“What? I just spoke to Mom no more than a half an hour ago—she was doing great.”
“Robert is here and he has told the Administration that he is firing me and has another doctor who is going to put her back on everything. If you don’t get here and convince them that you should be in charge of her health care, she’s going to be in just as bad shape as before, if not worse.”
“He doesn’t have power of attorney, yet. How can he…”
“Because he’s her husband. You are the only one who can stop this, but you have to convince the hospital board that you are more responsible and have her best interest in mind. He’s here now and if you and I don’t make a case in the next fifteen to twenty minutes, we lose her again. I got here this morning when he found out that she was lucid. I’ve been arguing with him and this new doctor he’s trying to bring in for hours. I’ve done all I can do. You are her last hope.” He sounded genuinely exasperated.
“I’ll—I’ll be there in ten. Where do I go when I get there?” I closed the phone and grabbed a pen and paper. I didn’t want Micah to think I was running away; although I’m sure he would rather that I was running anywhere besides the hospital. I knew who was waiting for me. I was confident I could get in, but I doubted I’d make it out—alive anyway. I simply wrote that I had to go to the hospital and that I loved him and that I was sorry but maybe it was better this way.
I jerked off the Porsche’s car cover and threw it to the ground. I made the twenty minute drive in eight. I couldn’t take the chance of Ricky or Jack getting to me before I could help my mother, so I pulled right up to the entrance doors and jumped out and ran inside.
“You can’t park there,” someone was saying.
I ran past him to the reception desk. “I need to know how to get to the Administrative board office—quickly, please.”
“End of the hallway, turn right and follow the signs for Finance. They’ll direct you when...”
I was back in motion before she could finish getting out the last words. I was on pure adrenaline by the time I reached the proper door. I pushed it open and the first face I saw was Robert’s. He looked extremely surprised to see me. Doctor Figarrio was there as well as another physician seated next to Robert, and the hospital board which consisted of two men and one woman. The one gentleman I recognized as being the person I threatened with a visit from my non-existent attorney if my mother didn’t received better care. I wasn’t sure at the moment if that was going to be a help or a hindrance to my case.
This was no time to look like someone who didn’t have her act together. “Hello,” I said, trying to rein in my breathing. “I’m Nadia Winslett’s daughter. I got here as quickly as I could.”
“She has nothing to do with this,” Robert began.
“She is my mother,” I said turning to face him. “I have every right to be involved where her health is concerned.”
“Please, Ms. Winslett, have a seat,” the older administrator spoke up, indicating a chair beside Doctor Figarrio. “Ms. Winslett we’ve heard from Doctor Figarrio that he changed your mother’s medications after having a conversation with you on Monday morning, is that correct?”
“Yes, I was here Sunday, as I’m sure you recall, Doctor…”
“Doctor Phillips,” the man responded.
“Doctor Phillips, I was very upset that she was being heavily medicated, when…”
“The patient attempted suicide,” the doctor beside Robert spoke up. “This necessitates…”
“Excuse me,” I said turning to him. “What is your name?”
“Doctor Williamson,” he responded with that smug attitude that told me he thought he was much more intelligent than I was.
“Well, Doctor Williamson, I wasn’t finished when you so rudely interrupted me. Do they teach you any type of manners in medical school?”
He gave an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes at me. “How old are you, young lady?”
“Old enough to know an over-paid, jackass puppet when I meet one!” I replied. I turned to Doctor Phillps, “May I continue? Or, should Doctor Williamson be allowed to cut me off mid-sentence?”
“Doctor Williamson, please refrain from making comments until Ms. Winslett is finished.”
“If she’s a minor,” he continued, ignoring Doctor Phillips, “the whole point of her argument is void anyway and she is just wasting everyone’s time.” Evidently Robert had already informed him I was.
“Although it’s true that I am a few months away from my eighteenth birthday…” I could see Robert and Doctor Williamson starting to smile. “I am an emancipated minor, recognized by a court of law to be an adult.” I produced the papers from my purse and handed them to Doctor Phillips. He shared it with the other two members of the board and they returned it to me.
Robert’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a liar!”
“Oh, I can assure you, Dad, that the liar in this room isn’t me.”
“You are nothing but a spoiled, runaround whore who hasn’t even been home for nine months!” He spat the words out as if they were gospel.
I turned to face the board members, “I would like an opportunity to address the three of you privately, and then you can make your decision. I’m not going to be able to speak without interruption as long as Mr. Winslett and Doctor Williamson are present.”
“This meeting,” Doctor Williamson spoke up before the board members could respond, “isn’t private.”
“Really, Doctor Williamson?” This jerk was starting to get under my skin and I knew there was no way I was letting him get anywhere near my mother. “You’ve been here for the last two hours or so trying to convince the board, privately, that my mother doesn’t belong under Doctor Figarrio’s care any longer. I think that should entitle me to an equal share of the same privacy.”
“I for one,” the female administrator spoke up, “would like to hear what Ms. Winslett has to say without interruption. I believe you two gentleman should step out,” she said looking to Robert and his crony.
