Clear Expectations - A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery (Book 20) (Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mysteries)

by Terri Reid

  “Oh,” Claeys replied, his voice sounding strained. “Well, good, the sooner the better.”

  “I totally agree,” he said, standing and leaning forward to offer his hand.

  Claeys’ hand was warm and sweaty.

  “Thanks for your help,” Alex said with a smile.

  “My pleasure,” Claeys replied.

  Turning, Alex let his smile widen. Yeah, sure it is, he thought.

  Chapter Sixty-three

  Mary parked her car and walked towards the doctor’s office.

  “Hey good-looking.”

  She turned and smiled at Bradley, who was hurrying towards her.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  He didn’t want to tell her that he was worried about her, worried about the sadness that had been on her face when he and Alex had arrived at her office that morning. He didn’t want to even bring up Mike, knowing that it would just remind her of her loss.

  “I decided to join you, if that’s okay?” he finally said.

  Nodding, she linked her arm through his. “That’s more than okay,” she replied. “That’s wonderful.”

  They were ushered into the examination room in record time. Mary sat on the exam table while Bradley took the patient’s chair as they waited for the nurse.

  “I have never gotten in here so quickly,” she remarked.

  Bradley shrugged. “Maybe you ought to wear a gun,” he teased.

  “Or bring a big, tall, handsome, gun-bearing police chief with me,” she countered.

  “I like that idea too,” he said. “How many more of these do you have?”

  “Well, next week we start on two visits a week,” she said, “until Mikey’s born.”

  “Why two visits?” he asked.

  “I’m a little high-risk because of my gunshot wound and the scar tissue,” she explained. “Everything seems fine, but as the time gets closer to delivery, they want to monitor me closely.”

  “Are you worried?” he asked.

  “No,” she said with a smile. Then she shrugged. “Well, a little. Mikey is strong and active, but, you know, this is my first baby.”

  He nodded. “And you did get kicked out of birthing class.”

  She grinned. “It was your fault.”

  “Was not.”

  “Was too.”

  “Was not what?” the nurse mid-wife asked as she walked in.

  “Bradley, this is Mickey, my nurse mid-wife,” Mary said. “Mickey, this is my husband, Bradley.”

  “Good to meet you,” Mickey said. “So...was not what?”

  “It was his fault we got kicked out of the birthing class,” Mary replied easily.

  Mickey nodded. “Yeah, we got a note about that,” she said.

  “Seriously?” Bradley exclaimed.

  Mickey smiled. “No,” she said. “But from the look on your face, I’m going to side with Mary. Your fault.”

  He chuckled. “It was the instructor’s fault,” he argued.

  “The instructor?” Mickey asked.

  “Hee-hee-hee-hee,” Bradley demonstrated.

  Laughing, Mickey nodded as she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Mary’s arm. “Okay, I can see it was her fault,” she conceded. “Imagine teaching breathing techniques at a birthing class.”

  “I don’t think I’m winning you over,” Bradley said.

  She inflated the cuff, placed her stethoscope on Mary’s arm and then slowly deflated it. When the procedure was done she looked up at Mary. “Blood pressure’s good,” she said.

  She sat down at the desk next to Bradley. “How’s your blood pressure, daddy-to-be?” she asked as she entered Mary’s information into her chart.

  “I’m good,” he said.

  “Good,” she replied. “Do you want to hear the baby’s heartbeat?”

  Bradley smiled. “That would be great!”

  Mickey helped Mary lean back on the table and lift up her shirt to expose her belly. First, she measured Mary and smiled. “You have a good-sized baby in there,” she said. “You’re at thirty-nine centimeters.”

  “Is that good?” Bradley asked.

  “Yes, normally after about twenty weeks, a pregnant woman’s belly will measure a centimeter for each week of pregnancy, give or take 2 centimeters,” she said. “Mary’s at about thirty-seven weeks, so thirty-nine centimeters is normal, but on the large size.”

  Picking up a white squeeze bottle, Mickey applied a generous layer of clear gel to Mary’s skin. Mary jumped a little.

