Losing Patients (Animal Instincts Book 4)

by Chloe Kendrick

  The life jacket had been cut off of him and left in the water, thinking that it would never be seen again. I couldn’t imagine the circumstances under which someone would stand still and allow that to happen. So he had to be unconscious at that point. Only a few people would be trusted enough by Mr. Givens so that he could be overpowered by someone. In most cases, you keep your eyes on a stranger in your space, and in that case, Givens could have protected himself.

  I wondered what was involved in renting a boat from the marina. Most of the boats there were privately owned and operated. I decided to do that from the comfort of home where my arm wasn’t likely to be pulled from the socket. Number 32, who still needed a real name, was tugging in any direction that had something interesting in its path.

  I made it back to the car, wondering how I would be able to prove anything in this matter. Even if Mrs. Givens had rented a boat, it’s a far cry from showing that she’d killed her husband. Still, it would only give her means and opportunity.

  Nothing so far in the investigation had shown me any signs of how $100,000 had ended up in their garage either. Mr. Givens had not had any life insurance. He’d not been a rich man. He’d been a school teacher who worked in the summers as a house painter. Nothing there said how he could come up with that much cash.

  I sighed deeply. This was turning into more work than I planned. In most of the previous times where I’d been involved in a murder, there had been an actual murder and the work consisted of just asking questions of a few people. In this case, it looked like I was going to have to do old-fashioned police work. I would have to call the boat rentals, who may or may not remember a woman renting a boat that day. My bet was that she had scheduled the rental in advance. It would be hard to get the plans in place, only to find out that all the boats were rented for that time. Better to schedule ahead, even if that did give you a bit of a trail.

  For Mr. Adamson, I was going to have to call the hotels in Lima and find out if he’d been there and if he’d been there all night. The obvious answer was that unless he’d had an overnight guest, no one would know if he’d really been in his room or not. So his alibi was very doubtful.

  I went back to the house and let the dogs off the leash. They practically galloped across the house to escape. There was a message on my machine, and I played it.

  “Griffin, you may not remember me, but this is Sergeant Siever of the TPD. I need you to call me.” He left a number, which I already knew since I’d taken it off my mother’s phone. I knew what this had to be about. After talking to my mother, she had to have called him and reported what I’d learned. This was nothing but a case of cover your ass and hide the truth.

  I felt my face grow red as I grew angry. I wondered what was being hidden and why I was being treated this way. In the first place, this man was not a member of my family and he was no longer a member of the Toledo Police Department. He’d retired years ago. I knew that misidentifying yourself as an officer was against the law, so I opted to hold on to the message for a little leverage.

  I took a deep breath and dialed the number. A man picked up on the third ring. Not too fast or eager, I thought cynically. “This is Griffin Fitzpatrick. You had called.”

  “Griff, how are you? I bet you’re wondering why I called.” He tried to sound friendly, but this was not a friendly call at all.

  “It’s Mr. Fitzpatrick to you, and you called because my mother put you up to it. Why were the phone and the keys at the house when the police came?”

  He laughed softly. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

  “You didn’t answer my question either.”

  “I don’t think that I can discuss that with you. This is still an open police case, and the details are confidential.” He cleared his throat as he said the words, making them somewhat garbled.

  “The case is over ten years old, and if you have nothing to tell me, then I don’t see what we have to talk about.” I moved to hang up, but I heard his voice on the line.

  “Your mother is concerned about you. She thinks you need to move on.” There was a steely note to his voice. The nice guy act was gone.

  I laughed out loud at the comment. “I need to move on? Tell her to come over and tell me that herself. When she leaves the house, then she can talk about my behaviors. Until then she needs to move on as well. We all do, and I think the truth would move us all along the path to doing that.”

  “I’m not sure that’s true.”

  I bit back the bile I felt in my mouth. I was mad now. He didn’t get to make these decisions for my family. This was not his heartache. Susan’s disappearance was only a case, a problem to be solved. I told him all that and more. And when I was done, I hung up.

  The phone started to ring again, but I let it go to the answering machine. I wasn’t in the mood to continue that conversation. Instead, I decided to call my brother.

  Ryan picked up the phone on the first ring. There was no artifice there in waiting a few rings to make himself seem important. I hadn’t talked to him since Christmas, when I’d called him on Christmas Day to wish him and his wife a happy holiday. I’d never met her, but I could hear her wish me the same from the background of the call.

  “Griff, what’s the matter? Is it Mom?”

  “No, someone gave me some information about Susan’s disappearance and I don’t understand what it means. I thought maybe you already knew it, and could help me understand what happened.” I felt like I was five again, and Ryan was still the big brother who could help me when no one else could. There was something comforting and cathartic about telling him about Sheila and the report and what I’d uncovered about it.

  He took a deep sigh before speaking. “Why don’t you just call Mom? It’s a lot easier to ask her something like this than to call me in Denver to ask.”

  “I did ask her, and she threw me out of the house and then had one of the cops from the case call me to talk me out of asking questions.”

  “Siever?” he asked.

  “Yeah, him.”

