One Summerhill Day (The Summerhill Series Book 1) (15 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

Ryan headed south to Philadelphia later that evening. Somehow he had to find out who had frightened and threatened Cait. If he had to search through half of Philadelphia, he would. He would do anything for her, for this woman who had made him feel normal for one glorious night. Somehow, she had managed to make him forget about the explosion, Chad, the army, his leg, and his missing testicle. Of course, his memories had returned, but how wonderful it had been to live without them for a while. Yep, Caitlyn McCabe had done the impossible.

Not only had he forgotten everything, but he had no longer felt like a failure. Every single day since the bomb had sent Chad to his death, he had wallowed in self-pity for failing his friend. He told himself over and over again that he should have guessed a bomb was planted on the road, or at the very least, he should have made Chad slow down. Yeah, his therapist had talked to him about letting go of that feeling, but words hadn’t helped much. His dad’s advice didn’t do much either. But Cait? Caitlyn made him feel as if he mattered again.

At about four a.m., he found a hotel on the outskirts of Philly and slept for a few hours. He knew he would get more information from the day shift officers, so he waited until after nine before heading out.

Ryan had driven his personal vehicle in order to be as unobtrusive as possible. He parked his car outside the central office of the Philadelphia Police Department and strode inside, hoping it would be a slow day so he could find the detective he had been dealing with, Bachorski. After waiting fifteen minutes, he was ushered into a back room to meet with Detective Bob Bachorski.

“Officer Ramsay, pleased to meet you.” He offered his hand and Ryan shook it. “I’m afraid I don’t have any information for you.”

“Nothing on Bruce Dalton at all?”

“Nothing new. He’s got an expensive gambling habit, but that’s it. No run-ins with the law as far as I can tell.”

Ryan thought for a minute, then passed him the paper he had gotten from Cait. “Is this the correct address for him?”

Bachorski glanced at the paper. “Yeah, that’s him. And the girl listed on this sheet may have been with him before as you stated, but not lately.”

Ryan nodded, then stood up. His prosthesis caught on the chair, but he righted himself before he fell.

“You did duty?” Bachorski asked.

“Yeah, Iraq, army.”

“Afghanistan, army. Bomb catch you?”

“Yeah.” He held his hand out. “Thanks for your help.”

Bachorski shook his hand. “Sorry we couldn’t do more for you. Just couldn’t get my sarge to free us up. Heavy workload right now.”

“Understood.” He gave him his card. “If you hear anything, call me. I’ll be in town until tomorrow.”

Bachorski took the card. “Sure. Good luck.”

About two hours later, Ryan sat parked in front of Cait’s old house. He had just finished grabbing lunch after talking with her lawyer, who’d confirmed his possession of the signed divorce papers. According to the lawyer, he’d already made a partial payment to Dalton, whom he suspected was in sore need of money. Dalton had been at home at five p.m. yesterday, but there was a slim possibility he could have chased Caitlyn on the Thruway later that night. But how would he have known she was there without following her from the hotel? The timing was all wrong for that scenario.

Now he would meet this Dalton character face-to-face. He climbed out of his car and trudged up the sidewalk to the door. The house was nice and appeared to be relatively new, but the outside was a mess. He hadn’t pulled into the driveway because it had snowed here and no one had bothered to shovel or plow. Dalton’s car sat in the drive covered in snow, another reason to doubt he had gone to Buffalo. After he rang the bell, he glanced at the neighborhood. Money everywhere, and her husband was a gambling addict.

The door flew open to reveal a man a couple of inches shorter than his six foot two frame.

“Yeah?” Bruce Dalton was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. Though he had nowhere to be and no job to go to, he had an air of impatience.

“Bruce Dalton?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m Ryan Ramsay from the Summerhill Police Department. I wondered if I could talk with you about your wife, Caitlyn.”

“Ex-wife.”

“Ex-wife.” Ryan glowered at him.

Dalton shifted his feet before he answered. “Fine, I’ll answer a few questions, but that’s it. I signed her fucking papers, so what else does she want?”

Ryan’s eyebrows rose at the man’s crass attitude, and it didn’t elude his notice that he hadn’t been asked inside. “Someone has threatened Caitlyn McCabe. Do you have any idea who would do such a thing? Does she have any enemies?”

