I fought to breathe. Another alarm screeched out another warning. Suddenly, the pressure lifted, and I flung the soft object from my face. Oxygen filled my lungs, and I gulped in great gasps of air. A light switched on overhead, and several faces swam into view as I continued to fight against the terrible blackness hovering about me.
“Calm down,” a soothing voice advised as an oxygen tube was inserted into my nostrils. “Take a deep breath now. Slowly… That’s it…another breath. Good.”
I’m not sure how much time passed before my vitals steadied and I was able to sit up in bed. With the nurses and Dr. Hadley—who’d been called in—congregated around me, I tried to explain my terrifying ordeal with the nurse.
“You had a nightmare, Miz Claiborne,” Dr. Hadley tried to assure me. “A rare side effect of the pain medication. I’ve seen it before. Not to this extent, but nonetheless, not unheard of.”
“But—”
“Listen to Dr. Hadley,” advised the head nurse. “No one is trying to kill you.”
“But it seemed so real.” My voice intensified as I grew more excited. “This isn’t the first—”
“Yes, my dear. I’ve seen it happen before,” she said, taking my hand in hers. “You’re seeing things that aren’t there. Certain medications can produce very realistic hallucinations in patients in a highly emotional state.”
As I looked around me, I could see by their expressions that they were firmly convinced that my terrifying experience had been a product of pain medication and my overwrought emotions. But they were wrong. Twice now, someone had tried to snuff me out. As they continued to watch me, I stifled the whisper of terror clawing at my throat. Somehow, I had to keep it together until I could talk to Bradford. But where was he? And why hadn’t he returned my calls?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Code of the South
The next morning, Dr. Hadley came in with a positive report. Briefly, he mentioned last night’s commotion and said he wanted to keep me one more day in case I had another complication with the pain medication. I would be released tomorrow if all went well. He left for rounds just as the same nurse’s aide from yesterday came in to take me for my daily exercise.
I had just finished eating a bland lunch when Bradford came into the room, accompanied by an attractive African American officer with beautiful, warm brown eyes. Admiration for him shone in those expressive eyes when he asked her to wait outside the room while he visited with me.
“Thank God, you’re here,” I said, jumpy and anxious from watching for another attempt on my life. “I’ve been frantic to speak with you.”
Bradford sat in the chair beside my bed. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to get here, but I had a personal family emergency that took me out of town. I came as soon as I could. Grant filled me in on your accident. How are you feeling?”
“Lucky to be alive, which is saying a lot. Twice now, someone has tried to kill me.”
“Start at the beginning and tell me everything.”
“Well, I know you’re going to be a little upset with me, but that’s a small matter now in light of my discovery.”
He dragged his fingers through his hair in a despairing gesture. “Perhaps you should start at the beginning and tell me what this is all about,” he repeated.
“Scarlett was working on an investigative story involving a powerful cartel operating here in Whiskey Creek,” I said. “She was also investigating her parents’ plane crash five years ago. There was a copy of the plane’s mechanic’s report on a thumb-drive, along with a file on Robert Burns, the Payne family, and the Georgia Brotherhood.”
“How did you come by this information?”
“Remember when I told you about Scarlett’s last words—the jade elephant?”
He nodded. “Yes, I remember.”
“Well, the jade elephant turned out to be a small volume of poetry I found in Scarlett’s office. And guess what was inside?”
His eyes narrowed. “What were you doing in Scarlett’s office? Remember your promise to stop investigating?”
Heat crept up my neck. “Do you want to hear my story?” I continued at his curt nod. “I found a finger stick hidden inside the cut binding of the book. I knew it was important, so I took it home.”
“You didn’t think to turn it over to the police?”
“I had every intention of turning it over to the police,” I declared. “As soon as I knew what was on it.”
“Sounds like your reasoning.” His voice held a hint of mockery. “Go on and tell me the rest.”
