by Nancy Mehl
“Who stabbed you, Dad?”
He shook his head. “No, no. Ray . . . mon . . .”
An alarm went off from a nearby machine, and her father’s eyes closed. Dr. Brightman leaned over him. “You need to leave now,” he said to Kaely. The door to the room opened, and two nurses pushed in a cart with a defibrillator. One of them took Kaely’s arm and pulled her into the hall. “Stay here, hon,” she said. “We need to help your father right now.” She gestured toward one of the personnel behind the counter of the nurses’ station. “Emily, take her back to the waiting room.”
Kaely jerked her arm away. “I know where it is, thanks.” She whirled around and hurried down the hall. Why was she upset with the nurse? It wasn’t her fault.
Kaely had to face the truth. Her father would probably be gone before the sun rose on another day.
She wanted to feel something normal, like any other daughter might when losing a parent. Sadness. Grief. But she felt nothing but resentment.
Thirty-Five
When she opened the door to the waiting room, Noah stood. “You’re back so fast. Is everything okay?”
She told him what happened. “They’re working on him now. But, Noah, he said Raymond Cooper stabbed him. And that he’s not who he says he is.”
“We need to call Chief Sawyer right away.”
She sat down, lost in thought. Something was wrong. She was sure of it.
“I’m sorry about your dad,” Noah said.
“That’s not what’s bothering me.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I just don’t see Raymond as our UNSUB. Our killer is crafty. Smart. Raymond . . .”
“We haven’t even interviewed him, Kaely.” He frowned. “A quick conversation isn’t enough to form a solid judgment.”
“Maybe not, but several things lead me to believe he isn’t a serial killer.”
Noah sighed. “Okay, I’ll bite. What did you see in that brief moment we met him that leads you to such a conclusion?”
“First, he’s married. Wedding ring. And he has a baby. Spit up on his uniform.”
“And how in the world do you know it was baby spit up?” Noah said, frustration in his voice. “Maybe it was chicken soup.”
“On his shoulder? That’s not where people spill things.”
“Is that it? Still not enough to rule him out.”
“His eyes were red. He was tired. He’d been up late. Probably with the baby. He doesn’t fit the profile.”
“The profile you haven’t done yet?”
Kaely grunted. “The profile of a serial killer. The profile in my head. And there’s something else.”
Noah just raised his eyebrows and waited.
“While he talked to us, he kept touching his wedding ring.”
“I did notice that. But I just assumed he was nervous.”
“About what?”
Noah blinked several times. “I . . . I don’t know. Maybe he wasn’t used to talking to FBI agents.”
“But he oversees killers, rapists, and thieves every day?” Kaely shook her head. “No, it was something else. He’s worried about something, and it has to do with his family. Besides, he’s not intellectually capable of being our UNSUB.”
“Yeah. He didn’t seem like the brightest crayon in the box.”
“Excuse me?”
Noah blushed. “Sorry. I opened my mouth, and my mother tumbled out.”
Kaely laughed softly. “Your mother sounds wonderful.”
He nodded. “She is. You’ll like her.”
“I’m sure I will.”
Noah was quiet for a moment. “What if he had help? Could Dr. Engle be pulling his strings? Kenny said he thought something was going on between her and Cooper.”
“That’s exactly what I was just thinking. We haven’t had time to investigate him, but I think Cooper is more of a lackey.” She met his gaze. “But maybe not for Dr. Engle. What about Warden Galloway?”
“Or Deputy Warden Clark? They all have access to the room with the laptop.”
She nodded. “If Raymond stabbed my father, someone was giving him orders. I think all three should be investigated.”
“You’re right.”
“I left my phone and purse in my father’s room. Lend me your cell, and I’ll call Sawyer about what Dad said.”
“Let me do this. What if the doctor comes back with news?”
She sighed. “Thanks. I hadn’t thought of that.”
