What was the point of all this? Who would break in like this? And what did they want?
“Have there been any burglaries in the area?”
“A few. But none on this street. Then again...” the policeman began checking off boxes on a form. “That doesn’t mean anything. This is a big city. There are lots of nutcases lurking around.”
“This looks more like vandalism,” the other officer added. He walked back into the living room. “Or like someone expected to find something.”
The older officer continued to take notes. “Can you think of anyone who might have done this?”
Pam shot Tom a warning glare across the room. His return glare told her he was thinking the same thing. Too bad.
She turned back to the officers. “No. None.”
Ten minutes later, Tom walked the officers outside. Annoyed at the clean-up job ahead of her, Pam sighed and grabbed a broom and dustpan. When Tom returned, she had swept up three bags full of glass and broken dishes.
“I didn’t even make a dent,” she complained.
With a smile, he opened his arms. “Come here.”
Held tight in his warm embrace, she pushed everything aside for a moment and thanked God for bringing this man into her life.
After a long moment, Tom tilted her chin upward for her eyes to meet his.
“How about we just pack up what you want to take? We can hire movers to get the furniture and a cleaning company to handle the rest.”
Pam blew her bangs. “Sure. Sounds good.”
“And come back with me Sunday. For good.”
Truths Unveiled
Truths Unveiled
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“You ladies are something else,” Eddie teased. He lifted a box out of the moving truck. “You all pack the same way.”
“Which is?” his wife, Rebecca, inquired while carrying a plant in each hand.
“You just throw everything in boxes and expect us men to lug it around for you.”
Rebecca winked at Pam. “Sounds about right. Doesn’t it?”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Except even I didn’t think I owned this much stuff.” She surveyed the dozen boxes lined up in front of the door to the apartment the medical center provided. Then she looked to the still half-full truck and groaned. This was not how she imagined the move. She could have stayed in Boston a while longer and used the time to organize everything. Especially since they’d learned that the break-in had not been an isolated incident. In fact, within a few days, a rash of break-ins in her condo complex followed, all supposedly ransacked the same way as hers. But Tom stood firm. Finally compromising, they moved her two weeks later, instead of the four she’d originally planned. And they moved the wedding up to January.
Pam heard Tom’s footsteps behind her. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she instantly stopped second guessing herself. Burglary or not, they’d been apart long enough. And wasn’t it convenient that Marty had already selected a candidate to replace her?
As arranged, Pam and Tom met the doctor and his wife for dinner at Legal Seafood the night before her move.
“You’ve got six weeks of vacation time coming,” he told her, laughing. “And because of our stingy employment policies, you’re going to lose them all. Of course you should take these next few weeks.”
Then he looked to Tom. “Can you believe she has all that time saved up? We couldn’t get rid of her.”
That gave everyone at the table something to chuckle about, Pam included. But still, it felt a little weird being so easily replaced. Oh, well. It probably meant it was time for her to be moving on.
Eddie’s huffing and puffing brought her back to the present. “What time is it?” he asked. He carried a vacuum cleaner and an ironing board.
Pam looked at her watch. “Seven-twenty-seven. Why?” She sat on the floor, unpacking the last of the three boxes of books she wanted to keep available.
“Because.” He held up the two items, then set them on the floor. “This is the last of it. The moving truck is finally empty!”
“Just in time,” Rebecca announced.
Pam turned and found her new friend looking out the window leading to the street.
“I think I see the pizza guy pulling into the parking lot.”
Eddie scratched his broad stomach. “Good. I’m starved.” He came over to Pam. “Now that you’re pretty well unpacked, have you figured out what was stolen?”
Still slightly annoyed about the break-in, Pam shook her head and handed him a fat medical book to put on the cramped shelf. “I can’t believe he or she just wanted to trash the place. The only thing I can’t seem to find is my high school yearbook. And I’m sure no one would take that. It probably got mixed up with the other books that are still boxed up.”
She shrugged and stood. “It’s no big deal.” But it was. That yearbook contained her last happy memories of Megan. The day before the accident they’d written in each other’s books, taking up the entire last page. They wrote about the past two years, and all the crazy things they’d done together. Then they’d moved to the future.
Megan planned to start studying Northeastern University’s journalism program that fall. With Pam at Harvard, they’d only be a few miles apart. They already decided they’d rent an apartment together the summer after their freshman year.
Hearing the doorbell, Pam went to help Rebecca with the pizza.
“Hey, Eddie!” Tom called out. “Give me a hand over here.”
Smiling, she watched them figure out how to set up the new television bought to replace the one lost in the burglary. Apparently, the task took more effort than expected.