“Well, turns out my computer, or the office computer, didn’t have the special software needed to read the thumb-drive. And I didn’t know the password.” I paused. I couldn’t exactly tell him the whole truth. “Uh, that’s when I got the idea that Scarlett had to have a computer with the necessary software either at her house or her office. Her house was closer.”
“So you went there against my advice?”
“I looked for you at the funeral with every intention of turning over the flash drive. However, I didn’t see you in the crowd.”
“You went to Scarlett’s house from the funeral,” he stated flatly.
“I found the laptop in an upstairs bedroom. Just as I suspected, it read the flash drive.”
“And the password?” He crossed his arms across his chest.
“I found it on a sticky note buried under a pile of magazines on her desk,” I said, leaving out the part about Scarlett’s help. Bradford wouldn’t understand my ability to communicate with her. “The flash drive has five files—Prototype-Magnolia Manor, Cantrell Plane Crash, Burns, Payne, and Brotherhood—or in other words, the Georgia Mafia.”
“Where are the laptop and flash drive located now?”
“I don’t know.” I fidgeted with the bed sheet. “While I was skimming over the files, I heard a noise downstairs. I knew I shouldn’t have been alone in the house, so I grabbed the laptop and hid in the downstairs foyer closet, hoping to escape without detection.”
“You thought one of them was in the house with you?” His tone was soft. His eyes never left me.
I nodded. “Some guy in a dark blue sedan has been watching me for days. I was terrified that he’d followed me to Scarlett’s house. Turns out I was right—the creep chased me down with his car, with bullets flying. I swerved to avoid a car pulling onto the road and lost control of my car. The laptop was in the back seat of my Mustang. One of the officers returned my purse, but the laptop and thumb-drive are missing. I believe the jerk in the sedan snatched them before the first responders could arrive. That or someone in the police department is on the take.”
“And the second attempt?”
“Someone came into my room last night and tried to snuff me out with a pillow. The doctors tried to convince me that I was hallucinating—a rare side effect from the medications—but it was real, all right.”
“You’re sure about it? Is it possible the doctors could be right about the hallucination?”
“Anything is possible, but I’m not willing to bet my life on it, if that’s what you’re asking,” I said hotly. “Especially since the evidence have been stolen.”
“Give me the details of the investigative report. There are names?”
I gave him a quick nod. “I didn’t recognize most of them, and I only had a chance to skim over the document. Robert Burns’ name caught my attention immediately. He’s definitely involved, along with several high-profile lawyers and judges. The mayor is mentioned, and his father. I don’t know their connection. There’s also a tie with her parents’ plane crash.”
“Involved in what?”
“Money laundering and election tampering, and possibly her parents’ murder. Scarlett uncovered a conspiracy to change the recent election with vote-rigging software. You know…gangster stuff. Scarlett also suspected the Brotherhood had infiltrated the police department and the GBI.”
Bradford whistled. “How is that possible? Those electronic votin
g machines are tamper-proof.”
“That’s what I read. Scarlett was trying to arrange a meeting with some guy who supposedly created a prototype for some big wig in this town.”
“Where does Burns fit in?”
“Money? He’s filthy rich and was strongly opposed to Sonny Carrollton becoming mayor. Said Carrollton’s plan to curb city growth would send us back one hundred years. He believed Henry Payne was the man to transform Whiskey Creek into one of the largest and finest cities in Georgia.”
“Is that it?”
“Do you have something I can write on?”
Bradford handed me a small notepad from his pocket along with a pen. I jotted down the names I could recall from Scarlett’s notes. I explained the best I could about my conversation with Cherry on Thursday morning.
“So Robert Burns was determined to stop Miss Cantrell from airing her report?”
“Cherry told me that Robert came home late one night just furious. Seems that Scarlett had ruffled the feathers of some very important men. Scarlett refused to back down, and Robert seemed afraid. Cherry overheard him on the phone with the mayor.”
