Suspicious Circumstances

by Rita Herron

  “I heard them talking about it,” Val said. “That’s why I came to see Mama and you. I wanted to warn you. Make sure they didn’t do that to Mama.”

  Peyton’s head spun with the implications.

  Val pulled at her arm. “I’m clean now, Peyton. It’s only been nine months, but I’m working at it this time. When I saw what they were doing, I knew I had to tell you. But I knew you wouldn’t talk to me if I was high.”

  The night Val had come to her—she hadn’t attacked her. Hadn’t been high.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you that night,” Val said. “I was just trying to stop you from running away from me so you’d listen.”

  Peyton’s chest squeezed with emotions. Her sister had gotten clean. She sounded more like her old self. Had she found her again only to lose her?

  Peyton pulled Val close as she looked up at Joanna. “Why, Jo? I thought you cared about the patients. About me. How did you get involved in drugs and cheating people out of their money? And murder?”

  Anger darted through Joanna’s eyes. “Those people couldn’t afford the healthcare they needed. We helped them and gave them free care.”

  “Until you killed them,” Peyton cried.

  “They were old, in pain. I didn’t want to see them suffer.”

  “Gloria Inman wasn’t old or on her deathbed,” Peyton said.

  “She was a drug addict,” Joanna pointed out. “She lied to her family and stole to pay for drugs.”

  “Because you kept her addicted,” Peyton cried. “How could you, Jo?”

  “It just got out of hand,” Joanna said. “At first it was just the pills. I needed the money to take care of my son. He’s disabled, you know that. And his father ran off and left us.”

  “If you’d told me you needed money, I would have tried to help,” Peyton cried.

  “You couldn’t. Don’t you see? The care he needs is astronomical.” Joanna’s voice cracked. “And by then I was already in too deep.”

  Peyton had to stall, somehow reach Joanna. “Do you think your son would want you to kill innocent people?”

  “Leave him out of this,” Joanna growled. She aimed the gun at Peyton with a shaky hand. “I didn’t want to do it, but you made me. Now get in the closet.”

  Peyton was tempted to launch herself at Joanna, but if the gun went off, she might get Val killed.

  “Please don’t do this, Jo,” she pleaded. “We’ll figure something out. No one else has to get hurt.”

  “It’s too late. I have no choice.” Joanna’s voice warbled. With a jerky movement, she jabbed the barrel of the gun in Peyton’s chest. “Go. Now.”

  She and Val huddled together and inched into the small room. Before she closed the door, Joanna pulled a hypodermic from her pocket and jabbed Val with it. Val staggered back and slid to the floor in a puddle.

  Then she pulled another needle from her pocket to inject Peyton. If Peyton allowed her to drug her, she’d never be able to save her sister. Rage fueled her strength, and she threw her arm up to deflect the injection and sent the hypodermic flying across the room.

  Joanna raised the butt of the gun and slammed Peyton in the face so hard her head jerked back. She clawed at the door to remain on her feet so she could fight, but another blow sent her to the floor. Then Joanna slammed the door.

  Peyton fought to stay conscious as she heard the door lock into place. But her head swirled, and the darkness claimed her.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Tension knotted every cell in Liam’s body as he raced toward the address Bennett had sent. Rain slashed the car, making the ground slippery and the curvy roads even more dangerous.

  His phone buzzed, and he punched Connect.

  “It’s Bennett,” his partner said. “I analyzed those tapes from the Gardens again and ran it through a program to enhance the pixels. There was a woman outside Mrs. Weiss’s cottage in the early morning hours before the gas leak.”

  “Yeah, there was a woman.”

  “It was that nurse Joanna. She was skulking around, wore all dark clothing and she went in through a back window.”

  Liam hissed. “If she and Director Jameson are involved, they could be working together. And no one thought anything about Joanna administering drugs or watching over Mrs. Weiss.” He hesitated. “I’ll call Jacob and ask him to have her picked up.”

