Pampered to Death

by Diana Orgain

  I looked at Sean. “I hope she stays out of trouble.”

  He grinned at me.

  “Thank you so much for helping Paula get hired here. I know it means a lot to her to get a booking like this.”

  “She’s proven her worth,” he said with a wink. “Now, I just got to get my job done here so that Paula can do hers.”

  “Everything is looking good so far,” I said. “How long could it take to just combine two buildings?”

  “Oh, well, they’re redoing a lot in the nail salon to try to make the flow between the two buildings a bit more cohesive,” he said. “So that’s what taking up most of my time. I’m on my lunch break now or I would stay in chat. Enjoy your spa day.”

  “Thanks, Sean,” I said, waving at him.

  Before I could make it anywhere near the room with the hot tub and sauna, I spotted Hannah-the young masseur who’d put the face cream on Kelly. I hurried over to her, to see how she was doing.

  She looked stressed beyond belief and terribly distracted.

  “Hey, Kate,” she muttered nervously, wringing her wrists.

  “How are you?” I asked.

  “As good as I could be, I guess,” she said, sighing. “I got charged with criminal negligence. I hired a lawyer, but I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

  “They hit you with a charge?” I asked.

  “I feel really stupid,” Hannah said. “I should have noticed something was wrong with Kelly when I’d first seen her. I guess I deserve the charge. I should have been paying more attention.”

  “I’m sure they’ll drop those charges, Hannah.” I said. “This is not your fault. You were just doing your job like you did every day. They’re trying to scare you.”

  “I hope so,” she said. “My lawyer says the charges are ridiculous, but now I owe all this bail money. It’s ridiculous. Jane paid the bail for me and has been sweet enough to set it up to where she just takes a little out of my check each week. I’m also forwarding her my tip money, so money is really tight right now.”

  “I’m working to find out who the real culprit is,” I promised. “And I was here. If you need me to, I’ll speak on your behalf to the police.”

  She thanked me profusely, and we exchanged information. I rushed toward the hot tub to meet up with my mom fighting off the annoyance that clawed at me.

  How could the police hit that poor woman with a charge?

  What happened to Kelly wasn’t Hannah’s fault. The police just wanting to reassure the public that someone was suffering repercussions for what happened.

  Determination burned in my belly with to pin down the culprit.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I’d almost forgotten how nice a hot tub was, as I slowly sunk down into the water up to my shoulders.

  “Ooh, yeah, that’s the good stuff,” I moaned and leaned my head back, shutting my eyes while I listened to the jets slowly bubble up around me.

  Jim and I should totally get a hot tub.

  The warm water soothed me almost as well as the massage had earlier. I’d never get a hot tub though—I ’d be afraid Laurie would somehow get into it. I was already paranoid about pools, and Laurie couldn’t even crawl.

  Ugh, I sure was a nervous wreck this first year of her life. Everything was a potential hazard for Laurie in my eyes, but I suppose most new moms are that way. Paranoid and convinced everything is out to get your little one.

  “What took you so long getting in here?” my mom asked, stretching her legs beside me.

  If only I could eventually become as relaxed a mother like mom.

  I know she worried about me like any mother did, but surely at some point the constant paranoia of what might harm or maim your child eventually goes away, right?

  “After I finished speaking to Sean O’Neil I ran into Hannah, the masseur who was with Kelly when she died.” I said.

  “They are still letting her work here?” my mom questioned, and I nudged her.

  “Not funny,” I said. “Yes, they are because it’s not her fault. You should have seen the way she freaked out that day.”

  “Are the police investigating her?” my mom asked.

  “Well, she says they just slapped her with a negligence charge,” I said. “Hopefully I can figure out who did this soon so that I can help her get cleared of any charge.”

  “Kate...” my mom said, sitting upright and looking at me with a serious gaze—a look my mother seldom wore. “How do you know Hannah isn’t involved? I mean, for all you know there’s a connection between her and Kelly that hasn’t been uncovered yet. I don’t mean to sound like I don’t have confidence in you, sweetheart, but really when where talking murder...”

