N
ATHAN RACED THE
stairs two at a time. He paused at the crime scene entryway and began a cursory exam of the door. Pulling on a pair of latex gloves, he ran his hand lightly over the frame, noting receptacles for three deadbolts. Every edge was clean and untroubled.
The day he was expecting had arrived.
He had no doubt that victim number five was inside.
Two paramedics with a woman secured to their gurney neared him. He stepped to the side, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, Mike. How is she?” Nathan asked, the woman unmoving under his touch.
“Hanging in there. Looks like he hit her with some weird drug. Blood pressure and heart rate are sky high but stable.”
“Got a name?”
“She’s one of ours,” Raul answered, securing the belts tighter.
“What do you mean?”
“Dr. Lilly Reeves. Works in the ER at SMC,” Mike answered, shifting the free-flowing IV bag to his other hand. “We run into her all the time.”
A vision of this woman in a different dress and manner flashed into his mind. She had stood in front of him with a fist firm to his chest, preventing him from questioning Torrence Campbell. Bringing his hand to his forehead, he rubbed his fingers hard over his eyebrows.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said, his arm falling.
Lilly’s question to him about the lack of public notification came to the forefront of his mind. If he’d released the facts of this assailant’s MO, would he have this sense of guilt?
This would near the top on his list of his unforgivable acts.
Mike continued, “She was there the day we brought that woman in—the one you thought—”
“I know who she is,” Nathan interrupted. A uniformed officer paced a few steps behind.
“You okay?” Raul asked.
“What hospital?”
“The guy that found her doesn’t think Sage is a good idea under the circumstances. We’re going to Blue Ridge. It’s closer anyway.” Mike nodded to Raul to continue on.
The waiting officer nearly bumped into him in his anxiousness to speak. Nathan didn’t recognize him. He sighed at the thought of working with a rookie.
“Sir?”
“What have you got for me?”
The young man pushed up his fingerprint-smudged glasses and flipped opened a notepad, running a pinky over his notations. “Victim was found at approximately midnight by that man”—he paused, pointing—“Kadin Daughtry. Man states he came here and found the door open. Says he didn’t want to surprise her because she’s a black belt and has a gun—”
“Is the weapon accounted for?”
“Not yet. He says he doesn’t know where she keeps it.”
“Have you looked?”
“In the process, sir.”
“Let me talk to him on my own. We’ll compare stories later. Why don’t you make sure the techs are on their way?”
The officer nodded, closed his pad, and retreated to the kitchen. Nathan approached the man at the couch, who appeared to be praying. Even though Nathan cleared his throat and coughed a few times, several moments passed before the man acknowledged him.
Nathan offered his hand. “I’m Detective Nathan Long,” he said.
He remained sitting, his hands clasped together. “Dr. Kadin Daughtry.”
“Are you a colleague of Dr. Reeves?” Nathan took the chair opposite the pensive man.
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
Nathan remained quiet, taking time to weigh the potential trajectory of this conversation. He wrote consequential observations, waiting for Kadin’s next move.
Interview of Dr. Kadin Daughtry. Male, approx early 30s. Six feet, brown hair, brown eyes. Unshaven. Tired. Angry.
“You were there the day they brought Torrence in. I delivered her baby,” he continued, now sitting as if a schoolmaster had reprimanded him for sleeping in class. “Lilly thought you were hiding a serial rapist from the public. Was she right?”
Angry at me.
“That’s not information I can divulge at this time. The investigation is at a very sensitive point.”
“If you can’t speak honestly with me, then maybe this interview will become very difficult for you.”
Nathan stopped writing and set his pen and pad on the armchair. He leaned forward, deflecting Kadin’s anger in as peaceful a manner as he could muster. “I know that you must care for Lilly very much; otherwise you wouldn’t be here. The best way to help Lilly is to answer my questions. As far as the investigation as a whole, there will be decisions forthcoming that will likely allay your fears about public safety.” Nathan picked up his pen. “Can we continue?”
Kadin sank into the sofa. The man’s eyes shifted out of Nathan’s line of sight as two crime technicians entered the living room.
“Start up in the master bedroom,” Nathan pointed to the stairs.
