Nutcase (16 page)

I turned and my heart almost leapt from my chest as I found a woman with unruly hair and a dazed look standing in the hall, watching. “Did you see anything?” I asked.

“I’m waiting for my bus,” she said. “Do you know if it stops here?”

I found Edith at the nurses’ station. “I can’t find my patient,” I said. “I’ve searched the entire unit, but there is no sign of her.”

Edith didn’t look up from the form she was filling out. “Don’t share.”

“It’s likely to get ugly.”

She looked at me. “You know I don’t like ugly,” she said. “Especially from snobby psychiatrists.”

“If he makes trouble, threaten to call the police. Trust me, he does not want them involved.”

“Don’t you have someplace you need to be, doctor?” she asked. Edith hit the buzzer, and I walked through the metal doors and out of the unit.

chapter 11

I made my way straight to the elevators and punched the button. Despite the adrenaline flooding through my veins and making me shaky all over, I was relieved that I’d managed to help Elizabeth Larkin escape what must’ve been a dismal and frightening existence. Although I felt guilty for leaving Edith to contend with Hudson, I knew she could handle him. I almost pitied the man.

The elevator came to a stop, and the doors slid open. Carter Atkins stood inside.

“Going down, Kate?” he asked.

Of all times to run into him, I thought. I was glad to see two businessmen standing at the back, briefcases in hand, chatting quietly. I don’t know why I felt uneasy around Carter. It wasn’t like I didn’t deal with weird people on a daily basis.

“Hello, Carter,” I said, stepping inside the elevator. The doors closed and we started down.

“I see you’re visiting the folks on the third floor,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I try to avoid that floor.”

“It’s not so bad,” I said, even though I had no desire to be there at the moment.

“Hey, did you hear Jay got rid of the sex kitten at work?” he asked.

I figured it was best to play dumb. “What happened?”

“Let me see if I can put this kindly,” he said.

“Don’t bother on my account.”

“She didn’t fit in. She wanted, um, preferential treatment.” He leaned closer. “You ask me, she’s got problems. I figure that’s why her old man asked Jay to help her get the job.”

I nodded. It explained why Mandy’s call had come from West Virginia, but it didn’t explain why she had been trying to reach Jay.

“How is the new guy doing? Ronnie Sumner,” I added.

“Everybody thinks he’s the best thing since inside plumbing,” he said. “He can do no wrong. You ask me, he’s too good to be true, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

Carter cut his eyes toward the businessmen and said nothing until the elevator stopped and we stepped outside. “Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that the arsons started about the same time Sumner came to work?” he asked.

I glanced around; no sign of Hudson. “What are you saying?”

“Who would know better than another firefighter how to booby trap a building so that other firefighters would get hurt or killed?”

“Carter, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Don’t you know?” he asked. “The arsonist is targeting firefighters.”

I felt my head spin. Carter took my arm and pulled me aside. “Why do you think so many firefighters are landing in the hospital?” he said. “The arsonist plans what building he’s going to torch; then, he does things like cut holes in the floors and covers them with vinyl or carpet, and the firefighters fall through. Last week several guys were trying to get a hose up a flight of stairs and it gave out because the person setting the fires had gone in ahead of time and sawed off some of the boards underneath.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Why hadn’t Jay told me? I suddenly remembered there was probably a bad-ass psychiatrist looking for me. “I have to go,” I said, starting for the double glass doors leading out.

Carter followed. “And get this,” he said. “Sumner told everyone he was divorced. He lied. His wife died in a house fire.
Their
house,” he added. “Why would he lie about something like that?”

“How do you know all this?” I said once we cleared the building.

“I asked a friend to do some checking on the Inter-net once it became obvious that the arsonist was so knowledgeable.”

“But the news media—”

“It’s all hush-hush right now.”

I glanced over my shoulder.

“Are you trying to avoid someone?” Carter asked.