  “You know they’re dating, right? Of course, he’s going to help her.”

  “What? How do you know that when I don’t know it. I live in Toledo, in the same town as her.”

  “Griff, sometimes distance can make you see things that you can’t see when you’re close up. That’s one good reason to move away.” His voice reminded me of when we were young, his encouragement to behave more maturely and thoughtfully. I had a momentary longing for those days, back before Susan disappeared.

  “Wow. I want to hear more about Mom and the sergeant. How do you know all this?”

  Ryan laughed. “Still the same old kid brother, eh? You still have to know the answers to everything. Mary and I have gotten Christmas cards signed by the both of them before. I think they messed up once or twice and sent us the wrong card by mistake. It’s not like she talks about it a lot, but when you get a card like that, you tend to figure things out fast.”

  I paused to think about this for a moment. I didn’t typically get cards from people, but then again I never sent any. I thought that cards, especially the flashy garish designs of Christmas were meant to get you noticed, which had been an anathema to me for so long. I wondered if I had sent cards, would I have received one of those mistakes as well over the years?

  “So when do you think they started dating?” I asked, wondering how long I’d missed this.

  “After Dad died, I think. Mary thinks that they hooked up before that, but I’m not sold on that. I mean, it was a pretty shitty life, but I can’t imagine Mom having an affair with anyone, you know? I don’t want to think about my parents like that.”

  I tried to get my mind around that fact, but I couldn’t. In my world, we’d had enough sorrow without adding infidelity to the mix. I wanted a few scraps of happiness.

  “Griff, you there?” Ryan asked finally.

  “Yeah, just trying to fit this into my mind. Wow. So what about the keys? What do you think?” My mind was now reelin
g from the ideas in my head. I’d nearly forgotten the original problem with this new information.

  “I don’t have an answer there. I’m going to tell you the truth though. Our family is a family with a lot of secrets. You’re going to have to dig through a number of them in order to find the truth. You need to ask yourself if that’s something you want to do or if you’d be satisfied with just knowing that there was more to the disappearance than you’ll ever know.” Ryan’s voice sounded tired. I could understand why he’d left now. Rather than stay and look for those answers, he’d been content to let the questions go. He’d moved far enough away that he wouldn’t need to question what had happened.

  “Yeah, I knew that. Now I have one more to add to the list, right?”

  “That’s a small one compared to some of the things I think happened, but yeah. So when are you going to come out to Denver?” he asked, changing the subject probably hoping that I wouldn’t notice. His question almost fell into the small talk category, since I’d never flown anywhere in my life.

  I thought about it for a second. “Soon, I mean, if you don’t mind. I’d like to see you.”

  Ryan didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and I wondered if I’d broken past our boundaries into an area where he was not comfortable. Would I be a reminder of what he’d left behind? I wasn’t sure. “Yeah,” he said finally, “we’d both like that a lot. I think you would too.”

  “Great. I’m seeing someone. I think you’d like her,” I added feeling almost cocky with the relationship talk.

  “That’s great. You’re a catch. Women should be lining up to get you. I’m really glad to hear it.”

  I doubted his sincerity, but it was nice to hear the words. “Hey, I have to go. The women in line are getting crazy, and I have to do something with them.”

  Ryan laughed. “Yeah. Hey, in all seriousness, if you decide to look for the answers and you find them, check with me to see if I want to know the answers before you tell them to me, okay? In some ways, I’ve found that ignorance is bliss. I like my life, you know?”

  I understood and promised that I would check first.

  I put the phone down and went to play with the dogs. Sometimes when I need to put things in perspective, I find that playing with the dogs helps me the most. I took a few balls out to the backyard and threw them repeatedly to the dogs until all three of us were tired.

  Deep down, I was okay that my mother had moved on, but her choice of partner worried me. This man had supposedly been doggedly following Susan’s disappearance as the objective observer who could solve it. Except that he wasn’t objective and he wasn’t an observer. By inserting himself into the middle of the drama, now I had to suspect his motivation as well as his investigation.

  I’d had enough family investigation for the day, so I decided to look at the two cases again. I knew that money could be a motive as both of the survivors in the marriage would inherit due to the suspicious deaths. However, in the Givens case, I just couldn’t make it work. If she knew about the money, why not just take it and leave? Mr. Givens could threaten her personally, but he couldn’t possibly report it in any way, because most people don’t keep six figures in their garage. It had to be the profits from something illegal.

  Plus I couldn’t get the idea of affairs off of my mind. If my mother could do it, anyone would. I gave it some more thought, and decided that I’d try to find out more about Mr. Adamson’s trip. He had only been 80 miles from home. Near enough that he could have driven home if he’d wanted.

  To try to get rid of these thoughts, I called Sheila Green and asked her for a list of the phone numbers called on my sister’s phone. I wanted to hear who she had called.

  So I was left with reasons why he didn’t want to. The first was that he knew something was going on at his house that night. If there was any kind of funny business about his wife’s suicide, then he’d be well and good to stay as far away as possible. The second reason was that he’d wanted to stay in a hotel to cover up the fact that he was meeting someone there.