“Are you sure she said Burns contacted the mayor? Did Burns mention the names of these men?”
“No, but Cherry said they were the kind you avoid. Boy, you were right to warn me away. Rest assured I won’t make that mistake again. Oh, there’s one other thing I suppose I should mention.”
“I’m listening.”
I told him Daddy’s story. “And Mr. Blackstone is mentioned in the report. He must be tied to the Georgia Mafia.”
Bradford didn’t comment right away. He sat staring at me. Unconsciously, I reached up to smooth my hair and encountered a rock hard mess of tangles. Dammit—I probably looked like the hairspray queen with a crown of sticky knots.
“I don’t want to frighten you, but you’re in real danger,” he said, effectively switching my concern from the sorry state of my hair to my life expectancy. “And it’s my job to ensure your safety.”
“Duh. What do you think I’ve been trying to tell you? And just how are you going to protect me? My address is in the phone book.”
Bradford flashed a cunning smile. “If you’re willing, I’m going to move into your house and become your lover, my dear Jolene.”
I gave an anxious little cough. My face must’ve shown my surprise because Bradford grabbed my hand, his tone apologetic when he quickly added, “Just a pretence, you understand. I’m sorry for giving you the wrong impression. I’m placing you under protective custody.”
“I don’t see any way that we can manage that,” I said, a warm glow flowing through me at the thought of sharing my home with this man. “My family wouldn’t buy that tale.” Immediately, I felt a pang of guilt. Deena had first dibs on him. She’d reeled him in fair and square, and there was no way I was going to flip this dish into my frying pan. Sisters didn’t taste each other’s catch. Code of the South.
“Let me start at the beginning,” he started to explain when the door opened to admit a male nurse.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to check the patient’s vitals.” He took the blood pressure gadget from the wall above my bed and fastened it to my arm, then placed a thermometer in my mouth.
“No problem,” Bradford said. “I was just explaining to Jolene how I’ll take good care of her when she’s released. We’ve been waiting to move in together, and this is the perfect time. Don’t you agree, my sweet?”
The young man looked quizzically at me, and I shrugged. What else could I do with a thermometer shoved in my mouth and Bradford nodding like a bobblehead doll? The news would spread through the hospital—and then the town—just as Bradford planned.
“You did that on purpose,” I accused as soon as the nurse exited the room. “Are you nuts? Word will be all over town by sundown.”
“Precisely,” he said. “If people believe that we’re a couple, no one will question why I’m at your house all the time. Separate rooms, of course. My presence in your home will be above suspicion.”
I was thoroughly confused. “We barely know one another, and now you’re moving into my house? That’s suspicious even to me. And what about Deena? How does she fit into all this? I won’t have to wait for the mobsters to do me in—she will.”
He seemed nonplussed. “Give me a chance to explain my plan.”
My mouth flew open to argue, but he raised a hand to stop me. “Deena and I have been out twice—as friends, nothing more. We’re not dating so you can’t use her as an excuse not to cooperate.”
“You dumped her again?”
“Your outrage is touching, but I didn’t come here to discuss your sister. I have a problem on my hands and little time to get control of it.”
“Go on, then. I’m listening.”
Bradford barked into a radio. Before I could comment, the young female officer with the inquisitive eyes came into the room.
“Officer Diamond Presley, meet Jolene Claiborne.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
I accepted her outstretched hand and echoed back the greeting, then turned a questioning eye to Bradford.
“There is only a small group of officers in the department that I can absolutely trust,” he began. “Diamond is at the top of the list. Her trustworthiness is without question. You’re going to hire her as your assistant at the salon, and I’m going to move into your house.”
He plunged on when I tried to sputter my objection to his plan. “But to be positively sure of your safety, no one, and I mean no one, is to know this is a ploy. Otherwise, your Georgia Mafia may decide to give one of us the same treatment they gave Scarlett. Officer Presley will be at your side during the day, and I, at night to ensure no harm will come to you. I need your cooperation until I nail these guys. In the meantime, one of us will be with you until you leave the hospital.”
