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room but before he could ask about her odd reaction, she was out and running through the sliding glass doors.
“They brought in a man just a short while ago. A Bradley
Norton,” she said to the woman sitting in front of the desk, her heart pounding almost painfully.
“The head wound,” she nodded. “He’s in cubicle four. Are you family?”
“Yes,” Alex lied, already heading in the direction she had
indicated.
“Then maybe you could fill in the forms when you get a
chance,” she called after her.
Alex didn’t bother responding as she shoved the curtain aside, surprising the nurse and physician who were standing by Brad.
She stopped, her gaze flying to the figure on the bed. Those beautiful dark eyes were still closed, the skin pale beneath his tan.
She fought the sob that rose to her throat.
“Can I help you?” the nurse asked, frowning.
“How is he?” Alex asked huskily.
“He’s holding his own, Miss…?” the doctor said.
“Alex Leahy. Brad is my fiancé,” she said, hoping God would
forgive her for the lies she was telling. “What does that mean, he’s holding his own?”
“According to the squad that brought him in, the police suspect he was shot. My exam confirms that is the case. Fortunately, although the cut is rather deep and required stitches, the bullet didn’t penetrate further. It does concern me that he hasn’t
regained consciousness, however. He has some contusions on his forehead along with some abrasions that aren’t related to the initial wound. It appears to be blunt force trauma which leads me to
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believe he must have hit his head on the dashboard or steering wheel. If that’s the case, that might account for the delay in responding.”.
“How will you know if that’s the reason he hasn’t awakened?”
she asked, moving to the bed and brushing a lock of dark hair back from Brad’s face. Her fingers trembled when there was no response.
“I’m sending him for X-rays and an MRI. We’ll know more in a short while.” He smiled kindly. “Why don’t you have a seat outside and I’ll let you know as soon as we have the results.” He extended his hand, taking her cold one in his and squeezing reassuringly.
He waved to the nurse who was busy covering Brad’s wound. “That is Sandy Stuart and I’m Doctor Taylor. We’ll take care of him, I promise you.”
“Thank you, doctor,” she said huskily. “Please let me know the minute he wakes up.”
She found her way back to the waiting room, purposely
avoiding the desk. She wasn’t in the mood to talk about insurance right now. She walked through the sliding glass doors into the night air, taking deep gulps, tears squeezing between her closed eyes. Damn! She should have seen this coming, should have felt something. What good was all that clairvoyance if she couldn’t even protect the ones she loved?
Another ambulance pulled up and she watched as a tearful
family followed an elderly patient on another gurney through the door.
Family! She rubbed a hand across her burning eyes. She
needed to call Brad’s father.
After calling information, she dialed the number and waited.
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A woman with a pleasant Irish brogue answered. “Norton
residence.”
“Hello. My name is Alex Leahy.”
“Ah, yes. You’re the private investigator. Sure and is Brad with you?”
“That’s why I’m calling, Miss…?
“Maggie.”
“Maggie, is Brad’s father available?”
There was a short pause. “He just stepped out. Is something
wrong?”
“Actually there is, Maggie. Brad was admitted to the hospital about fifteen minutes ago.”
“Oh, dear Lord! Is he badly hurt?”
“He’s stable but is still unconscious. I think his father should be here.”
“I’ll find him, you can be sure. Can you give me the phone
number and name of the hospital?”
Alex gave her the information then hung up slowly, totally
exhausted mentally as well as physically. She moved toward the lounge and saw Roy Clark standing just inside the emergency
room doors, gazing at her. When she caught his eye, he moved in her direction.
“Do you have someone coming to stay with you?” he asked.
She nodded. “Brad’s family is on their way.” She blinked back a rush of tears, grateful for the sympathy she detected in his expression and the fact he’d stayed.
He sat next to her in the almost-empty visiting lounge. “Can I ask you one more thing, Miss Leahy?”
She shrugged, suddenly totally exhausted. “Sure. Why not?”
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“Why the reaction earlier?”
