Scene of the Crime: Return to Bachelor Moon

by Carla Cassidy

  Gabriel didn’t know if it was emotional wounds or physical ones that kept her crying. All he knew was that he needed to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible.

  They didn’t speak again, and when he pulled in front of the emergency room door, he got out of the car and yelled for assistance. Shock might have allowed her to move, allowed him to pick her up in his arms without her even knowing that she had broken bones or internal injuries. He wasn’t about to let her walk in on her own without knowing more about her current condition.

  It took only minutes for her to be loaded onto a gurney and whisked away. Gabriel was led to a waiting room where he sank down and worried a shaky hand through his hair.

  For just an instant when he’d seen her on the floor, he’d thought she was dead, and his heart had plummeted with a sharp grief he’d never known before in his life.

  And in that instant, he’d recognized that he did care about her. He didn’t want to—he had no intention of allowing her any deeper into his heart—but he had to acknowledge that she’d made a little headway where nobody else ever had before.

  He jumped as his cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket to see Jackson’s number. “Hey,” he answered.

  “We just wanted to let you know that she appeared to be alone in the house when she fell, and we didn’t find anything on the stairs that might have made her fall.”

  “Thanks. I didn’t notice what kind of shoes she was wearing. Maybe she just got tripped up in her own feet,” Gabriel replied. “We’ll know within a couple of hours. She’s in with the doctor now, and I imagine they’ll want to x-ray every part of her body.”

  “I hope she’s okay. We’ll just see you when we see you,” Jackson replied.

  “One more thing,” Gabriel said. “If you see Cory around, you might want to tell him what happened.”

  “Will do.”

  Gabriel disconnected and placed his phone in his pocket, then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. She could have died. The mere thought increased the beat of his heart.

  Thank God she’d been smart. She’d tucked and rolled when most people made the mistake of trying to break their fall and in the process broke bones in their arms or legs, or their necks.

  She’d been smart, and she’d been lucky. He just hoped the doctor didn’t find something that contradicted that belief. He didn’t want her hurt. He didn’t want her in pain.

  He remembered how she’d massaged his head when he’d had a simple headache, her fingers firm and yet so caring as she’d attempted to work his misery away.

  He hadn’t been sitting in the waiting room long when Cory came flying in the door, his eyes wild with fear.

  “Is she okay?” He started for the door to the examining rooms, but Gabriel stopped him.

  “Cory, sit here.” He patted the place next to him. “She should be fine. We just need to wait for the doctor to let us know for sure.”

  Cory sank down, bringing with him the scent of the outdoors, a faint hint of sweat and the unmistakable odor of marijuana.

  “Jackson said she fell down the stairs. She could have died.” His blue-green eyes looked at Gabriel and filled with a mist of tears. “She’s all I’ve got. If anything happened to her, I don’t know what I’d do.”

  Gabriel clapped the young man on the shoulder. “She’s going to be just fine, Cory. She managed to get up, and nothing appeared to be broken.”

  “But if she hit her head, she could have brain bleeding or something. John told me that’s what happened to his mother. She fell down some stairs, and everyone thought she was fine until they found out her brain was bleeding.”

  “I’m sure the doctor will check Marlena all over,” Gabriel assured the young man.

  Cory released a deep sigh and dropped his head to his hands, as if silently praying. Gabriel gave him a few minutes of silence.

  “Does your sister know you’re smoking pot?” Gabriel finally asked softly.

  Cory’s head shot up and his eyes widened. “What are you talking about?” he replied.

  “Come on, Cory. I’ve been around a long time, and I can smell it on you. Don’t try to fool me.”

  “I just smoke it sometimes,” Cory replied defensively. “I got freaked out when I heard about my sister, so I took a few puffs on the way here. Are you going to turn me in to the sheriff?” he asked fearfully.

  “No.”

  “Are you going to narc me out to my sister?”

  “I think she has enough on her mind right now, but I’m sure Marlena isn’t stupid, either. Smoking dope isn’t going to get you anywhere, Cory.”

  “I know. John has told me the same thing.”

  “Then you should listen.” Gabriel sat back in his seat, deciding enough had been said on the topic. As far as he could tell, Cory was a good kid and hopefully he’d make good choices in his life, but he wasn’t Gabriel’s problem.

  It felt as if they had waited for hours. The two men took turns pacing up and down the length of the waiting room. The longer it took, the more worried Gabriel became. Should he have called for an ambulance? Had he hurt her by moving her? By lifting her up and carrying her?

  The memory of the sound of her weeping resonated through him, bringing with it an ache that refused to vanish. He couldn’t remember the last time any woman’s tears had moved him. Yet hers had.

  He didn’t want to think about the reason for this anomaly. He didn’t want to pull out whatever emotions he felt for Marlena and examine them. He told himself he’d be as worried, as frightened for any person who’d been a caretaker for him and his team for almost two weeks.

  Both Cory and Gabriel jumped out of their chairs as a white-coated doctor approached them. “I’m Dr. Frank Sheldon, and Marlena is one lucky woman. I found no broken bones, no head injury and no reason to keep her here. She’s free to go as soon as she gets dressed.”