  “Cold?” she asked.

  Mary nodded. “A little.”

  “Sorry,” she replied. “We usually keep it warm.”

  Mickey opened a drawer in the table and pulled out a small, handheld, ultrasonic device with a probe attached to it. She held the device in one hand and slowly moved the probe against Mary’s belly. Suddenly the device emitted a rhythmic swooshing sound. Mickey turned to Bradley. “That’s it,” she said.

  He wasn’t prepared for the sudden onslaught of emotion that washed over him. Love. Wonder. Fear. Yes, definitely fear. They were going to have a baby in a few weeks’ time.

  Bradley stood up and walked over to Mary. “That’s Mikey?” he asked, in awe, taking her hand in his.

  Mary nodded and smiled at him. “Yes, that’s Mikey,” she replied.

  Suddenly the swooshing sound was interrupted by a loud thump.

  “What was that?” Bradley asked, alarmed.

  “That was your son kicking me in the ribs,” Mary replied. “He is such a rude child.”

  Bradley took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart. “But he’s okay, right?”

  “He’s more than okay,” Mickey reassured him. “He’s active and healthy.”

  She noted the heart rate on Mary’s chart and then handed Mary a handful of tissue to wipe the gel from her belly. “So, any issues, any swelling, any nausea?”

  Mary shook her head. “Nothing,” she said. “I’m feeling great.”

  “You start your bi-weekly appointments next week,” she reminded her. “So, the doctor will probably want to do a pelvic exam at that point.”

  Mary winced, and Mickey nodded. “Yeah, I totally understand,” she said. “But, luckily, they don’t do them as often as they used to do.”

  “Well, that’s something,” Mary said, sitting up and adjusting her shirt.

  “Call me if you have any problems,” Mickey said while holding Mary’s chart and walking to the door.

  “Thanks,” Mary replied. “I will.”

  Once Mickey closed the exam room door, Bradley put his arms around Mary and hugged her. “That was amazing,” he said.

  She leaned against him and nodded. “Yeah, it really is,” she said. “I love it every single time.”

  He stepped back, put his hands on her belly and bent down, placing his face against her belly. “Mikey, this is your father,” he said. “You need to stop kicking…”

  He stopped and looked up at Mary in disbelief.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Your son just kicked me in the face,” he replied, straightening up.

  She laughed. “He must take after your side of the family,” she said. “I’m sure we were never that rude.”

  “Yeah, right,” Bradley replied, helping her off the exam table. “Just wait. I’m going to ask your mother.”

  Chapter Sixty-four

  “She not only kicked me,” Margaret said that evening at dinner. “She insisted on coming two weeks late.”

  Bradley looked at Margaret and shook his head sympathetically. Then he turned and sent Mary a triumphant smile. “I don’t even need to say I told you so,” he said.

  “You just said I told you so,” Mary replied evenly. “You can’t say you don’t need to say it and then say it. It doesn’t work that way.”

  Bradley shook his head. “What did you just say?” he asked.

  “And just think,” Margaret inserted. “If we’re lucky, you’ll have two people in your famil
y who think like that. Mikey will be just like his mom.”

  Bradley’s smile disappeared, and Mary chuckled softly.

  “I never thought of that,” he said. “Two O’Reillys.”

  “Aye,” Margaret said. “They’ll certainly keep you on your toes.”

  Clarissa looked from Margaret to Bradley. “But I thought Mikey would be an Alden,” she said.

  Mary leaned over and put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “Oh, he will, sweetheart,” she said. “We’re just teasing.”

  “Oh,” Clarissa replied. “Well, I think Mikey should be like Mommy, because I’m like Daddy. So, it will be two and two.”

  “Exactly,” Mary said. “Two and two.”

  Bradley shook his head. “I can hardly wait,” he said with apprehension. Then he turned to Clarissa. “But you’ll be on my side, right?”

  Clarissa giggled. “Right,” she said. “Except for when I’m on Mom’s side.”

  “That sounds about right,” Margaret said.

