Long Simmering Spring (12 page)

“Sounds good,” Dorothy said. “I can barely move.”

“Oh, back pain is awful, isn’t it?” Julie said, searching around her drawer. Where were those prescription pads? “Hold on a moment, Mrs. Harring. I need to grab something. I’ll be right back.” She stepped out of the exam room and into the hall. “Lisa?” she called out.

Lisa peeked her head around the corner, red hair bouncing as she moved. “Yes?”

“I’m out of the tamper-proof prescription pads. The ones for controlled substances. Where did we put the spares?”

“Ah, in the supply closet? Let me go check.” She disappeared and in a moment came back empty-handed. “They’re not there. Maybe in your office?”

“No,” Julie said, frowning. “I had a whole box of them in my office from our last reorder, but the box is gone. I just figured you put them away.”

“I didn’t touch them. And I can guarantee Cloris didn’t either. She’d never take something from your office without asking you first.”

“Then we’re missing fifty prescription pads. And this is on top of the other ones I couldn’t find a month ago.” Julie took a deep breath. “Let me grab one from one of the other exam rooms. We’ll talk about this later.”

Once she’d given Mrs. Harring her prescription, she headed back to Lisa. “Okay, Lisa, I talked with Cloris and she hasn’t seen them either. We’re going to have to really search for those pads. I thought we’d just misplaced the other batch, but now that this batch has gone missing too? Well, let’s just say I’m starting to get suspicious.”

Lisa nodded. “I’m pretty sure we have a block of free time this afternoon. Cloris and I can do a sweep of the office for you. I know they’re a big liability if they’re lost.”

“That would be helpful. I hate the thought of those things floating around somewhere. But there’s nothing we can do right now. We have a full morning ahead of us.”

“Gotcha. But later, Cloris and I will be on it.”

That afternoon, Lisa, Cloris, and Julie tore apart the office looking for the prescription pads, but they didn’t turn up.

“Damn,” Julie swore softly. She was going to have to face facts. The pads were missing and since she completely trusted Lisa and Cloris, it was looking likely that they had been stolen. Something like this had never happened before. Now, not only would she have to order new pads again, but she’d have to figure out if she needed to report the loss.

She was researching the issue when she heard a knock at her office door. Cloris stood there, a worried look on her face.

“I think you’d better come out here, Julie.”

Briskly, Julie walked down the back corridor and through the waiting room door. To her surprise, Margo Rathbone was standing there with her little son, Quentin. She gave the boy a quick glance. She knew he was eleven, but he looked far too thin for his age. His hand covered his right ear and he had a pained expression on his face. A yellowish fluid tinged with blood dripped through his fingers and down his wrist.

Snapping into action, Julie reached out to the boy. “What happened?” she asked as she gently pried his hand away from his ear to examine the extent of the damage.

“Ran into a post,” he muttered.

“I’d say your eardrum ruptured. Let’s get you into the back.” She guided him through the door and down the hallway to an examining room. Margo followed uncertainly, a few paces behind.

“Lisa,” Julie said as they walked past the nurse’s station. “Perforated eardrum. I need some help.” Lisa snatched up some gauze, swabs, and antiseptic, and followed the trio into the exam room. Julie watched as she cleaned quickly and expertly, taking great care while swabbing Quentin’s outer ear. When it was clear, Julie took an instrument and peered inside his ear canal. Margo shrank into a corner of the room, wringing her hands.

“It’s definitely a rupture,” Julie said a few moments later, putting the instrument aside. “Although it could heal on its own in a few weeks, I’m going to prescribe some antibiotics to make sure no infection occurs, and I’d like to monitor you weekly. In the meantime, some painkillers should help.” She handed two pills to Quentin while Lisa filled a paper cup with water.

After Quentin had swallowed the pills, Julie approached the boy and wrapped her arm around him. “Want to tell me again how this happened?” Quentin was silent.

Julie turned to Margo, who looked at her son and then at the ground.

“I know you didn’t ram your ear into a post, Quentin. I have to ask about this. Please tell me the truth.”

Again, she got no response. It was obvious the boy was very scared. “Please, let me help you.” She looked at Margo, who had begun to weep softly. “Margo, you don’t deserve this. Neither does Quentin.” Letting go of the boy, she crossed the room to take Margo gently by the arms. “I can help you,” she repeated. “Trust me.”

