Vetted Again

by K'Anne Meinel

  It was obvious to them both that he tried to nod, winced, and then slurred, “Whaaat?”

  “You’ve been in an accident,” she told him, assuming he was asking what had happened to him.

  “Sean and Traci are okay,” Fiona quickly reassured him. She was certain he would want to know what had happened to them immediately. A noise at the door made her look up and she saw two police officers standing there. They were not coming in, just listening avidly.

  “You are going to have to remain quiet,” Dr. Braun told him. “You have a lot of healing to do.”

  “Allyssa is here with me. Do you want the kids to go home with us, or do you want them to stay with Trever and Peter?” Fiona quickly slipped in. She could see her father was exhausted by this little effort and she wanted to get it settled. She saw both officers lean forward slightly to ensure they heard his answer. She didn’t know if a drugged-up, pain-filled, nearly unconscious man could legally make a statement, but she was willing to hear it if he could.

  Keith was obviously confused. He frowned, winced at the pain, and then tried to focus. “Kids?” he got out beyond his lacerated lips. The breathing tube had been removed early that morning and his mouth was dry.

  “Mr. Herriot, would you like a drink of water?” Dr. Braun offered helpfully. She’d felt it was a good sign that he was breathing on his own and had been happy to remove the tube. She picked up the cup containing water and a straw.

  Keith took a sip, but his lips hurt, and when he tried to raise his hand to help himself, he found he couldn’t. He just didn’t have any strength. Still, he managed to get a little water in his mouth and got the saliva going. He swallowed painfully. His throat felt stretched, sore, and raw, but then, he seemed to hurt everywhere.

  “Dad?” Fiona tried again, not wishing to waste the opportunity. She knew the cops would do what he wanted, even in this state. His word was the only one they could take until their investigation yielded either a living will or Rosemary. She secretly hoped they wouldn’t find Rosemary, at least, not alive. She knew that was an awful thing to wish, but the woman had made all their lives so difficult for so long. Her dad looked up at her with one eye a little brighter and the other taped shut with bandages, and she waited until the one eye looked better focused. This was much different than dealing with her own patients. “Allyssa and I would like to take the kids back with us to the ranch until you heal. Or would you prefer they went home with Peter and Trever?”

  He suddenly looked fierce. “You!” he rasped out and started coughing. It took a while for him to get his breath back after that fit of coughing. It took a lot out of him. When it subsided, he obviously had concentrated, “No Trever,” he rasped. He tried to shake his head and then started coughing again.

  The doctor offered him more water to help ease the apparent dryness in his throat.

  Fiona looked up at the two officers, who made eye contact with her and nodded discreetly. They had the permission they so desired. She was ready to leave. She disliked seeing her father in such obvious pain, but he turned his hand and held hers. It was astonishingly cold and weak, but she held still, waiting for him to gain his breath back.

  “No,” he rasped again. “Trust,” he got out before another coughing spasm took him. The doctor saw it wasn’t going to subside this time and she pushed a button that had nurses rushing in. They shoved aside the two officers who had heard Keith Herriot speak. Fiona stepped back, her father’s weak grasp on her hand enabling her to get away easily. She saw his frantic look with the one good eye and nodded as she got out of the way of the medical personnel. She slipped from the ICU as they went to work on him. His coughing and gagging could be heard down the hall.

  “Did you get what you needed?” she asked the officer, curiously glancing at the older, obviously senior officer.

  “Yes, Doctor Herriot. You can take your brother and sister and leave whenever you want. I understand they were going to release them this morning,” the younger officer said officiously.

  “Have you heard anything more on the investigation? What caused the explosion? Whose body was in the house?”

  “We believe it was a gas explosion and North West Natural Gas is aiding us with the investigation.”

  Fiona nodded. “Was it an accident?”

  “Do you have reason to believe it wasn’t?” she asked in return.

  “I have no idea.”

  “Could you explain to me what happened yesterday?”

  “Didn’t we already go over this?” she asked, exasperated.

  “We are just trying to do a thorough job, Doctor Herriot. I’m sure you understand.”

  “Yes, I do, and I’d like to help, but I don’t know anything. I was returning my sister and brother to my dad. They’d just spent a couple weeks out on the ranch my wife and I own. I inherited it from my father’s parents. I think it’s important they get a sense of our family history, and we like having them out there. There’s plenty for them to do,” she added as she remembered how much fun they had on the horses and the ATVs. Sean had a hard time deciding which was more fun. He was reaching an age where being on the ATVs and being supervised didn’t appeal.

  “I brought them halfway back, and we met my father and went out to dinner. He usually doesn’t take the time to visit when we meet, but we hadn’t seen each other in a while, and the four of us spent maybe an hour at a diner.”

  “Do you have the name of that diner?”

  Fiona gave it to her and saw her note it down in a well-worn notebook. The leather looked like it had seen better days. “I know my father usually just turns around and heads back to Portland with them.”

  “So, this is a regular thing for your brother and sister to visit your ranch?”

  She nodded. “They came out earlier this year, at Easter. That visit was up in the air for a while, but my father called us this time and offered to bring them. They come at least twice a year but would love to come more. We have horses and other animals they enjoy.”