“Well, it wasn’t me. Like I told you on the phone, I was home when it happened. Sure, I tried to get her aunt’s money, but the lawyer wouldn’t budge, so I moved on. I just wanted more money.”

“She didn’t give you any in the settlement?”

“Yeah, but I need more and Caitlyn has more that she could ever spend. Would it hurt her to share her wealth a little?”

“I heard she gave you a very generous settlement, especially considering your prenup.”

Dalton scowled. “How the hell do you know about my prenup?”

“I’m not sure I like your attitude. According to her lawyer, you were also aware of an accident she had in Summerhill during a snow storm. How did you find out about that?”

“Somebody from the hospital called me, asked if I was next of kin. There was something in her purse. I wasn’t up there. I just figured if they called me, she had to be pretty bad and I could beat her to Buffalo. ” Bruce showed a touch of guilt, but not much. Ryan guessed he was finally figuring out that with his background, he would be suspect.

“Just the other day, someone tried to run her off the road on the NYS Thruway. Maybe you should take this a little more seriously.” Ryan wasn’t going to let up on him. He wanted to see how he reacted to pressure.

“What?” Dalton paled. “I would never do such a thing. We’re better off apart than together, but she was my wife… I don’t wish her dead. Who would try to kill her?”

Ryan noticed the color in his face changed. Maybe he was innocent. A gambler and a sleaze, yes. Murderer? Probably not. “That’s what I’m trying to determine. What about the woman you were having an affair with?”

“Lynn? Hell no. She liked Caitlyn. She was always talking about her.”

“Are you still seeing her?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I caught her going through my things. And she was always asking me to buy her something. Watches, bracelets. She wanted my debit card. Shit, I don’t need that. I got rid of her.”

“Can you tell me where she’s living now?”

“Over on Brown Street in a townhouse. Ummm…2301, I think.”

“Are you seeing anyone now?”

“No, I’m single and I’m loving it. I never liked to be tied down before Caitlyn and I got together.”

“You mean before you found out about Caitlyn’s money.”

“Yeah,” he grinned. “That’s right. It was about money, and I got plenty for the couple of years I spent with her. But I never tried to hurt her.” The door slammed in his face.

Ryan smirked at the thought of that guy being a manwhore. He certainly didn’t look the type. How the hell had Cait stayed with him for two years? He climbed into his car and headed for Brown Street.

Lynn Palermo answered the door right away. After he introduced himself, she invited him in and they sat at her dining table. The house was sparsely furnished but clean.

“Oh my gosh, is Caitlyn okay? I worry about her so much. I feel horrible about what I did, and it was so stupid. I don’t even know why I was interested in him. He’s a fool. I’m glad she divorced him.” She gave him a wide-eyed look of innocence that could have snagged her an Oscar if her life had gone differently.

Ryan stifled his grin. He wanted to ask her if she had been worried about Caitlyn while she was screwing her husband, but he didn’t. “She is fine for now. But someone is threatening her, actually tried to drive her car off the road. Do you have any idea of someone who might want to hurt her?”

She didn’t have to feign her shock. “Threatening her? What happened? Is she back in Philly? I’d love to see her.”

“No, she’s not back in Philly. Now, about her enemies. Anyone you would suspect?”

Lynn thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t think of anyone. Do you know where she is? I would really like to talk to her, to apologize, you know.”

Ryan thought she appeared genuinely concerned, but he wasn’t willing to give her any information about Caitlyn. “I believe she’s still using the same phone, so you can text her if you’d like. I can’t tell you whether or not she’s interested in talking to you.”

“Did she move out of Philadelphia for good? You said Summerhill Police? Where is that anyway?”

“Summerhill is in New York State, as it says on my jacket. I’ll let Ms. McCabe update you on her status and where she’s living. Her car accident was near Summerhill. That’s why I’m investigating. Is there anything else you can tell me about Caitlyn? You worked with her, correct? Was there anyone at work she didn’t get along with? Any patients who argued with her?”

Lynn scowled as she chewed on a nail. “No. Hmmm…let me think.” A moment later, her face lit up. “Wait a minute. There was one guy…yeah. A transporter. He was always hitting on her, so she had to tell him she was married. William somebody.”

“Can you be a little more specific? Take your time, maybe you’ll remember his last name. Does he still work there?”

“I haven’t seen him in a while. William…Jenkins. William Jenkins. That’s his name.”

Ryan sighed with relief. Finally, he had a lead.

