by Liz Schulte
Vivian helped me pick out a navy blue dress cinched at the side. I was putting on camel-colored heels when I heard a knock on the front door. I came out of my room, the dogs trailing behind me, to see Blair leaning against the door frame in a suit and tie—hair combed—talking to Vivian. Between the glint in his eyes and his ever-so-slight smile, it was clear he liked her a lot.
“You kids have fun,” Vivian said as she waved with one hand and petted Sid on the head with the other.
Ashley’s house was a three-story structure with a long double porch. It was massive for two people, but I dismissed the thought. I wasn’t being judgmental tonight. Melissa answered the door. She smiled at Blair and gave him a hug. “Ashley said the two of you would be coming tonight.”
I took a deep breath. “I don’t think we’ve ever been officially introduced.” I stepped forward. “I’m Ryan.”
She finally looked at me. Her eyes drifted down to my extended hand. “Don’t be silly.” She hugged me too. “That’s a gorgeous dress, Ryan. Wherever did you get it?”
I laughed. “At Blueberry. I didn’t bring anything like this with me.”
“I love Bee’s store. I’m so glad you reopened it.” She led us into the house, her arm threaded through mine as if I might try to escape. She took us to a living room where about fifteen people had broken off into small groups of two or three to chat.
Ashley came over and Melissa finally released me. “Ryan. Blair. Nice to see both of you again. How is Bee?”
“Still sleeping. The nurse said the afternoon was uneventful, and Jack checked on her a couple times.” I’d called the hospital just before I came tonight.
“I spoke with Keith. He can make it down here on Monday.”
I nodded.
“Nice spread, Ash,” Blair said, his small plate heaping with appetizers. He plopped a baby quiche into his mouth. .
Ashley shook his head at him. “You know a few people here tonight, Ryan. Katherine, Annabelle, Max, and, of course, Briggs.”
Blair choked on his quiche. I patted him hard on the back. “You invited Briggs?”
“Of course. Besides his connection with you, you know who his father is.”
“Yeah.” I scanned the room, ignoring Ashley as he told me about each guest. Briggs was cornered by Katherine, who was fawning over him. Or maybe he wasn’t cornered at all. He didn’t appear to be trying to leave. He was even smiling. I looked away, pretending my chest wasn’t tightening at the idea of another girl flirting with him. I didn’t have a right to expect Briggs not to talk to or date other women. I was, after all, seeing Jack.
There was another knock on the door and Ashley and Melissa excused themselves. I turned to Blair. “Show me the food?”
“Sure thing.” He took me to another room where a large table was filled with pretty, decadent snacks. I took my time selecting just a few. When I turned around, Briggs had taken Blair’s spot.
“I thought I saw you come in.”
“Really? I thought you were too distracted by your charming company.”
“Jealous, Ryan?”
I pursed my lips and walked past him, but he caught my arm and leaned in close. “You look beautiful.” I glanced at him from the corner of my eye before breaking free and going back to the main room. Briggs fell into step with me, however. I tried to ignore how good he smelled. I slowed when I got close to Blair, who was entertaining a growing group of guests.
“Yep. It’s haunted. I didn’t believe it either, but strange things really have been happening there. Four people have died in like a week.”
I cleared my throat, and he turned around with a smile.
“Ask Ryan. She knows all about the hospital.”
Seven sets of eyes, including Briggs’s, focused on me. Obviously, Ashley was right. Blair couldn’t be trusted with secrets. Before I could decide how to smooth this over, dinner was announced. I was seated between Briggs and Blair. As soon as we sat down, I elbowed Blair.
“What the hell was that about?”
“What?” He leaned away from me.
“Why did you bring up the hospital?”
“They asked. What does it hurt?”
I sighed. “It makes us sound crazy.”
He chuckled. I counted to ten in my head. Arguing about it would only draw more attention to us. I shifted my attention to Briggs.
“What were you up to today?”
“Well,” he said and took a drink of water. “I found a place to live and had a … business meeting.”
I let his words sink in. “What kind of business do you have in Goodson Hollow?”
He smiled. “If all goes well, I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
Were people just trying to be difficult tonight? “And where are you staying? Or is that secret too?”
“I’m renting a lake house a few miles out of town. It has a lot of room for the dogs to run and play.”
“The dogs who live with me.”
“For now.” He put his hand on the back of my chair and leaned in close. His breath tickled my ear. “I haven’t given up hope that I’ll get all three of you back.”
Blair “accidentally” kicked me. I scowled at him, but he motioned toward Briggs and rolled his eyes. At that moment I had a great idea. “Briggs, will you trade spots with me? I’d love to catch up with my cousin, Katherine—and you and Blair don’t really know each other, do you?”
Briggs agreed, and if he thought it was strange, he kept it to himself. Blair, on the other hand, mouthed the word “traitor” at me, which nearly made me laugh. When we were all settled back in, Briggs took to winning over Blair and successfully kept him from talking about Bee or St. Michael’s while I sized up Katherine, who looked as happy with the new arrangement as Blair was.
Dinner was served and I was confident all talk of the hospital had ended. Until Annabelle looked across the table at me and asked, “Did you really see something in the hospital, Ryan?”
