Jordan Summers - [Dead World 01] (35 page)

She put her head down on the desk.

"Are you okay?" Morgan asked, touching her
shoulder.

Red had been so preoccupied with
her own thoughts
that she hadn't heard
him approach. "I'm fine. Just tired."

"Why don't you rest in my office? I can work out
here."

She stood and stretched her arms over her head.
"I think I just need some fresh air to clear my head. I've been staring at
the compunit for hours."

Red also needed time to go to the emergency
care-center to see if her suspicions panned out. She had no intention of
confronting Kane. If he was behind the murder, then he was far more dangerous
than she'd ever imagined. He'd killed Jesse and possibly three other women.

Morgan watched her, his amber eyes growing liquid
with concern.
"I know you're feeling better, but you are still not 100 percent. Until
you are, I'd appreciate it if you'd take it a little easy."

Red smiled. She couldn't do otherwise. Ever since
they'd slept together and then had that long
talk, he'd hovered over her. Hell, he'd started beforehand and it had only
gotten worse. She'd never had anyone other
than her grandfather show
this much concern about her well-being. She'd be a liar if she didn't admit
that it
affected her deeply.

"I swear I won't do anything overly
strenuous." She met his gaze. "And I promise I'll be back within an
hour."

Morgan hesitated. He looked as if he might
protest, but suddenly thought better of it. Red
wanted to
reach out and hug him for trying so hard not to push
her right now. He hadn't asked for anything other than what they'd shared, but
she could see the fire banked in his eyes. Morgan might not admit it, but
he wanted more.

And Red was beginning to think that she did, too.

The
emergency care center was
bustling when she arrived.
Red kept an eye out for Kane, but hadn't spotted him yet. With luck, it
would stay that way. She strode toward the nurse's station. Two unfamiliar
faces stood
behind
the low counter, but they both greeted her with
a smile.

"May we help you?" they asked in unison.

"Is Dr. Hunter here?"

The nurse with the blond hair
turned to the brunette
for assistance.
"I
haven't
seen him, but that doesn't
mean anything.
Would you like me to page him?"

"No, thank you. Could you direct me to the elder
care center?" Red asked, addressing the brunette.

"Just head straight down the hall and make a
left. You'll see a set of double doors at the end of the ward. Pass through
them and you've entered the elder care center."

"Thanks!" Red strolled down the hall,
keeping her eyes peeled for Kane. Doctors and nurses passed her. a few pausing
to give her curious stares, while others nodded in her direction, showing a
strange deference.

Red nearly laughed as she
glanced down at the front
of her clothes. Nothing appeared to be out of place.
Maybe they recognized her from her visits to Jesse,
but that didn't make sense either. She hadn't
seen half
these people when she'd come to visit. Surely they hadn't
heard about her and Morgan. As if to confirm her fears, two nurses passed her
and broke into gig
gles. Red blushed.
Horrified. Morgan was right about little towns knowing everyone's business.
She'd figure
out a way to deal with
them later. The only important thing was to find out the truth for Jesse
Lindley, who
was lying in the dissecting lab because she'd stepped in to
help.

Red ignored the medical staff members bustling around
her and picked up her pace. She made a left and headed to the end of the hall.
A huge sign hung over the double doors of the elder care center demarcating
the entrance.

She pushed them open and stepped through. The smell of
urine and antiseptic cleanser burned her nose and eyes. She could almost taste
the ammonia. Red choked and swallowed rapidly as her stomach pitched. How could
anyone stand to be in this area? Her gaze darted, taking in the elderly
patients in their rooms and the ones gathered in a large common area. Their
sad, downtrodden expressions told her without words that they were very well
aware of the conditions around them.

Sadness welled within her as she
imagined the three
women who'd visited
their grandmothers here. How could anyone take away the one bright moment in
their lives? She continued until she reached the
nurse's
station.

A woman twice as wide as she was
tall stared into a
vidscreen giggling.
She didn't bother to look up as Red approached. "May I help you?" she
asked, watching the entertainment with rapt attention.

Red stood in front of her, but didn't say a word. She
placed her hands on the waist-high counter and began to drum her fingers.

After a minute the woman glanced at her hand and then
arched a disapproving brow. "I asked if you needed any help," the
woman repeated. "There's no need to be rude."

Red blinked. How could this
woman think she was
being
rude, when she'd barely acknowledged her pres
ence? She resisted the urge to reach over the counter
and shake the stuffing out of the woman. "I
didn't want
to interrupt," she explained.

The woman scowled.

"Is Dr. Hunter in today?"

The woman's expression changed to dreamy delight
before she answered. "No, he was so distraught over losing Jesse Lindley
that he called in today. It's so sad. Poor man blames himself for her heart
attack. Can you believe that?"

Yeah, I can,
Red thought, since it was
looking more
and more like Jesse had
help.

"It's too bad he's not here though, since he
always gives the ladies something to look at besides these
white walls. Even a skinny little thing like you
would find
him attractive."

Red ignored the woman's dig. "How well do you
know him?"

The woman grinned and winked. "Not as well as I'd
like. He's a serious piece of man flesh."

"Yeah, even I would find him attractive, I get
it.
Do you mind if I ask you a few more
questions?" Red
asked.

The woman shrugged. "I suppose that would be
okay. You have," she glanced at her watch,
"five min
utes before I begin my rounds."