  I thought about calling the Lima hotel, but for some reason, I thought it better to go there. I couldn’t tell if I really thought that a personal visit would yield more information, or if I just wanted to get away from Toledo and my own issues at the moment. So I got in the car and drove down I-75 to Lima. I thought again about Ryan’s invitation and how I’d never been on a plane. If I could start a business, cut my hair and date a police officer, I could easily get on a plane – if I could find someone to watch my brood for a few days.

  The drive passed quickly, and I found the hotel that he’d mentioned in our conversation. I pulled into a parking spot and went inside. The hotel was fairly small and unassuming. There was a small reception area with only one young woman standing there, filing papers. She looked young, probably a college student who was paying bills.

  I had been so preoccupied with my thoughts about my mother on the drive down that I hadn’t formulated any plan for learning information. So I found myself pulling out my wallet and handing a credit card across the counter to the girl. “I just want to stay the one night,” I said without thinking.

  She asked me the routine questions and ran my card through the machine. I frowned, knowing that I’d have to get more clients just to pay for this case. The costs were quickly adding up, and I’d already run through most of the money that Dr. Wilson had given me to cover expenses. I doubted that she’d be all in for paying my expenses in Lima.

  The woman pointed out a few amenities and handed over the key.

  “Thanks. A good friend of mine stays here, and he couldn’t tell me enough good things about the place,” I lied. Compliments were always a good way to get a conversation started.

  “That’s always nice to hear. I hope you enjoy your stay,” she replied, eyeing the stack of papers on the counter.

  “His name is Adamson. He stays here a lot.” I flashed a smile at her, hoping that if compliments didn’t work, maybe some flirting would.

  However, it didn’t seem to work on her at all. “The name’s not familiar. Sorry.”

  I nodded. “Wait,” I said, putting my hand in my jacket pocket. “I have a picture of him.” I pulled out the photos from Dr. Wilson’s file. It showed Adamson smiling for the camera with his cat. The photo of Mrs. Givens with her Newfoundland fell on to the counter as well. “This is him,” I said, holding it up for her.

  “Oh, I do know him. He’s been here several times. Nice guy.” She seemed a bit more interested in the conversation now. I wasn’t sure what had gotten her interest, but I’d take it.

  “Yeah, he’s here for business.”

  She nodded with a smirk. “He’s been here with a woman. I’m not sure that it’s business or not.”

  “Really?” I was not totally surprised. After all, he was separated from his wife, and most people did not live like hermits. When one relationship ended, another one began. I pushed my thoughts about my mother out of my head. I didn’t have time for that now.

  “Yeah, I thought you knew.” She furrowed her brows and stared at me. “I thought from your actions that you knew all about it.”

  “You did?” I asked incredulously. “How would that be?”

  “You have the photo of her in your pocket.” She pointed down to the counter where the photo of Mrs. Givens and Nelly lay.

  “Yeah, they’re pretty much inseparable,” I said, not caring how badly I lied now. I had some information to work on now – another motive for murder and another connection between the crimes. While it was far from enough to prove to Detective Green that these crimes were murders, it was certainly suggestive enough to any observer. Two people whose spouses both died in somewhat questionable circumstances, leaving the remaining person a significant amount of cash. I thought about what that relationship would be like now with both of them constantly questioning whether they would end up like the previous spouse. How could you relax thinking that you could be the next victim?

  “Well, enjo
y your stay,” she said again. This time she picked up a stack of papers before I could respond.

  I walked upstairs to the room and sat down. I was shocked and pleased. I hadn’t expected the visit to pay off so handsomely. The police likely had asked the hotel if Adamson had been here. They had responded that he had. Depending on if this woman had checked him in, or seen the woman come later, the police might have missed this connection altogether. Besides, how closely would they question the hotel when the crime was ruled a suicide?

  I thought about driving back home now, but opted against it. I had the room until tomorrow morning, and while I would have to go home in time to feed the animals, I had hours before I had to be back in Toledo.

  I took off my shoes and socks and rested on the bed. The pillows were so thick that I nearly sat up, but I didn’t care. I was feeling productive and allowed myself a nap.

  When I woke, the sun was still up, so I walked down to the hotel store. I purchased a swimsuit, changed and took a long swim until my muscles ached. I stuck mainly to laps, which is what I’d done in high school to burn off the stress of my family situation. I figured that if my head was underwater, I couldn’t hear what was being said about me. I’d never won any medals, but I’d been happy to just be mediocre.

  My calves burned as I climbed the ladder. I wasn’t necessarily in bad shape, but I hadn’t done much in the way of organized exercise in ages. I toweled off, enjoying that I didn’t have much hair to work with. I went back to the room and changed into my clothes.

  As an experiment, I found a side door that had been propped open. I left through that door. I was in my car and out of the parking lot with no witnesses to my actions. Adamson’s alibi was no better than Given’s alibi had been.

  Chapter 5

  The dogs were thrilled to see me and intrigued by the unique scent of chlorine on my skin. I was the subject of a significant amount of sniffing for twenty minutes. After that, they were more interested in being fed.