Beneath the Surface

by Lynn H. Blackburn

  “You’re afraid when this is all over my feelings will change? Or are you afraid yours will change?”

  There was no chance his would change.

  “Or are you afraid of Kirk finding out? Or your boss?”

  “Yes.”

  “Which?”

  “Both.”

  She took another step. “Guess what?”

  The back of his legs bumped against her dad’s desk.

  “I’m not afraid of either of them.”

  She leaned into him, her hands on his forearms. Somehow his hands wound up on her hips. Her lips brushed his cheek. If he turned his head an inch . . .

  “Thank you for being such a gentleman,” she said.

  He clenched his jaw.

  “And I promise I won’t ask questions at the hospital when I go to work tonight.”

  This woman would be the death of him.

  “And don’t worry about Kirk. I’ll protect you from him.” She slid from his arms and walked out the door. When she reached the hallway, she paused. “I’m going to get some sleep. You two are welcome to stay. Let me know what you decide.”

  He reached the hallway in time to see her disappear into her room.

  Gabe shoved himself off the wall. “You’re in trouble,” he said in a singsong voice. Ryan followed him down the stairs.

  What had just happened? Had she —? Was she saying she was as interested as he was? Or was she saying she appreciated that he wasn’t pushing her into something she wasn’t sure she wanted?

  He rubbed his eyes. When had he slept last? Sleep would probably help a lot.

  “I vote we crash on the couches,” Gabe said.

  “The downstairs smells like smoke,” Ryan said. “We’ll have headaches.”

  “We have two guest bedrooms in the basement,” Leigh said from the end of the hall.

  Ryan paused on the stairs. She leaned over the bannister toward them. “If you aren’t going home, you could shower and sleep down there. I’m assuming you both have a change of clothes?”

  Gabe shrugged like it was fine with him.

  “Thanks. That’s where we’ll be if you need us,” Ryan said.

  Leigh disappeared again.

  “She’s like a ninja,” Gabe said in a quiet voice. “Fearless and kind of terrifying.”

  Pretty accurate description.

  They walked outside to grab their bags from their cars. “What did you two talk about?” Gabe asked. “I did my best to eavesdrop, but you kept your voices too low.”

  “We didn’t talk about anything of interest to you.”

  “I doubt that very much.”

  “There was one thing . . .”

  “Yes?”

  “She mentioned the possibility that the flowers were supposed to blow up while I was holding them.”

  “That would have been unfortunate.”

  Indeed. “I don’t think there’s anything to that, but—”

  “We need to keep it in mind.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Yes,” Ryan said. He dropped his voice even lower in case Leigh had a window open or something. “We need to find out everything we can about everyone who works in the emergency department. How long have they worked there? Has Leigh ever worked with any of them anywhere else?”

  “You think her stalker is someone she works with?”

  “We aren’t even sure she has a stalker, remember? This behavior isn’t textbook stalker. This is . . .”

  “Crazy,” Gabe said.

  “And it doesn’t fit any profile that makes sense.”

  “Maybe she has a new stalker. She does seem to have the ability to make grown men lose their ever-loving minds in the space of a few days.” Gabe punched his shoulder.

  “I haven’t lost my mind,” Ryan said.

  “What makes you think I was talking about you?”

  “Who else would you be talking about?”

  “No one. I find it interesting you claimed it so quickly, that’s all.”

  “Go to bed, Gabe,” Ryan said. “I’m going to check with the guys out here keeping watch tonight before I come in.”

  Gabe was laughing as he walked back into the house. Ryan had always liked Gabe, but ever since he quit working undercover, he’d lost his filter. If he thought it, it popped out of his mouth. It was almost like he’d spent so many years keeping everything bottled up and now he just exploded everywhere.

  In some ways the honesty was refreshing. You always knew where you stood with Gabe. But in other ways, like tonight, it was intrusive and embarrassing.

  Ryan made sure the officers on the night watch had his information. He locked the doors and set the security system before making his way down the stairs. He showered quickly and fell into the bed. It wouldn’t be much, but maybe a couple of hours of sleep would help him make some sense out of what was going on.

  Because there was only one thing he was sure of right now.

  He was missing something.

  Something big.

  And if he didn’t figure it out soon, someone was going to die.

  12

  Leigh slept until ten Sunday morning.

  She reached for her phone even before she opened her eyes. She had three texts.

  One from Keri.

  One from Gabe.

  One from Ryan.

  Keri’s text was full of exclamation marks and emojis and expressed her relief that Leigh hadn’t been harmed and her joy in hearing that Leigh would be back at work.

  Gabe’s text was surprising. Just a few words.

  He’s got it bad.

  Who had what bad? There was only one possible answer to that question, and the thought of it made her skin flush. Had Ryan confided something in Gabe? What would he have said? Did he really like her? He said he did. Sort of. If “I want to hang out with you all the time” meant that he liked her.

  Ryan’s text was longer.