  He thanked his partner, hung up and called Jacob. “I’m just about to interrogate Jameson,” Jacob said.

  Liam relayed his suspicions about Joanna and asked him to send a deputy to bring her in for questioning.

  “Copy that. Be careful, Liam.”

  “Always.”

  He swung his car onto the side road leading into the hills. Finally, the rain dwindled, but fog remained. A half mile from the location, he noticed smoke in the air, and fear mounted inside him. The fire... Peyton?

  He pressed the accelerator and sped up, shooting over the graveled, rutted road and taking turns on two wheels. Smoke billowed ahead.

  He punched 9-1-1 and reported the fire, barreling closer and closer until he reached the top of the hill. Trees swayed in the wind and leaves fluttered down. Dark clouds shrouded the sky and added an eerie feel to the rotting shanty.

  A white sedan was parked to the side by a makeshift carport. Joanna’s? Or Peyton? Had she rented a car to get here?

  Pulse hammering, he slammed on the brakes and screeched to a stop. Just as he did, a dark green SUV barreled around the corner from the back of the house. The windows were tinted so he could barely make out who was inside.

  But as the SUV shot past, he saw it was Joanna.

  Was Peyton inside the house or the SUV?

  He couldn’t let her escape. He swung his vehicle sideways to block her path. Her brakes squealed, and she swerved to avoid hitting him, then tried to swing past him. But he backed up, spun around and slammed into the side of her vehicle. Metal crunched, the passenger window shattered and the SUV skidded toward a live oak. It slammed to a stop with a bang. He threw his car into Park, pulled his gun and climbed out.

  Holding his gun at the ready, he inched toward the SUV, his breath stalling in his chest. Was the driver armed?

  His boots skated over the gravel, and he kept his eyes trained on the vehicle but saw no movement. He aimed his gun inside the shattered window, then peered inside.

  Joanna was slumped against the airbag, unconscious. Or so it seemed.

  He couldn’t risk the chance that she had a weapon. Gripping his own gun, he inched around the back of the vehicle until he reached the driver’s side. Slowly he opened the door, then aimed his weapon at the woman. But she wasn’t moving.

  He glanced in the backseat. No Peyton.

  Using two fingers, he checked for a pulse. Joanna was alive, but blood dotted the side of her face. He yanked handcuffs from his coat pocket, then quickly handcuffed her to the steering wheel. Then he cut away the airbag and raked his hand over her and the seat.

  A .38 Special lay to her right. He snagged it and jammed it in his pocket. Frantic, he glanced back at the shanty. Flames were starting to shoot through the front window. A siren wailed in the distance.

  But he couldn’t wait. Fear for Peyton drove him, and he turned and ran toward the house.

  * * *

  THE SCENT OF SMOKE roused Peyton from unconsciousness. Panic stabbed at her as she rolled over and felt in the dark space for her sister.

  “Val?” She raked her hand across the floor and touched her sister’s arm. For a brief second, terror that Val was dead seized her, and she pressed her hand over her sister’s chest to see if she was breathing.

  “Val, honey, please, be okay.” A slight rise and fall of her chest indicated Val was alive. But anger at Joanna churned through her. Her sister had worked hard to get clean. Joanna may have destroyed her recovery with one injection.


  Don’t think about that now. You have to get Val outside.

  Smoke seeped through the bottom crack of the doorway. She coughed, then covered her mouth with one hand and felt the door with the other. Not hot yet. Maybe there was time.

  “Val, hang in there. I’ll get us out.”

  She jiggled the doorknob, but the door was locked tight. Hissing between her teeth, she yanked at it, but it refused to budge. She felt in her hair for a hairpin, but had nothing, so she dropped to her knees again and felt Val’s thick tresses. No hairpin there either.

  Desperate, she searched the pockets of Val’s jacket and found the keys to the truck outside. But they didn’t fit the lock.

  Balling her hands into fists, she banged on the door. “Help, please, Joanna, come back! You can’t leave us here.” The smoke was growing thicker, clouding the room, and fire crackled and popped outside the doorway. More noise. Something crashed—wood splintering down. Glass breaking.