Pam blew him a kiss as she and Rebecca gathered paper plates and silverware to set the small dinette table that came with the apartment. She still felt totally disorganized in her new, temporary home, but at least they’d emptied most of the boxes.
Minutes after they sat down to eat, they heard a car pull up outside. Muted voices over a radio followed. Who could that be? Pam wondered. She watched Tom and Eddie rise and go to the door. “Maybe it’s just Warren, the property manager, checking on us,” she suggested. She and Rebecca had met him when he showed them the apartment. He was a nice, older gentleman, who lived in the apartment on the first floor with his wife.
“Bill, good to see you,” she heard Tom say. “Come on in.”
From her seat, Pam could see a man standing in her doorway wearing a navy police uniform. He removed his hat.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“Of course not,” Tom replied, ushering him inside. “Have a slice of pizza. We’ve got some salad over here, too.” Leading the way, he added, “Pam, this is the deputy chief I told you about. Bill Houser, meet Pam Harrington.”
Nodding, Pam held out a plate for him. “Please join us.”
“Yeah,” Eddie agreed, helping himself to more food. “Grab a chair.”
“Thanks. But I’m just stopping by to see how the move’s going. I don’t want to interrupt your dinner. I can come by another time.”
“No way,” Tom told him. “What can I get you to drink?”
The deputy accepted a Coke as Eddie asked, “Anything new on the accident bandit?”
Houser shook his head. “As a matter-of-fact...no. I met with Megan’s brother and the Collins family. Neither of them seemed to express any animosity toward you, Ms. Harrington.”
Pam remained quiet. There had been no contact with the “bandit” since that phone call at her condo in Boston. That was almost two weeks ago and it was fine with her. Maybe he or she decided to back off now that Houser had reopened the investigation.
“Do you have those photos of the accident scene?” Eddie asked. His mouth filled with food, which he washed down with a swig of soda from the bottle. “I want to take a look at them again. I still can’t believe there’s only three. That just doesn’t sound right.”
Bill shook his head. “Sorry. They’re at the office.”
“I’ve got photocopies in my truck,” Tom offered. “They’re not great but you can get a general gist. Be right back.”
Pam’s head began to swim. She recalled seeing some pictures years ago while still in the hospital, but she couldn’t remember what they showed. Nor did she want to be reminded. Now, it seemed unavoidable.
“You okay?”
She raised her eyes to find Tom peering at her intently. He held a large manila envelope in his hand.
“Sure.” She stood and began to clear the table.
“Sorry,” Tom whispered, following her to the sink. “I guess it’s a guy thing. I want to solve the mystery. I want to find out who’s bothering you and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Pam loaded the dishwasher with the dirty silverware and glasses. “It’s okay.” And it was—in her head. That’s why she didn’t understand it suddenly bothering her again. She thought she’d put it behind her. Now, the pain felt fresh, like it touched every nerve-ending inside her. It might as well have just happened yesterday.
Pam closed the dishwasher, then turned to face him. Arching an eyebrow, she cast him a dubious smile. “You want me to look at the photographs.”
Tom pulled her into a tight bear hug. “See? That’s why we’re so good together. We think so much alike.”
“So that’s why.” She allowed herself to be led back to the table, then she stopped. Unexpectedly, tears welled up in her eyes. “I don’t want to see any blood and gore,” she warned. She dealt with it every day in the hospital, but this was a different matter entirely.
Tom nodded. “We’ve only got one of the car crash. Just take a look and see if it fits with what you recalled under hypnosis. Okay?”
“Maybe we should go,” Rebecca suggested.
Insistent, Pam shook her head. “No. I want you to stay. This will just take a minute.” Bracing herself, she watched Tom remove the photo from the envelope. Studying it, she shrugged.
“What do you think?” Houser asked.
Pam shook her head. Relief, mixed with curiosity, washed over her. “Nothing. It means nothing.”
“And after all this time, you still have no idea who or why someone would want to bring up the accident again?” Houser asked.
“Not a clue.”
Houser rose and started looking about the three-room apartment. “How sturdy are the locks on the doors and windows?”
“I’ve got some dead bolts in my truck,” Tom told him. “They’ll be on before I leave tonight.”
“Good. What about the phone? Did you hook up the caller ID?”
“Yes,” Pam said.
Seeming satisfied, Houser nodded and started for the door. “Well, I’m glad I got to catch up with you. I’ll be in touch if anything develops. And you do the same. I’ll also be sure to check up on you periodically.”
“Thanks, Bill,” Pam replied, suddenly feeling spooked about the idea of staying in the apartment alone. Stop, she scolded herself. You’ve been living alone for more than a decade.
Yes, but in Boston, not Middleton, she heard a tiny inner voice say.
