A Sweet Death, page 15
part #3 of Stoneybrook Series
“How long was Dr. Kennedy prescribing you the pain meds after your back surgery, Brenda?” she asked.
Brenda’s face pinched with discomfort and she slipped right back into her defensive tone. “A few months, at most.” Her red eyes shifted around the room, looking anywhere but at Hadley.
So much longer than that, it sounds, Hadley mused. She knew little about spinal fractures, but while she was sure they would be more intensive than almost any other type of break, more than three months on paid meds seemed excessive.
Kennedy’s smiling face as he wrote up Gran’s prescription was vivid in Hadley’s memory. Her cheeks grew hot as an idea formed in her brain. What if the supplier wasn’t only watching out for people who have become addicted and then getting cut off? What if the supplier was the person getting these people addicted in the first place?
Her pulse pounded in her ears. Kennedy would have access to the medications and know exactly when to tip Zack off about the patients he knew were about to need a different way to get their fix. Regarding the time Brenda had mentioned, Hadley highly doubted Kennedy had forgotten to call in the prescription at all.
But what would Kennedy want with Miranda? She was just a teenage girl. She was keeping him in business. Hadley thought back to Zack’s red-light ticket. If the dealers went to the old hospital all the time to pick up supplies, they would be extra careful about not getting caught on camera. Doing so would’ve blown their whole cover.
Jaxon’s blanched face and swiveling, anxious eyes came back to mind.
Unless, Zack was worried this time wasn’t going to be like every other time, Hadley thought, with a start. The picture had shown Zack’s car almost halfway through the intersection before his wheels were turning right. What if Zack had gotten the ticket on purpose to point to the old hospital?
It was possible this hadn’t been just any old supply drop. Zack knew one of his fellow dealers had already died. He must’ve worried he was in trouble too. And if Miranda had followed him, hoping to buy from a different dealer, she could’ve stumbled on a meeting between Zack and the supplier.
Hadley realized Brenda was glaring at her with a wrinkled brow, making her aware of how long she’d been sitting there, silently conjecturing. Smiling, Hadley stood awkwardly and waved.
“Uh, okay. Thanks for talking to me, Brenda. I—I’ll see you around. Feel better.” She stumbled out of the hospital room before Brenda could say anything in response.
The hallway closed in on Hadley, with all of its beeping machines, hurrying hospital staff, and spinning walls. She held on to a railing running along the wall beside her until she could get her balance back.
She needed to call Paul. Checking her phone, she saw he still hadn’t texted her back.
“Are you okay?” The nurse who’d been sitting at the station, monitoring the equipment walked around the desk and approached Hadley.
Hadley swiped at her hot forehead. “Yeah, I—” She cut her sentence short and met the nurse's gaze. “Do you know where I might be able to find Dr. Kennedy?”
The nurse’s smile faded. “I’m so sorry, hon. You’ve just missed him.”
“Do you know when he’ll be back tomorrow?” Hadley tried to keep the disappointment from her face.
“I’m afraid he won’t be back for a few days. He’s taking some time off to celebrate his mom’s ninetieth birthday. Isn't that sweet?”
Despite the saccharine expression on the nurse’s face, Hadley’s stomach dropped. Taking a few days off? That could not be good.
23
Thanking the nurse, Hadley stumbled down the hall and into an elevator. She tried calling Paul.
He answered on the second ring. “Had, what’s up?”
“I think it’s Kennedy. He’s a doctor at Grande County. I think he’s the one who’s been supplying the dealers with painkillers. I think he killed the two victims, and I think he has Miranda.”
Paul was silent on the other end. “Kennedy?” he asked finally.
“Yes,” Hadley said as she exited the elevator and walked out of the hospital. She waited until she was in the parking lot to tell Paul all of the details.
“Okay, I’ll tell McKay and see if they can do a search of his house, and I’ll have him post a detail on Jaxon until we’re sure he’s out of danger. We’re all the way up by the border. We got sent on some wild-goose chase with Dennis’s credit card.”
Hadley’s breath caught in her throat. “You found Dennis?”
“No,” Paul grumbled. “Someone sure wanted us to think he was trying to flee the country, though. Look, Had. I’ve gotta go.”
She hung up the call and stood next to her van in the parking lot, feeling helpless. Kennedy was leaving. Was he bringing Miranda with or leaving her behind? Was he even the actual killer? Goodness knew she’d been wrong before.
And where was Dennis? The thought seemed like it was only adding to the pile of worries in her mind. She imagined him dropping Brenda off at the ER.
“And you disappeared hours later,” Hadley said the words aloud, as if Dennis might hear her and tell her what had happened. “What did you find out that made you run back to town and take out all of your money?”
Paul had confirmed Dennis’s car was still parked at his house, but it was possible he’d driven Brenda’s. Hadley scanned the lot, her attention falling on Brenda’s red Camry with a Garfield license plate rim.
