered as his head rolled to the side.

It was difficult to believe she was witnessing vulnerability in a man who could slit his sister’s throat and stand there while she bled out, her life slowly leaving her body with each pump of her heart. He had gone through his days without anyone knowing he was capable of killing someone. Not even his family.

“So tired…”

As the adrenaline left Kinsley’s body, it was as if the man’s exhaustion bled into her. She called out for medical assistance, kneeling to remove the scalpel from his reach. Until he was restrained to a bed, she would remain by his side. The hypocrisy of the situation didn’t slip by her unnoticed. After all, how could she condemn Gage Baird for his hatred of others when she herself had taken a life in a fit of fear and rage?

The burden of their lies was soul-crushing.

But the repercussions?

Their own personalized burning hell.