It was almost four o’clock in the morning, so Sawyer was probably asleep. If they couldn’t get him, they’d call the CP. Someone would be there. Law enforcement was working around the clock. But Noah got through to Sawyer, and as he brought him up to date, a nurse came into the room.
“Your father is still with us,” she said before Kaely could ask. “Come with me.”
Kaely signaled to Noah that she was going, and he nodded.
They were walking to her father’s room when the nurse handed her a small envelope. “Someone left this for you at our information center downstairs. It was sent up here.”
Kaely nodded absentmindedly and put the envelope in her back pocket. She’d open it after she saw her father. When she went into his room, the breathing tube was back in his throat, so he couldn’t talk to her. The nurse walked out, leaving them alone.
He was looking at her with a pleading in his eyes, and she forced herself to walk over and take his hand. As he closed his fingers over hers, a wave of nausea washed through her. “Dad, Jason asked me to tell you he loves you. He should be here shortly. I know he wants to see you.”
He squeezed her hand so tightly it hurt, and she wrestled it out of his grip. “Everything will be okay,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Noah is on the phone right now with law enforcement. They’ll pick up Raymond Cooper. Please try to relax.”
He shook his head, his face tight. Then his fingers curved, and his hand moved as if he were writing something. Kaely went to her purse and pulled out the notepad she always carried, along with a pen. She didn’t think her father could write with his hand tied down, so after glancing at the door, she unfastened the strap. Then she handed him the pen and held up the pad for him. He struggled to put the pen on the paper, and his hand shook as he wrote. After a few seconds, his eyes rolled back in his head, and the pen dropped from his fingers. The alarm sounded again, and Kaely quickly slid the small notepad into a side jeans pocket.
She knew her father was dying, but she didn’t know what to do. She grabbed his hand one more time and leaned down next to his ear. She did the only thing she could think of. She began to sing. “‘In the dark of night, I’ll be there. I love you so, and I’ll never let you go. In the dark of night, I’ll be there . . .’”
The corners of her father’s mouth turned up. He’d heard her. She could hear the crash cart rumbling down the hall, and a few seconds later several nurses surrounded her father’s bed. “You need to leave again,” said the same nurse who’d brought her there.
“I know.” She looked at her father’s face one last time and then left and walked down the hall. Once the police officers guarding his room couldn’t see her, she leaned against the wall. She’d just spent the last few moments she’d ever have with her father. Why had she sung that song to him? She couldn’t tell him she forgave him. Nor could she tell him she loved him. Somehow, though, she was convinced he’d heard just what he needed to hear before he died. But the song wasn’t for The Raggedy Man. It was for the father who took her camping.
As she waited for the news she knew was coming, she reached into her back pocket, searching for her notepad. She wanted to know what her father had written in the last minutes of his life. Instead, she pulled out the envelope the nurse had given her. Maybe she should open it. It might be important.
After reading the note inside, she nearly cried out in shock. Then she stuffed the note and envelope back in her pocket and stared toward the room where Noah waited for her. A few seconds later, after lifting
the car keys out of another pocket, she turned and walked the other way. She was thankful Noah had asked her to keep the keys when they arrived. If she’d had to ask him for them . . .
She got onto the elevator, and once in the lobby, she walked out into the night.
Noah glanced up at the clock again. Kaely had been gone almost forty minutes. He was surprised she hadn’t at least checked in with him. Kept him up to date on her father’s condition. He’d heard another alarm and seen a crash cart go by, but maybe it wasn’t for Ed.
Noah was just about to go check on her when Dr. Brightman walked into the room. He looked around and frowned.
“Where is Miss Quinn?” he asked.
It seemed so strange to hear Kaely called Miss that it threw him for a second. “I think she’s with her father.”
The doctor looked surprised. “I just left Mr. Oliphant’s room. She isn’t there.”
“She must be in the restroom, then. She should be back soon.”
“If that’s true, she’s been there a long time. We sent her out of the room a half hour ago.”