  Terror shot through her and she stepped back, raised her foot and kicked at the door. One kick, two. Harder each time. Another kick and another. Finally, wood splintered.

  Then she heard a voice shouting. A man’s.

  “Peyton?”

  Liam?

  “Where are you?” he yelled.

  She banged on the door with her fists. “In here! The door’s locked!”

  Footsteps pounded. Smoke clogged her nose and stung her eyes. A dizzy spell overcame her, and she blinked and reached for the wall to steady herself. Outside the door, she heard a commotion.

  “Stand back. We’re going to knock the door down!”

  Peyton stooped and pulled her sister against the wall, then pressed her back to it and held Val’s head in her lap.

  Something slammed into the wall. A body? Feet?

  Chaos outside. Noise. Liam wasn’t alone.

  Wood splintered again and cracked, creating a hole in the door. Then Liam jerked it open. Smoke filled the closet, choking the air from her lungs. Footsteps pounded. Voices shouted.

  “Get those hoses by the door!”

  “I’ve got her!” Liam stepped into the doorway and reached for her. “Peyton, come on, we have to get out!” He caught her arm, but she dug her heels in.

  “My sister, she’s here.” She pulled him into the room. “On the floor. Joanna drugged her.”

  “I thought she was dead,” Liam said.

  “I’ll explain later. We have to save her!”

  “Griff, over here!” Liam yelled. “I need help.”

  Liam pulled her from the closet, and a firefighter appeared in full gear. “Get Peyton out!” he told Liam. “I’ll get the other woman.”

  Peyton swayed again, her eyes stinging from the smoke, heat scalding her. Flames hissed along the far wall, inching toward them. Liam curved his arm around her and guided her through the smoky interior.

  They ran through patches of flames, dodging falling debris as the fire ate the rotting wood. Seconds later, she inhaled fresh air as they raced away from the building.

  “Was anyone else inside?” Liam asked.

  “No, just me and Val. Joanna locked us in there. She was behind this.”

  Liam coaxed her beneath a live oak far away from the fire and cupped her face in his hands. “I know. She’s handcuffed in her car.” He pointed to the SUV. “And Jacob arrested Director Jameson.”

  Griff ran toward them, carrying Val in his arms. She looked ashen faced and lethargic and was limp as Griff laid her on the ground.

  Peyton raced to her and dropped down beside her. “Joanna gave her morphine,” she said. “She needs to go to the hospital.”

  Griff ran to the fire engine and retrieved an oxygen mask, then returned and strapped it over Val’s face.

  Another siren wailed, lights twirling as the ambulance roared up. Peyton clung to her sister’s hand as the medics climbed out and hurried toward them.

  Griff raced back to join his team as they worked to contain the fire. The old shanty collapsed in a fiery blaze, flames thundering as they ate the rotting wooden boards.

  One medic checked on Joanna while the other stooped to take Val’s vitals. “What about you, ma’am?” the medic asked Peyton. “Are you hurt?”

  Her lungs strained for air as she looked back at the fire. A few minutes later, and she and Val would both have been consumed in that blaze.

  “Ma’am?” the medic asked.

  She exhaled. “I’m fine. Just please...don’t let my sister die.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Liam was so relieved Peyton was safe that he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her.

  But she was distraught as she hovered over her sister.

  A sister she hadn’t told him about. In fact, she’d lied and said her sister was dead, that her mother was the only family she had.

  What else had she lied about?

  A second ambulance arrived to transport Joanna to the hospital. She was still unconscious and handcuffed, and he had to ride with her.

  “I have to escort Joanna,” he told Peyton. “You’re going in the other ambulance with your sister?”

  Her troubled gaze met his. “Yes. I can’t leave her.”

  He gave a nod. Later, he wanted an explanation. For now, he had to tie things up with the case.