"It won't take long," Red said, noting her
stain-covered uniform. "Do you know Renee Forrester?"

"Yes, lovely woman. She
comes in for a visit every
week and
spends about two hours with her grandmother, Maureen Jennings." The woman
frowned. "Strange. I haven't seen her lately."

And she wouldn't ever again.
Red thought in disgust.

"Do you mind if I have a word with Maureen?"

The woman's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You
better not upset her," she warned.

"I
wouldn't
dream of it." Red wasn't about to tell the elderly woman that her
granddaughter was dead. She'd leave that to the sheriff's office. It was
cowardly, but she just couldn't bring herself to break the Woman's heart.

You don't have any problem stomping on Morgan's,
the little voice in her head whispered.

With him, she had no choice. A killer was on the loose
and she wouldn't allow anyone else to get hurt if there was any way in her
power to stop him. The
only thing that kept
her going was the realization that
Morgan would do the same thing.

She followed the nurse down the urine-smelling
hallways to room 112. Maureen Jennings sat in a
rocker next to the window, knitting what looked to be
a scarf.
Gold-rimmed glasses rested upon her classic nose, while silver ringlets haloed
her small head. She glanced up from her task when they entered her room.

"Oh dear, for a moment I thought you were
Re-nee." she said, glancing at Red.

Red's heart dropped. "Sorry, not today."

"Gladys, aren't you going to introduce us?"
Maureen stared at the nurse expectantly.

The woman turned crimson when she realized she hadn't
bothered to catch her name. Red let her squirm for a few seconds, then stepped
forward and clasped Maureen's weathered hand.

"My name is Gina Santiago. It's a pleasure to
meet you. That's a lovely scarf you're making."

Maureen beamed. "It's a surprise for Renee. Are
you a friend of hers?" she asked.

Red glanced at their pressed palms and slowly released
the woman. "No ma'am. I can't say that I had the pleasure."

The woman frowned and looked at Gladys.

"Well I guess
I'll
leave you
two" the nurse said,
beating a hasty retreat.

Red watched her go, then turned back. "Do you
mind if I take a seat?"

"Of course not." She moved her synth-wool
out of the unoccupied scat and then patted the chair for her to sit.

"Thanks," Red said, regretting every second
of
what she was about to do. "Can you
tell me when you
last saw Renee?"

Maureen's storm-gray brows furrowed. "Hmm ... no,
I can't rightly recall. The days all blend together here."

"I can imagine. I'd appreciate it if you'd at
least try."

She screwed her face, pursing her lips in concentration,
then suddenly released a frustrated breath. "I just don't know. Why don't
you contact Renee and ask?"

"She's hard to reach."

"That's strange. I've never had a problem getting
a hold of her. Do you want me to try?" She reached for the comdevice on
the table, but Red stilled her hand.

"That won't be necessary."

The woman released the device and peered into Red's
face. "There's something you're not telling me. I can tell when you
lie."

Red's face flushed and she stood. "I don't know
what you're talking about. Thank you for your time.
I'm sorry I bothered you." She walked to the doorway
and
stopped, glancing over her shoulder at Maureen, who was watching her
expectantly. "One last question."

Maureen nodded, sadness dulling her features. She
grasped the scarf she'd been making, wadded it, and
then tossed it
into the recycling bin. Red fol
lowed the
fabric, listening to the soft thud as it hit the bottom of the unit. She
blinked back tears as compre
hension dawned.

She sniffled and her lower
lip
began to
tremble. "Did Dr.
Hunter ever
come around when Renee visited?"

Maureen blinked in surprise. "He's dropped in on
occasion.
After speaking with him, I thought he and Renee might make a good
pairing. I tried to play matchmaker, but Dr. Hunter didn't seem too interested
in my granddaughter. Pity, really. He'd make a good addition to the family. Why
do you ask?"

Not interested? Red's surprise must have shown in her
expression.

"That wasn't what you were expecting, was
it?"

Red shook her head. "No, ma'am."

"You want to tell me what
happened to my grand
daughter?"

Red closed her eyes against the pressure building
in her temples. She looked around the bleak room
with
its white walls and mobile rest pad. The only bright spot this room
had ever seen was now lying in the dissecting lab on a steel slab, waiting to
be dismembered.

Lies burned like acid on her tongue as she opened her
mouth to speak. Instead of offering reassurance, she blurted, "I'll find
the man responsible. I promise." Red took off down the hall before
Maureen could respond. She needed to find the other woman and get out of here.

A visit with the other victim's grandmother turned up
much the same information. Kane showed no interest in any of the women, going
so far as to ignore them, which made no sense. Why ignore the women
you plan to attack? Unless it was to distract
everyone,

Red supposed anything was possible. But that didn't
explain how he'd done it and why. There hail to be something lurking in Kane's
past that drove him to this point. She'd dig deeper until she found it.

So far her quiet little
investigation had yielded a decent amount of circumstantial evidence. Kane
knew all
the women
through his connection to the elder care
center. He was lead medic and could easily slip in and
out of this place without anyone seeing him. Red shud
dered at how easy it would be.

Kane, along with everyone else in town, was familiar
with the layout of Jesse Lindley's share space and could have lain in wait. All
these things together
might be enough to
get a warrant, but it was doubtful
that it would lead to an arrest.