My cheeks grew warmer with each person who stopped talking and looked at me. “I wouldn’t say I saw something.”
“But you heard things,” Blair said.
“Yes, I heard some stuff.” I pushed my seared Ahi tuna around on my plate.
Annabelle leaned forward. “That’s so cool. What did you hear? I watch all of those ghost hunting shows. I’ve been saying it for years, haven’t I, Katherine? We need to get them to come out and investigate that hospital.”
“Yes, I think you can apply to those things, can’t you?” another guy at the table said.
“I heard my name whispered. That’s it. Nothing television-worthy.”
Ashley made an attempt to change the topic, but everyone was far more interested in swapping St. Michael’s stories.
“Do you remember all those babies that died there when we were kids?” Max said.
A few people said they did. Blair and Briggs seemed fascinated, and Ashley stared at me, but I didn’t know what he expected me to do. This was hardly my fault. Then, despite myself, I started listening. Someone was telling a story I hadn’t heard about from Jack or read in the scrapbook.
“A few years ago a patient was sleepwalking and ended up killing seven other patients and a couple nurses before the authorities could get there. When he woke up, he didn’t remember any of it.”
I avoided looking at Blair. That hadn’t happened. It couldn’t have. Jack hadn’t mentioned it, and it wasn’t in the scrapbook. But you haven’t made it all the way through yet, I reminded myself. I took a couple sips of water. “What was wrong with the patient?”
If it was some mental patient, it really wasn’t the same thing.
She twisted her mouth as she thought. “You know, I don’t remember. Maybe cancer? Apparently he somehow got a scalpel and went on a killing spree. I have a friend who has a friend who worked there at the time, though she left shortly after. She said there was so much blood on the floor and the walls that the hallway looked like it had been painted red.”
“Why haven’t
I heard about this?” Annabelle asked.
“Because Valerie’s making it up,” another man said with a robust laugh.
“I am not.” She shook her head. “I remember it. It was hushed up. I think that was the same time the paper was bought.”
“Why would anyone bother covering it up?” Briggs asked.
“St. Michael’s is the only hospital in fifty miles. That’s why they closed the ninth floor too. It scares people, but we still need it here. So instead of admitting to a problem, they wall it off and pretend like nothing ever happens.”
I finally looked over at Blair. He was staring at Valerie and chewing his thumbnail. If Bee was killing—my mind stuttered at the thought—would they sweep it under the rug too? And who was “they”? “Who bought the newspaper?” I asked.
There was an abrupt, awkward silence as everyone around the table exchanged a glance I didn’t understand. Ashley cleared his throat, but Briggs answered. “Your father.”
*
I lay in bed, still marveling that I hadn’t known my father owned the newspaper. Not only that, but somehow Briggs knew it and he’d been away as long as I had. Of course, Ashley obviously knew—so how much did he know about the cover ups? One good thing had come out of that little nugget of information. It was enough to change the subject. No one wanted to continue down a path that might offend the host’s family. But for me, everything that happened after that was pretty much a blur. My mind was occupied with Valerie’s story and its parallels to what was happening with Bee—and with the motive my father had for playing a part in the St. Michael’s cover up.
I rolled over, and one of the dogs sighed and scooted back against me. I tried to clear my mind by counting my breaths but failed miserably. I sighed and rolled again. One of the dogs grunted in complaint. Why would Dad care to cover up anything at—
The floorboard outside my bedroom door squeaked.
Everything in me went still as I listened. Nancy’s head perked, one ear shooting straight up as she stared at the door. I was about to dismiss the sound when it came again, only this time it seemed closer. Nancy let out a low, rumbling growl that alerted Sid to the danger. He stood over the top of me, his head pointed toward the bedroom door, and joined her in growling. My throat felt dry and my fingers dug into the covers.
I tried to speak a couple times, but fear had seized my throat. I debated whether I should look or call the police or Aiden. The growling sent chills down my spine. What if it’s Vivian?
“Sid, Nancy, sit,” I said and struggled to get out of bed with two dogs who seemed determined to keep me in. I walked slowly toward the door and paused with my hand on the knob.
“Hello?” My voice cracked.
Nothing.
I looked down at the dogs, who gazed back up at me with a curious expression. I nodded and pulled open the door.
Nothing.
Sid, Nancy, and I did a once-over of the apartment, but everything appeared to be fine. We went back to bed.
“Silly dogs. It was probably Vivian going to the bathroom.” They wagged their tails, not at all ashamed of our overreaction.
Nancy walked in a circle and flopped down. Sid was about to get on the bed when he turned around and returned to the bedroom door, growling again. I was never going to get any sleep this way. I went to the door and flipped the lock.
Chapter 19
Deputy Perry arrived at Bee’s room promptly at eight o’clock the next morning. I had explained the situation to her, but she didn’t say much about it one way or another. I was having trouble gauging her mood at all. She’d been quiet since I got there, not even trying to carry her end of any attempt at conversation. When Deputy Perry walked in, Bee looked at me and said, “If anything happens to me, I want you to stay in Goodson Hollow. You belong here.”
