by Stone, M. T.
“If she wants to get rid of some stress she needs to dump your brother,” he counters snidely. “He’s a fucked up mess.”
I click the hang up button, ending the call. I’m not going to listen to him taking shots at my brother. We all know that Tyler needs some help, but Tommy doesn’t need to kick him while he’s down. I’ll bet he has been putting ideas in Vanessa’s head. That would explain why she has been acting so weird lately. I send Vanessa a quick text telling her to call me when she has a moment. My phone rings before I even have a chance to get up out of my seat.
“What’s up?” she asks, sounding as if all is well.
“I don’t know. I just got off the phone with Tommy and our whole conversation just left me with the weirdest feeling. Have you been talking to him lately?” I ask, still feeling uneasy as a result of my conversation with him.
“Yeah, I talked to him on Saturday. He was just wondering how Tyler was doing and whether or not you were at the hospital. I told him that Tyler was still in a coma and that I didn’t know where you were,” she explains.
“Why was he wondering about me?” I ask, hoping she might be able to provide me with a little insight.
“I don’t know. He just was wondering if either of us had talked to Tyler,” she further elaborates.
“He asked me the same thing. That’s a little weird.” The sick feeling in my stomach begins to return. “Are you with Tyler now?”
“No, your Mom is. I’m going back up there in a couple hours and staying the night again.” She sighs. “Do you think he is going to come out of this?”
“I think so, but I don’t want him to be left alone. I’m going to stop up there when I get back. I’ll probably get there about the same time as you.”
“Okay, see you there,” she replies and the line goes dead.
Mandy
Trey comes back to the front of the plane and plops into the chair next to me. Judging by the look on his face, he has gone right back to dealing with his brother’s situation.
“How are things in New York?” I ask, hoping he will let some of it out.
“I honestly don’t know,” he replies with a vacant look in his eyes. “I keep going over things in my head, but I can’t figure out exactly what is bothering me. Tommy is acting really strange and so is Vanessa.”
“Okay, lets just write down everything we know.” I reach down into my bag to pull out a notepad and a pen. “Someone, other than you, hired a hit man to kill your father.” I jot that down on the top of the list. “Someone poisoned your brother and made it look like he confessed to killing him in a suicide note.” I jot that down as well. “Do you still have the voice mail message that Tyler left you?”
“Yeah, I kept it just in case it was the last time I heard his voice.” A sad look crosses his face as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. I know he still regrets not talking to his dad one last time.
He clicks to play the message. “I know you are pissed at me, but this is so fucked up. First Vanessa and now he’s taking over the company. I told Dad that Tommy was a fraud. He’s such a fucking fraud.” Then there is a noise that sounds like his phone hitting the floor and him grunting.
“Tommy got pissed when I told him to stop calling Vanessa,” Trey immediately goes to that aspect of the call. “I wonder what has been going on between them?”
“Why does Tyler call him a fraud?” I point out the obvious fact that not only did Tyler believe Tommy was a fraud, but he had also told Victor. “If Tommy is a fraud and Tyler found out about it…”
“Tommy needed to shut him up!” he says, completing my sentence.
“Exactly! And he also says that he told your dad about it.”
“You think that explains why dad was killed?” he asks, acting like it’s a real stretch. “Would Tommy really kill dad and Tyler over a stupid job?”
“It’s a CEO job, plus you said he gains control of the company because of the voting rights. That wouldn’t have happened if Victor was still alive,” I blurt out as thoughts pour into my head. “Besides, you said yourself that he has a gigantic ego. If he was exposed as a fraud it would be devastating both professionally and personally.” I sit back in my chair and stare at him, convinced that I am definitely onto something.
“Good point. With all the shit swirling around me I hadn’t really thought about the fact Tommy had gained so much control over the company. I was thinking maybe that was an oversight on Dad’s part,” he says, looking up at the ceiling. “But why would control over the company be so important to him? It’s not like he can do anything dramatic. Everything has to approved by the board members and voted on by shareholders.”
“I really don’t know, but if there is an answer to that question… there is your motive,” I tell him, giving him a self-satisfied smile.
“God, you are smart… and beautiful,” he adds as an afterthought.
“You’re obviously a smart man as well.” I pat him on the knee and smile back at him. “I think you and I would make a good team.”
“You and I make a great team. That’s why you need to go to California and have that conversation with Harris,” he says, lowering his head and glaring at me.
“Once things stabilize, I will make that decision,” I counter. “We need to get a few things resolved before I can take such a drastic step.”
Trey shakes his head at me before closing his eyes and leaning back into the seat. I know he is used to flying by the seat of his pants and that he has never experienced a lack of financial security, but I know what it’s like to have nothing. After four years of college and three years of law school, I am up to my eyeballs in student loans. After those payments, a ridiculously high apartment rent and my car insurance there isn’t much of anything left. Thinking about my life prior to this, I suddenly wince.
“Have you received the money from Monte Carlo yet?” I ask, as my thoughts drift to the fact that all my troubles would be over if he would share some of those winnings with me.
“It should be in my account by Wednesday,” he says. “That’s one reason why I keep telling you not to worry. Regardless of what happens, we have that as a safety net along with all my other investments.”
