Who Invited the Ghost to Dinner: A Ghost Writer Mystery (11 page)

Chapter 15

W
hen I woke up, Mike was sitting next to me. “Hey, there’s those beautiful hazel eyes I love looking at.”

There was a bright light in my face that was making my head hurt, and I closed my eyes again. “Where am I?”

“In the back of an ambulance at the moment,” he told me. “We’re fixing to take you to the hospital.”

“No,” I said, struggling to sit up. “I’m fine. Just give me a minute.”

“I would strongly advise against doing that,” paramedic Kim Thurston said. “You’ve got a nasty bump on the back of your head, and you’re going to need a few stitches. I’m pretty sure you’ve got a concussion.”

“There’s something I need to do first,” I said. My head was spinning, and I had an overwhelming urge to throw up.

“Right now, there’s nothing you need to worry about except your health,” Kim said. “Now just lay back down.”

“No!” I said, turning my head to look at her and instantly regretting it.

“Cam, let her take you to the hospital,” Mike said.

“Did you find the waiter’s outfit?”

“Don’t worry about that…”

“Did you find it?” I repeated.

Sighing, Mike shook his head. “No, there was nothing there. Just you lying on the ground out cold.”

“Help me out of here,” I said, scooting toward the end of the gurney.

“Cam, are you nuts?” Kim said, trying to pull me back.

“No way,” Mike said, reaching out to push me back.

I glared at him. “Someone nearly knocked my brains out because of those damn clothes. Let me show you where I found them, and then you can haul me away. Deal?”

Kim rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air. “You’re not the most stubborn patient I’ve ever had, but you’re damn close,” she muttered. She reached into her kit and brought out an ice pack. “Here, at least put this on the back of your head. You’ve got five minutes, and then we’re out of here.”

Mike frowned, but he got out first and helped me down. Wrapping his right arm around my waist, and holding my left hand, he walked me to the spot I pointed out to him. “Tell me what you saw.”

I looked down at the trashcan, and saw Officer Reagan standing next to it. “There was a white shirt on top, pants and tie inside. I noticed because there was a shirt sleeve draped over the edge of the can.”

“Had you seen them before?” he asked me as Reagan joined us.

I started to nod my head, but quickly stopped. “The wait staff was wearing them last night.”

“All of them?” Reagan said.

“Yes.”

“And you say they were just there, out in the open?” she said, frowning at me.

“Plain as day.”

She didn’t reply, just looked down and shook her head.

“What are you thinking, Reagan?” Mike said.

“Nothing, sir.”

“No, I want to hear it. Go ahead.”

Reagan glanced at me first, then back at Mike. “How do we know she’s telling the truth, sir? Her mother’s a possible suspect. For all we know, Ms. Shaw made the whole thing up to divert attention away from her mother.”

“And then I hit myself over the back of the head to make it look good, right?” I retorted.

“Wouldn’t be the first time someone’s injured themselves and blamed someone else.”

“And just what did I use to hit myself, Officer Reagan?” I was starting to change my opinion about this rookie. “Oh wait, let me guess, I tossed it away, then came back, laid down, and went to sleep to make it look like I was unconscious, right?”

Mike didn’t say anything.

“Well, um…I don’t know. It’s possible, I suppose.”

“Then you start looking around for a weapon, Reagan,” Mike ordered. He reached over and yanked the mic off her shoulder. “This is Chief Penhall. I need back up at the theatre. Send two units.”

“10-4, Chief.”

“Also, call the Shaws and tell them I’m sending Cam to the hospital. Have them meet her there.”

“10-4, Chief. What if they ask me what’s wrong?”

“Tell them it’s nothing too serious, and that she’ll be fine.”

“10-4.”

He held out the mic to Reagan, and helped me back into the ambulance. “I will meet you at the hospital as soon as the backup units get here.”

“You know she’s not going to find anything,” I said as I stretched out on the gurney.

“I know that. If she’s going to voice opinions, then she needs to learn to have proof first.”

“I don’t think she likes me.”

“Her problem, not yours.” He started to close the doors, but stopped. “By the way, the next time I tell you not to interfere in my investigation, listen.” He slammed them shut, and then banged twice.

“He doesn’t sound very happy with you,” Kim said as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my left arm, making me wince in pain.

I shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Yeah, but he was really freaked out this time. There was quite a bit of blood on the back of your head. I know that he knows head wounds sometimes bleed more, but I think he forgot that when he saw you lying there.”

“Oh,” I said quietly, because I didn’t know what else to say.

“And you know I like you, as a friend, but we really have to stop meeting like this.I’ve seen way too much of you lately!. Let’s not turn this into a habit, shall we?” she said.

“I’ll do my best. Maybe if you put the word out to the bad guys not to hit me in the head anymore, that might help. Couldn’t hurt.”

Kim laughed. “I’ll get right on that.”

A few minutes later, the ambulance pulled into the new hospital off 287 and I-35E. As the ambulance backed up to the door, I couldn’t help but wonder if the killer had driven past here last night.

They wheeled me through the bay doors and down the hallway to a room. After being transferred to a bed, Kim and her partner wished me well and left.

The nurse came in, introduced herself as Tracy, and started asking a bunch of questions. She put on a pair of blue nitrate gloves before looking at the back of my head. “You’re going to need some stitches,” she said.

“That’s what Kim said.”

“And what else did she say?”

“Possible concussion.”

