Murder Is Private (11 page)

Chapter 26

Susan woke to the sound of the partition curtain snapping shut. They were putting a patient in the other bed. She heard voices.

“One, two, three, lift.”

“Hook up the cords. Let’s get the monitors going.”

“Are you comfortable, ma’am? The nurse will be in in a few minutes with pain meds.”

Susan stayed quiet. She didn’t want to get into a conversation in the middle of the night, even though her natural curiosity made her wonder from what malady her roommate was suffering. She rolled over and went back to sleep.

The clanking of the breakfast tray woke her hours later. She smelled coffee.

“Brought you some breakfast,” said the nurse. “Let’s sit you up.”

Susan clicked the remote until she found the
Today Show.
For years, she’d harbored a secret crush on Matt Lauer. She ate her cold scrambled eggs and toast. The nurse was talking to her roommate in a chipper voice.

“Here’s your Percocet. Eat first or you might feel nauseous.”

“Yeah,” said the patient in the other bed. “Yeah. I know.”

After the nurse left, her roommate started the conversation.

“I’m not taking any damn pills. My niece got addicted to these things. Took years of rehab to get her over it.”

“If you’re in pain,” said Susan, “you should take them. A few days won’t hurt. I took those after I had my C-section years ago. I never got addicted.”

“Yeah, yeah. I could get good money for these out on the street.” The woman laughed with the hoarse voice of a smoker.

Susan shook her head.
Pain pills, no. They could harm you. Cigarettes, fine.

Later, the doctor made his rounds and told Susan she could go home as soon as the discharge papers were ready.
The Today Show
was over, so she flipped through the TV stations, settling on
Dr. Oz
. He was her hero. He’d worked at Columbia University in New York City, where Evan was going to spend his summer. Maybe someday Evan would have his own TV show, Susan thought.
The Dr. Wiles Show
. Had a nice ring to it.

“Help!” cried her roommate. Susan heard alarms going off. The nurses rushed in. The doctor came with paddles. Just like on TV. “Clear!” Shock. Wait. “Clear!” Shock. Wait. Then she heard the doctor say to call it. “Time of death, 9:33 a.m.”

Susan couldn’t believe it. Ten minutes ago she’d been having a conversation with this woman. Now, she was dead. Thankfully, they wheeled the body out of the room quickly. Although she was getting used to the sight of dead bodies, the thought of rooming with a corpse for any length of time caused her to shudder. She felt sad for the family members who were about to hear the news.

Susan waited––patiently at first, not so patiently as the day wore on. How long did it take to draw up discharge papers? She heard the nurses clearing the nightstand and changing the sheets on the other bed. One nurse was either new, or maybe a nurse in training.

“What do we do with these?” she asked.

“This is a personal perscription. She shouldn’t even have this here. Oh, well, too late to worry about it now. I’ll just take this to the pharmacy for disposal,” replied the senior nurse.

“Do we have to sign it in or something?”

“There’s a log,” said the other, “but it’s mostly the honor system. No one checks. A crooked employee could pocket these and no one would be the wiser.”

Finally, a nurse came in with Susan’s discharge papers and instructions. Susan would take the rest of the week off from school to rest. Audrey and Lynette came to pick her up.

“Here, Mom,” said Lynette. “I know how bad hospital food can be. I brought you a bagel.”

“And here are some dry clothes,” said Audrey. She handed Susan a tote bag. “There’s a toothbrush in there too. I always keep extras in the house.”

As soon as Susan walked through the front door of Audrey’s house, she scooped up Annalise and covered her with kisses. Family was precious. She remembered how she’d felt in the middle of the ocean when she thought she wouldn’t see her loved ones again.

Later that afternoon, Kevin dropped by the house.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked Susan.

“Much. It’s good to be out of that hospital.”

“Mrs. Wiles,” he began, his tone more serious. “I need to turn in an official report of the attack. You said you went into the auditorium because you saw flashing lights and heard violin music, correct?”

“Yes. I couldn’t imagine who was playing it.”

“Before that, you saw someone hand a suitcase to a motor boat driver, right?”

