by Ann S. Marie
Yep, there sure was something there.
“You know Truffles, we make a good team. I had some suspicions but now, I think I know which direction to follow for sure. How could I not have known?”
Dana then plopped Truffles on the sofa beside her and picked up Mac baby, her other bestie. She then opened up the smooth aluminum laptop and re-read her notes. “Motive. There had to be a strong motive. I think I overlooked the obvious, Truffles. I think I need to rewrite this whole list. And then I’m going to head over to the nursing home to get Aunt Mary’s favorite pair of glasses and some more answers.”
Chapter 15
Later Dana drove up to the Oxbridge Nursing Home. She turned off the ignition, got out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut. Dana then pulled out her notebook and pen from her crossbody handbag. She then scooted up to the sliding glass doors of the facility.
“Good afternoon,” an older full-figured woman sporting a dark brunette bobbed haircut with bright red coloring on the tips greeted her.
“Hi there. I was wondering if you could help me out. I’m looking for a pair of glasses that might have been left behind by a patient that was here for a few days.” Dana gave Aunt Mary’s full name. “She came in her not long ago.”
“Oh, yes,” the woman said with a grin. She then rolled her eyes. “I remember Miss Mary all right.”
“You do?” Dana’s heart exploded with excitement. Well, that was good news, right? It had to be. Maybe the receptionist could help Dana with some information? She seemed really helpful.
“Who could forget her? She was a real Miss busy body.”
“She was?”
“Yes, she was.”
“But she’s an invalid?”
“Well, she can’t do too much on her own, but as you know, there’s nothing wrong with her mouth.”
Dana grinned.
“Well, what can you tell me?”
“I can tell you this. Miss Mary sure likes to read. A lot.”
“I know. That was always Aunt Mary for you. Always reading a book or a newspaper.”
The woman then looked around in the lost and found box near to her reception desk. “Ah, yes. Here it is.”
The woman pulled out a pink-rimmed pair of glasses with a tint in it.
“Yep, that’s one of Aunt Mary’s favorite pair of reading glasses.” Dana gladly took the pair from the woman. “She’s had it for like ever. Where did you find it?”
“I found it when I found her.” The woman arched her brow, giving Dana a can-you-believe-it look.
“Excuse me? When you found her? Found her where?”
“Snooping around in my stuff.”
“Snooping around in your stuff?”
“You sure like to repeat everything I say, don’t you?” the woman teased with a grin. She peered over her black-rimmed glasses at Dana.
“Sorry, I just…I’m in shock.”
“I’m only pulling your leg, sweetie. Your Aunt Mary’s a darling really. Always rolling about in her wheelchair. She likes to keep my company up here at the front. She ain’t as sickly as the other residents. I tell you, she may not be able to walk, but she can sure talk. Your auntie snapped at me when I caught her, too. Imagine that? I asked her what she was doing looking through my admissions files.”
“Your admissions files?”
“Yes. My admission files.”
“But what could she have possibly wanted in there?”
“Beats me. I guess she got bored here. She really didn’t want to be here, you know.”
Just then, a thought sprung into Dana’s mind.
“Can I ask a really big favor of you?” Dana pleaded nicely with the woman. “It would really mean a lot. Lives are at stake here.”
The woman then arched her brow and gave Dana a dubious look.
“I shouldn’t be doing this, you know?”
“I know. I’m really sorry. I would never ask you to do anything that would jeopardize your job or patient confidentiality. But…I really need to know what Aunt Mary was looking at. This could answer quite a lot and help in the investigation of…”
“A-ha. It’s about the murder of that poor girl, isn’t it? You know, my niece is a Vegas dancer, too. She’s always wanted to open up her own dance school one day to help kids learn a new skill and keep active and all that.”
The receptionist then sighed for a moment. “I’ll do what I can to help you. If it means catching that creepy woman hater killer. Doctor Cromwell left us some strict order for her.” The woman pulled out a file.
“Oh, dear.”
“What is it?”
“The wrong physician file. I keep getting them two mixed up.”
“Which two?”
“Doctor Bernie Cromwell and Doctor Chester Cromwell. They both work here PRN you know. It confuses the hell out of me.”
Dana’s heart stopped.
“Doctor Chester Cromwell?”
“Yes, why?”
Dana felt as if the life had been sucked out of her. “Was Dr. Chester Cromwell married by any chance?”
“I’m not sure. I never saw him with a wedding band.”
“Hmm.” Dana thought to herself. Something didn’t sit right at all.
“I have to go,” Dana said. “Thank you so much for your help.”
Very critical. She didn’t have much time to prove who the real killer was.
Chapter 16
“I can’t believe you’re having me look into this Dana.” Troy searched through the file cabinet looking at some of the evidence.
“Thanks so much, Troy. I’ll make it up to you, I swear.”
“What? You’ll get me another badge after I lose this one?”
“Troy, I…”
“Relax, Dana. I’m just kidding.”
“That’s not funny.”
“You know, you should consider a career in law enforcement or have your own PI agency. You know that?”
“Hey, coming from you, I’ll certainly consider it.”