“I keep telling her she needs to go back to med school,” Tracy said as she snapped the gloves off. “She’s way too smart to be just a paramedic, not that there’s anything wrong with being one.”

As much as I wanted to hear more, I really just wanted to lay back and close my eyes. I asked her if it was okay to do so.

“You can, but Dr. Murphy should be here in a few minutes,” she said as she left.

Just as I started to close my eyes, Mac showed up.

“What do you want?”

“I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

“If I was, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Lillian saw you fall down, and went to find me.”

“Did she see what happened?”

“The only thing she saw was someone hit you, then they grabbed some clothes and left.”

“How did they leave? Did they have a car?”

“
S
he didn’t say.”

“We can’t talk here,” I said, afraid that someone was going to come in and see me talking to myself. “Can you and Lillian meet me at my house later?”

“I’ll see if I can get her to come. She doesn’t like to leave the theatre.”

Mac disappeared just before my parents walked in. “What happened?” Dad asked after they both gave me a hug.

“Just hit my head, that’s all,” I replied. There was no way I was going to tell them what really happened.

“The lady who called said you had been attacked behind the theatre,” Mother said.

“Does it look like I was beat up?” I squeezed her hand. “I’m fine, really.”

“That’s why you’re in the emergency room,” Dad said.

“It’s the new thing to do on a slow night, Dad. Catch up.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Mother said.

“Just a little headache, and the nurse said I might need a few stitches. Honestly, it’s nothing.”

Dad took a look at the back of my head. “Doesn’t look so little, sweetie.”

“It’s not,” Mike said as he came in. I glared at him, but he ignored the look.

“Thank you so much for calling, Mike,” Mother said, giving him a hug. Apparently, she had already forgotten about her upcoming interview and being a murder suspect.

Dad shook Mike’s hand. “What happened to our daughter?”

I shook my head at Mike, which was a mistake, because it made the room spin and my head pound. “I told you, Dad, I hit my head. That’s all.”

“I didn’t ask you, I asked him.”             

“Are you implying that I’m lying to you?”

“I think you are being selective about the information you are providing.”

“So you think I’m lying.”

“Exactly.”

Mike shrugged, as if to say “sorry”. “She was on the wrong end of an unknown weapon.”

Mother gasped, and Dad looked angry. “So the dispatcher was right. Cam was attacked.”

“I’m afraid so.”

Mother glared at me. “Camille, what were you doing?”

“I wasn’t doing anything!” I protested. “I found some evidence that was overlooked last night, I called Mike, and was waiting for him to arrive when someone hit me. I was being a responsible citizen. Don’t make it sound like I was doing something wrong!”

“I did tell you to stay by your car,” Mike pointed out.

“Where did you find her?” Dad asked him.

“Behind the hospital.”

“And her car was where?”

“In the theatre parking lot.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” Dad said. “You’ve always been pretty stubborn, especially when someone is giving you good, sound advice.”

“What are all of you doing in here with my patient?” a man in green scrubs said from the doorway.

“We’re her parents,” Mother answered.

“I’m Chief Mike…”

“Yeah, I know who you are,” the man said, cutting Mike off. “Out, all of you. I need to examine the patient, and this room isn’t big enough for all of us.”

Mother leaned over, gave me a kiss on the cheek, squeezed my hand, and followed Mike out. Dad also gave me a kiss, saying, “At least do what the doctor tells you, okay?”

“I’m Dr. Murphy. I take it you don’t follow directions well?”

“What makes you say that?”

“I was standing outside looking at your chart, and overheard what Chief Penhall said.”

“Eavesdropping is not cool, Dr. Murphy.”

He shrugged. “It’s how we learn things that patients don’t want to tell us.”

“Telling you is one thing. Telling my parents is an entirely different matter.”

“Well, I’m the one who matters the most here, so tell me what happened.”

“Someone hit me from behind. That’s it.”

“Sit up straight and lean forward a little bit.”

I did as he asked.

“That is a pretty big goose egg you’ve got back here,” he said. “Someone hit you pretty hard. I’m afraid we’re going to have to shave your hair in this one spot so I can give you some stitches. And I’m going to order a CT scan, just to be on the safe side, although I don’t expect to find anything.” He helped me lean back and picked up the chart. “I’d like to keep you overnight, but you’re pretty coherent, and able to answer questions clearly. You might need someone to stay with you tonight, just to make sure you’re all right. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Stitches and CT scan, then we’ll go from there.”

“Thank you, Dr. Murphy.”

“Do you want me to talk to your mother about spending the night with you?”

“No, thank you. I think I’d rather have my boyfriend stay with me. Mother will hover over me.”

“Mothers tend to do that, especially when one of their kids are hurt. Do you want me to contact your boyfriend then?”

“Just send him in when you leave. I’ll tell him.”

Dr. Murphy looked puzzled for a minute. “Wait, you mean the police chief? Interesting. All right, I’ll send him in, but I’ll ask your parents to wait a while. I’ve seen your father out here before. He’s a good man, and he makes great coffee.”

“Thank you.”

“Just relax. We’ll get you fixed up in no time.”

His definition of “no time” was actually four hours. My mother wasn’t thrilled that I wanted Mike to stay with me and not her, even though I explained that I didn’t want to be a burden to her. The disapproving look I got from both of them was because Mike was going to be staying with me, and we weren’t married.

“I have a question for you,” I said as we left the hospital.

“What’s that?” Mike said, helping me into his truck.

“How did you know that I was in trouble?”