  Mary stood up and started clearing the table. “So, what kind of homework do you have tonight?” she asked Clarissa.

  “Only some reading,” Clarissa replied. “It’s easy.”

  “Good,” Bradley said. “Because I forgot to tell your mom that we have an appointment tonight.”

  “We do?” Mary asked. “Where?”

  Bradley stood and picked up the dinner plates. “Mel called me and said that it would be easier for him to turn the power off on the third-floor wing in the evening. No one from administration would be there to monitor it.”

  “That makes sense,” she said. “Ma, would you…”

  “I would love to read with Clarissa,” she said. “And, as a matter of fact, I was going to ask you two to go out anyway.”

  “Oh, what for?” Mary asked, coming over to clear the serving bowls.

  “Well, it looks like we’re in for quite a storm by the end of the week,” Margaret said. “And I thought we should stock up on some supplies.”

  “Like soup and bread?” Bradley asked.

  Mary and Margaret looked at each other and laughed. “Oh, Bradley,” Mary said. “Not soup and bread. Hot chocolate, marshmallows and the ingredients for oatmeal cookies.”

  “How silly of me,” Bradley replied. “But can we also throw in ingredients for chili and chocolate chip cookies?”

  “Now you’re talking,” Margaret said.

  “Okay, after the hospital, we’ll run by the store,” Mary said. “Thanks, Ma.”

  Chapter Sixty-five

  The elevator stopped on the third floor, and Bradley looked down at his phone. “There is absolutely no service here in the elevator,” he said. “I’ll text Mel once we’re on the floor.”

  The doors opened, and they stepped out into the lobby. Bradley looked down at his phone. “Bars. Finally.”

  He texted their location to Mel and received a reply. “Okay, flashlights on,” he said. “Mel said we’ve got thirty seconds.”

  They walked past the nurses station, through the double doors and down the dim corridor towards the hidden unit. Suddenly, the emergency lights turned off, and they were plunged into blackness except for the beams from their flashlights.

  “Okay, we’ve got twenty minutes,” Bradley said. “Let’s hope Jack is willing to let us in again.”

  They hurried down to the end of the hall. Bradley had the keys Maggie had found, just in case Jack wasn’t on duty. They were only steps from the door when it slowly creaked open on its own.

  “Thanks, Jack,” Mary said. She grabbed hold of Bradley’s hand so they both could see the little boy holding the door open, his back pressed against the wooden door.

  “The bad men came here,” Jack said. “They came to the room.”

  “Yeah, we heard about that,” Bradley said.

  “Carol is here,” Jack said. “She’s here to take care of us.”

  “Carol’s here?” Mary exclaimed, flashing her light down the narrow hallway.

  The woman suddenly appeared right next to her, and Mary jumped.

  Carol laughed. “Sorry about that,” she said. “I’m just getting used to this.”

  Mary exhaled slowly. “That’s okay,” she said. “I’m just glad you’re here with the children.”

  “They have always been my kids,” Carol said. “I’m glad to be reunited with them.”

  “We wanted to come back here before they demolished the unit,” Bradley said. “And make sure we got any final evidence cleared out.”

  Jack looked from Bradley to Carol and shook his head. “Carol, are they your friends?”

  “Yes, Jack, they are,” she replied. “And they’re your friends too.”

  Jack looked up at Bradley and smiled. “You look like my dad,” he said. “He was a soldier.”

  “Wow. Soldiers are very special people,” Bradley replied, squatting down to be on Jack’s level. “I bet you were pretty proud of him.”

  Jack nodded excitedly. “Yeah. I was,” he said. “Hey, do you want to see where we sleep?”

  “Where you sleep?” Bradley asked.

  “Uh, huh!” Jack said, gliding down the hall. “Come on!”

  They followed Jack past the small nurses station and continued past all of the tiny hospital rooms. “Jack, where are you…” Bradley paused when Jack stopped in front of a solid wood door at the far end of the hallway. “What is this?”

  “It’s where we all sleep,” Jack said, and then he disappeared through the door.