Troy then pulled out some information from the cabinet and scanned through it. “This is interesting.”
“What is?”
“I think you might be onto something, Dana.”
“Can I see?” Dana inched closer to Troy and she inhaled the sweet scent of his cologne. It was sweetly intoxicating.
For a moment an electrical spark touched her when he brushed her skin with his strong, muscular arm. He sure was enticing. But Dana had to focus on her mission. She was sworn off men—for now anyway. She just couldn’t take any more heartbreak. Besides, Mr. Tall, Dark & Handsome Detective was married—to his work. His dangerous work. Something Dana had no business being a part of. Plus, he’d told her last month that he was no longer into relationships after being burned badly by his ex. Dana could certainly relate to that. Well, at least they shared something in common.
For a moment their eyes locked and her heart turned over in her chest.
Focus, Dana. Focus. Not on him, silly. On the case. On saving your uncle’s hide.
Troy cleared his throat, probably realizing that he was still at the police station and that was no place to be hitting on the relative of a suspect.
“Well, you are right about something. The reports confirm that she bled to death by a substance called heparin.”
“Heparin?”
“Yes, it’s a…”
“Blood thinner.” They both said in unison.
It was amazing that they both were on the same train of thought. But Dana tried not to get too excited about it. She had a lot in common with her ex, too, before they grew apart and well, he ran off with her friend.
“Now the question is…who has access to that kind of medicine? Darlene, my uncle’s secretary. But so did Dr. Cromwell.”
“Doctor who?”
“Dr. Cromwell.” Dana explained to him about the conversation with Bea and the admission by a second-party that a Chester was involved with Karla but she believed that Chester could be Dr. Cromwell.”<
br />
“Are you out of your mind, Dana? We can’t go accusing a respectable doctor of some hideous crime? All fingers would point to your Uncle Max.”
“But that’s just it. Uncle Max wouldn’t hurt a fly, Troy.”
“Crimes of passion could surprise anyone, Dana. Especially when love turns sour.”
“But not in this case, Troy. Trust me on this one. I just have a feeling that this Chester person could be involved. Could you at least find out about his status through the college of physicians? Or if he’s had any issues? He’s looking after my auntie after all. If he visits the home often, being that Aunt Mary is usually upstairs asleep, that would mean Karla would have seen him often. Especially when my uncle is away.”
Troy froze. “You know something. You have a point, Dana. You should really consider joining the force. We probably should have brought him in for questioning. I wonder why that was overlooked?” Troy rubbed his forehead.
“I’m going to look into Cromwell’s background, Dana. Promise me you won’t go snooping around in this case.” Troy arched a sexy brow.
“I can’t promise you that, Troy. You know that. But I won’t do anything illegal. How about that?”
He rolled his eyes playfully.
“Hey, what’s this?” Dana said looking at a file with some notes on it. The autopsy report.
“Well, it’s pretty much public now, but this is the autopsy report.”
“It is?”
“Yes, why?”
“But…what is this?” She pointed to an entry on the page about a white mark on the lips of the victim.
“Oh, the victim had some sort of marking on the lips.”
Dana’s body felt buzzed. “That’s it!”
“What’s it?”
“Oh, nothing. I just need to check something out.”
“Please don’t let me regret looking into this for you, Dana.”
“You won’t, Troy. I…I promise.”
God, she hoped that was a promise she could keep. But right now, time was running out.
Chapter 17
Dana pulled up at the address on 23 Willow Way Drive. It was a lonely house near the woods. She wondered why on earth would Dr. Cromwell have his office there. But then again, he was supposed to be semi-retired now. He was only seeing Aunt Mary as a special favor, according to Aunt Mary.
She shut off the ignition and the car stopped with a chugging sound.
“Okay, I really need to get this baby serviced. But please don’t conk out on me now, Bessie,” she warned her car.
She drew in a deep sigh and took out her purse, feeling around for her cell phone to make sure she could call for help if needed. The battery level was only 13 per cent. It would have to do for now. She hoped and prayed it would last her until she had to recharge again. She’d left her charger at home on the counter.
Memo to self: Always keep a back up charger in my purse at all times.
As she walked up the wooden walkway, the board creaked. She stopped, feeling a chill slide over her then she continued, looking around and proceeding cautiously.
When she got to the door, she looked around. She then peered through the window which looked badly in need of a good scrub. A dirt film lingered on its surface.
Dana’s heart stopped.
The place looked abandoned.
This had to be mistake.
She looked at the address again and compared it with the address on the business card that Uncle Max had given her of Dr. Cromwell’s address.
“Hmm. Odd.”
Dana was about to leave when she noticed the door was slightly ajar. “Hello, anyone in here?”
She had to be crazy to go inside but her curiosity got the best of her.
You remember what they say about curiosity and the cat, right? A little voice in her head warned her.
She switched on her locator on her cell phone so that she could easily be tracked down.
Just in case.
But at the end of the day, a murderer was on the loose in the sweet little town of Berry Cove and she had to help the police find the real killer. And clear her family’s name. Her uncle’s name.