Margo began to cry in earnest, leaning against Julie for support. “You know it already,” she said softly. “He hits me. A lot. Things have only gotten worse as the fishing’s gone downhill. Recently, he’s started in on Quentin. Quentin tries to protect me, but Don’s too big. Too strong. I don’t know what to do. We bailed him out this morning, but he just went into a rage, started taking drugs again.” Margo wiped her eyes. “I’m scared to leave him, and I’m scared to stay. I can bear him hitting me. I can bear the yelling, and I can even bear the drugs. What I can’t bear is that he hits my son.”

Julie embraced the trembling woman more tightly. “You can leave, Margo. You can do this. For Quentin’s sake, you can. I can help you, but you need to be strong. Can you be strong for him?”

“I . . . I think so,” Margo whispered.

Gingerly, Quentin got down from the examining table and came over to embrace his mother. “I can be strong for you too, Mom.”

Julie said, “I just need to make a phone call. Lisa, would you mind waiting here for a moment?” Lisa, who’d been standing watching the drama unfold, simply nodded.

Julie went to her office and shut the door. A minute later, she returned to the patient room. “Cole’s on his way,” she told Margo.

“Oh, God, not the sheriff!” Margo said, her voice rising in panic. “Everyone’s going to know. Don’s going to find out!”

“No one’s going to know but us and Cole,” Julie soothed. “He’ll know what to do. Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Quentin said. “We need to get out of here.”

Margo nodded numbly.

Soon, they heard the bell on the front door jingle. Heavy footsteps pounded down the hall. As Cole came through the door, Margo flinched. Cole shot Julie a look, and she nodded. He’d proceed exactly as they’d discussed. Recognizing the signs of abuse, Cole checked his step and stayed a few feet back. He lowered his arms so they hung by his sides in a nonthreatening manner. “Margo? It’s Cole Grayson, remember? I’m here to help you.”

She looked at him uncertainly.

“We’re going to get you to a safe place, okay?”

There was a long pause. “Okay,” she said softly.

He turned to Quentin. “Son, are you okay?”

“I’ll be better when we get out of here.”

Cole smiled at his spirit. “Then that’s just what we’re going to do. Do you have any family or friends outside of Star Harbor?”

“My sister lives in Falmouth, and I’ve got an aunt in Providence,” Margo said quietly.

“Falmouth’s pretty close,” Cole said. “Providence is probably a better bet for now. Does your husband know where your aunt lives?”

“No. Don never let me travel. I haven’t seen my aunt in years.”

“Good. It will give us more time because he won’t think you’ll have made it as far as Providence. Let’s give your aunt a call before we head there. We want to make sure she’s at the same address.”

Margo nodded.

Dusk had fallen by the time Cole had bundled Margo and Quentin into his waiting car. Telling Julie he’d be by later, he sped off quickly. The Rathbones had no time to stop at their cottage before heading to Providence. Neither Margo nor Cole had wanted to risk a confrontation with Don. Julie was sure Cole could handle it, but she wasn’t so certain about Margo and Quentin.

The man was dangerous—and disgusting. Who could hit his own wife and child? It made her sick just to think about it.

She was glad Margo had finally gotten enough resolve to get to safety, and she was even happier that Don would be back in jail, where he belonged.

At just after eleven that evening, Cole was standing outside Julie’s house. He wasn’t sure what he was doing there—Lord knew he had a ton of crap to deal with, including rescheduling the planning meeting he’d missed to take care of Margo and Quentin and following up on the warrant he’d issued for Don’s arrest—but he knew he had to see her. The porch light flicked on and he saw her face peering through the window. In a moment, she unlocked the door to let him in.

Even wearing a soft T-shirt, worn jeans, flip-flops, and not a stitch of makeup, she looked beautiful. Her long hair was swept up in a loose ponytail and her intelligent eyes regarded him in the dim light.

“Are they—”

“Safe,” he said. “I thought you’d be sleeping.”

“How could I possibly get to sleep?” Julie shook her head. “They’re doing okay?”

“Quentin’s holding up well. He’s a solid kid. He’ll look after his mom, who seems to have gotten the worst of it. Angie Doppel—that’s Margo’s aunt—seems like a strong, sensible woman. Hopefully, she’ll be able to help Margo get back on her feet.”