  Hope you slept well. Thanks for letting us crash in the basement. We left everything clean and neat. I’m going to church with my sister and her kids and then we’re going to get brunch. I would love for you to join us when this is all over. Anyway, I’m going to be running down some leads today, but if it’s okay with you, I’d like to drive you to work and see how the security is set up. Let me know.

  Three little dots started scrolling on her screen. She waited to see what else he had to say.

  If you’re up for it, Adam Campbell is going to come over this afternoon to chat with you. I want to get a fresh set of eyes on things. Let me know.

  She texted back that all of that was fine and she wanted to leave her house around six.

  Three hours later, Adam Campbell knocked on her door. She’d known Adam forever. He’d been two years behind her in school, and back then he’d been a bit gangly and awkward. But the confident man standing outside her door—slim but athletic with light brown hair and green eyes—looked every bit like the middle son of the powerful Campbell family that he was. The Campbells owned half of Carrington. Adam could have done anything, but he studied criminal justice in college, went through the police academy, and then started in the Uniform Patrol Division like everybody else. White-collar crime made sense for him. That was a world he probably understood better than most.

  Still, what could he possibly add to the investigation? What leads was Ryan working on? Why was he texting her rather than calling?

  Her face grew warm as she thought about last night. The darkened office, the moonlight on the lake. She’d been so forward with him, she’d surprised herself. Pretty sure she’d surprised him too.

  She was going to strangle Kirk. When he called later, he was going to get a piece of her mind. A large one. How dare he? Had Adam been part of the prohibition? How wide a net had Kirk cast in his efforts to protect his baby sister?

  When he showed up, Adam looked like a man out for a Sunday afternoon cruise on the lake. Shorts. Boat shoes. Polo shirt. Sunglasses on his head. The bad
ge and the gun kind of ruined his casual look, but maybe this was as casual as he got.

  “Adam.” She stuck out her hand. “Come on in. How can I help you?”

  They took a seat in the living room. “I won’t take much of your time. I’m helping Ryan with a few aspects of a couple of the investigations he’s working on. I was wondering if you’d be willing to give me access to your security system?”

  “Sure, but why?”

  “I want to go through it more closely than we’ve looked before. I want to look at every camera angle and see if anything unusual pops up. It’s a long shot, but you’d be surprised how many investigations hinge on things like this.”

  “What do you need?”

  “Honestly, I’d just like your permission. We’ll get a warrant and be able to work directly with the security company, but your permission will help speed things along.”

  “You’ve got it. What else?”

  Adam shifted in his seat. “I’m sorry to do this, but I need to ask you about your boyfriends. Past, present, good, bad, that kind of thing.”

  So many pieces fell into place. Ryan staying away. Sending in Adam. Of course he could have asked her himself, but that would have been awkward.

  Not like this wasn’t.

  “There’s not much to tell.”

  Adam raised one eyebrow at her.

  “There isn’t. I dated a couple of guys in college—”

  “Names?”

  “They aren’t responsible for this.”

  “How do you know?”

  “One of them is married and lives in Virginia. I was in his wedding. His wife is now a very good friend. The other is on the mission field in Brazil.”

  “I still need their names.”

  She spent the next thirty minutes giving him the names of every guy she’d ever gone out with, even once. Then he wanted the names of every guy who’d ever asked her out. That list was a bit longer.

  Then he wanted to know why she had turned them down.

  “I’m picky,” she said.

  “Anyone ever make you uncomfortable?”

  “No more than it ever makes me to have to tell them no when they’ve put themselves out there and risked rejection by asking. It’s flattering to be asked, but I don’t date doctors, I don’t date coworkers, and I don’t date guys who haven’t grown up yet.”

  Adam tapped his pen on the notebook he’d been writing in. “Given that many people find their spouse in their workplace, I would imagine that would narrow the field considerably.”

  “You could say that.”

  “So what is it about Ryan—”

  “Okay, we’re done here.” She couldn’t believe he’d done that. Adam Campbell had a teasing side. Interesting.

  Adam laughed. “Yes, we’re done. Thank you for your time, Leigh. I’ll be back tomorrow with that warrant and we’ll look through your files. How late do you sleep?”

  Wow. That was quite considerate. “Normally I sleep until three or four. I doubt that will happen tomorrow.”

  “Why don’t you call me when you wake up.”

  “Sounds great.”

  When Adam left, Leigh packed her lunch, changed into her scrubs, and thought back over the list of names she’d given Adam.

  None of them could have done this.

  Could they?

  The ride to the hospital with Ryan was . . . weird.

  She probably should have expected it to be, after everything that had happened between them last night. Unresolved feelings did not make for easy conversations.

  He seemed determined to avoid talking about anything related to her case, or to the John Doe case. He asked her how she had slept. Mentioned the weather—the forecast called for severe thunderstorms tonight. Asked her how she was feeling and what time she got off work in the morning.

  She answered all his questions and bit her tongue to keep from asking him everything she wanted to know.

  What was with the relationship quiz from Adam?

  What was the status of the body they found at Mr. Cook’s place?

  What was happening with the John Doe from the lake?

  What had he been doing all day?

  Did he want to hang out with her because he wanted to be with her? Or did he think hanging out with her was the best way to protect her?