***

Caitlyn trudged into work on Monday morning, regretting that she’d agreed to work four twelve-hour shifts in a row. The night before she had gone home at eight thirty and fallen into bed as soon as she changed out of her scrubs. She had passed out until her alarm went off, and then she’d groaned loud enough to wake the neighbors.

Hopefully, the emergency room would be quieter today. When she walked in, only three cubicles were full, which was a good sign She noticed Lucille was also there, but at this point, she knew better than to try and talk to her.

Mid morning, her nurse manager, Susan White, invited her into her office. It made her nervous to be called into a meeting, but she was new and it wasn’t unusual for managers to check on new employees. She made sure Mallory was free to cover her patients for her, then followed Susan into her office.

“Please have a seat and close the door, Caitlyn.” Susan smiled and sat down behind her desk. Caitlyn didn’t like the feel of this. “So how is everything going?”

“I think it’s going well. I was here all weekend with Mallory. I’ve been taking more patients, so I’ll be prepared to go out on my own soon.”

“Well, I was thinking of moving you to your own schedule starting next week, if you’re comfortable with that.”

Caitlyn thought for a minute and said, “I think I’ll be fine. Would it be possible for my schedule to line up with Mallory’s for the first week so I have someone to go to with questions?”

“Absolutely. I think that’s a wonderful idea.” Susan quieted and steepled her fingers in front of her face. “How are you getting along with the other nurses on the unit?”

“Oh, no problem. I like everyone. I don’t think I’ve met all your nurses yet, but I’ve gotten along with everyone I’ve met.” Caitlyn hoped her lie didn’t show. Anyway, it was mostly true—she got along with everyone but Lucille. Still, she would never run to her boss and complain about another employee.

“Well, I’m glad you feel that way. I have received a complaint from one of your peers about your willingness to help. She said you didn’t want to watch her waste her narcotic and almost refused to sign off on it when she did waste it in front of you.”

Damn it, Mallory had been right. The bitch had set her up and thrown her under the bus. “I didn’t see the nurse waste the medication, so I didn’t want to sign. That is your policy, correct? In orientation, I was told we had to actually see the vial or pill when it’s discarded.”

“Of course, that’s our policy. And I am sure none of my nurses would expect you to co-sign if you didn’t see the medication.”

“I apologize.” The sweat pooled underneath her shirt. What the hell could she say? She was screwed one way or the other. Either she signed without seeing it, or she lied to the nurse about seeing the discard. Both went against protocol.
Just apologize and get out of here.
“Apparently, there was a misunderstanding. It won’t happen again.”

“Thank you. We all work very hard here and we have to function as a team. I need team players, not loners.”

Susan White smiled and stood. “That’s all. I just wondered if you were having any problems. Remember, if you do, please come to me as soon as possible.”

Lucille was going to be nothing but trouble.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Monday was not her favorite day to work because there were so many people around. Lots of tests, surgeries, and doctors everywhere. Caitlyn tried to stay out of the way and just do her job. Avoiding Lucille was paramount, but in the middle of the afternoon, she had no choice but to interact with her.

A patient had requested IV Dilaudid, so Caitlyn had administered the prescribed dose, but since it wasn’t the entire vial, she had to waste the remaining medication. Of course, the only person around to witness her waste was Lucille, who was standing next to her at the med cart. Against her better judgment, she approached the miserable woman.

“Lucille, I need to waste some Dilaudid.” She held the vial up for Lucille to check. “Would you witness for me?”

“Sure, no problem, newbie.” Lucille took the vial from her so she could read it. “Yup, Dilaudid. I’ll sign for you.”

Caitlyn tossed the vial into the sharps container, the required waste receptacle because the vial was glass. “Here, would you sign for me?” She held out the paper and pen.

Lucille placed her hand on her hip and said, “Oh, you know, I don’t remember if that was Dilaudid or not. Would you show it to me again?”

Caitlyn froze, unable to speak. She had seen her look at the bottle. The woman had actually said it was Dilaudid out loud. Damn the witch. “I just threw it in the sharps container.”

Lucille grinned. “Well, why don’t you reach in there and see if you can get it back for me?”

“In the middle of all those needles? Very funny, Lucille. I can’t believe you said that. You know I can’t reach in there to get anything out. That’s impossible.” Caitlyn couldn’t believe what Lucille had just suggested. Of course, no one was around to overhear her, so she was free to do as she liked.