Truths Unveiled
Truths Unveiled
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Marlene Everett met Pam with a huge smile and a warm hug. “Welcome!”
Not one to sit around, Pam had arranged to meet with her new boss first thing Monday morning.
“I’m so glad you are able to start so soon,” Marlene told her. “We can use the help.” She offered Pam a chair while she appeared to look for something on her cluttered desk. “Ah, here it is.” She held out a white folder. “Your schedule. If possible, I’d like to start you in the ED on Wednesday, first shift.”
“Sure,” Pam agreed, taking the documents.
“And I’ll need to know how much time you’re taking off for your honeymoon so I can arrange coverage.”
“She’ll need two weeks.”
Pam turned around to find Tom standing behind her, grinning.
“Sounds nice,” Marlene approved. She sat down behind her desk. “Where are you going?”
“Yeah?” Pam asked him. “Where are we going?” Last thing she knew, they’d narrowed the list down to five places.
“Just be sure to give me the dates,” the doctor told them, smiling.
“Will do.” As he saluted, his portable radio crackled. “If I had my way, we’d leave tonight.” With that, he gave Pam a peck on the cheek and a nod to Marlene, then disappeared.
Somewhere between mortified and ecstatic, Pam settled back in her chair.
“He’s glad you’re here.”
Relieved at Marlene’s supportive tone, Pam met her inquiring gaze.
Marlene said, “I hope you don’t think I’m out of line with what I’m going to say, but you’ll find out soon enough I’m not one to hold things back.”
Last week’s newspaper article! Pam’s thoughts shouted. She held back a sigh and tried not to panic. The accident is no secret, she reminded herself. There’s no reason to freak out. But still. This woman was her boss. Surely she must have questions. Bracing herself, Pam nodded. “Feel free.”
“From what I’ve learned, your decision to come here couldn’t have been easy.”
Pam cleared her throat. “The hardest part was coming down for the interview a few weeks back. Everything’s fine now.”
“I’m sure it is.” Marlene smiled. “And at the same time, people can be cruel. I want you to know you have nothing to worry about here. I knew about the accident before I contacted you about the job. What’s past is past. You and I live with the results of tragedy every day. Remember that and try not to be too hard on yourself.”
At a loss for words, Pam could only offer a slight nod.
Marlene rose and extended her hand. “I’m looking forward to working with you. And…” She paused, then added, “I hope we become good friends.”
Swallowing the huge lump at the base of her throat, Pam nodded. “I’d really like that.”
****
Tom whistled. “Look at you!”
Dressed in a navy velvet, strapless gown, Pam met him at the door to her apartment. The medical center had invited them to a formal dinner dance that night to introduce its facility and staff to other medical professionals it hoped to recruit.
“Thank you, kind sir,” she replied, accepting his warm lips. It was like they’d never been apart. Please God, if this is a dream, don’t wake me up.
Stepping away, she took stock of Tom. Tall and lean, the black tux fit him perfectly and showed off a more polished side of his typically rugged, down-to-earth good looks. Sending him a teasing chuckle, she brushed the jacket’s satin lapels. “And here I thought I’d finally get to see you wearing a tie. It’s amazing how you managed to find a tux that didn’t require one.”
Tom fingered the pleaded white shirt’s tailored collar, pretending to choke. “No kidding. Finally some guy designer had the nerve to do away with them, but my neck still feels like it’s caught in a noose.”
****
At the dinner, Pam met dozens of her new colleagues. She recognized many of their names from published articles in medical journals and conferences she’d attended. She doubted she’d get this much exposure even in Chicago. Again, she marveled at the recent events in her life. Who could have guessed she’d be back in Middleton, and under these circumstances?
“How are you finding MMC so far?”
Pam smiled at Carl Tedford, standing to her left in the buffet line. “I like it very much,” she told him, spooning shrimp cocktail onto her plate. If she remembered correctly, he directed the hospital’s psychiatric unit. They’d met briefly during her first visit to the hospital.
Speaking with Tedford now, Pam felt a renewed sense that they had met elsewhere. She started to ask him but he spoke first.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”
Curious, Pam nodded. “Sure.” She seized a miniature quiche. Minutes before, Tom had received an unexpected call from the rescue station. N
ot wanting to seem rude by using a cell phone in the middle of the formal affair, he left to find a better location.
“You’ll find out soon enough, but I wanted you to hear it from me.”
Pam felt that familiar warning, tingling sensation start at the base of her neck again. Stop being so paranoid, she scolded herself. People have more on their minds than you and what happened over a decade before. She took a sip of her drink and urged him to continue.
Truths Unveiled Page 18