“That’s right.”

Lynette walked into the living room and continued the story for her mother. “And instead of high tailing it out of there and calling the police, or even her detective daughter, she figured she’d just capture the bad guys all by herself!”

“Yep. That’s just what happened,” said Susan, contritely. “Really, Lynette! You should be proud having such a brave and selfless mother.”

“She certainly was fearless,” suggested Kevin.

“Don’t encourage her,” said Lynette, sighing reluctantly.

“I need something to drink,” said Susan. She went into the kitchen for some water, and overheard Kevin talking to Lynnette.

“The pills were mostly Xanax,” he reported, “but in one bottle, there were several pills that the lab couldn’t identify at first. Turns out they were a specialty mix of tranquilizers and anti-anxiety drugs. If Trish had taken more than she did, the dose would have been lethal.”

Susan came back into the living room sipping a glass of water.

“Kevin, did you ever hear back from the lab about the pills the student gave me?”

“Mom! Don’t pretend you didn’t just overhear our conversation. I’d forgotten you were right in the next room.”

Susan persisted. “In any case, do we know anything further?”

Kevin answered, “These pills were not prescribed by a doctor, Mrs. Wiles. Some were legit, but those homemade concoctions? No doctor would prescribe those.”

“Trish’s roommate said Trish had issues with performance anxiety,” Susan added.

“Then Xanax would have helped,” said Kevin, “but she should have gone to a doctor. She was risking her life taking those. She’s lucky she didn’t die.”

“You think she got them illegally?” asked Susan.

“Drugs are always an issue in high schools. Over the years, we’ve picked up some of the little guys, but not the major sellers,” replied Kevin.

“Then you do think drugs were being sold in the arboretum?” asked Susan.

“Maybe. You said you saw a wad of cash. Someone buying drugs wouldn’t have a stack like that unless they were buying a huge quantity to resell.”

“Kevin, maybe it’s time you talked to Trish,” said Susan.

Chapter 27

Susan was glad to be back at school. It was lunch time, and she had a great story to tell to her captive audience––Gabby, Alonzo, and Schwartz. Schwartz munched on a piece of Matzo, reminding her it was Passover.

“So how long were you out there?” asked Gabby. She leaned toward Susan as if to catch every word.

“Hours, but it seemed like days.” Susan stretched the word
hours
like a piece of taffy. “I was afraid it was the end! Makes you appreciate life when you think you’re going to die.”

“You heard violin music in the auditorium?” asked Alonzo.

“The Albinoni
Adagio
.”

“Sad piece. I heard it played in the courtyard of a castle in Salzburg years ago. Haunting. I wonder who was playing it?” said Alonzo.

“That’s what I was trying to find out. Curiosity killed the cat, so they say. Only by the grace of God I’m not dead.” She crossed her arms over her heart.

“Speaking of water, it started raining on my way over here. Hope it lets up,” said Gabby.

“At least I’m prepared,” said Alonzo. He pulled a frilly pink umbrella out of his bag.

“Great color for you,” said Schwartz.

Gabby giggled.

“It was Celia’s.” He looked at the floor. His tone became somber. “She lent it to me. I never had the chance to return it.”

After an awkward silence, Gabby said, “Let’s check the weather. I was going to hold my student book club outside this afternoon. I may need to bring it inside.” She turned on the lounge TV.

“Cloudy with a ninety percent chance of precipitation. The rainy season is upon us,” said Schwartz.

“Indoors it is,” said Gabby.

The weather report was followed by a human interest story. It started with a panoramic view of Warsaw. The camera zoomed in to an art museum.

“Hey, I’ve been there!” said Schwartz. He pointed at the TV.

“Turn it up,” said Alonzo.

The cameras cut to the interior of the museum. The newscaster said, “This painting, stolen from a Jewish art collector’s home by the Nazis, was discovered yesterday in the attic of a Polish farmer who’d recently inherited the home from his grandfather.”

“How fascinating! Hidden away all these years,” said Susan.