“It’s a long story.” I spotted my car a short distance away. Carter followed me to it. I fumbled in my purse for my keys. “How many suspicious fires have there been?” I asked.

“Not that many. I guess it takes him time to find a building and rig it. He uses an accelerant that doesn’t burn black smoke or leave an odor, which would indicate that something wasn’t right. A firefighter would know that sort of thing. But when a building is blazing out of control, you can barely see your hand in front of your face, so nobody knows the place is booby-trapped until it’s too late.”

I was shaken by the news. I felt sick to my stomach. “Did you tell Jay your suspicions about Sumner?”

Carter looked embarrassed. “I’ve been banned,” he said. “I got caught going through Sumner’s locker. I was looking for evidence.”

“What!”

“Yeah,” he said, looking sad and disappointed. “Jay said he would press charges if I ever set foot near the place again,” he added.

“I have to go, Carter,” I said, afraid my luck was about to run out where Hudson was concerned. I slid into the front seat of my car and reached for the door handle.

“You need to tell Jay,” he said.

I nodded. I started my car and backed out. I was forced to stop and wait for another car to pull from one of the parking slots. “Come on!” I said, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel and glancing toward the entrance to the hospital. My head buzzed from everything that Carter had told me, and I suddenly felt panicky about helping Elizabeth escape. I wondered how much trouble I was in.

I reached the main road just as the light turned red. I cursed my bad luck. But then I saw something that lifted my dark mood. A hearse rounded the hospital and followed the road leading to one of the exits. I caught a split-second look at Skeeter’s profile before he turned and headed in the opposite direction.

 

 

 

I was in panic mode by the time I reached my office. I had counted every stoplight on the way.

“Where have you been and why haven’t you returned my calls?” Mona said as I stepped inside the reception room. “I had to cancel one of your appointments.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I had to turn off my cell phone in the hospital, and I forgot to turn it back on.” I figured that by the time things settled down I wouldn’t have any patients left.

“Thad is in your office, and he is not happy.”

“Wow, that was fast.” He’d obviously gotten a call from Hudson the minute the man had realized Elizabeth was missing.

“And your uncle Bump called and asked that you call him back as soon as possible.” She paused. “Boy, you look like hell. Do you want a Xanax?”

“No, I’d rather just white-knuckle my way through the rest of the day. Where are my mom and Trixie?”

“You just missed them. Everything is packed and ready to go.”

“I need you to make a few calls for me,” I said. “First, try to contact Jay. I
have
to talk to him. You’ve got his cell number, right?” Mona nodded. “Then contact Delores Spears.”

“The psychiatrist?”

“Yes. Tell her I’ve referred a patient, and it’s urgent that she see her first thing in the morning. If she has questions, put her through to me right away.”

“Okay.”

“When Elizabeth calls, give her the information, including Delores’s phone number and address. And make sure she’s safe.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“Trust me. The less you know, the better.” I started for my office. “Oh, one more thing. Call Jeff Henry and find out how Mike is doing.”

“I’m on it,” Mona said.

I entered my office and found Thad reclining on my sofa. He began clapping at the sight of me. “Way to go, Kate!” he said. “Security guards are scouring hospital grounds as we speak because, as unbelievable and archaic as it sounds, a mental patient has escaped from the psychiatric ward. Dr. Hudson assured me that Senator Larkin will have our licenses over this.”

“He’s full of hot air,” I muttered, sitting at my desk.

“I’m not finished,” Thad said. “Edith punched Hudson in the face and broke his nose.”

“I knew she would do me proud.”

Thad got up from the sofa and placed both hands on my desk. He looked directly into my eyes. “It’s okay if you want to ignore court orders and screw with your own professional career, Kate,” he said, “but it’s not okay to take me down with you.”

“Okay, Thad, listen up. Larkin is not going to do a damn thing to us because his wife will mop the floors of hell with him if he makes trouble. He has been physically and emotionally abusing her. Why do you think Hudson was keeping her drugged? So she wouldn’t tell,” I said. “Senator Larkin can’t afford more bad press.”