  When he pulled into the emergency department parking lot, Leigh reached for her bag. The thing weighed a ton tonight. But since she’d promised not to eat or drink anything she hadn’t personally prepared, she’d had to pack coffee and snacks. And chocolate.

  “Leigh, wait.” Ryan grabbed her arm. Had he seen something suspicious? Should she duck?

  “What is it?” She could hear the alarm in her voice.

  Confusion clouded his features for a moment, then awareness. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I . . .”

  He stared at the steering wheel for a moment. “Just be careful tonight, okay?”

  “Of course,” she said with forced cheerfulness. “Nothing to worry about.”

  She wished she believed her own bravado.

  Ryan didn’t answer her as they got out of the car, but she didn’t think he believed her either.

  He walked close by her side as they approached the hospital entrance. She scanned them in and paused. “I need to put my stuff away and report,” she said.

  “I’m going to snoop around,” he said.

  “You’d better check in with Miss Edna before you do any snooping.”

  “Good point.”

  “See ya.”

  She could feel Ryan’s eyes on her as she walked away.

  As soon as she set her bag down behind the nurses station, she was enveloped in a hug. “Leigh!” Keri’s joy was infectious. And loud. Over the next few minutes she was hugged and squeezed and waved at. There’s no way any of these people had been trying to kill her.

  For tonight, here, she’d be safe.

  The news of a five-car wreck rippled through the department ten minutes after she took report. For the next four hours, she moved from one crisis to the next. One patient to the next. Two patients were children who needed to be checked out, but thanks to their car seats were physically fine. Two patients came in with lacerations and possible concussions. Painful and traumatic in their own way, but nothing that would take their lives.

  One patient died before they got him out of the ambulance. The combination of head trauma and blood loss had been too severe for him to survive.

  His wife was in hysterics. Leigh had heard her crying down the hall as she and Dr. Sloan worked on a twenty-five-year-old woman who’d been in the passenger seat of a compact car. The first responders had needed the Jaws of Life to get her out. She was in shock. It had taken a while to clean her wounds and stitch her up.

  “I’m still not sure what happened,” she said under her breath.

  “I know.” Leigh tried to comfort her. “I was in an accident a week ago. It’s so disorienting.”

  The young woman nodded but didn’t say anything else.

  Her boyfriend arrived in a panic. He burst into tears when he saw her. “I thought I’d lost you,” he said over and over again.

  Dr. Sloan banished him from the room after a few minutes. Thank goodness. She didn’t know how much more of that gushiness she could handle.

  When they left the patient’s room, she paused to regroup.

  Dr. Price strode down the hall toward her. “You okay, Leigh?”

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Taking a second to catch my breath. What are you doing here?”

  “Checking on my favorite patient,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “She was amazing,” Dr. Sloan said with a smile. “Glad to have you back, Leigh.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Oh, Leigh, there you are.” Barb waved at her from down the hall. Barb was one of the nursing assistants who worked nights. “I have a note for you. From that cop you came in with tonight.”

  Ryan. When had he left?
She’d been so busy, she hadn’t even noticed.

  “You came in with a cop?” Dr. Price eyed her with speculation. “I don’t suppose that would be Ryan Parker, now would it?”

  “Yes,” Barb said with a giggle. “How did you meet him?”

  This could not be happening.

  “Ryan Parker?” Dr. Sloan said. “I know him. Homicide investigator, right?”

  “Yes, that’s right.” Leigh was trying to be polite, but what she wanted was for everyone to leave so she could read the note.

  “He’s the one who gave me the third degree yesterday about the security setup in here. Now I know why.”

  “Sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t apologize. He asked some good questions. The ED should be the safest place in the hospital. And everyone working here should be able to come to work without worrying about anyone being around who shouldn’t be here. I rather enjoyed the conversation,” he said. Then he winked at her. “I’ll enjoy hassling him about it even more now that I understand the motivation behind it.”

  Awesome.

  Dr. Price took pity on her. “Come now,” he said to the others. “Let’s leave Ms. Weston alone so she can read her love note, shall we?”

  So much for the pity. She clenched her jaw to keep herself from sticking her tongue out at him.

  Then she opened the note.

  I’ll see you at seven. Stay in the department. Trust your instincts. If anything seems off, grab the officers at the desk or call me. R.

  Hardly a love note. Although she could almost see his intensity, even feel his worry, bleeding through the words.

  She put the note in her pocket. Now that she’d had time to catch her breath, she was paying more attention to the hunger pains. She went to the break room and pulled out her supper from the locked cooler Ryan had insisted she use. How goofy was that?

  Regardless, she nibbled on chicken salad and sipped her canned sparkling water. No one would succeed in poisoning her. At least not tonight.

  Dr. Fowler came into the break room and fixed himself a cup of coffee. She didn’t make eye contact. She had no use for the man. He was a great radiologist. Didn’t make him a great person.

  “Glad you’re doing okay, Leigh,” he said.

  “Thank you.” She took another bite. Maybe he would get the point that she didn’t want to talk.