Cheryl Tardif - Submerged

“I keep going over everything Rebecca told me. No one else seems to benefit from her death except—”

“Wesley Kingston. I know. We showed his picture around the hotel where Delaney was staying. No one recognizes him. We did get one interesting tidbit from Delaney though.”

“What’s that?”

“When we checked his bank records, we found a large cash deposit.”

“How large?”

“Twenty-five thousand.”

“Shit. There’s no way Kingston had that kind of money lying around.”

“Nope. And he didn’t win it gambling. We called in a few favors, asked the casino some questions—under threat of temporary shutdown.”

“Let me guess. Kingston didn’t borrow twenty-five thousand either.”

“By all accounts, Wesley Kingston was barely scraping by. Motive? Definitely. But he didn’t hire Delaney.”

“Then who the hell did?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Marcus. We’re still digging around, checking his debts. Seems he owes a few thousand, but unless the casinos are lying, that’s it.”

“Casinos aren’t known for their honesty.”

“Yeah, so we’re back to the old theory. That someone’s trying to send Kingston a message. We’re going to bring him back in for questioning if nothing pans out here tonight.”

The feed on the monitor wavered.

“What’s going on?” Marcus asked Geraldo.

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you see the camera move?”

“Probably a power surge. Cameras are both working. Nothing to worry about, sir.”

Marcus watched the screen. The more he stared, the more he was certain there was someone in the room with Rebecca. Someone standing near her bed.

“Can’t you see that?” he asked.

“See what?” Simms snapped.

Marcus was about to point out the shadow near the bed, but it was gone.

“Rewind the tape,” he demanded.

Simms clenched his jaw but obeyed. The tape raced back a minute and a half, then played.

“I don’t see nothin’,” Geraldo said.

Simms glared up at Marcus. “Me neither.”

That made three of them.

Shit…

“Marcus!” Zur shouted from the phone.

“Sorry, John. The camera in Rebecca’s room flickered for a second.”

“Don’t worry. She’s fine. They’re streaming the feed to my tablet so I can see everything you see. Maybe you should go grab a coffee, take a break. This could be a long night.”

Marcus hesitated. Last thing he wanted to do was leave.

“We’ve got her covered,” Zur said. “Grab a coffee, clear your head, then go back to the exam room. We could be waiting all night.”

“Fine. I’ll take a short break.”

Marcus disconnected the call, then grabbed his jacket from the hook on the wall. He’d get some fresh air, bring back some coffee and settle in for the long haul.

“You two want anything?” he asked, feeling benevolent.

“Coffee, double cream for me,” one said.

“Black,” the other replied. “And a donut if they have any.”

Neither man looked up.

Marcus sighed. Seems he had a coffee run to make. Hell, at least it got him out of the room for a while. He was starting to go stir-crazy, see things that weren’t there.

He thought of Jane and Ryan. He’d been seeing their ghosts for six years. They visited him at night. He’d always insisted they were merely dreams. But Jane had made an appearance yesterday near the McLeod River, and there was no way he’d dreamt that.

What did it all mean?

Means you need to sleep, dumb-ass!

Zur was right. Marcus needed to clear his head.

The lamp overhead cast soft shadows into the corners of the room as Rebecca lay in bed, staring at the tiny holes in the ceiling tiles, playing a random game of Connect the Dots. As she mentally drew the lines, her mind returned over and over again to the one thought that haunted her.

Who wanted her dead?

Her pulse raced, even though the machines beside her didn’t register this. Lights flashed on it, giving the illusion that she was hooked up. But she wasn’t.

There was a silence so thick it nearly choked her. It was broken occasionally by intermittent footsteps. When she heard them, she’d have a second to feign unconsciousness before Detective Zur or the nurse entered and reassured her she was doing the right thing.

She needed this nightmare to be over. She wanted nothing more than to gather her children in her arms and tell them everything was okay.

It will be. Soon.

She wouldn’t even consider what would happen if Detective Zur’s plan failed. Sure, Marcus had agreed to stay with her for a while, until they found whoever was doing this, but she couldn’t expect him to stay forever.

Her body tingled when she pictured Marcus’s kind face. His strong hands and soothing voice. She could tell he wasn’t sold on Detective Zur’s plan. He was afraid for her. He’d already saved her once. It was natural he’d feel somewhat responsible for her.

Is that all it is? This connection between us?

Perhaps she’d been reading the signals all wrong. It seemed rather silly to think there was anything more than a rescuer/victim relationship developing here. And maybe a little innocent flirting. They were both adults. He was single and she was almost single. Maybe he didn’t think of her the way she’d been thinking of him.

At least Colton and Ella were safe. Kelly and Steve had picked them up and taken them back to Edmonton.

She pictured their sweet faces, and tears pooled in her eyes. My babies.

But even they couldn’t keep the terror from her soul.

What if the police were too late? What if she died tonight?

A movement in the corner of her room caught her eye. She blinked. The shadows there rippled as though someone were standing there. She squinted, and for a second, she could almost swear there was a woman in her room.

But there was no one there.

The most peculiar thing was that instead of being horrified by the thought that someone was in her room, she felt this strange sense of peace. Like she was being watched over by a calm, loving presence.

She bit back a laugh. Good grief. Now you’re imagining a guardian angel?

A breeze wafted over her, and she inhaled the scent of sandalwood.

Weird. Nurses aren’t supposed to wear perfume. And I’m not wearing any.

So where was the scent coming from?

A sound interrupted her thoughts.

Footsteps.

Coming closer to her room.

The door opened and she shut her eyes, waiting for the nurse or Detective Zur to make themselves known.

Silence.

Maybe she’d imagined the footsteps too.

With caution, she slowly opened one eye. She didn’t see anyone at first. She was about to open both eyes, when a voice whispered, “ Keep your eyes closed.” It was a woman’s voice and not one she recognized.

Footsteps approached the bed, and Rebecca tamped down the lurching of her heart. A shiver ran down her body.

“Stay calm,” the voice in her ear said.

What the heck? Why would a killer tell her to stay calm? And how would they know she was conscious? It didn’t make sense.

The person standing by her bed leaned over her. Rebecca could tell because the dim light she sensed behind her closed lids became darker.

“I’m sorry, Rebecca,” a second voice said.

That voice she recognized.

Marcus took the stairs down to the first floor and walked past the cafeteria on the way to the ER. As he moved toward the exterior doors, he noticed a man standing near the elevator, arguing with a police officer.