“Gee, I hope you’re right for once.”

I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t always make wise decisions, Kate.”

I’d had enough crap for one day. “You know what, Thad? Not only do I not like you very much right now, I don’t even want to talk to you. And I damn sure don’t want to share office space with you.”

He looked surprised. Shocked, actually, I thought. I decided I liked that look on him.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“Where are you going to find a better deal? I was willing to go out of my way to help you.”

“I don’t want your help. I want you to leave my office.”

“You’re just angry right now. We’ll talk later, when you’ve had a chance to cool off.”

“Good-bye, Thad.” He left without another word.

Mona stepped inside. “Holy hell, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Thad so pissed off. I’d like to thank you personally for that pleasure.”

“Then you’ll be tickled pink to know we won’t be moving into his office after all.”

“That’s a relief,” Mona said. “I won’t have to share space with Bunnykins.” She sat on the sofa. “So, why is Thad so angry?”

Finally, I told Mona everything. Her mouth kept forming little O’s of surprise. “I’ve heard of Elizabeth Tyler Larkin,” she said once I’d finished. “She’s supposed to be this great philanthropist.”

“She’s also a very nice person.”

“So where are we moving?”

“I’m trying to formulate a new plan.”

“How about this plan,” she said. “Once the truck is loaded tomorrow, ask your mom if you can store your things at the back of their workroom and we’ll spend Saturday looking for a new office.”

“I’ve been looking at offices for two months, Mona.”

“I can help you.”

I shook my head.

“You know what, Kate?” she said. “It’s cool that you have all this pride, but you’re not thinking of your patients. This isn’t just about you.”

I knew she was right. “I probably will spend Saturday looking for a place,” I said, “but the location may not be the greatest. If I
do
find something affordable and in a decent location, it will probably be a one-room office. Just a place for me to see patients and nothing more,” I added. “I may not have a reception area.”

“Meaning I’ll be out of a job,” she said. “What if I
like
working here? Have you ever thought of that? Have you ever
once
considered that the people who care most about you might actually find joy in doing things for you? You make things more complicated than they have to be.”

“I hope you’re not mad at me,” I said, “because almost everybody I know is mad at me right now.”

In response, Mona reached across my desk, pulled a pen from my oversized coffee mug, and tossed it aside. It landed on the floor and rolled several inches as I stared, dumbfounded.

“There now,” she said, planting her hands on her hips. “That leaves you with seven pens instead of eight.”

I fought the urge to dive for the pen. “Well,
that
was a real mature thing to do.”

I glared at her.

She glared back.

I don’t know who cracked the first smile, but suddenly we were laughing. Mona sank onto the sofa and rolled back and forth as she howled with laughter. I swiped tears from my cheeks. Every time we tried to pull ourselves together, we fell into hearty guffaws.

“Stop!” I cried, holding my aching sides.

“Okay.” She cleared her throat. “I’m okay now.”

I turned in my chair so I wouldn’t see the expression on her face.

The phone rang. I reached over to press the blinking button and accidentally hit the speaker one instead. I tried to correct my mistake, but the button was stuck. It should have come as no surprise since I often dropped food crumbs or spilled coffee on my phone and my computer keyboard. I continued to work on it as I picked up the phone.

“Kate, I’m so glad you’re there,” Uncle Bump said. “I have a serious problem on my hands. It’s a delicate matter.”

I looked at Mona and shrugged. She got up from the sofa and tried to get the button unstuck.

“What is it, Uncle Bump?” I asked.

He sighed. “Well, I’ve been having a little trouble in the bedroom. I can’t seem to get, um, an erection.”

Mona covered her mouth with both hands, even as her body shook with silent laughter.

“Oh, well,” I said, swallowing hard to keep from joining Mona even though the absolute last thing in the world I wanted to think about was my uncle’s inability to get a hard-on.