Elisabeth Rees - Foul Play

* * *

Cole Strachan hoisted the stepladder onto his shoulder in the hospital corridor and studied the scribbled directions on the paper in his hand. This place was a nightmare to navigate, and he was hopelessly lost, having walked around for at least half an hour. He balanced the ladder against the wall and decided to take a rest. He knew Deborah worked somewhere in the hospital, but that’s just about all he knew. And it was probably all he deserved to know. His belly was a swirl of dread and excitement to think that he might see her again after ten years. Would she have changed? Would she still be beautiful? Would she still have that amazing mane of golden curls? But most important, would she forgive him?

A man in a gray suit turned a corner and came bustling toward him.

“Mr. Strachan from Secure It, I presume?” the man said with an outstretched hand. “I wondered if you might be lost, so I came looking for you.”

Cole shook hands and smiled. “You must be Frank Carlisle, the hospital administrator. Am I right?”

The man nodded. “Follow me, Mr. Strachan, and I’ll take you to the pediatric unit so you can have a look around and give us your expert opinion on our security systems.”

Cole’s heart sank at the mention of pediatrics. The last thing he ever wanted to see again was a sick child. He’d seen enough suffering of innocent children to last a lifetime, and losing his baby son to SIDS two years ago had just about finished him off. That was when he decided to come home to the place he’d been raised. He’d not only left the SEALs in Little Creek, Virginia, he’d left a wife who had divorced him and memories of a son he’d barely had a chance to get to know. Moving back to Harborcreek had been a hard decision, but it felt right. God was leading him back to a place where he belonged. And back to a woman to whom he needed to make amends.

He picked up his ladder and began walking, following the hurried footsteps of Frank Carlisle.

“So you’re looking to give the pediatric unit a security overhaul, huh?” Cole asked.

“Indeed we are,” Frank replied, leading Cole through a network of corridors. “I chose your firm because I figured that an ex–navy SEAL would give us the best security advice.” He stopped and called the elevator. “Your background is very impressive, Mr. Strachan. What brings you to the Erie area?”

“I’m from Harborcreek originally,” Cole replied, stepping into the elevator and gently easing the ladder in alongside him. “I recently came home to set up my own security company. It took off straightaway, and I already have ten employees.”

“It’s nice to have a local man working with us,” Frank said. “Most of the staff in Pediatrics are from Erie, but one of our senior nurses is from Harborcreek. Maybe you know her.”

Cole’s throat seemed to close up and lose its moisture in an instant. “Maybe I do,” he managed to say. “What’s her name?”

“Deborah Lewis.”

The elevator glided to a rolling stop and an army of butterflies began to beat their tiny wings inside Cole’s belly. “Is she a petite woman with a lot of blond curls?”

The doors smoothly opened and Frank led Cole into the corridor, using a swipe card to activate the pediatric unit door. “Yes. That’s her.”

Cole’s eyes darted around as they walked into the unit. The walls were brightly painted with cartoon characters, and he caught an aroma of disinfectant and clean laundry.

“I know her,” Cole said. “Is she here now?”

“She was supposed to be here for this meeting,” Frank said. “But she seems to have gone AWOL, I’m afraid.” Frank stopped a female doctor who was walking past. “Dr. Warren, do you know where Deborah is?”

“She got paged,” the doctor replied. “To the morgue, I think.”

Frank’s eyebrows knitted together. “But the morgue staff are on a training day today. They won’t be back until 5:00 p.m.” He scratched his head. “And why would the morgue page a nurse from Pediatrics?”

Cole detected an edge of concern in the hospital administrator’s voice. “How long has she been gone?” he asked the doctor.

Dr. Warren glanced at a clock on the wall. “About an hour or so.”

Cole saw the look that passed between the doctor and Frank, betraying their anxiety. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Is there something I should know?”

“Not at all,” Frank replied briskly. “I’m sure everything is fine.”

Cole narrowed his eyes. “You don’t sound so sure, if you don’t mind me saying. You sound like you’re trying to hide something.”

“Frank,” Dr. Warren said. “We should go look for her just in case something has happened.”

Cole didn’t like what he was hearing. “Why would something have happened to her?”

Frank fell silent, so it was Dr. Warren who answered. “Deborah’s been asking a lot of questions about sick children in the unit recently,” she said, dropping her voice low. “She thinks somebody may be tampering with patient medicine. That’s why Frank called you in to upgrade our security.”

Frank put his hands on his hips, clearly displeased. “This is all just rumor and suspicion at the moment,” he said. “The security upgrade is simply routine maintenance and nothing more.”

Cole crossed his arms, letting his instincts lead him where they wanted to go. “Even so, I’d rather go check on Deborah, just to make sure she’s okay.”

Frank let out a puff of air. “There really is no need, Mr. Strachan. Let’s not panic unnecessarily. She’ll be back soon enough, I’m sure.”

Cole turned without a word and pressed a button to exit the unit. “Okay. I’ll go find her myself.”

He stepped out into the long corridor that ran alongside the pediatric ward on the fifth floor and pressed the elevator button impatiently. When it failed to arrive immediately, he pushed open the stairwell door and bounded down two at a time. He exited on the first floor, where he remembered seeing a sign for the morgue. He heard Frank’s voice behind him. “Mr. Strachan, please wait.” Frank caught up with Cole as he slowed to find his bearings. “You can’t enter the morgue without an ID card.”

Cole stopped and eyeballed the middle-aged hospital administrator, who was looking sternly at him over the frames of his glasses. Cole cocked his head to the side. “Then it looks like you’ll have to come with me, after all.”

Frank clicked his tongue in exasperation. “Very well.” He extended his hand. “This way.”

Cole followed Frank’s polished shoes, which clipped softly on the floor as he led him yet again through a warren of corridors. As Cole walked, he tried to quell the whirl of emotions stirring deep inside. The thought of stepping inside a morgue was not something that appealed to him. The last time he had been inside a morgue was to collect the body of his precious baby son, Elliot. He had insisted on accompanying the funeral directors while they transported Elliot to their parlor. It was his final job as a doting father. The moment Frank opened the door of the room, Cole recognized the faint but familiar odor of death and he stopped himself from gagging. The memories evoked by smell were often the hardest to bear.

“You see,” Frank said, gesturing around. “There’s nobody here.”

“What about that room?” Cole said, walking to a door at the back.

“That’s the refrigeration room,” Frank replied. “It’s where we store bodies for the longer term. Nobody is in there at the moment.”

“I’d like to take a look.”

Frank sighed. “If it will put your mind at rest, then please look inside.” He walked to the door and turned the handle. “What exactly is the nature of your relationship with Deborah anyway?”