“You know there’s likely only one drug that could cause her symptomology.”
Nathan turned back to Kadin. “What’s that?”
“An anesthetic agent called ketamine. Causes nystagmus, increased heart rate and blood pressure.”
“Nystagmus?” the rookie asked. Nathan turned, his glare causing him to retreat.
“The same finding you guys check for during a roadside test for drunk driving. Where the eyes tick back and forth like one of those old, obnoxious cat clocks.” Kadin shifted his index finger like a single windshield wiper.
“Where do you think the perpetrator would get that?” Nathan asked.
Kadin shrugged, remaining silent.
Nathan continued. “What’s your relationship to the victim?”
“She’s a good friend of mine.”
“Dating?”
“I would like to, but no.”
“What brought you here tonight?”
“I’d had a rough day at work. I called her and asked if I could come over. When I got here, the door was standing open a few inches.”
“That surprised you?”
Kadin returned his gaze to Nathan after the two other men disappeared from view. “Lilly never leaves her door unlocked.”
“I noticed the three deadbolts.”
“She’s very security conscious.”
“You know why?”
“She’s never really spoken to me about it. I know she and her father are estranged, but I don’t know why. Her mother is dead.”
“Do you know how she died?”
“Cancer when Lilly was quite young. She doesn’t elaborate on the specifics,” Kadin replied, speaking each word with brisk division.
Nathan paused, thinking through his line of questioning. He discarded some of his more provocative questions in hopes he would get responses to the ones that remained.
“What did you do after you found the door open?”
“I tried calling out to her from the porch. When she didn’t respond, I called her on my cell phone.”
“Why didn’t you just come in if you thought she might be in trouble?”
“One time, I surprised Lilly and found myself flat on my back in the next second. Got the wind knocked out of me. My back hurt for weeks. You only do that once if you’re sane.”
“What happened after the call?”
“When she didn’t answer, I came in. I noticed the glass missing from this table.” Kadin tapped his foot on the metal edge. “I went to the kitchen and found the trash clean. I assumed she’d gone out to empty it.”
“But obviously not.”
“I came to wait on the couch. When I sat down, a pillow bounced off. There was a wet, bloody handprint on it. That’s when I started looking for her.”
“Did you find anything else odd?”
The man shook his head, looking away, fidgeting his feet against the floor.
“Where did you first look?”
“Here on this level.”
“Specifically?”
“She has a study down here and a guest suite. They were both empty.”
“What did you do next?”
“Ran up the stairs and found her.”
“Kadin, I need you to back up for me and be very specific. Even the smallest details can help solve these crimes. What exactly did you do when you got upstairs?”
Kadin smoothed his palms over the tops of his denim jeans. “I looked in the bathroom first.”
“Anything unusual there?”
“The bathtub was wet.”
“What next?”
“I came to her door, and it was closed. I tried calling out to her.” Nathan waited and Kadin struggled to keep his emotions submerged. “It took me a few moments to make myself open that door.”
“What did you see?”
“She was posed on her bed. She was covered in a white sheet up to her chest with her arms laid over top.”
“I need to know if you touched her.”
“I touched her wrist to check for a pulse.”
“Which one?”
Kadin paused, thinking. “The left.”
“What happened next?”
“Her face was all bruised up. I wanted to check her pupils but I could only get one eye open. After that, I called 911.”
“Did you use her phone?”
“My cell. After that, everything is blurry until that officer came into the room.”
“To your knowledge, did you touch anything in her bedroom?”
“No.”
“Did she talk to you?”
“She was unresponsive.”
“Do you need a break? Get some water?”
“I’m fine. Let’s get this over with. I’d like to get to the hospital and check on Lilly.”
Nathan collected his thoughts.
“Has Lilly ever mentioned her keys going missing?”
Kadin’s legs stopped twitching, his eyebrows arched. He rubbed the stubble on his chin for several seconds. “The day Torrence came in, there was a period of time that her keys were gone, but when it was time to leave, they were on top of her bag.”
“Inside?”
“No.”
“On top … like they were staged?” Would Kadin detect the anxious edge to his voice?
“Yes.”
