Catch a Falling Star (30 page)

“You're Dr. Kendall Haynes, correct?” The officer sat across from Kendall, opening a small notepad. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face into a tight ponytail, her gray uniform shirt starched stiff. There was no hint of warmth in the woman's dark eyes.

Not that Kendall expected a pleasant so-nice-to-meet-you chat.

“Yes, I'm Nicholas Wells's family physician. I apologize for my clothes. I was working on—”

“How long have you been his physician?”

Okay, then. Let's get right to it.

“Since they moved to the Springs. I think that was about five years ago. I'd have to see his records to verify that.”

“No need for that now. And Dr. Heath Parker—he's been with your practice for how long?”

“Dr. Parker isn't with my practice.”

The police officer tapped the notepad with her pen. “Then why is he giving medication to your patients?”

“I have no idea.” Kendall forced herself to unclench her fists. These were simple questions with simple answers. “But I am very interested in finding out the answer to that question.”

“So you're saying you didn't know Dr. Parker recommended this supplement to your patient?”

“Absolutely not.”

“You didn't know he'd given your patient a course of the supplement?”

“No.” Kendall's cell phone buzzed. “May I check this, please? It may be Dr. Parker. I've been trying to reach him—”

The officer nodded, sitting back and waiting. But a quick glance at her phone proved it was only her sister Bekah calling. Well, Bekah would just have to wait.

“I-I'm sorry. That was a personal call. Nothing important. What's next?”

“Dr. Haynes, can you tell us anything about—” The officer glanced at her notepad. “—Kupu?”

“I wish I could. I've only heard Dr. Parker refer to some kind of herbal treatment he came across in Africa.”

“When was this?”

Kendall paused. Her answer would sound like she was somehow involved with Heath and his future plans. But she wasn't. And she couldn't hide things.

“Dr. Parker invited me to attend a dinner meeting with his board one evening several weeks ago.”

“I see. So you're part of his board, but you don't know anything about this drug?”

“No. I'm not on the board. My relationship with Dr. Parker is purely personal. We're dating . . .” There was nothing wrong with admitting she was dating Heath, was there?

“And you've dated for how long?”

“A month or so.”

“I see.”

Kendall would love to ask the officer just what she “saw.” Then again, did she really want to know?

“Can you explain to me why Dr. Parker told Mr. and Mrs. Wells they could reach him either on his cell or at your office if they had any questions?”

Kendall stood. This conversation was starting to sound like a cross-examination. “Officer, I am not on the witness stand. I've done nothing wrong.” She forced herself to take a deep breath, to try to sound less defensive. No need to arouse suspicion by getting up in the officer's grill. “I've told you everything I know. And honestly, right now I'm here as a physician who is trying to take care of her patient. I assure you, I'm more interested in finding out the answers to all these questions than you are. If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on Nicholas.”

The officer also stood, blocking the exit. “Just one more thing, Dr. Kendall.”

“Yes?”

“If you do talk with Dr. Parker, advise him to contact me as soon as possible. I have some questions for him to answer, too.”

Kendall escaped into the controlled chaos of the ER. She straightened the badge positioned on the nonexistent collar of her shirt and walked to the nurses' station. She should have taken the time to change into scrubs. “How is Nicholas doing?”

The nurse pulled his chart, glancing at it for a quick update.
“He's resting. He's still sedated. We're in the process of admitting him to the pediatric ICU.”

“Okay, thanks.” The odor from the wilted flowers sitting in the glass vase on the desktop caused Kendall to take a step back. “Are his parents with him?”

“I believe so. Although his mother mentioned going to get some items so that she could stay overnight with him.”

“Thanks again. I'm going to check in on him before I leave.”

Kendall walked toward the curtained-off area that provided the Wells family some privacy. The ER was busy on a Saturday, with techs and nurses and physicians moving back and forth between bays. Telephones rang nonstop. From behind one curtain, a small child wailed.

“Knock knock.” Kendall slid back the curtain just a few inches. “May I come in?”

She waited for Nicholas's parents to wave her in before stepping over beside the gurney where their son lay sleeping. With his heart rate up, his color had improved. Beneath the blanket, his chest muscles twitched in response to the external pacemaker. Kendall touched his forehead, watching the monitors beside his bed to get a reading on his heart rate and blood pressure.

“Well, he's looking better.” She couldn't hold back the audible sigh of relief. “I think we'll see marked improvement from here on out.”

“The ER doctor says Nicholas is going to the ICU.” Even as she spoke to Kendall, Mrs. Wells never took her eyes off her son.

“He needs to be there until he's stable enough to be off all this technology.” Kendall reached over and squeezed the woman's hand. “I know this was so frightening for both of you. I'm sorry this happened.”

“Dr. Parker told us the Kupu would help build up Nicholas's immune system—” Mr. Wells gripped the metal rail that ran alongside Nicholas's bed.

“When did Dr. Parker talk with you about the, um, supplement?”

“A few weeks ago, wasn't it?” Mrs. Wells looked at her husband for confirmation. “He called us. He seemed so concerned about helping Nicholas get healthier.”

“He called you?”

“Yes. We assumed you gave him our phone number.” Mrs. Wells twisted her hands together in her lap. “He identified himself as a colleague of yours. Told us how you both cared about building up patients' immune systems—”

Mr. Wells stared at his son. “And now he's in the hospital . . . When I get the chance to talk to that guy . . .”

Only after she had a chance to talk with him first. And found out how he gained access to her patients' phone numbers.

“What did Dr. Parker say to you about the supplement?”