I took her hand. “Nothing is going to happen to you. You’re going to get better.”
She looked intently into my eyes. “Promise.”
“Fine. I’ll stay.” I didn’t want Bee to think about giving up when we still had a fight before us. “Bee, this is Deputy Perry. I told you he was coming by.”
She nodded and inspected him. “How long have you lived here?”
“My whole life,” he said.
“Then you should know better.” She spoke in a flat voice that barely sounded like her. This wasn’t a time for another episode. I scooted to the edge of my chair, ready to intervene if need be.
“Ma’am?”
“Than to ask questions you don’t want answers to.
“I haven’t asked any questions.”
“You want to know why that woman died?” She raised an eyebrow. “You know why. I know why. Everyone knows why.” Bee looked down at the floor.
“You believe in the ghost then?”
She laughed without amusement. “Only a fool believes it’s a ghost.”
“What do you think it is?”
“Evil.”
I could barely hear her, but she kept repeating the word over and over, rocking back and forth, still staring at the floor. My skin crawled.
Suddenly she stopped and pierced me with a look. “Ryan knows.”
I wanted to cry. I wanted to yell at her. Why was she acting crazy in front of the cop?
“The hospital isn’t evil, Bee.”
“It wants you, Ryan.”
I forced a smile. “Bee, Deputy Perry is here to see you, not talk about me.” I pleaded with my eyes for her to cooperate. When she turned to the deputy she sounded more normal.
“Perry, Perry …” She tilted her head. “Would you be Colin Perry’s son?”
“I am,” he said. “Did you know my father?”
“I certainly did. We use to drag race together by the river about two centuries ago.”
Deputy Perry smiled. “Ms. Scott, do you know about the young woman who died here yesterday?”
She shook her head. “Oh dear, did someone die?” I couldn’t tell if she was serious or mocking him.
“She was a night nurse. Peggy Carlile. Do you remember her?” I appreciated that he spoke in a soothing voice to her, but I stayed on edge.
Bee’s face scrunched up. “What did she look like?”
The deputy stalled, so I jumped in. “She was a couple inches shorter than me, with short brown hair and green eyes.”
“I think I remember her. I’ve had so many nurses though. You should ask Dr. Sadler.”
The deputy nodded. “Thank you for your time. It was a pleasure meeting you, ma’am.” He shook her hand and walked out.
I followed him. “Deputy,” I called, catching up with him at the elevator. “Thank you for being gentle with her.”
He studied me. “Has she been doing that a lot? Personality changes?”
“It’s been getting worse. Her doctor says it’s her illness.”
The door dinged. “I’ll see you later, Ms. Sterling.” The words sounded more like a threat than a friendly promise. I don’t know how long I stared after him. Jack’s voice finally pulled me from my thoughts.
“You okay?” He handed me a cup of coffee.
“No.” I sighed and headed back to Bee’s room with him, but Jack stopped me before I could walk in.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m tired. And I’m getting a headache.”
He rubbed a spot at the top of my spine. “Is Blair coming today?” I nodded. “Maybe you should go home and rest after he gets here.”
“I can’t.” I explained the conversation Bee and I had when the deputy first came in. “I need to spend time with her. I don’t want her to give up.”
“Don’t forget to take care of yourself too.”
“I won’t. Who would I need to talk to if I wanted to see the ninth floor?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. The hospital board maybe. Why?”
“Two of Bee’s nurses have died, Jack, and she’s getting worse. I can’t keep pretending nothing’s happening.”
“You’re tired and str
essed, and you’re letting your imagination run away with you. There’s nothing on that level.”
“Great. I want to see for myself.” I walked into Bee’s room and forced a smile. “Look who I found.”
Jack went through their routine, and Bee seemed to be in good spirits. After he left, I read to her until Blair stopped by. He hugged us and took my seat.
Jack popped back, handed me two white pills and shot me a wink. I gave him a questioning look. “Tylenol. You didn’t get them from me.”
“Thank you.” I put the pills in my pocket and fished change out of my purse. “I’m going to get a drink. Do either of you need anything?”
Bee shook her head and Blair looked slightly alarmed that I was leaving.
I handed him the book. “Why don’t you take over reading for me?” I waited a couple minutes until they both seemed settled in before I left. Outside of Bee’s room, I ran smack dab into Deputy Perry.
“Ryan, I was just coming to find you.”
“I’m going to get a drink.”
“I’ll walk with you.”
We headed for the vending machines, but he didn’t speak.
“Did you need something?” I asked.
“I have something I would like you to look at, but I need you to come downstairs to security.”
“What is it?”
“A video.”
Nerves fluttered in my stomach. What kind of video? “Okay.”
I bought a lemon-lime soda, swallowed my Tylenol, and let Deputy Perry take me downstairs. We went through the lobby and down a few “Staff only” corridors until we came to a plain door that simply said “Security.” We were buzzed through another door and went into a larger room with a couple metal desks and people in uniform. He ignored them and took me to a tiny, dark room filled with equipment and TV screens. He nodded to Aiden, who was present too, then pointed at the middle screen. I watched the stairwell. No one was on it.