“I’ll look for her, doc,” Noah said. “When I locate her, should I have her find you?”
He nodded. “Tell her to go to the nurses’ station. They’ll page me.”
“Okay.”
Noah followed the doctor out the door and headed toward the bathrooms. A family came down the hallway toward him, a nurse with them. He turned to watch them enter the waiting room. Someone else was facing an emotional battle. Hospitals didn’t give him warm, fuzzy feelings. He’d spent enough time in them as a patient the past few months. And then there were all the days he’d spent with Tracy.
When he reached the bathrooms, he knocked on the women’s door and called out Kaely’s name. No response. He called again and was just thinking about going in himself when a woman came out. She looked annoyed.
“Ma’am,” Noah said, trying to appear calm and mannerly, “is a woman with dark red hair in there? I need to talk to her.”
“No one in the bathroom but me,” she huffed. “Not very relaxing to have someone knocking on the bathroom door while you’re inside.”
“I’m sorry. I really am. But it’s important that I find my friend. Her father is in intensive care.”
“I’m sorry, but still—”
“You’re sure no one else is in the bathroom?”
The woman sighed. “I told you I was the only person inside. Now if you’ll excuse me . . .”
Noah watched as the woman walked away. Once she was out of sight, he pushed open the door and walked in. She was right. No one was there.
Confused, he went to the nurses’ station. “Excuse me,” he said to a nurse who seemed very interested in whatever was on his computer screen. After a few seconds, he looked up.
“Can I help you?”
“My friend—Ed Oliphant’s daughter—do you have any idea where she is? I can’t find her. Dr. Brightman said she wasn’t in her father’s room.”
The nurse got a strange look on his face. “No, she’s not in there. Just a moment.”
He stood and went to where two other nurses talked to him in low tones. Then one of the other nurses rose from her seat and joined Noah. He recognized her as the nurse who had come for Kaely earlier.
“I believe she went downstairs,” she said.
“I don’t understand. Why would she go downstairs? Is there a cafeteria or something down there?”
The nurse shook her head. “The cafeteria is on another floor, but it’s not open yet. I assumed she was leaving because . . .” She closed her mouth quickly, but Noah knew what she was going to say.
“Ed died, didn’t he?”
“I can’t discuss his condition with someone who isn’t family.” Noah could see the conflict in her face.
“You don’t have to. It’s obvious.” He frowned. “But why wouldn’t she come and get me? I don’t understand.”
“Maybe it had something to do with the envelope she got?”
“What envelope?”
The nurse leaned closer, as if trying to keep her words between them. “I have no idea. It was left downstairs for her at the information desk. They sent it up here, and I gave it to her. She put it in her pocket without opening it. When I saw her head for the elevators later, she looked upset.”
“Thank you.” Noah turned toward the elevators, but she called him back, looking around as if trying to see if anyone was listening. Then she lifted something from beneath the counter. “Here’s her purse,” she said as she handed it to him. “She left it in her father’s room. And please tell her to contact the morgue. They’ll need to know where to send the body, assuming she wants to claim it.”
He nodded. The nurse was confirming that Ed had passed away without actually saying the words. “I’ll tell her. Thank you.”
He got on the elevator and punched the button for the first floor. What was going on? Did Kaely need some fresh air after her father died? But why would she leave the building without letting him know?
As he scanned the first floor, he noticed the information desk. He went up to an older woman with frizzy gray hair and sleepy eyes who looked like she’d rather be home in bed.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” he said to her, “but someone dropped off an envelope for a friend of mine. It was sent upstairs to ICU. Do you know anything about it?”
She nodded. “Yeah, a man gave it to me. Said it needed to go to an Agent Quinn. Said she was visiting her father in ICU. I told him he could take it up to the ICU nurses’ station, but he refused. Just walked off and left it on the counter.” She shrugged. “I guess he was in a hurry.”
“Can you describe him?”