  He climbed in the back of the second ambulance with Joanna. While the ambulance raced to the hospital, Liam phoned Jacob and filled him in.

  “The fire was set to cover up hospital records and cover for Gloria Inman’s death. She was going to expose the pill mill Jameson and Joanna were running.”

  “I can’t believe our father died because of a damn pill mill,” Jacob said.

  “It wasn’t a small operation,” Liam said. “Jameson and Joanna were also stealing patients’ life insurance policies, as well.”

  “Jameson gave up Herbert Brantley. Said he drove the car that hit Peyton,” Jacob said. “He was in it up to his eyeballs. And he’s the one who actually set the fire.”

  “He’s going to rot in jail,” Liam muttered.

  “Yes, he will.”

  “What about Conrad?” Liam asked.

  “According to Jameson, Miller Conrad had nothing to do with the deaths. Joanna gave the victims the lethal injections.”

  “Dr. Butler was innocent, too,” Liam said.

  “I guess we finally got the answers we wanted,” Jacob said.

  “Call Fletch and Griff and let’s meet for a burger later,” Liam said. Tonight, he wanted them all to be together to absorb the truth about why their father had died.

  * * *

  THE NEXT FEW HOURS ticked by agonizingly slowly. Peyton paced the waiting room, praying for her sister and her mother.

  Miraculously though, her mother regained consciousness just about the same time her sister did. “Now the drugs are being weaned out of your mother’s system, she should make a full recovery,” the doctor told her.

  “And Val?”

  “Your sister, too.” Her brows pinched together. “You can see them both if you want.”

  First, she slipped in to see her mother. Relief at the sight of her opened eyes nearly brought her to her knees. “Mama, I’m so glad to see you’re better.”

  “What happened?” her mother asked.

  She quickly explained that there was a gas leak, but smoothed over the story. No need to upset her mother with details now. “You’re going to be fine though. You just need to rest.” She was tempted to tell her about Val, but she would wait to make sure Val was dedicated to her recovery first. In her frail condition, her mother didn’t need the heartbreak of seeing Val and then losing her again.

  Her mother’s eyes were drifting closed again, so Peyton kissed her cheek and promised she’d be back. Then she hurried to her sister’s room.

  Val lay against the pi
llow, her hair fanning out, tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Peyton. I...messed up so bad.”

  Peyton rushed over and pulled her up against her. “You were brave to get clean yourself, and even braver to come to see me and Mama and try to save the others.” She stroked Val’s hair. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you the other night.”

  “I don’t blame you. You had your reasons. I put you and Mama through hell.” Val gripped Peyton’s hands in hers. “But that’s all over, sis. I swear. I’m going to do whatever it takes to stay clean and make you and Mama proud again.”

  “I am proud of you, Val,” Peyton said. “But I know it won’t be easy. Especially after today.”

  “I can do it,” Val said with conviction.

  For the first time since her sister became an addict, Peyton believed that she would.

  * * *

  LIAM WENT TO check on Peyton before he left the hospital.

  “Are you okay?” he asked gently.

  She nodded. “I am now. Mama’s safe. And Val is here, too.”

  “I thought you didn’t have any other family,” he said, his voice a little harder than he intended. “Why did you lie to me? Let me think she was dead?”

  Pain and regret darkened her eyes. “It’s complicated,” Peyton said. “Val is an addict. Mama and I dealt with her addiction for years. She got in trouble, stole to support her habit, lived on the streets. The last time when she checked out of rehab, she broke into our house and tried to steal Mama’s china to sell. I caught her, threw her out and told her we were done. She disappeared after that. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever see her again.” She paused. “For a while, I felt like she was dead...to me.”

  He supposed he could understand that.

  “When she showed up at the gardens, I wouldn’t listen to her,” Peyton said. “If I had, we could have known the truth sooner.”

  “Don’t blame yourself,” Liam said.

  “Val’s trying now, and this time she stepped up to save Mama,” Peyton said. “She risked her life to stop Joanna and the director. I can’t abandon her.”