  Gabriel wasn’t sure who released the biggest sigh of relief, him or Marlena’s brother.

  “I need to warn you that she’s badly bruised, and I expect by tomorrow she’s going to feel pain in places she didn’t know she had body parts. What she needs most is bed rest for a couple of days. I’ve written her a prescription for pain medication, and it can be filled here at the hospital pharmacy. She should go home, take a couple of pills and go directly to bed,” Dr. Sheldon said.

  “We’ll take good care of her,” Gabriel replied.

  The object of their conversation came through the swinging doors that led to the emergency units, shuffling like an old woman even as a forced smile curved her lips.

  “Cory, why don’t you sit here with her while I get her prescription filled?” Gabriel suggested. There was no way he wanted her walking any farther than she needed to.

  “Works for me,” Marlena said as she eased down on the waiting room sofa with an agony-filled sigh. Cory immediately sat next to her, and as Gabriel took the prescription from her and left to hunt down the pharmacy, Marlena was assuring Cory that she’d be fine.

  Gabriel followed the signs that led him to the pharmacy, and within minutes he had the pill bottle in hand and was hurrying back to where he was surprised to find Marlena sitting alone.

  “What happened to Cory?”

  “I sent him home.” She stood, the simple action obviously painful as she winced. “There was no point in him hanging around here. There’s nothing he can do to help me.”

  “Should I get a wheelchair to take you out?” he asked with concern.

  “No, I’ll be fine. Let’s just get out of here.” She took baby steps toward the exit, and Gabriel walked at her side, a hand under her elbow, afraid that she might fall at any moment.

  He didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until she was back in the passenger seat, her seat belt around her waist. “You’re going straight to bed,” he sa
id once he was behind the wheel.

  “But I had steaks laid out to cook for dinner,” she protested weakly.

  “Andrew will know what to do with the steaks. You are to go home, take a couple of these pills and not worry about anything else. The doctor said you need a couple of days of bed rest, and that’s what’s going to happen.”

  She nodded as if too sore, too weak to argue. “I sent Cory on home so that I could talk to you in private before we get back to the bed-and-breakfast.”

  He tensed, wondering if she was going to bring up the night they’d shared, a night that had haunted him ever since—but a night he refused to dwell on.

  “Talk in private about what?” he asked. He glanced over and met her gaze. In the depths of her wide green eyes, he saw something more than pain.

  He saw fear.

  “I didn’t accidentally fall down those stairs. I was on the top step when I thought I heard something behind me, and that’s when I was pushed.”

  Chapter Nine

  Marlena awakened to pain. Her shoulders hurt, her hips ached and her ribs screamed in harmony. Even her eyelids protested, and for several long minutes she remained unmoving in her bed, trying to decide if she wanted to open her eyes and face a new day or not.

  She’d been awake late despite taking two of the pain pills. After telling Gabriel she’d been pushed down the stairs, he’d given her the pills, waited for her to change into her nightgown then tucked her into bed and left her quarters.

  Although she’d been groggy and half out of it, he’d checked back in with her a bit later to let her know that the door that led to the old servant stairs had been unlocked and the door that led out of the basement had been open, as if somebody had exited in a hurry.

  It was an easy guess that whoever had pushed her had crept through the basement door, up the stairs and then waited for the opportunity to shove her.

  It had been attempted murder, and now there was no doubt in her mind that the night by the pond she had been shoved into the water, as well. Two attempts on her life.

  This thought was enough for her to finally open her eyes and ease up to a half-prone position against her pillows. Her heart beat an uneven rhythm. Who would want her dead? Why would somebody be after her? She had nothing. She hadn’t had any problems with anyone. Was this somehow tied to the disappearance of Sam, Daniella and Macy? But how? And why?

  Just thinking about all of it made her head ache. She smelled coffee and the lingering scent of bacon and glanced at her bedside clock, shocked to see that it was after eight. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so late.

  She sat up straighter as Gabriel appeared in her doorway carrying one of the TV trays that were kept for guest use in the great room.

  “Good morning,” he said.

  “Right now it’s not feeling so good,” she replied.

  He flashed her a grin, and the warmth of that quick gesture seemed to magically ease some of the aches and pains inside her. “I thought you might like some coffee and a little breakfast. You’re supposed to take your pain pills on a full stomach.”

  He placed the tray next to her bed and then sat in the chair nearby. “Eat,” he commanded.

  With effort, she moved to a full sitting position, and the first thing she reached for was the cup of coffee. She took a sip and eyed him over the rim. “You didn’t have to do this for me.”

  “I can’t take credit for the bacon and eggs. That was Andrew’s talent. But I did make the toast and fix your coffee on the tray to present to you.”

  “And a fine presentation it is,” she replied. She picked up a piece of the toast and took a bite, then chased it with another swallow of coffee while he continued to gaze at her. “I don’t suppose you found footsteps or fingerprints in the basement or on the door upstairs that would help you catch a bad guy.”

  He frowned. “Of course not. That would make it all too easy.”

