Silent Witness (13 page)

Voices echoed in the stairwell again. Jennie tried to call for help, but managed nothing more than a scratchy whimper. She felt sweaty and chilled all at the same time. And dizzy. Everything around her drifted into colors of yellow, pink, red, blue, purple, then black.

“Is she going to be all right?” The question swam into Jennie's murky consciousness, then out again.

“I hope so.” Gram's familiar voice edged in, crowding out the darkness. “The doctor is certain she didn't get any of the digitalis in the syringe. She just fainted, but they've kept her mildly sedated.”

Jennie opened her eyes. Scott stood beside her bed, holding a vase containing a fern and two pink roses.

“Hi,” Jennie croaked out.

“Hi, yourself.” Scott smiled and set the flowers on the nightstand. “I brought you these. Kind of as a peace offering.”

“Don't keep blaming yourself, Scott,” Gram said. From the other side of the bed, Gram placed a straw to Jennie's lips. After drinking a few sips, Jennie looked from one to the other and frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“It was my fault Layton cornered you. I shouldn't have gone after him. Ran into Delaney in the lobby and she busted me. I tried to tell her about Layton, but she wouldn't listen.”

“Layton …” Jennie shuddered as the picture of Dr. Layton lying at the bottom of the stairs leaked back into her memory. “I killed him.”

Gram shook her head. “He's alive and in custody. After we found the two of you in the stairwell, I suggested Angel have her people look for his car. They found Sarah in the trunk.”

Jennie raised up on her elbows. “Is she okay?”

“She's fine. Maggie and Tim took her back to the research center this morning.”

Morning. “How long have I been out?” Jennie said, glancing at the clock.

“About eight hours. The doctor said we had to let you sleep off the trauma.”

“They found something else in the trunk too,” Scott added. “My fingerprints and traces of my hair and blood. Layton must have knocked me out and stashed me in his trunk. When I showed Delaney the blood on my shirt, she had the lab run a test. It matched Layton's.”

Jennie glanced back at Scott and smiled. “So you're in the clear. I'm glad.” She looked back at Gram. “Did he kill Delilah?”

“It looks that way,” Gram said. “Angel is still trying to fit all the pieces together. I think with the evidence she's found and with Sarah's testimony she'll be able to come up with a good case against him on all counts.”

“You got that right, Ms. McGrady.” Angel Delaney stepped into the room. “Just got off the phone with your friend in the bureau.”

“J. B.?”

“Right. He's been rattling a few cages up in Portland.

Looks like Layton left enough loose threads to trip himself up. Once we started pulling them, his alibi unraveled like an old piece of burlap.” Angel sauntered over to a chair and dropped into it. “A handwriting expert compared the Ramsey entry in the appointment book with Layton's handwriting, and it matched. Not only that, we can tie him to the car Ramsey was in when he died. Back when they were investigating what they thought was a murder/suicide, the forensics team found a couple strands of blond hair on the passenger seat of Ramsey's car. Lucky for us they kept them.”

“Carl's?” Gram asked.

“Bingo. They were able to match those hairs with some they found on Layton's suit. I owe you two an apology for not taking you more seriously in the beginning. Layton's good.”

“But not as good as Jennie and Gram,” Scott said, his sea-green eyes filled with admiration.

“I don't understand it,” Jennie asked. “How could someone like Dr. Layton do such terrible things? Doctors are supposed to help people, not kill them.”

“I doubt Carl planned to hurt anyone, initially,” Gram said. “From what Tim has said, he liked having money. Got greedy, started gambling and borrowing large sums of money. Then, to pay off his debts, he embezzled money from the counseling center he and Dr. Stanford ran together. Tim found a discrepancy and confronted Stanford. Carl must have overheard them and figured the only way out of the situation was to kill his partner. To avoid suspicion he shot himself, then framed Ramsey and killed him too.”

“How did Ramsey fit into it?” Jennie asked.

“J. B. thinks Carl may have owed him money.” Jennie grimaced. “It seems so cold-blooded. I'm surprised he didn't kill Sarah as soon as he found out she was there.”

“He didn't have the opportunity. Remember, Maggie came to the office right after he'd shot himself. Besides, as long as Sarah remained silent, he was safe. He used hypnosis and drugs to make certain she wouldn't recover or remember who killed her father.”

“The guy's a real gem.” Angel cleared her throat.

“You ready, Chambers?” She took hold of Scott's arm and started to lead him away.

“Where are you going? I thought you'd been cleared.”

“Almost,” Angel answered for him. “We still have the little matter of fleeing an officer to deal with.”

“Never run from a cop, McGrady,” Scott said as he stepped into the hall. He turned to Delaney. “Couldn't we talk about this… ?” Their voices faded as they walked away.

“Is he really going to jail?” Jennie asked. “It seems so unfair. After all he went through.”

“He broke the law. He shouldn't have left the hospital.” Gram smiled and patted Jennie's arm. “Don't worry, dear. I'm sure they'll take all that into consideration.”

They did. By the time Jennie and Sarah got to Dolphin Island the next day, Scott had been released and was back to work. Ken and Debbie were acting more like parents than employers. They not only gave him back his job, they offered him an internship at the center while he worked on his degree in marine biology.

After lunch, Jennie pulled on her swimsuit and made her way to the docks. As she approached, Sarah's laughter danced over the water of the lagoon. “Come on, Samson, toss me the ball.”

Samson lifted the multicolored beach ball with his nose and instead sent it flying in Jennie's direction. She caught it and tossed it back. “That was a pretty poor aim, Samson,” Jennie chuckled. “Better try again.”

“He did that on purpose, Jennie,” Sarah said. “He wants you to play too. Don't you, Sam?”

Samson lifted his sleek body out of the water and nodded, making a clicking noise that sounded to Jennie like an enthusiastic invitation to join them.

Jennie shrugged into a life jacket and climbed into the water beside Sarah and Samson. The dolphin sliced between them and offered a fin. They held on as he gave them a wild ride to the far side of the lagoon, then abandoned them.

“Come back here, Sam,” Sarah called. She turned to Jennie and gave her a knowing grin. “He knows I'm well, so he's being a tease.”

“Are you really okay?” Jennie asked as Samson approached them again to offer a ride back.

Sarah petted Samson's side and nodded. “Thanks to you.” Tears sprang to her eyes and she lifted a wet hand to wipe them away. They both giggled at the soggy result.

Later that afternoon, while Scott worked and practically everyone she knew was taking a nap, Jennie stretched out on a lounge chair by the pool. She'd promised Gram to get some rest, but after all that had happened, she was almost afraid to close her eyes.
It's over, McGrady. Done.
So why did she still feel restless?

She knew what it was. She just didn't want to think about the possibility. Even so, the thought snaked in and coiled itself around her heart. Sarah's father was dead. Even though they'd solved the mystery and Sarah's silence had been broken forever, they couldn't bring Sarah's father back. Would the same be true for her? Would she and Gram solve the mystery of her dad's disappearance only to discover that he too had died?

Oh, no you don't, McGrady. It's not the same. Dad's alive. He has to be. And with Gram's help, you'll find him. In the last month, you've solved two mysteries. You can solve this one too. Count on it.

Jennie pillowed her head in her arms and closed her eyes. Tonight, dinner on Sanibel, and later, a game of pool with Scott. Tomorrow, Disney World—the next, Epcot Center. Then home. Soon she'd be seeing Mom and Nick and Lisa and … Ryan. The thought brought a fluttering to her heart and a smile to her lips.