She walked inside and saw a desk in the far corner, a few chairs and a coffee table. Everything looked so dusty. Had anyone even been there in a while? She took her cell phone and took pictures. It looked as if Doc Cromwell might have had a front. Or maybe this was his old office. Maybe he had another office somewhere and didn’t get a chance to update his business cards.
She saw a few files on the desk and a file on Mary Sweet. She also saw a few pictures of some beautiful model-like women lying around. One of them was of Karla.
She gasped.
She then saw tons of papers on the table. A few IDs. They were of profile picture of Cromwell with different names and addresses. Cromwell was much younger in the pictures and had different looks. Some with a beard. Some without. Blond hair. Dark hair. Grey hair. But basically, it looked as if Cromwell was somebody else. He was either a spy or an impersonator.
But before she could do anything else, a hand covered her mouth from behind. She couldn’t breathe.
Then he let her go and spun her around.
“What are you doing here?” Dr. Cromwell asked furiously. Or Cromwell. Or whoever he really was.
“I…I’m sorry. I was just looking…the door was open.”
He sighed. “I guess you know the truth now, don’t you?”
“Cromwell, why did you…why did you kill Karla?”
“You think I killed Karla?” He rubbed his forehead. “You’d better leave, my dear. But first…I’m going to share something with you and it’s not to leave this room.”
Chapter 18
Dana had just gotten back from the Cromwell’s so-called office, visibly shaken.
She stood in the kitchen baking some blueberry scones to calm her nerves and also, she’d promised Aunt Mary and Uncle Max she’d bring some over this evening.
The sweet scent wafted to her nostrils. The sound of the phone ringing startled her.
She stopped and wiped her hands on her apron and walked to antique brass phone in the dining room.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Dana. It’s Troy.”
“Oh, thank heavens, Troy.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Troy sighed deeply. “Well, you didn’t follow my advice to stay out of trouble for one thing.”
“I didn’t?”
“No. My boys have Cromwell’s house under watch and one of them told me that you were seen leaving not long ago.”
“Oh, Troy. I’m sorry. I just had to ask the doc a few questions.”
“Dana.”
She sighed deeply. “It’s a bad habit, I know.”
“Dana, it’s more than just a bad habit. It’s a dangerous habit. I told you to leave the bad guys up to us. You don’t know how unpredictable guys like Cromwell can be.”
“I know.”
“Anyway, I found out that he wasn’t listed with the college of physicians and surgeons as you probably know by now.”
Dana felt heat rush to her cheeks. “I know.”
“Dana, please. I care about you, don’t go doing anything foolish.”
He cares about me? Troy said he cares about me?
Dana’s heart fluttered in her chest. Her belly felt light with dancing butterflies. Well, wasn’t that something?
Don’t get too carried away, Dana. Troy’s got a lot on his plate these days and if it isn’t dressed up as a homicide case, he probably won’t be interested.
“Well, I’m just going to finish up the scones and head over to Aunt Mary and Uncle Max. I promised I’d bring a batch over. And Troy, what is the penalty for impersonating a doctor?”
“Very severe, depending on the case.”
“I see. Well, I won’t be too long. I’m just going to drop the baked goods off.”
“Is that all you’re going to do?”
Dan
a didn’t want to tell him that Darlene was going to be there, too and she had a few questions to ask.
She drew in a deep breath.
She decided to come clean. “No, Troy. That’s not all I’m going to do.”
Chapter 19
“Hi, Uncle Max, Darlene,” Dana said as she walked into the study at Uncle Max’s house with warm tray of baked goods.
“Oh, they smell delicious,” Darlene said.
“Thank you,” Dana said.
“I’ll get us some drinks.”
“Oh, I’m not staying long,” Dana said.
“You’re not?” Uncle Max looked surprised.
“Oh, no. I…” Dana looked at Darlene and Uncle Max. Darlene seemed very cozy with Uncle Max. She could probably now have him all to herself now that his wife…or his wives were out of the way, right?
Dana drew in a deep breath. She hoped the confrontation wouldn’t backfire on her.
“I…I need to talk to Aunt Mary about something. Is she awake?”
“The last I checked on her. I just gave her a cup of…”
“Warm milk and honey,” Darlene finished uncle Max’s sentence with a roll of the eyes.
Dana gave her a stern look, her lips pressed together. She tried to ignore Darlene’s snarkiness. “Well, I’ll be right back.”
Dana headed upstairs to the top of the landing and made a right turn toward Aunt Mary’s room.
She knocked lightly on the door.
“Come in,” Aunt Mary’s friendly voice called out.
“Hi, Aunt Mary. Can I come in?”
“Sure, Dana. Anytime. What is it, dear? You don’t look too well.”
It was that obvious, huh?
Just then Dana heard the doorbell downstairs ring and heard Uncle Max open it.
“Um…well, Aunt Mary. The autopsy results showed a milk stain above Karla’s upper lip.”
“A milk stain?”
“Yes, Auntie,” Dana said softly. “She had milk and honey. Your favorite drink, the one you like to share with others. I asked my friend Troy if I could see the details of the report—the one that’s on public record and he shared that with me. Her drink had been laced with a toxic amount of Heparin.”