“Humph. I guess I can’t sign if I didn’t see what you wasted.” Lucille smiled and spun on her heel and walked away.

Caitlyn was dumbfounded. She didn’t know what to do. Without a witness’s signature, she could lose her job, particularly after the other waste-related debacle, but there was no one else to ask. Mallory came out of a patient’s cubicle, and Caitlyn waved her over.

“What’s wrong?” Mallory asked.

“I showed Lucille my Dilaudid waste, but then she refused to sign, saying she couldn’t remember what it was. She actually asked me to reach into the sharps container to pull it out.”

“Oh my God. You didn’t, did you?” Mallory gave her an incredulous stare.

“Of course not. But I have no one to sign my form, and it’s gone.”

“I’ll sign it for you.”

“No, Mallory. I wouldn’t ask you to sign for something you didn’t witness.” Her recent conversation with her nurse manager echoed in her mind. Caitlyn closed out of the med page without the extra signature. “I guess you were right. I just had a hard time believing she could be so nasty.”

“You need to report her to the nurse manager.”

“If I report Lucille to the nurse manager, then I’m a troublemaker. You know Lucille will have a reason for everything she did. Plus, Susan already called me into her office because she had a complaint about me.”

“What?” Mallory stared at her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I was embarrassed. Who gets pulled into their supervisor’s office after working for two weeks?”

“It’s Lucille. She has done it before and she’s doing it again. I can’t believe Sue White listens to her. She has to know what kind of person she is after all these years.” Mallory paced back and forth in front of Caitlyn as she spoke.

“Mal, never mind. It’s over and done with. I’ll know better than to ask her again.”

“Either way. I’m going to keep my eye on her.”

***

Ryan pulled the hanger out of his closet, the shirt still on it. He held it up to inspect it. Good enough, he decided. There weren’t too many wrinkles. He put the shirt on and thought about shaving, but changed his mind, deciding instead to leave his beard scruffy.

He was taking Erin and Sammy out for pizza. It didn’t happen often, but he had promised Chad to take care of them. At first, he had considered marrying Erin, but they had quickly agreed that it wouldn’t work for them. The least he could do was pay for dinner once in a while. Visiting them only reminded him of Chad, of how much he missed him, wished he had made it out of Iraq.

Now that he had met Cait, he knew more than ever that he had made the right decision not to date Erin. Someday, he would tell Cait about Erin, but not yet. He had to make sure she wouldn’t feel threatened by their relationship. He and Erin were strictly friends. Truth be known, he was falling hard for Cait, and he didn’t want to risk that relationship for anything.

He got out of the car, walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Erin answered a minute later, Sammy right behind her.

“Uncle Ryan, I’m coming, too. Right?” Sammy peeked around his mother, a wide grin on his face.

Ryan had told Erin he wanted to take Sammy with them. “Of course, buddy.”

“This was nice of you to do for us, Ryan. He loves you so.” Erin gave him an appreciative glance before turning to Sammy, “Get your coat and come on.”

“I know, Mom!” Sammy yelled as he charged back into the house for his jacket. “Where are we going?”

“Well, how about that place where we can get pizza and play games?” Ryan ruffled Sammy’s hair when he came out the door, fumbling with the zipper on his jacket as he ran to the car.

“Yes! I love that place. I can’t believe I get to stay out late. Thanks, Uncle Ryan.”

Ryan opened the door for Erin, then climbed into the driver’s seat. “Is that alright with you, Erin?”

“Pizza is fine, Ryan.”

Sammy chattered all the way to the restaurant, and every time he glanced at Erin, she appeared extremely uncomfortable. He had no idea what he had done, but hoped he would get the chance to ask her at dinner.

Once inside the restaurant, they settled and Ryan gave Sammy some money to go play some of the arcade games.

“Aren’t you playing with me, Uncle Ryan?” Sammy’s face was lit with excitement.

“No, maybe after dinner. Right now, I want to talk to your mom.”

“Okay, call me when the pizza is here.” Sammy flew off toward the game room.

“Ryan, you’re so good with him. I wish…” Erin’s eyes misted and she turned away, staring out the window of the restaurant.

Ryan thought he knew what she was going to say, so he finished it for her. “I know. I wish Chad was here with us.”

Erin shook her head and reached into her purse for a tissue. “You don’t understand.”