She lifted her gaze to his. “About the chance Brad could have been shot by a stray bullet?”
He nodded.
It was almost a relief to tell him. Almost a relief to concentrate on something else other than the sight of Brad so still and pale on that gurney.
When she was finished, all traces of sympathy had disappeared from Roy Clark’s expression. “You sure of your facts?”
“Of what we have so far, yes, but it’s not enough. If we play our hand too soon and we don’t have enough evidence to make it stick on whoever is responsible, then we’ll lose.” She stood, stretching the kinks in her back. “One thing I’ll promise you, if something happens to Brad…” she paused, fighting for control. “I’ll find him, if it takes the rest of my life, I’ll find him.”
He stood and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly.
“For what it’s worth, I spoke to the head nurse out there,” he said, jerking his head toward the desk. “She says there’s an excellent chance your friend will be okay. Just hang tight.”
“I will,” she said, smiling tremulously.
“And just for the record, Miss Leahy, you won’t be alone. I’ll be looking for him as well. We don’t take kindly to crime in our neck of the woods.”
Impulsively, she hugged him. “Thank you.”
“I’ll check back later,” he said, clearing his throat obviously touched. “In the meantime, get yourself something to eat. There’s a cafeteria down the hall.”
“I will and thanks.”
He nodded, waving as he walked away.
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Alex paced back and forth in the lounge, absently watching the emergency room activity. Several times she asked about Brad and each time was told that he was stable. She walked to the cafeteria and ordered food but her appetite deserted her the minute she sat down to eat. Forcing herself to swallow a few bites she was soon walking back to the lounge. Feeling terribly alone and frightened she flipped open her cell phone and called her parents.
“Mom, I’m so scared. He was so still, so pale when they brought him in.”
“Oh, love, I’m so sorry. Do you want us to fly up?”
“No, there’s no point.” She sighed. “I just wish someone would tell me something besides the fact that he’s stable, damn it!”
“That’s my girl. That infamous Irish temper will keep you
steady.”
Alex’s spirit lifted just a little. “You always know the right thing to say, Mom.”
“Just hang in there, honey, and let us know the minute you
know something.”
“I will.”
Smiling slightly, she disconnected the call just as she
overheard someone asking for Brad. She lifted weary eyes and knew it had to be Andrew Norton, Brad’s father, standing in front of the desk. The family resemblance was unmistakable. Behind him stood a tall blond man and a slender dark-haired woman.
“I demand to see my son! Now!”
“Mr. Norton, if you’ll just give me a moment, I’ll check with his nurse,” the secretary at the desk said. “In the meantime, you can have a seat with Miss Leahy over there in the visitor’s lounge.”
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Andrew followed her gaze and strode toward Alex. “What the
hell happened?”
“If you want answers, Mr. Norton,” she snapped, “you’ll have to wait just as I have the past several hours.” She took a deep breath, attempting to control her temper because underneath the scowl she saw worry in the man’s eyes. “I told you as much as I know when I phoned you,” she said quietly. “As I assume you’ve
surmised, I’m Alex Leahy,” she finished, extending her hand.
“I know who you are,” he said impatiently, ignoring her gesture.
She raised a brow. Before she could respond, however, the man standing just in back of him moved forward, putting a hand out, his blue eyes warm despite his concern.
“Hi, Alex. I’m Kevin Lloyd, Brad’s cousin.” He glanced
backward, frowning. “Have they told you anything?”
She shook her head. “All the tests have come back negative.
They just don’t know why he still hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“Then why the hell don’t they find out!” Andrew roared.
“That’s enough, Andrew,” the dark-haired woman at his side
said, her Irish brogue thick as she put a soothing hand on his arm.
She smiled at Alex, her blue eyes kind. “I’m sorry. To be sure, we’re all upset right now.” Her gaze moved to the empty waiting room.
“How awful it must have been for you to sit here all by yourself.”
Alex could feel herself relaxing just a little as she smiled slightly. “You must be Maggie. Brad described you perfectly. He loves you very much, you know.”