“Who was there when her keys went missing?”
“You know, it’s the one idiosyncrasy that I can’t figure out about Lilly. She constantly leaves her bag in the central workroom. She says there’s enough foot traffic through there to keep it safe. They’d had a couple of thefts out of the locker area, so she didn’t want to keep it there. The only doctor I saw was Anderson, one of the senior attendings.”
Nathan jotted the name in his notes.
“Do you know if she had problems with anyone lately? Any patients giving her grief?”
“She works in the ER. It lends itself to being a hostile environment.”
“So she hasn’t mentioned anything to you.”
“Nothing extraordinary from the usual weirdness,” Kadin stood abruptly. “I would be more than happy to continue our conversation once I know Lilly is all right.”
Nathan resigned himself to the fact Kadin Daughtry wasn’t going to cooperate until his anxieties were alleviated. He remained sitting, finishing up his notes and listing the areas of questioning he still needed to cover. He stopped as Kadin’s shadow fell over him.
“Detective Long, as a physician in this community, I strongly suggest you announce your concerns to the public about this criminal.”
Nathan glanced up, struck motionless by the steel gaze.
“If the police remain silent, I’ll call the local news myself and tell them everything I know.”
D
RAKE
M
AGUIRE STOOD
outside the large window to ICU room 23, debating what action would be best for his partner in practice. Through the glass, Kadin sat at Lilly’s bedside, an open Bible between his tented arms and interlaced fingers. He’d been reciting passages, rarely looking at the tissue thin pages, and praying since Drake’s arrival.
It was unusual for Kadin to reach out to Drake for help in covering his patients. A friendship had been hard to forge between the two of them. Several factors could be cited. Even though Kadin was Drake’s junior in age, he was the head of their practice of three obstetricians. At first, Drake admired his fortitude in wanting to lead a practice so early in his career. Now, it seemed more like arrogance versus confidence not to respect his opinion in certain business decisions. Second, Kadin’s emotional attachment with families unnerved him. Unlike several of their colleagues, Drake considered it a weakness.
Third was his constant referral to the saving nature of Christ.
The only one who’d ever saved Drake was himself.
Regardless of their differences, maybe this visit could create a new respect between them.
Kadin stood and left Lilly’s bedside. Drake reached out to grab Kadin’s hand but was pulled into a quick hug.
Drake wondered if Kadin felt his body stiffen.
“I’m surprised you’d come here. Was there a problem with one of my patients?” Kadin asked.
“No, not at all. The two in active labor have since delivered viable infants. No other interesting calls to speak of.”
“Boys or girls?”
“What?”
“The deliveries. Were they boys or girls?”
“You know, I honestly can’t remember at this point. Busy day.”
Drake shoved his left hand in his pocket, rolling his coins. “How is she?” he asked, nodding in Lilly’s direction.
“Her vital signs are steady. The guy that attacked her hit her with ketamine.”
“I wonder where a common criminal would get that. You’re sure she was raped?”
“The ER doc did a brief exam and stated so. They’re waiting until she wakes up to get permission for the rape kit.”
“Who’s doing the exam?”
“I’ve asked Melanie. It’s nice to have a partner who has privileges at both hospitals. She’s Lilly’s regular doctor anyway.”
“Did the police interview you yet?”
“At her house.”
“Have they found any evidence?”
“I’m not sure. They were still working when I left. Do you remember when I covered for you a while back … that pregnant trauma patient came in?”
“Vaguely.”
“I think they were attacked by the same man.”
Drake stopped rattling his coins. “Why do you say that?”
“Lilly suspected Torrence was among several victims. She accused the cop of not releasing the information to the public. There was something odd about the detective that interviewed me—like he was wounded over Lilly’s attack.”
“Great, just what she needs. A weepy detective on the case.” Drake reached down and grabbed his pager from the small of his back. He looked at the blank screen, hoping Kadin would be duped by his ruse. “Looks like I need to check a patient.”
“One of mine?”
“No, no … one of mine. She’s in all the time with false labor.”
“You mean early labor.”
Drake leaned forward and tapped his chest. “Kadin, not everyone wants to be politically correct.”