My head spun at the implications. “Well, that’s blessed assurance, but why can’t you just arrest those men? Or lock me up in the jail where I’ll be safe.”
“I don’t have the list or the evidence to make an arrest,” he argued. “I can’t lock you up in jail where one of the prisoners, or guards could be bribed. You’re stuck with us. Right, Diamond?”
Officer Presley smiled at me. “It’s in your best interest to listen to him. There’s no changing his mind once it’s made up. He’s stubborn as a mule.”
She’s right, you know,” he agreed. “Best give in.”
I wasn’t convinced, but the thought of those mobsters gunning for my hide swayed me a little closer to agreeing. “Tell me how I’m going to pass off Officer Presley as my assistant? My sisters know I’d never hire anyone who isn’t familiar with the business.”
“It’s a good thing I was a dual enrollment student back in high school,” she responded.
“Diamond worked in a salon before going into law enforcement,” Bradford volunteered at my doubtful look.
“Very convenient,” I said with heavy irony, annoyed by the two and their obvious scheming.
“Look, to ease your mind about my competence as your assistant, I’ll do something with your hair if you have a brush and comb,” Officer Presley said.
My hands automatically touched my hair. “It’s a mess, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Bradford answered. “But Diamond will have you looking great in a snap.”
I frowned when he snapped his fingers in my face. “I’ll agree on one condition.”
“And that is?”
“We work together as a team.”
Bradford’s expression grew serious. “I don’t like the sound of that ultimatum. Just what exactly did you have in mind?”
“I share what I know with you and vice versa. Partners, take it or leave it.”
“What if I say no?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll think of something,” I declared. “Those are the terms for sticking my neck out, Bradford.”
“You’re like a pit bull in heels. Grit and
gumption. I’ve always liked that about you. But admiration aside, you’ll be the death of me yet.”
“More like the death of me. Deal or no deal?” I stuck out my hand.
He took it. “Deal—but you have to obey me.”
“Obey you? This isn’t a marriage, you know.”
“Take it or leave it. And no one is to know about this crazy deal, agreed? Not your family or co-workers. No one. Understood? This is strictly under wraps. To all purposes, we are a happy couple.”
“I can’t tell Deena this make-believe relationship is a police arrangement?”
“No. Everyone has to believe we’re lovers, especially Deena. If she buys it, then we’ll be able to pass this relationship off as legit.”
I stared at him, dazed and incredulous. “Oh no, I’m not going along with your plan unless she knows it’s a ploy to catch Scarlett’s killer and save my hide, especially now after you’ve dumped her a second time. It’ll be hard convincing the rest of my family, but Deena has to know the truth. She can smell a lie from fifty yards.”
He seemed to consider my argument. “Deena’s cooperation will help pull this off,” he agreed. “She can run offense for us. But absolutely no one else is to know. I need to be able to keep you safe while I unravel this mystery.”
“While we unravel this mystery,” I emphasized. “Partners, remember?”
“Knock it off,” Officer Presley told us. “Y’all sound like a married couple already. Do you have a brush so I can tame the savage beast on your head?”
Scowling at her remark, I reached inside the bedside drawer and retrieved the hairbrush Billie Jo had brought. “I don’t believe you’ll get a brush through it. There’s enough hairspray in it to glue two boulders together.”
“Call me Diamond.”
“All right, Diamond, but take it easy. I’m tender-headed.”
Bradford watched from his chair as Diamond tugged and pulled at my tangled hair. Try as I might, I couldn’t keep quiet as pain radiated from my scalp. One quick glance at Bradford’s amused face wasn’t even enough to keep me still. Finally, I begged her to stop torturing me.
“If you’ll just hold still, it’ll only take a few minutes more,” she said.
Dixieland Dead Page 21