  The officer nodded, knowing children that age probably had a ball at a ranch with horses.

  “It was not the norm for him to stay and eat dinner with you?”

  “Normally, my wife just drops the kids off or picks them up. They meet halfway since it’s such a long drive.”

  “Does your wife get along with your father?”

  “Oh, yes. My dad adores Allyssa and she adores him too. She stayed with him and the kids last January when she took exams here in Portland.”

  “They have a cordial relationship?” At Fiona’s nod, she added, “And how is the relationship with his wife, Rosemary?”

  “Well, I don’t think anyone has a cordial relationship with Rosemary. She doesn’t like many people.”

  “You didn’t get along with her?”

  “Let’s just say we live across the state and I’m good with that,” she said flippantly and then regretted it. She tried to explain. “Rosemary married my dad when I was fairly young and wanted nothing to do with me. I was raised by my grandparents and that worked out better for all.”

  “Was there a specific reason she didn’t like you?” The other officer shifted slightly, showing he didn’t like the way the question had been worded.

  “Rosemary is a selfish creature. Her sons were her world, and my father was helping her raise them. You can see they are bullies. They have always been bullies for as long as I have known them. Fortunately, I don’t have much to do with them. I haven’t seen them in years, and no great loss there. She seemed to resent any attention my father gave me. It was confusing when I was growing up, but my grandparents loved me enough for everyone.”

  “How about her own children. How was she with them?”

  “As far as I could tell, she was protective of them. I don’t know about their day to day life as I wasn’t around. I have my own life. I know Rosemary doesn’t like the fact that I’m a lesbian and married to a woman. She makes it hard on my brother and sister to visit, but somehow my father manages,
so we have a relationship.”

  The officer nodded as she made notes on the paper.

  “Well, I think that’s enough for now. You can go to your brother and sister now,” she said, dismissing her. She glanced at the other officer, who made a slightly nodding gesture.

  “Thank you. Will you know more about the investigation soon?”

  “It takes time,” she answered cautiously, not willing to share what they had as the teams went over the evidence.

  “Is there any clothing or anything for my brother and sister?”

  “Just what they had taken from the car. I can have that brought to your hotel?”

  Fiona had expected that, and she nodded, heading for the room where her brother and sister had been staying. She saw Trever and Peter down the hall talking animatedly to one of the officers. She ignored them and went into the closed room.

  “Hey, there. Dad woke up for a moment and said you could go with us,” she told them to relieve their minds.

  “Did he say anything else?” Sean asked eagerly.

  “No, he’s still really out of it, and I didn’t want to get into it with him. I think he’s in a lot of pain, so it’s best that he sleeps and gets better.” She didn’t want to give him details or false hope. It didn’t look good to her and she, more so than anyone else in the room, knew that medically, it wasn’t a good situation. She glanced at Allyssa, who also looked concerned.

  “Hey, why don’t we get out of here and get something decent to eat?” she asked with a false heartiness. She was ready to leave the hospital and get away. The hospital and police would call if they needed anything.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The children’s bags were delivered by a squad car. The officer explained to Fiona that her father’s car had been taken to the police impound lot as it was part of the investigation. Debris from the house had landed all over the car. The blast site was enormous, but that was to be expected with a gas explosion of that size. Morbidly, she wanted to go view the scene but knew they shouldn’t while they had the children with them; she didn’t want to traumatize them further. Instead, she had them change their clothes and go to the pool.

  When the children told them the pool water had washed away some of their bandages, Fiona advised, “Gather those up and throw them in the garbage. I don’t think you’ll miss them,” she added, grateful there were no stitches to watch out for. Both children were covered in bruises from what she could see.

  “You aren’t coming in?” Traci asked.

  “I don’t want anyone calling me a beached whale,” she teased. “Besides, we didn’t bring our suits.”

  Allyssa chuckled as her wife had intended and the young girl joined in. Sean snorted disdainfully but at least he was grinning as they played in the hotel pool. It was a novelty for the youngsters.

  They stayed on at the hotel. They had wanted desperately to head back to the ranch, but it was now confirmed that the body in the debris was indeed Rosemary Herriot, so they had to stay while Trever and Peter arranged their mother’s funeral. Both Sean and Traci were bereft, and the two women consoled them as best they could. It was tough because they really didn’t have anything good to say about her.

  “You keep your brother and sister with you. I’ve found the trust your father set up for them, and it’s a modest chunk of change,” Henry told Fiona in a phone call.

  “I bet that’s what they’re after...the trust,” she said, referencing Trever and Peter and their desperate need to take custody of the children at the hospital.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised,” he admitted. “I’m filing temporary custody papers on your behalf in the courts. Don’t say anything the kids can overhear. Even one word in the wrong place and your stepbrothers might be able to make a legal move to counter this.”

  “But we are in a different county. Will that matter?”

  “I’m on it,” he promised her and told her a few other things she later shared in a whisper with Allyssa. They had two hotel rooms, but Traci wanted the comfort of being close to an adult, so she slept in the room with Allyssa. Sean and Fey each had a double bed in the other room.