  “I guess you’re right. I really don’t think Hannah had anything to do with this, but I can’t just overlook. She probably gave Kelly water, or tea or whatever, like they do when someone enters the massage room. The water could have had the poison in it.”

  “Hmm.” Mom said. “What motive would the girl have?”

  I looked at her with the same look I’d had given her for the last thirty years. “Motive? I don’t know, mom, but weren’t you saying there was a possible hidden connection?”

  Mom shrugged. “I don’t know. But you’ll figure it out. I’m going to go check out the sauna. You want to come?”

  Frustration boiled within me. Just like me mom to suggest a direction and then change her mom.

  “Give me a bit,” I said. “I just got in the tub. If you want to go on and try it out, I’ll meet you in there.”

  Mom pulled herself up out of the hot tub, pausing a moment to pat my head like I was a little puppy dog. I sunk deeper into the water until the occasional bubbles bounced up and tickle my nose.

  At least I can enjoy this.

  To be fair, this was the second weekend in a row I’d gone to the spa. That was far from a normal amount of leisure time. I probably needed it more than I realized.

  I’m not entirely sure how long I was in that hot tub, but eventually I decided to join my mom. I’d seen her enter into the sauna room on the far side of the wall; there were about five of them, so I don’t know what called her to the one furthest away, maybe the others had been occupied.

  I walked to the door, but something in the pit of my stomach nagged at me. There was a small window on the door that allowed you to look into the sauna, and I paused to peer in.

  I was planning on making a goofy face at her because we were having a good time that day picking fun at each other a bit.

  But when I peered through the foggy window, I saw my mom laid out on the ground.

  My heart practically leapt of my chest. Panic and adrenaline rocketed through my veins, and I yanked open the door.

  “Mom!” I screamed.

  Steam blew into my face, but I ignored it, clawing my way to my mother.

  Suddenly, I felt dizzy.

  Something is wrong!

  I grabbed my mom, dragging her out across the tiled floor ground to get her out of there as quickly as I could. The steam from the sauna made me cough convulsively.

  I toppled to the ground next to mom.

  Oh no.

  My vision started getting blurry and the last thing I remember before passing was Jane’s shrieking, “Call 911!”

  When I came to I was on a stretcher, being loaded into the back of an ambulance.

  “What’s the—” I bit my tongue. When you become a mom you suddenly have the heightened sense of, I don’t know what you’d call it, I guess my kid might hear me say that and repeat it syndrome. I had never been one to cuss too often even before Laurie, but after she was born I had instantly became terrified I would say the wrong thing and accidentally make that her first word.

  “Miss, can you tell me your name?” a paramedic asked me.

  “Kate Connolly,” I said. “Where’s my mom?”

  “Don’t worry, Kate,” the man said. “She’s in another ambulance already on route to the hospital. She’s going to be just fine.
You got to her just in time.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “We think carbon monoxide poison,” the female paramedic said as they strapped my stretcher in.

  I struggled to sit up but the female paramedic put on my shoulder to keep down.

  I realized they had strung an oxygen tube around my nose, and I wanted to yank it off, but I decided to behave myself and be a good patient.

  The two paramedics in the back with me were very sweet and soothing, and I think they’re the only reasons I didn’t have a complete freak out in the back of that ambulance. They reassured me my mom was doing fine too, so I think that helped.

  “Can I call my husband and let him know what’s going on, please?” I asked.

  The female paramedic fetched me her cellphone, and I thanked her.

  I was antsy to talk to Jim. He answered the phone peppy as ever—poor guy, I was about to ruin his day.

  “Hey, hon! How’s the spa day going?”

  “Well...” I said. “Don’t panic or anything, but mom and I are on the way to the hospital.”

  “Babe!” was all he could muster.