“I’ve seen similar stories,” added Schwartz. “Many valuable items were stolen from us Jews during the war. My grandparents fled Prussia to escape the Nazis and left behind everything. Walked away with only the clothes on their backs. Burns me up to think Nazi soldiers strolled into their abandoned house and stole their valuables. Jewelry passed down through the generations disappeared in a flash. My grandfather’s coin collection, Oma’s fine china….” Schwartz’s face was lobster red.

“At least, your grandparents escaped,” said Gabby.

“Just in the nick of time. So many lost so much more.”

“On that sad note,” said Alonzo, “Time to start orchestra rehearsal. Susan, your group is singing at Trinity Village tomorrow night, right?”

“We sure are. I’m glad they were well prepared before I missed those school days.”

“The chorus always sounds great. Celia used to…” Schwartz’s eyes filled with tears.

“I know, Schwartz. Hard to imagine the chorus without Celia,” said Alonzo. He gave Schwartz a pat on the back before turning to Susan.

“I’ll be there tomorrow night. I’m sure it will be great. Let me know if you need anything.”

After school, it was still raining as Susan headed back to Audrey’s. As she passed the arboretum, she saw George holding a leaf blower.
Am I crazy to wonder why a gardener would try to blow wet leaves in the rain?
Audrey had
said
she raised George well, but Susan was beginning to think that all that fried food she’d fed him had inhibited his intellectual development. If Audrey had raised her, who knew how she might have turned out? Maybe she’d have had a career flipping burgers instead of teaching.

She then noticed Kymani sitting on a bench, talking to the male nurse. She shielded her face with the umbrella to avoid being recognized. This was the second time she’d seen those two engrossed in conversation. And she’d seen Alonzo talking to both of them too. George blew his leaves right in front of the bench where they were sitting. To her surprise, he even stopped and talked with them. They didn’t appear to be strangers.

Susan remembered the conversation she’d overheard at the police station. Alonzo and George had been at the auditorium the night the guard was attacked. Schwartz had been there too, but she hadn’t ever seen him with Kymani or George. George had come to Susan’s hospital room after her attack looking like he’d just changed into dry clothes. The arboretum, the auditorium, and the pier harbored secrets. Somehow those locations and those people were connected. Kevin said drugs were a problem on campus, but he wasn’t convinced that selling was going on in the arboretum.

Not wanting to traipse mud into Audrey’s home, Susan took her shoes off on the stoop. She entered the house quietly and Audrey, who was on the phone, didn’t notice her coming in. Her back was turned to Susan.

“No, it’s fine,” Susan heard Audrey say into the receiver. “She has no idea. I told her I never saw you again. Yes. I will. Bye. Love you.”

Who was Audrey talking to? Who was the
she
Audrey referred to? Love you? Audrey had never mentioned a boyfriend.

Audrey turned around and gave an involuntary scream.

“Oh! Susan, you’re back! You’re soaked to the bone. I just put on a pot of coffee. Go change and it’ll be ready by then.” Susan went to her room and dried herself off. She changed into a pair of comfy sweat shorts and a t-shirt, then came back downstairs. Audrey sat on the sofa beside her, two steaming mugs of coffee in her hands.

“Audrey, can you tell me any more about my father?” asked Susan. “You said it was a summer fling, but I don’t know . . . you haven’t told me his name.”

Audrey stumbled over her words as she answered. “I don’t even know if he’s dead or alive, Susan. Haven’t seen him in 63 years. His name was … Conrad. That was it. Conrad Gilham.”

“What did he look like? Do you have any pictures?”

“Pictures? Heavens, no! After all these years! He was a handsome boy though. Had the bluest eyes and sandy blond hair. Smart, too. Wanted to become a lawyer. I wonder if he ever made it to law school.”

Susan saw something in Audrey’s eyes when she spoke about him. It was the same look Lynette got when she talked about Annalise or Jason. Had Audrey been in love with him? With her biological father? Was she still?

“Audrey, who is George’s father?”

“I was married to him. Briefly. He was an investment banker. The no good scumbag cheated on me and that was the end of that. Never married again.”