  The funeral was not well attended. Trever and Peter were there with their girlfriends. Both young men wore respectable suits, but their girlfriends were rather shabbily attired and behaving inappropriately. Fiona almost expected them to start doing a strip tease. Allyssa had taken both children shopping for outfits. She found someone in the local department store to fit Sean with his first suit. It was a somber dark blue instead of black, and both Peter and Trever made a point of commenting on it to their brother.

  “You’re fine. Remember what the salesman told you—this suit will do you for more than funeral occasions,” she consoled him when he told her his brothers felt it was inappropriate.

  “You look nice,” Allyssa told Traci, who looked good in a dress and had been decidedly ignored by her older brothers.

  Thankfully, the service was short. The minister they drummed up had no knowledge of the deceased and hadn’t cared to take the time to inform himself. And the only thing cheaper than the coffin they chose for Rosemary would have been a cardboard box. Still, they had complained loudly about the expense of the funeral, and Fiona overheard them saying they’d get it out of Keith when he was better. Fiona and Allyssa also noticed the funeral was poorly attended and commented to each other that they were not the only ones who found Rosemary unpleasant.

  Keith had cried when he heard about his wife’s death. She may have been a terrible wife and a nasty woman, but he had loved her once, long ago, and she was the mother of two of his children. Fiona and Allyssa brought Sean and Traci by to visit their father after the funeral. He had been moved out of the ICU but still looked pasty. He woke long enough to admire their finery. Fiona and Allyssa had also bought new outfits. Fey wore a nice pin-stripe suit with matching open vest over her rounded frame that made her look butch but dapper, and Allyssa was in her first new dress in years. The maternity smock looked nice on her frame. Fiona had commented that her legs looked hot and she’d blushed at the compliment. She was pleased that her wife still wanted her even though she was looking so very pregnant. She found Fiona just as hot in her suit despite the open vest and the stretch pants they had managed to find to match the outfit. They would keep the suit pants that came with the outfit for when Fey slimmed down again.

  “We’re going back to the ranch. I have to get back to work, but the kids are with us and they will be okay,” Fiona reassured her father who nodded, winced, and looked very tired.

  “Dad, you going to be okay?” Sean worried. His father opened his one good eye to look at his son, tried to smile, and then simply nodded.

  “We’ll call you,” Traci promised.

  “Looking good,” he slurred around his cut lips. His eye took in the vision of his son, looking young and tall in the dark blue suit, and his daughter, wearing the first dress he’d seen on the young filly in years, and he wished he could say more.

  Both children smiled in return, then carefully leaned over and kissed him on the cheek one at a time.

  “Dad, we’re just a phone call away,” Fey assured him, squeezing his hand and leaning over to kiss him too.

  “Take care,” he whispered, barely moving his lips.

  Lastly, it was Allyssa’s turn and she too squeezed his hand. She was surprised how pathetically weak his grip was when he squeezed back. “Take care of them for me and take care of my grandchildren,” he whispered. He was too tired to go on and his eye looked suspiciously wet.

  “I will,” she whispered back and then kissed him on the cheek and stood up, looking tall and strong and very, very pregnant.

  Keith took in the four of them, his younger children and the two pregnant women, and he smiled as he pressed the button to self-medicate with pain medication and drifted off before it could fully take effect.

  The police, a different officer this time, confided to Fiona and Allyssa that the investigation was coming along slowly,
but it looked like someone had loosened the gas line behind the stove and switched off the flame of the pilot light. The house would have filled with gas, and it appeared that Rosemary was unconscious when it had blown. They thought the friction of the front door opening on Keith’s entry into the house had triggered the explosion but that was still speculation and preliminary. Since Keith could only talk in brief moments and became exhausted easily, there wasn’t much time for them to ask him questions. This new information had Fey and Allyssa speculating when the children weren’t present. They realized that extra hour spent having dinner with Keith may have saved his and the children’s lives. That time was now precious to Fey. Had he and the children gone home sooner, they too might have been overcome by the gas and been in the house when it exploded. Now, the investigation still had to determine if it was an accident or a homicide.

  The drive home from the funeral was a little uncomfortable. They stopped at the same diner that Fey had eaten at with her father, so they could change into jeans. All of them felt better after eating a hot meal and changing into more comfortable clothes.

  “This was the last place we were with Dad,” Traci said sadly.

  “That is such a good memory. Cherish it,” Fey advised her sister.

  “What if Dad dies?” Sean asked.

  “Sean!” Fey hissed, glancing at Traci in warning.

  “No, that’s a valid question,” Allyssa put in, trying to keep Fey from getting too upset. The last few days had been stressful, and she knew she was worrying about her father, the investigation, and her practice. She was anxious to get back to work. Fey needed to work. Allyssa addressed Sean and ignored her wife’s outraged look. “Sean, it is possible Keith could die, but we have to hope for the best. Keep your spirits up. Nothing will come of thinking the worst except depression, and your dad wouldn’t want you to be sad. I’m sure he’s sad about your mom too,” she added. Personally, she thought they were all better off without the nasty woman, but she would never say that aloud. “We have to hope and pray that your dad recovers.”