“I agree,” Doctor Phillips added, and the other gentleman nodded as well. “Please, wait out in the hall and we’ll call you back in when we are finished.”
If looks could kill, Robert wouldn’t have needed to hire a hit man.
Once they were outside the room, I began to explain what had been happening to my family over the last few years, beginning with my grandfather’s supposed suicide, up until the recent incident at the Pensacola High School.
“I’ve hired an expert in this field and he has uncovered plenty of documentation to show me that Robert has been having an affair for quite some time. He also uncovered that Robert has squandered most of his own family’s fortune, and now he’s trying to take my mother’s away to cover his losses. Doctor Phillips, I’m sure you noted the condition in which my mother was in when she arrived here. Have you spoken with her today?”
“Yes, I have, we all have,” he stated, motioning to the other two board members.
“Then you had to have notice the extreme difference in her mental state. She’s not crazy, not even close; she was simply over medicated.”
“Well, it is a very serious matter,” spoke the second gentleman, “to take a patient’s well-being and place it in the hands of a minor…”
“It’s more serious,” I asserted, leveling my eyes at him, “to put a patient at risk when they are showing significant improvement by sending them back to a drug induced state of stupor.”
“She attempted suicide,” the gentleman continued.
“That remains to be seen. She went to sleep and woke here in the hospital—Robert could have been the one to cut her wrists, hoping it would help his Power of Attorney request. Please,” I implored, giving myself a moment to pause and gaze into each person’s eyes, “give her a chance to prove her intelligence and stability—she’s not a suicide risk, nor is she crazy.”
They spoke quietly for a few moments and then said they would like me to go out into the hallway and to have Doct
or Williamson join Doctor Figarrio for one final conference.
I did as I was asked, but there was no way I was sitting beside the traitorous Robert. I stood on the opposite side of the hallway as he glared at me. Suddenly I had the notion that I needed to sit beside him; I wanted to tell him something that I hoped would stick inside him and eat away at his very tiny conscience.
“What’s wrong with you, Leese?” he began immediately when I came closer. “You know I have your mother’s best interest…”
“I know about Sharon,” I simply stated, causing him to become silent. “I know about everything, including the hit you placed on my life.”
“You’re as crazy as your mother,” he said dismissively.
“Did you know Sharon put a contract on me too, dear old Dad?”
He gave me a confused look.
“That was where the Pensacola shooting came in. When she’s finished with me and Mom, you and Kimmy are next on her list. I may end up dead before this day is over, but I’ve left enough evidence for the police that you will go to prison for the rest of your miserable life. You’re a stupid fool who never thought to ask the woman whose life you’re preparing to destroy if she would get you out of your financial hole; instead you’ve dug yourself a grave.”
The door opened and we were asked to return into the room. Robert followed me inside, apparently still digesting what I’d said to him.
“We’ve decided,” Doctor Phillips began, “that, barring legal intervention by either party, we believe Doctor Figarrio and Miss Winslett have the patient’s best interest at heart. Mrs. Winslett will continue on her reduced drug therapy until we are instructed to do otherwise by a court of law. I recommend, if either of you,” he said directing his remark to Robert and me, “wish to keep or discard this ruling, you do so through the courts as soon as possible.”
“Thank you,” I said, reaching out to shake each of their hands. When I turned, Robert was already out of the room.
Doctor Figarrio put his arm around my shoulders and walked me out into the hallway. “Leese, you’re going to need a lawyer as soon as possible.”
“Doctor Figarrio, I may not have time to get an attorney. I can’t explain right now, but get my mother checked out of here as soon as possible. And, one more thing, please tell her I said she’ll need to hire twenty-four hour police protection for a while until this whole situation with Robert is exposed.”
“Aren’t you coming up to see her?” He seemed very surprised that I wouldn’t take this opportunity to visit her.
I knew I couldn’t. I might have Jack and Ricky following me right at this very moment and I certainly didn’t want to endanger her any further. “I wish I could but I’ve got to take care of some—some business before today is over.”
I could see the worry in his face. He didn’t know what I was up against, but somehow he understood that I was in some type of peril. “Be careful, Leese. You’re mother and your sister will both need you if you’re right about Robert.”
I gave him a hug and told him goodbye.
It was going to be a long walk back to the entrance. Every step I took was difficult. I imagined how it would feel when the bullet hit me. Would they be so bold to shoot me and run, right here in front of everyone? Each face that came into view as I got closer was suspect. I gripped my keys tightly in trembling fingers.
I turned the last corner before the exit doors when I saw that my car was gone. I felt a stab of panic wash through me. I turned to the receptionist, but she was on a call. I didn’t want to go outside the relative safety of the hospital doors to look for it. I’d have to call for a cab. I had left Micah’s phone at the motel and I didn’t carry change.
The receptionist hung up and looked up smiling, “Can I help you?”
“My car was parked by the doors.”
“Yes, Ma’am. You can’t park there, but someone rolled it out of the way before the towing service was called. I believe it’s at the bottom of the ramp to the right.”