Tears glistened in the woman’s eyes as she squeezed her hand.
“Thank you for that, love.”
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Kevin ran a hand through his short blond hair. “Damn it! This is my fault. If I hadn’t insisted Brad investigate Mom’s death, none of this would have happened.”
Andrew shot him a dark look but Maggie intercepted. “You
don’t know that, Kevin. Besides, Brad has a mind of his own.”
“One thing for certain, Kevin,” Alex said, sinking into a chair,
“your instincts were right on. We wouldn’t be here right now if Brad and I weren’t making someone very jumpy.” She glanced at Andrew. “I just didn’t think we were close enough for him to react so quickly or so violently.”
“Damn!” Kevin said tightly. “You think this person is stalking the two of you?”
Alex smiled slightly. “I don’t think I’d use that term exactly but that is essentially it. Someone obviously isn’t happy with our investigation and took measures to see we didn’t get any closer.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that possibility before you started off half-cocked,” Andrew growled.
Alex tensed, ready to tell him just what she thought of his
opinion then stopped and bit back the words. The man was half out of his mind with worry and the last thing either of them needed at that particular moment was a confrontation. She took a calming breath and nodded. “Maybe you’re right, Mr. Norton.”
She could see the disappointment in his eyes when she didn’t take the bait. It was obvious he wanted someone to argue with right now. Someone to blame besides himself.
“Do you have any idea who….” Kevin started to say when a
feminine voice from behind him called his name.
He turned, holding out a hand to a petite blond, curling her against him, his expression lightening slightly.
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“Alex Leahy, this is my fiancée, Carolyn Langford.”
“Hello, Alex,” Carolyn said, smiling, and then looked up at
Kevin. “After Mom gave me your message, I got here as quickly as I could. How is he?”
“I’m still waiting for another update. They won’t even let me see him.” She was tired, dirty and frightened and suddenly envious of Kevin’s arms around his fiancée.
“Maybe I can get a little more information,” Carolyn said,
moving toward the desk.
Maggie put an arm around Alex, leading her to one of the
chairs. “Carolyn is a physician so maybe they’ll tell her more than they’ve told you.” Her gaze strayed to Brad’s father who was pacing back and forth, his expression fierce. “He’s been like this since we got your phone call.”
Alex followed her gaze, her heart going out to the older man. “It must be hard realizing you love your son a whole lot more than you thought you did.”
Maggie’s gaze moved back to her. “I gather Brad has told you about his father?”
“Only a little. It isn’t hard to feel his pain when he speaks of him, though.”
Maggie sighed. “It’s the same with Andrew. It’s only just
recently that they’ve begun to mend their relationship. I hope to God it’s not too late.” She squeezed Alex’s hand when she noticed her stricken expression. “Oh, honey, I didn’t mean it in that way.
It’s just that they’ve been at odds for so very long. A whole lot of damage has been done.”
Carolyn walked back to them and Alex rose along with Maggie.
“Well?” Andrew asked.
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“He’s stable, his vital signs are strong and all the X-rays are negative. Those are all good things. Now we just have to wait for him to wake up. It could be in the next five minutes or in several hours, maybe even a few days. Everyone reacts differently to head wounds.”
Andrew’s face darkened. “That’s just not acceptable.”
The link was there before Alex was aware of it. Andrew’s
warring emotions of worry, pain and guilt slammed into her. It was several moments before she could sort them out, separate them from her own because she could relate to each and every one of those same emotions. She shook her head, keeping her voice even.
“You can’t control everything, Mr. Norton. Whether you find the situation acceptable or not, it is what it is.”
She felt his anger as he turned to face her but as her gaze
collided with his, she could see the emotion fade somewhat.
“You’re rather impertinent, young lady,” he said, although his voice had lost its harshness.
“No, sir. Just honest.”
“You sound like my Olivia,” he said gruffly. “She didn’t pull any punches either.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Alex said softly.
“Alex,” Carolyn interrupted, putting a hand on her shoulder,