  “Looks like someone tampered with one of the saunas. The paramedics think that carbon monoxide was somehow released into the sauna. Mom was in there for a while. I don’t know how long, but she was passed out when I got there...and when I pulled her out of the sauna room, I passed out too.”

  “You passed out!” he exclaimed.

  “Only a little.”

  “Only a little! You don’t only a little pass out, Kate,” he chastised me for trying to make light of the situation. “What hospital are you headed to?”

  “UCSF Medical Center,” the male paramedic said to me with wink, obviously able to hear my husband’s screechy voice of panic.

  “UCSF,” I said to Jim. “But don’t you dare bring Laurie up there! I mean it. Stay home. We’re fine.”

  “Kate—” he started to plead, but I cut him off.

  “I’m serious!” I snapped. “You’re not bringing our five-month-old daughter to a gross, germy hospital where she could catch something. If you do, I’ll be really mad at you.”

  “Honey—” Jim protested.

  “Jim,” I said. “Promise me you won’t bring Laurie up to the hospital.” When the line was silent, I upped the wattage on my voice, “Jim,” I repeated.

  “Okay, fine,” Jim said. “But you better call as soon you reach the hospital.”

  “I don’t think I have my phone on me. It’s in the locker at the sauna,” I said. “But once I get access to a phone, I promise I’ll call. If you don’t mind, let Galigani know what happened—knowing him he’ll want to peek in on mom.”

  I was feeling a little wozzy, and the last thing I wanted to do was scare Jim by passing out while on the phone with him, so I cut him off. “I’m going to let you go so that you can get back to Laurie. Please don’t worry too much. We’re okay.”

  “Okay, okay,” he said. “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” I said and hung up the phone. The paramedic returned it to her personal bag. “Should I still be dizzy?” I asked.

  “You’ll probably feel dizzy for a while, but let’s try to stay awake, okay?” the male paramedic said to me.

  I was thankful for the oxygen they had me breathing.

  It was soothing, and I was trying to not have a meltdown.

  Yeah, easier said than done.

  Chapter Fourteen

  After a thorough examination, having my blood drawn, and being hooked up to an IV for a couple of hours, I started to feel much better and significantly calmer about my own situation. Dr. Morris was an older gentleman with a smooth head and forehead. He had warm hands and I liked that he was straight shooter.

  “You’re very lucky,” Dr. Morris said. “You and your mother both must have breathed in a lot of carbon monoxide. Everything as far as you are concerned is checking out okay, but we’re going to need you to come back for a follow up visit.”

  “I understand, but you said my mother is doing all right?” I asked anxiously. I hadn’t had the opportunity to see her yet, and I was starting to get a little shaky.

  “Awake and alert,” he promised as a nurse poked her head in.

  “Kate, your husband is here,” she said.

  Anger rolled through me, my blood ready to boil.

  Hadn’t I told the man to stay home with the baby?

  “Does he have a baby with him?” I asked.

  “No?” the nurse looked confused.

  “Never mind. You can tell him to come in,” I said.

  Jim scooted into the room, and he hurried to my bedside, leaning down to kiss my forehead. Despite my initial anger it was wonderful to see him and clutched his neck and pressed his check to mine.

  “Are you all right? How are you feeling?” he prodded.

  “I’m fine, Jim,” I said. “Thank you for coming. Where’s Laurie?”

  “I called Paula, and she came and picked her up so that I could drive you home,” he said.

  Jim introduced himself to Dr. Morris and started asking playing twenty questions with the man who answered everything as politely as he could.

  “The police,” Dr. Morris said, looking in my direction. “They have informed us that someone hooked up a tank of carbon monoxide into the steamer. It was like a hot box of poison in that room.”

  A hot box of poison?

  Chills rose on my arms.

  “You want me to go check on your mom?” Jim asked.

  “We’re finishing up Kate’s discharge paperwork now, so if you can wait a few minutes you two can go together,” Dr. Morris said, and I smiled at him.

  “Thank you so much,” I said.