She thought for a moment. “I . . . I’m not sure. It was so fast.”
Noah tried to keep himself from becoming aggravated with the woman. “Was he white? Black? Hispanic?”
“Oh, he was white. Had one of those sweatshirts. You know, with the hood? I don’t know the color of his hair. Couldn’t see it.”
“Do you remember the color of his eyes?”
“He wore sunglasses. I thought it was odd since it’s the middle of the night.”
“Tall, short, fat, thin?”
She blew out a quick breath of air. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t paying attention. I had no idea I was going to get the third degree about it.”
Noah could almost guarantee the woman had been dozing when the man arrived. He wasn’t going to get anything useful out of her. He thanked her, trying not to sound sarcastic, then ran toward the entrance of the hospital. Once he was outside, he looked around, hoping to see Kaely sitting on a bench. But she was nowhere to be seen. He jogged through the parking lot toward where they’d left their car. It was still there, but the driver’s side door was wide open, the car keys on the seat. No one was inside.
Kaely had disappeared.
Thirty-Six
It didn’t take long for the police to arrive, but a little longer for Chief Sawyer to pull into the parking lot with Bell right behind him.
“What happened?” the chief asked when he approached Noah.
As Sawyer and Bell listened intently, he told him the same story he’d shared with the police officers who’d arrived first.
“I called Jason several times. He should be in town, but he’s missing too. His phone just goes to voice mail. I also called the hotel where he planned to stay. He hasn’t checked in yet.”
“I assume you tried to call Agent Quinn?” Bell asked.
Noah pulled Kaely’s phone out of his pocket. “It was in the purse she left in her father’s room in ICU. I gave it to one of the policemen.”
“Great. Do you have any idea what was in the envelope she got?” Sawyer asked.
“An idea? Yeah. I think it was a note. And whatever it said made her leave the hospital without talking to me. My guess is that someone has Jason, and Kaely’s trying to save him. The message was most probably a threat. You know the drill. Don’t contact the authori
ties or your brother dies. Not the first time we’ve seen this.”
“And Ed told Kaely that Raymond Cooper stabbed him?” Sawyer asked. “Is he our UNSUB?”
“Kaely is convinced it’s not him. I don’t think it’s him, either.”
“What exactly did she say?” Bell asked.
“That her father said Raymond Cooper stabbed him and that he’s not who he says he is.”
“I don’t understand,” the chief said.
“Sounds to me like he was saying Cooper is our UNSUB,” Bell said.
Noah shook his head. “I really don’t think so.” He thought about going into why Kaely didn’t believe Cooper was their man, but he wasn’t sure how to bring up baby throw up.
“Well, we need to follow up on him anyway.”
“Look, maybe you should talk to Kenny,” Noah said. “He said he overheard Dr. Engle and Cooper talking. It sounded suspicious. He wondered if they might be in on this together. Ed spent a lot of time with Dr. Engle, and she probably knows more about him than anyone.”
The chief nodded. “Okay.” He turned his attention to Bell. “Has anyone figured out how our UNSUB was able to send a message to that laptop at the prison?”
Bell nodded. “It was done by someone who had direct contact with the computer.”
“Then we still don’t know who our UNSUB is,” Sawyer said. “And he just might have Agent Quinn and possibly her brother as well.” He shook his head. “This is unacceptable.”
“At least we know it has to be someone who has access to the restricted area of the prison,” Noah said. “Kaely and I both think you need to question not just Cooper but Dr. Engle, Warden Galloway . . . and the deputy warden. Clark.”
“We’re already looking closely at him,” Bell said.
Noah frowned. “Do you mind if I ask why?”
“Getting to Ed in that cell was too easy. We’re not saying Clark was in on it, but since it happened on his watch, we’ve got to wonder. At this point we have to check out everyone.”
An idea popped into Noah’s head. “You know, Jason was supposed to rent a car at the airport. You might want to contact the rental companies there. Maybe if we can track the car . . .”