“Oh—thank you.” It would be a foolish gamble to try to make it that far and the only chance I’d have would be to wait for a taxi. “Could I use your phone, I need…”
“No, Ma’am, I’m sorry but this phone is for hospital use only. If you go down to the waiting area behind me and down on the left, you’ll see a bank of pay phones for public use.”
“I didn’t bring any change.” I tried a smile, but it was weak. I was hoping she could make out the desperation in my face and have a change of heart.
“They take Visa and MasterCard,” she stated.
That I did have. “Thank you.” I turned the corner behind the large desk and started toward the waiting area. I was almost there when I felt a steel grip on my arm. I turned, expecting to see Micah standing there but it was someone I didn’t know, but I was certain within two guesses I’d get it right.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“There you are,” he stated gruffly. “I’ve been looking all over hell and back for you.”
I opened my mouth to scream when I felt the gun barrel shove against my ribs.
“Let’s have a little talk, shall we,” he hissed, pushing me into one of their small chapel rooms.
The door closed behind us and I had to speak and try to keep him distracted from what was about to happen. “The hospital is a pretty crowded place for a shooting, don’t you think—Jack, or are you Ricky?” I was trying to sound calm, but I could feel my knees turning to jelly.
He looked mildly surprised that I had their names. “Your boyfriend has kept you well informed, hasn’t he?” he smiled, pulling a brightly polished, nickel-plated barrel around from my side and placing it between my breasts.
“So which one are you?” I continued to ask, ignoring the pain as he pressed the barrel too hard into my chest.
He was older, perhaps in his forties. He was a little taller than me but not quite six foot. His eyes were chocolate brown and blood shot. He wasn’t an ugly man, but he was a man who wore his hard living on the outside of his demeanor. “Jack,” finally came his one word reply.
“Sharon’s lover,” I uttered as if I had no doubts.
He seemed to be enjoying the fact that I knew so much about him. He smiled and then he began to look at me, really look at me. He had me pushed against a kneeling bench with my back against a large wooden cross on the wall. He was making a slow assessment from top to bottom.
“At least I can see why the idiot hasn’t killed you yet. You must be pretty good if you can get that far with a Gavarreen.”
Just the mention of his name sent a spike through my system.
He pressed himself against me, sliding the gun back to my side. I turned my face and my stomach rolled as I felt the pressure of his body on mine. Micah had been the only man I had allowed to be this close to me; unfortunately, there was little I could do to stop Jack.
“I can’t see much reason to kill you right here,” he concluded, his hips thrusting into mine. I was trying to keep my tears from forming, but this wasn’t the ending I had expected and I knew I’d rather be shot.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” he breathed the words into my ear. “Answer me!,” he snarled, jerking my head backward with a handful of my hair.
“I—I don’t know. He…”
“Liar,” he spewed. “Tell me where he is or I’ll shoot you right here.”
The hand had released my hair and I tipped my head back to look him in the eyes. “Go ahead,” I said firmly.
“You think you’re a tough little girl, don’t you?” He licked his lips and smiled. “You can tell me where he’s at or I can knock you out and go upstairs and finish what I started with your momma; too bad she’ll be awake this time.”
I had no room to strike him; he was hard against me, and his legs were too close together to knee his groin. “You…”
“Yeah, me. I went there to speed up the job for Sharon. She had a date with your poppa so he doped her up as usual and left her. I cut her wrists and was going to
watch her bleed to death when he came back for his phone. It’s too bad really, but it just helped him make her look like the crazy woman he’s been creating for a while. The stupid bastard really thinks she cut her own wrists.” He gave a sluggish laugh, as if the joke was actually starting to become funny to him. “Now, are you going to tell me where he’s at or do I have to get rid of your mother?”
I let the tears roll down my cheeks; I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t telling the truth. “He left for a while before I got the call to come to the hospital. He doesn’t know I’m here and I don’t know where he went.”
“Well, I guess you’re just gonna have to come with me then,” he said, the smile returning to his face. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he warned, pulling a cell phone from his pocket. He hit one button and I heard it speed dialing through the speaker. He didn’t have to raise it to his ear; he just kept me pressed against the wall.
“What?” came the voice over the phone.
“I’ve got her. I’m taking her back to Sharon’s.”
“Just shoot her and get it over with,” was the response.
“Ah, be patient, little brother, you haven’t seen the close up yet. No sense in taking all the fun out of our job.”
I heard a laugh and the phone was snapped shut.
Jack dropped the phone back into his pocket. “Now we’re going to walk out of here just like we’re two peas in a pod. If you make me shoot before we get out of here—well, there is no telling who else will get hit in the process. Do you want that on your conscience?”
I shook my head, no.
“Good, let’s go get that Porsche of yours. Hand me the keys.”
I gave him the keys, but I knew as soon as we were clear from all the people in the hospital I was going to fight him, and I was already sizing up the best way to knock the gun from his hand. We walked out of the room, his arm around my waist, guiding me to the front entrance. I wondered if Micah had returned to the bungalow and found my note. Would he be waiting, hidden somewhere with his rifle and silencer?
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