  “You mom...she’s quite a character...she feisty, isn’t she?” Dr. Morris asked, and Jim and I laughed.

  “That’s Mom,” I said. As the doctor was turning to leave the room, I called out to him. “Oh, I do have a question really quick! I breastfeed our daughter, is it okay if I—”

  “To be safe, I would give it two weeks,” he said. “Does your daughter do okay with formula?”

  “I have a bunch of breast milk stored in the fridge,” I said, frowning.

  No breastfeeding for two weeks! Laurie was going to be so cranky; she always got cranky when she was neglected that special mommy daughter time.

  “Continue to pump for the next couple of weeks for your comfort and to keep your supply up, but get rid of it and don’t give it your baby,” he said. “Just give me a few minutes, and one the nurses will be back with your discharge paperwork.”

  He disappeared, and once he was gone I let loose a loud sigh.

  “You all right?” Jim asked.

  “I’m fine,” I said and smiled at him. “I’m actually glad you’re here. Sorry I got so snippy on the phone about you not coming down here; I just really didn’t want you to bring Laurie.”

  “I understand,” he said and bent down to offer me another quick kiss.

  I exhaled again; I could feel myself becoming melodramatic. There was just so much on my mind. The thought of not being able to breastfeed Laurie for two weeks upset me.

  Then there was my mom. Someone had hurt her, and it had been intentional. She could have died if I had decided to stay in that hot tub any longer, and that made me irate.

  “This is really personal now,” I practically growled.

  “Slow down there, cowgirl,” he said. “I know you’re mad, but I don’t want you doing something stupid.”

  “Not stupid. You know I don’t do anything without thinking it through,” I said. “That’s not me. I want to catch whoever is doing this. Why would someone target me and my mom? Is it possible someone is trying to keep me quiet? Probably whoever killed Kelly is trying to keep me from looking into things, so maybe that means I’m onto something, right?”

  “Maybe,” Jim said.

  “Ugh!” I exclaimed. “This is so frustrating! Who would want to hurt my mom? The same person who hurt Kell
y? Where’s the motive there? I couldn’t find a motive for Kelly’s murder, so I don’t know if I will find one for this either. Are the two incidences even related?”

  “I doubt this is coincidental,” Jim said. “Someone is trying to scare you off, and that worries me. I don’t want you to get hurt, Kate. Maybe you should let Galigani handle this one?”

  “What! No!” I practically shrieked. “I’ve got this. I’m going to figure this out. I just have to look for a new angle like what Galigani said. There is something I’m missing. I just haven’t figured out what it is yet. I’ve been looking into her friends and family – mostly those who were present for the bridal shower. Maybe there is someone else who had a vendetta against Kelly? It’s really starting to drive me a little crazy.”

  “You haven’t been on the case that long,” Jim reminded me. “Step back and take a breath. It’s hard to think when you start to feel the stress of something, you know?”

  “Well, I did just enjoy some time at the spa,” I joked.

  “Not what I meant. It doesn’t count when someone almost kills you. That is definitely not what I meant by stepping back. I just mean you don’t need to overwork yourself, or you really will drive yourself crazy,” he said.

  “I know, I know,” I moaned. “I just wish I didn’t feel so stuck.” I crossed my arms in frustration and poked out my bottom.

  Jim laughed at me. “Kate, please tell me you’re not pouting.”

  “I’m not pouting,” I said. “This is my contemplative face.”

  “Oh, is that what it is?” Jim asked with a smirk. “You’re going to figure this thing out, Kate. I know you, and you are one of the smartest people I know. You will catch whoever did this to Kelly.”

  “Thanks for the confidence boost, Jim,” I said.

  We were quiet for a moment, and I watched the arms on a clock hanging on the far wall tick by.

  How long had Dr. Morris been gone?

  I was starting to feel anxious about my mom again. She’d been in that sauna for a while before I had decided to join her.

  Sure, the doctor told me she was doing fine, but I wasn’t going to feel better until I saw her for myself.