“So Angie was happy to see them?”

“Yeah. She welcomed them with open arms. Angie told me she couldn’t bear it when Margo married ‘that snake of a man.’ That’s a direct quote, by the way.”

“Good. And I was glad to call my friend Dr. Tucker in Providence. He’ll continue to take care of Quentin’s ear,” Julie said. “Do you think Margo will press charges?”

“I don’t know, but even without a statement from Margo or Quentin, we’ll have enough to let the state pursue child endangerment charges. I didn’t push it tonight. I’ll take a trip out next week when she’s had some time away from Don. Regardless, I’m going to need your medical records on Quentin to help make the case. I’ll get a formal subpoena to make it all official.”

“Of course. Anything you need from me.” She reached to take his hand, and when he grasped hers, he squeezed it, almost to reassure himself that she was still there. “I found out from Margo that Don’s using drugs. You might look into whether he’s dealing, too.”

Cole gave her a short nod. “I’ll do that.”

Thankfully, she didn’t ask if she could help investigate that aspect of the case.

“Thank you,” she said, relief in her eyes. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Just doing my job,” he said tightly. “It’s the hardest kind of work, you know? I saw a lot of this in Boston. Never understood it. Still don’t. Why some men feel the need to brutalize their families.” Cole eyes were burning.

“We did what we could tonight,” Julie said, her voice calm as she gave his hand a squeeze. “You’re a good man, Cole Grayson. A really good man.”

“Thanks.” But he wasn’t. He was as fallible and as dirty as the rest of them. He’d never hit a woman or a child, but my God, he had half a lifetime of actions he was still trying to atone for.

Julie stepped back a fraction, watching him carefully. “Come inside. I’ll make you some coffee.”

“I don’t want any coffee,” he said. “I just want you.”
Truth.

Julie led him inside and shut the door. Without another word, she pulled him through the foyer. Hand in hand, they walked up the stairs to her bedroom. He lay down next to her, fully clothed, with her head on his chest, his face buried in her sweet-smelling hair.

But before the sun rose, he was gone.

CHAPTER 11

It was nice to finally have a few free hours. On this rainy Thursday afternoon, Julie’s one patient had cancelled, so she’d sent Lisa and Cloris home and gone out to get some errands done. She intended to take full advantage of her open schedule, especially since it had been a rough week so far. Visions of missing prescription pads, Margo’s tear-streaked face, and Cole’s haunted look flashed through her mind. Well, there was nothing like getting out of her office to reset her brain.

Her first stop was The Wright Read. Karen and Max Wright had taken a tiny space in an old building on Edgar Street, just across the alleyway from her own office, and crammed it floor to ceiling with books. Julie could happily spend hours there perusing the volumes. She loved to read for pleasure, something she hadn’t had the time for in medical school. Now, although her practice kept her busy, she was able to get through a book or two every month.

The old door creaked as she pushed it open, and a cool mustiness hit her as she stepped inside and placed her wet umbrella by the door.

“Hi, Julie. Nice spring weather we’re having, hmm?” Max Wright looked up from the small counter near the front of the store, where he was thumbing through receipts, and smiled at her over the rims of his glasses. His wavy hair was touched with gray at the temples, giving him a distinguished look.

“Hi, Max.” It still felt strange to Julie to call the Wrights by their first names, but they’d insisted on it once she’d returned to town. “The rain’s pretty light. I think it’ll stop by this evening.”

“Good. We want it nice and sunny for the weekend.” Max still had one hand on the receipts. His brown eyes twinkled. “Anything I can help you find? We’ve got the latest installment from that Spanish author you like.”

“I’m just going to browse for a while.”

“Enjoy. Let me know if you need any help.”

“Thanks, Max.”

Julie walked to the fiction section. Peeking into the back room, she saw Karen at a writing desk, going through an accounting ledger. One of Karen’s hands was crunched in her cropped salt-and-pepper hair. The other hand held a pencil as she worked through the numbers. The corners of her mouth were turned down, and she didn’t look happy.

“Hi, Karen.”

“Oh, hi, Julie.” Blinking, Karen took off her tortoise-shell glasses and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know whether it’s too late or whether I haven’t had enough coffee yet today, but these numbers are just not making any sense. I’ve been working at this for three hours, and something simply isn’t adding up.”