  The door started to slowly open. Holding tightly to each other’s hands, Mary and Bradley entered the room together. Mary’s flashlight was the first to shine onto the row of small, metal doors built into the wall.

  “Oh, no,” she cried, turning her face into Bradley’s arm.

  “Jack,” Bradley called, his voice tight with emotion. “Are you still in here?”

  Jack appeared next to him. “I’m here,” he said with a wide smile.

  “Do all of the baker’s dozen sleep in here?” he asked.

  Jack nodded. “Yeah, when we were done in our rooms, they moved us in here,” he replied.

  “Are you sure someone didn’t move you anywhere else?” he asked.

  Jack shook his head. “No, they just moved us in here and locked the doors.”

  Bradley pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked down. One bar. He was going to try it. He pressed a number. “Alex,” he said when the phone was answered, “I need you to get down to the hospital right away. The third-floor unit.” He took a deep breath before he could continue. “There’s a morgue at the end of the hall, and I think all of the children’s bodies are still here.”

  Chapter Sixty-six

  Mary sat just outside the yellow, crime scene tape that was now stretched from the nurses station to the elevator wall. She watched as the forensic photographers and evidence collectors came up on the elevator, ducked under the tape and hurried down through the double doors. Then she watched as thirteen gurneys carrying black, zippered bags were rolled past her.

  A few minutes later, Bradley and Alex came out from behind the double doors. “We’re almost done,” Bradley said.

  “I can’t believe they were going to demolish this unit with those bodies still in there,” Alex said, his voice teeming with disgust.

  “Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense to me either,” Mary said.

  Alex looked over and shook his head. “Oh, no, I know why they tried to do it,” he said. “My friend in Bloomington, Nick Butzirus, called me this afternoon. The medications they were giving the kids were destroying their livers. Not only was it unauthorized, but the level was lethal, especially for children. They kept those bodies in there so no one could perform an autopsy and figure out what they’d done.”

  “So, we’re not talking just negligence any longer,” Bradley said. “We’re talking murder.”

  Alex nodded. “The kids may have been sick, but those drugs speeded up the process and gave them months of torturous pain.
”

  “So, even if we can’t get them for Carol’s death…” Mary began.

  “We can get them for this,” Alex said. “I’ve called the judge for a warrant for Claeys, Ash and Hickory.”

  “As soon as you’ve got it, I’ll send some cars out to round them up,” Bradley said.

  A final police officer came out from behind the double doors. “Everything’s closed up,” he told Bradley.

  “Thank you,” Bradley said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Are we done?” Alex said.

  “Yeah, we can go,” Bradley said, ducking under the crime tape.

  Mary placed a hand on his chest to stop him. “No, we can’t,” she said.

  He stopped and looked at her. “Why not?”

  “Because I need to go see the kids,” she said. “With their bodies gone, they might be ready to go to the light.”

  Alex held up the crime tape. “After you, Mrs. Alden,” he said.

  “Oh, Alex, you don’t have to stay,” she said.

  “Are you kidding?” he asked. “I don’t want to miss this.”

  The emergency lights were on in the hallway, and the door to the unit was propped open. Mary walked to the doorway. “Carol, are you here?” she asked.

  Carol appeared next to her. “I’ve been with the kids,” she said. “They’ve been pretty upset with so much activity.”

  “I can imagine,” Mary said. “But the men responsible will be prosecuted for their crimes, and these kids can finally rest in peace.”

  “Well, praise the Lord,” Carol replied.

  “I need you to call them so we can help them move on,” Mary requested.

  Carol nodded and turned to face the long hallway. “Kids, come on out now,” she called. “It’s safe, and Mary, the nice lady who is my friend, is here to help you again.”

  Bradley grabbed Alex’s arm, guiding his hand to Mary’s shoulder. Then he took Mary’s hand. They could all see thirteen little ghosts slowly come out from various doorways and travel hesitantly towards them.

  “Hi, kids,” Mary said softly.

  They smiled shyly.