  She frowned and realized that even her forehead hurt. “Do you think this is all somehow tied to whatever happened to Sam and Daniella?”

  He hesitated a moment and then sighed. “I don’t know, Marlena. Eat first, and then I’ve got some questions to ask you. But eat now—there’s nothing worse than cold eggs.”

  Dutifully, she picked up her fork but only ate about half of the food on her plate and then proclaimed herself finished.

  “Now take your pills.”

  “Not yet,” she replied. “They make me really groggy, and you said you had some questions for me.”

  “Let me take the tray out of here first.” He placed her coffee cup on the end table next to the bed and then carried the tray away. When he returned, he sat on the edge of her bed.

  She was unaware that her nightgown had slipped from her shoulder until she saw him gaze there and curse beneath his breath. Her shoulder was badly bruised and in a variety of shades of deep purple.

  “I’m sorry, Marlena.”

  She was surprised by the wealth of emotion in his voice, emotion she hadn’t believed him capable of feeling.

  “I’m so damned sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault,” she protested and reached out to cover one of his hands with hers.

  He turned his hand over and grabbed hers. “I just feel so damned helpless. We have a missing family, and now somebody has tried to hurt you not once but twice, and I can’t get a handle on any of it.”

  “The good thing is that both attempts on my life have been unsuccessful,” she said.

  He squeezed her hand. “And I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure there isn’t a third. Last night the three of us decided the best way to approach everything that’s happened is that Andrew and Jackson are going to continue to look for leads concerning the disappearance of the Connellys, and I’m going to focus on the threats against you.” He released her hand and sat back.

  She immediately missed the warmth, the security of his hand around hers. “So how do you do that?”

  “I need to learn more about you, about where you came from. If you can’t think of anyone from Bachelor Moon who might want to hurt you, then maybe somebody followed you from your past. Tell me about your recent life before returning here.”

  She hated to tell him. She hated to admit how stupid she’d been during the time she’d been in Chicago, especially the past two years there. But she knew she had to be truthful with him, even though she didn’t believe she’d brought any danger with her by moving here.

  “The first few years we were there, it was all about survival. I was a twenty-one-year-old with a fourteen-year-old in tow. We rented a small apartment, I got a job as a waitress at a fairly nice restaurant and Cory went to school. When I was working, I had a neighbor lady who watched Cory for me, even though he insisted he was old enough to watch himself. I knew he was an at-risk kid, with no father figure and just me to depend on.”

  “Must have been tough.”

  She winced as she shifted positions. “At times it was. And then I met Gary Holzman. He was an insurance salesman who came into the restaurant frequently, and we struck up a friendship. He was a nice man, a widower with two little daughters, and it wasn’t long before we were dating.”

  “Were you in love with him?”

  Marlena wondered why it mattered to him. “I was lonely, and unlike you, I was looking for love and family and a sense of security. When he asked me and Cory to move in with him, and I knew I could stay home and take care of his little girls, be there for Cory plus be a homemaker, I jumped at the chance. I cared about Gary and I enjoyed his company, but looking back on it now, no, I wasn’t in love with him. I was in love with the idea of being part of a family.”

  She reached for her coffee cup, took another drink then continued. “I was definitely in love with the notion of being in love. I loved Gary’s li
ttle girls and thought Gary would be a good role model for Cory. So for the next two years we lived together as a couple. I cooked and cleaned and cared for his children. I just assumed that eventually he’d propose to me, and we’d get married and live satisfactorily ever after.”

  “But he didn’t.”

  A small, bitter laugh escaped her. “No, he didn’t. Instead he came home from work one night and out of the blue told me he thought the relationship aspect of his life was too complicated, that it was easier for him to just hire a housekeeper to keep the house and watch the girls, and he’d appreciate it if Cory and I would be gone by morning.”

  Marlena leaned her head back against the pillow, overwhelmed with emotion as she thought of that moment in time. She’d expected a ring, and instead she had gotten the boot. She wasn’t sorry that she had never been married to Gary, but she’d been sorry that he’d wakened her to the fact that she’d just been settling with him, and in any case he certainly wasn’t in love with her.

  “That’s when Cory and I wound up here. I was broke, numbed by the sudden change of our circumstances and unsure where else to turn.”

  “Is it possible that this Gary person may want to harm you?” Gabriel asked, his eyes dark and unreadable.

  Marlena laughed again, and then winced and grabbed her ribs. Gabriel leaned forward and reached for her pill bottle. He shook out two and held them toward her. “Go on, you need them.”

  She took them with the last sip of her coffee and then continued talking. “I haven’t heard a word from Gary since we left Chicago. He didn’t want me with him when I left. I can’t imagine why he’d want to hurt me after all this time. Or anyone from my life in Chicago following me here and wanting to hurt me after two years.”

  “Tell me about your day yesterday, from start to finish.”

  “After you all left, I cleaned up the kitchen, did my usual chores and took the steaks out of the freezer for dinner.” She frowned, trying to remember even as a headache began to bang across her temples. “I made breakfast for Cory and John, and then they went back outside to work. Pamela came and cleaned for a couple of hours and then left.”