“I don't recall, exactly. He said it was new . . . that he'd be willing to let us try the first round free of charge.” Mrs. Wells shook her head, as if trying to make sense of what happened. “I thought that was nice. He overnighted us the first bottle.”

“Do you have the bottle with you? Can I see it?”

“We gave it to the ER doctor.” Mr. Wells looked at his wife, who confirmed his statement with a quick nod. “I think he gave it to the police.”

Of course he did. So the police could investigate the medication. And Heath Parker. And her.

She had a plan. She would stay calm—at least until Heath Parker showed up. Then all bets were off.

Kendall scoped out the lobby of the Antlers Hotel, where Heath was staying until he found a permanent home. The warm light from the modern chandeliers ought to soothe her spirit. The stone fireplace surrounded by leather chairs invited her to sit and relax. But at this point, Kendall doubted if she'd ever get the adrenaline coursing through her veins out of her system.

Of course, she'd never been to Heath's hotel room. He always picked her up at her loft, or she met him at church, or at the restaurant, like the time she met him for dinner with his alleged board. Kendall wasn't sure what Heath Parker was up to anymore, so she had no idea what those people were doing.

When she left the hospital and went home, she still believed Heath would call her. But by the time eight o'clock rolled around, she gave up hope. Maybe her “Call me right away. We need to talk about Nicholas Wells's being admitted to Memorial's pediatric ICU thanks to your so-called supplement” message scared him off.

Fine. If Heath wasn't going to call her, she'd find him. Kendall dumped her ratty jeans and short-sleeved shirt into the clothes hamper, showered, and then selected a pair of black dress pants and a black dress blouse, paired with wedge-heeled shoes. Not that she cared what she wore to confront the man. But she wanted to be able to look in Dr. Parker's eyes—or as close as possible.

She approached the receptionist, hoping she had the appropriate I'm-here-to-meet-someone persona. “Hello, I'm a friend of Dr. Heath Parker. Would you please ring his room and let him know I'm here to see him?”

The young woman's blue eyes, made up à la Cleopatra, widened, but she only said, “One moment, please” before calling his room.

Satisfaction, at last.

Short-lived satisfaction.

“I'm sorry, but Dr. Parker isn't answering his phone. May I take a message for him?”

“No, thank you. I'll wait in the lobby.”

Kendall chose a chair facing the lobby's glass doors.
Is this what it feels like to be on a stakeout?
She always thought it would be more . . . thrilling. Right now exhaustion warred with frustration—and the two were at a stalemate.

The battle continued with every glance at her iPhone. Within thirty minutes, she paced the sand-colored marble floors of the lobby, aware that the receptionist watched her movements. What could she do, order her to leave? Demand she sit down? An hour later, Kendall changed her walking tour and paced the carpeted hallway to the left of the main lobby. She debated calling Rachel or one of her other friends to vent, but she needed all her attention focused on what she was going to say when Heath finally showed up. She only hoped he made an appearance sometime before breakfast tomorrow.

Just before midnight, Kendall heard Heath's voice coupled with a woman's sultry laugh.

Interesting. Not that she was here to ask about
her.
They'd never used the word
exclusive.
Shame on her for assuming that's what the man meant with all his talk of falling in love. Well, shame on her for a lot of things, apparently.

Kendall stood, positioning herself in the middle of the lobby so that Heath and whoever he was with couldn't miss her. Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but notice that the receptionist leaned on the desk, ready to watch the showdown.

The man walked into the lobby, his arm around Leslie
what's-her-name's waist, his jacket draped over her shoulders. No wonder the woman was cold. Her dress skimmed her thighs. And what was that old-fashioned saying about “displaying your goods in the shop window”? Appropriate.

“Heath.”

Kendall's voice sliced through their laughter. Heath looked away from Miss-Forgot-to-Wear-a-Complete-Dress. Stopped. A smile of satisfaction curved Leslie's lips when she caught sight of Kendall. Caught in the act—and proud of it.

“Let's skip the what-are-you-doing-here question. I've called you all day about my patient being hospitalized. He used your
supplement
—and I use that word loosely—and had a life-threatening reaction.”

“I'm sorry to hear your patient is sick, Kendall.” Heath leaned in and whispered something to Leslie. Patted her tush as she headed for the elevator. “Why does that concern me?”

“He had a reaction to something
you
gave him, Heath.”

“So he—or rather, his parents say.” Heath didn't even bother to look at her, preferring to watch Leslie as she stood by the elevator, waiting for the doors to open.

“Are you suggesting that supplement is harmless?”

“I'm saying that previous tests on Kupu have shown no serious side effects.”

Kendall paced closer, grabbing his arm to force his attention back to her. “Heath, what were you thinking, giving a supplement to my patients without consulting me first?”

“We're not partners, Kendall. I don't need to consult you.”

“You talked with my patients. In my office.”

“It was nothing more than a friendly conversation. A suggestion.” Heath loosened his green-and-blue-striped tie. Yawned. As if the conversation bored him. “They were free to try the supplement or not.”

“Do you realize the police questioned me? That you've implicated me in I don't know what?”

“We've talked about how important nutrition and supplements are for kids with asthma and allergies. You've agreed with me about the importance of building up patients' immunities.” He looked her up and down. Smirked. “And you did attend a board meeting . . .”

His words and actions clicked in place like the pieces of a puzzle. Heath Parker wasn't pursuing her for love and marriage and a family. He was setting her up . . . using her as a front for his . . . whatever this was . . . illegal supplement.