“I know how much I miss him, Erin, so I can only imagine how much you and Sammy do.”

Erin rested her elbow on the table and leaned her head into her hand. “Ryan, why are you doing this? You don’t have to, you know.”

“Doing what?”

“Taking care of us. That’s what it seems like you’re doing. There’s no need. I can take care of Sammy and myself.”

“Because I want to be here for you two. It’s just not right that he was taken away from you so soon.”

“I know, and you have been a wonderful friend, but I think we have adjusted. It’s been a few years. You don’t have to fuss over us.” Erin peered at him before staring out the window again. “I do miss him, but I know Chad. He would want us to get on with our lives and not spend all our time mourning, especially Sammy. He would want Sammy to be happy.”

“I know, but I am only doing what Chad wanted. It was his last wish.”

“Tell me again what he said? Please? Tell me exactly what you heard.” There was some glint in her eyes he had trouble understanding.

Ryan glanced across the room and saw Sammy laughing and cheering with a couple of other boys.

“When the bomb went off, the look on his face was terrible. He was in awful pain.” The words came out without any conscious selection on his part. He peeked at Erin. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t be so graphic.”

Erin reached for his hand and covered it with hers. “No, I want you to tell me exactly how it was. I can handle it.”

“I don’t want to go into all the details about getting Chad out of the way, but I finally got him hidden in some brush off the road. He tried to speak, but he had trouble catching his breath. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it and said the same thing three times.
Please.
That’s the only word he could get out at first, but then he tugged on my arm and pulled me closer. He said, ‘Promise me.’ I told him I would promise him anything. My gut felt like someone had punched it while holding me down.”

“Not your leg?”

“No, I didn’t know about my leg injury yet. The doctor said I was in shock, and I’m sure Chad was, too. I don’t think he felt all the pain of what had happened.”

“I’m sorry, Ryan, you don’t have to continue if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do. He whispered something else, but I couldn’t understand him. Then I put my ear down to his mouth and he said it again. All I could make out was the last part, ‘Take care of them.’”

He rubbed the rough beard on his chin, wanting to make everything go away. But he knew he couldn’t. That day, that moment, would live with him forever. “He said to take care of you and Sammy.”

“I know I’ve asked you this before, but did he say our names?” Tears slid down her cheeks and she swiped at them with the back of her hand.

He scowled for a moment, trying to remember, but he couldn’t. “No, but he meant you and Sammy. I’m sure of it.”

Erin nodded and fussed with her purse, pulled out her phone to check it, then placed it back inside. Her text alert went off, so she tugged it right back out. “Excuse me, I have to answer this.”

Ryan waved his hand at her and stared into the game area where the kids were playing. He stood up, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and strolled over to watch Sammy play. When he got close, though, the lights and the bells set off a feeling inside him. Suddenly he was back there, right in the thick of it. He could hear another bomb explode not far from them, and he heard the men from his unit yelling and hollering, some shooting at nearby enemy forces.

Then time moved backward. He stood in the middle of the street, laughing at some stupid joke Jake had just told them. They were about to climb into their vehicles for their ill-fated mission, and he wanted to scream at himself to stop.

Ryan relived it all. Once again, he carried Chad across the road, away from the insurgents and the gunfire. Ryan knelt by his friend’s side in the brush, yelling at him to get some response. Chaos reigned around them, but he couldn’t take his gaze from Chad’s. It was clear his friend didn’t have much more life left in him.

He thought Chad had grabbed his hand and said, “Listen to me. Listen. I’m dying.”

Ryan had ignored him. Why? He couldn’t remember why he had turned away from his friend for a few moments, but he had. A feeling of remorse swept through him, of pity, just as he had felt at the time. What could have prompted such a feeling?

And then Chad’s voice changed, insistent, frantic. Ryan had tried to understand his words, but it was impossible. He had rambled out almost a complete sentence before a few of his words finally registered: “Take care of them.”

Sammy’s voice pulled him from his memories. He shook his head and stared at the little boy in front of him.

“Uncle Ryan, are you okay?” Sammy tugged on his arm, one of the few things that could actually pull him out of an episode. Physically yanking on him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go eat.” He headed back to the table with Sammy, and Erin was already sitting there and staring at him, a strange look on her face.

What the hell had he done during his episode?

Damn it, why couldn’t he remember everything?