“We?” I ask, my hopes suddenly soaring.
“Yes, we. You and I won that money together, so it’s half yours,” he replies calmly without even opening his eyes.
I lean over and give him a kiss, “Thank you. I’ll go to California later in the week and set everything straight with Harris.”
“Good.” He cracks his eyes open and smiles before closing them again.
“Did I hear you say that we are landing at JFK instead of LaGuardia?” I ask, puzzled by the fact, because he always says it’s too much of a hassle.
“Yeah, but we’re not. I just wanted to throw Tommy off; he’s the last person I want to see when we land. I also told him that we were staying in Dad’s penthouse, so I’m going to contact the doorman and tell him to keep an eye out for any strange visitors. For all I know, I’m next on his hit list,” he speculates wearily.
“We better be careful while we put the pieces together.” A pang of fear suddenly surges through me. “We don’t want him to know we have any suspicions.”
“Yeah, I’m going to act like its business as usual when I meet with him tomorrow. I’ll just keep my eyes and ears open for any clues.” He reaches over and takes my hand in his. “I want to go to the hospital and check on Tyler when we get back, so I’m going to catch a little nap.”
“Okay, I’ll leave you alone.” My mind is going a thousand miles an hour so there is no way I can take a nap. The bloodhound in me keeps looking at the list of things we know and going through different scenarios. If we figure out his motive, then the rest will fall into place. I really don’t like Tommy or Liv, so hopefully he is guilty of something.
Trey
Just as I feel myself beginning to drift off, my phone rings again. I pick it up in disgust thinking that it’s probably Liv or Tommy
again, but it’s my attorney, Perry. Since he is someone who I actually want to talk to, I take his call.
“I got the letters and this is totally plausible,” he confirms. “Judging by the dates, they could’ve exposed you to line of succession issues, especially since Victor was engaged to be married. This is genius. I can run with this,” he says, his voice exuding confidence.
“That’s great!” I reply, happy to be receiving some positive news. “We thought it made sense and would put the briefcase issue to bed.”
“I think it will, but I would like to use this to squelch all the media hoopla in addition to the police investigation,” he replies in a more serious tone.
“Hey, I trust your judgment. If you can get TMZ off my back, more power to you,” I tell him, excited by the prospect of being out of the spotlight for a while.
“Okay, I just wanted to make sure I have free reign to distribute these letters since they are of a very personal nature.” He pauses, waiting for confirmation on my end.
“Yeah, I think you need to have a conversation with Us Weekly and TMZ at the very least,” I reply, wanting to put an end to all the unending allegations. “At the same time, I’m getting a good idea of who might be behind all of this. I’m going to start digging as soon as we land.”
“Great! I’ll get things rolling on my end,” he confirms. “By tomorrow evening you should no longer be a murder suspect or a media target.”
“That sounds great to me!” I let out a huge sigh after hanging up the phone.
“So Perry liked our letter idea?” Mandy smirks.
“He loved it.” I lean in giving her a kiss. “We definitely are a great team.”
Reclining once again, I am more confident than ever that everything is going to work out. I desperately need some rest, but all the loosely collected facts and suspicions continue to swirl through my mind. My gut tells me that Tommy is at the heart of this and that there has to be a rational explanation for all that has happened. I just need to put all the pieces together before anyone else gets hurt.
Chapter 14
Trey
There are few things in life that I hate more than going to a hospital. I spent quite a bit of time at hospitals after Tyler got hurt in high school and I was always uncomfortable. The fact that Vanessa usually went with me was the only thing that made it tolerable. That’s why I was glad when Mandy asked if she could tag along tonight.
“Tyler?” a man, in green scrubs, gasps as we approach the hospital doors.
“No. I’m his twin brother, Trey.” I hold out my hand to shake his.
“My God! I thought I was losing it,” he says shaking my hand and studying my features. “You two really are identical.”
“Right down to the week’s worth of razor stubble,” Mandy adds.
“I just stopped by to see how he is doing. We just got back from her mom’s funeral in Tennessee,” I explain.
“So you are the one I talked to the other day on the phone,” he says, having a sudden realization. “The conference with your mom and Vanessa.”
“It was and you are one of his doctors?” I glance at his name tag, only able to make out the first few letters.
“Yes, I’m Dr. Potaturri. I took over his care on Saturday.” His eyes shift back and forth nervously, so I start paying closer attention to the blond guy standing next to him. I notice that he has retreated a couple of steps since we started talking.
“I’ll catch up with you later on, Doc,” he says before turning to walk away. He was obviously uncomfortable with my increasing scrutiny. I made a note of his spiked hair, blue eyes and the switchblade tattoo on the back of his neck.
“Yes,” he dismisses him with a wave and turns back toward me. “I’ll stop up shortly to check on your brother and give you an update.” He holds out his hand and gestures toward the entrance.
“Is he doing all right?” I ask again.
“He seems to be stable, but we won’t know for sure until we can bring him out of sedation,” he replies in a hushed voice. “You go ahead, I’ll be up in a bit.” He points us toward the elevators on the other side of the waiting room.
“Did you see the looks on their faces when we walked up?” Mandy whispers as soon as the elevator doors close. “I thought the blond guy had crapped his pants.”
“Yeah, I noticed he was slowly backing away while I was talking to the doctor. I wonder why Tyler has a different doctor?” Another weird feeling rises up from within me. “That’s why I was a little confused on the phone call. This guy is doing things completely different than his first doctor.”
“Maybe we should find that first doctor and find out what happened?” Mandy suggests. The elevator dings and the doors open.
“Dr. Novacek, we were just discussing you,” I tell him as he steps into the elevator.
“Are there more concerns?” he asks dryly, glaring at me over the top of his glasses.
“Yes actually. I was wondering why Tyler has a new doctor and why he thinks Tyler needs to remain sedated?” I glare back at him with equal intensity.
“Your family requested the change,” he says in a snide tone. “Weren’t you in on it?”
“No. Mom didn’t seem to know why things had changed either,” I reply befuddled by his explanation. “The only other person is his fiancée, Vanessa.”
“I don’t know the specifics. All I know is that someone from your family requested that Dr. Potaturri be his primary care physician,” he replies with obvious disdain in his tone. “God knows why.”
“Does he have more experience with drug overdoses?” I ask, hoping to unearth a rational explanation.
The elevator dings as we reach our destination, but Dr. Novacek presses a button to momentarily prevent the doors from opening. “I’m on my way to my office. Why don’t you join me?”
Mandy and I exchange nervous looks before following the doctor to his office. He remains completely silent until we are inside and he has closed the door behind us. “Dr. Pot, as I like to call him, undoubtedly has more experience with drug overdoses,” he says, moving behind his desk and taking a seat. “Unfortunately, most of the overdoses are his own patients.”
“I don’t understand.” I sit down in one chair and motion for Mandy to take the other.
“Dr. Potaturri is a pain specialist. He has a private practice in addition to working here at the hospital. From what I hear, he has three Physician Assistants at his clinic who are going through prescription pads like toilet paper.”
“Okay. So why would Vanessa request him as Tyler’s doctor?” I ask, getting even more confused.
“Why did he change the standard protocol?” the doctor asks me. “That’s an even better question.”
I lean forward in my chair. “What if someone tried to kill him instead of it being an overdose? They wouldn’t want him to wake up.”
He slides a copy of Us Weekly toward me. “The headline claims that it’s you who wants him dead, along with your father. That would make you the sole heir to the multi-billion dollar fortune,” he says removing his glasses and setting them down on his desk. “Are you saying they have it all wrong?”
I roll my eyes and find it hard to believe that he would say that right to my face. “If there was a shred of evidence that I was involved in either of them, I would have already been arrested.”
“What about the briefcase full of money?” he asks, tapping his pen against the magazine. “They claim that’s the key to the whole thing.”
“Well it’s not. I simply purchased some documents that I wanted to take out of circulation. Copies have been faxed to my attorney, so it will be all cleared up by the end of the day tomorrow,” I tell him confidently.
“Well, if there is someone who wants to keep your brother from talking, Dr. Pot would be the man to call,” he says, confirming the queasy feeling in my gut. “And if they want him dead, he can make it look like a result of natural causes. He simply didn’t wake up from his coma.”
“I
thought he was coming out of the coma the other morning. There was movement and he made some moaning sounds.” I shift in my seat.
“The monitor picked up increasing activity. That’s when I was relieved as his attending physician, so I haven’t had a chance to look at anything ever since,” he says with a grimace. “What do you want to do?”
“I want you as his primary physician and I’m going to find out who requested the change.” I rise and extend my hand to shake his. “Thanks for filling us in.”
Mandy
By the end of the conversation with Dr. Novacek, he was obviously warming up to Trey. He was kind of an ass in the beginning, but Trey stayed calm and made it obvious that he is working in his brother’s best interest. I keep wondering if Tommy and Vanessa could possibly be conspiring with one another. At the moment, that seems like it could be the most probable scenario.
“I’ll wait outside the door if you want to talk in private,” I tell him as we approach his brother’s room.
“No.” He shakes his head and takes my hand, leading me through the doorway.
“Trey, I’m so glad you are here.” Vanessa jumps out of the chair and rushes over to give him a big hug. “Hi,” she adds, looking at me like a total stranger.
“Hi, I’m Amanda,” I reply, since she obviously doesn’t remember my name.
“Amanda! I’m sorry, I have way too much on my mind.” She goes back to looking directly at Trey. “He hasn’t made a sound or moved a muscle since you left Friday morning.” The way she says it sounds like she is implying that Trey is at fault for this development.
“I wasn’t the one who ordered a change of physician,” he blasts back, after pulling away from her. “That’s why he’s still unconscious for Christ sake.”
“I made the change,” she admits with widening eyes. “Ty has been going to him for over a month. When I found out he worked for the hospital, it seemed to make sense.”
“You do realize that they call him Dr. Pot, because he’s basically a drug dealer!” Trey clenches his fists and looks to the ceiling in frustration. “How the fuck did Tyler end up going to him?”