She knew he’d gone back to Stoneybrook after dropping her off, but he must’ve come back. Furrowing her brow, she went back into the hospital and asked the girl at the front desk to check for his name. Was it possible something happened and he’d checked himself in?
“I’m sorry. There are no patients by that name,” the woman at the front desk said, shaking her head.
Hadley’s shoulders slumped forward and she rested her elbows on the counter, defeated. “Okay.” She rubbed at her eyes. “Thanks anywa—” Hadley’s voice cut out as her eyes caught on a black-and-white security photo printed out and taped to the receptionist’s desk. Hadley hadn’t seen it before, but could tell from this angle that it was Dennis.
“That’s him. That’s the guy I’m looking for.” Hadley narrowed her eyes. “Why is he banned?” she asked, reading the word written along the top of the printout.
The receptionist glanced down at the picture and her cheeks turned red. “Oh, that’s ... um …” She moved to try to cover it up, but must’ve realized it was futile. “He got in a fight with one of our doctors and isn’t allowed back.”
Hadley stood up straight. “With Kennedy?” Her pulse was so fast now, she almost felt light-headed.
There was no need for a verbal confirmation from the woman—the way her eyes widened at his name was enough for Hadley. “But he’s got to be around somewhere,” she mused aloud, thinking of the car parked in the lot.
The woman leaned forward. “He came back,” she whispered, checking over her shoulder. “We saw him drive up and had security all ready in case he walked inside, but he didn’t.” She pointed out the front door at the traffic light. “He walked that way.”
Hadley let her gaze follow the woman’s finger. The road to the old hospital. Why would he go there?
She thanked the woman and left, running her thumbnail over her other nails as she thought. Dennis got in a fight with Kennedy, went home to get all of his money, and then walked over to the old hospital.
Sure she couldn’t possibly wait around until Paul came back from chasing his false suspect, Hadley got in her van and started it up. At the light, instead of turning left to go back home, Hadley gunned the accelerator and went straight down the hill toward the old hospital. She could at least check to see if Kennedy was there, or if there was any sign of Dennis.
The road wound two times before the old building came into view. It was boarded up and covered in moss. But other than exuding an eeriness that made Hadley shiver, it showed no signs of life.
Hadley exhaled in relief. Kennedy wasn’t there. No one was around, in fact. Parking the van, she slipped quietly out and then fished her phone from her pocket. The lavender spray was still in her right pocket, and she patted it just to make sure. Approaching the building, Hadley dialed the newest contact in her phone.
“Hey,” Jaxon said, still sounding just as high strung as before.
“First, do not open your door for anyone until I call you back. I think I know who your supplier is, and I’m not sure if he’s out to get you too, but stay inside, whatever you do.”
An audible gulp came through the line. “Are the police on their way?”
“They will be soon,” she said. “In the meantime, can you tell me how to get inside the old hospital where you guys pick up your supplies?”
“Why?” Jaxon’s voice lowered.
Hadley wrinkled her nose, his hesitation palpable even through the phone. “Uh … so I can let my brother know when they get there.” She hated lying, but guessed it was the only way she was going to get the information out of the kid.
“He’ll go around back and find the fifth set of windows on the ground floor from the left. The bottom one is unlocked. He’s got to slide it up and climb in. Then he’ll be in a locker room of sorts. That’s where we would get the stuff. The supplier would put it in a different locker each time, and text us the combination an hour before we were set to pick it up.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll let him know. Stay inside and stay safe, Jaxon.”
“You too, Hadley.”
She hung up and pulled in one steadying, deep breath before following the pathway around the hospital toward the back. It had been built into a hill, so the backside of the building sat much lower than the side facing the parking lot.
Counting the banks of long windows running up all four stories of the building, she stopped next to the fifth set. Hooking her fingers under the sash, she heaved up.
The window creaked upward.
Using a nearby rock for a boost, Hadley wriggled into the opening, landing on the other side with a decidedly ungraceful flop. She grunted and heaved as she righted herself on the bench sitting just below the window. In her effort, her boot slammed into the side of the locker, sending a crashing sound pulsating through the air and almost stopping her heart.
She just sat there panting for a moment, waiting for anything to happen. When it didn’t, she stood, pushing her hair back out of her face, and took in her surroundings.
Jaxon had been right. It looked like an old employee locker room, probably for doctors and nurses to change before or after shifts. There was a bank of lockers to her right, benches running down the middle of the room, and a wall of mirrors and sinks to her left. Everything was covered in about two inches of dust and was either chipped, stained, or rotten. The smell of decay was so heavy in the air, Hadley had the urge to swat it away like smoke.
She scanned the room and her heart sank. It wasn’t as if she were expecting to see one of Miranda’s signature cupcake earrings on the floor or anything—even though it would’ve made things so much easier—but she hadn’t expected the absolute nothing she did find. There were footprints marking the dusty floor, but even those remained solely in front of the lockers. No tracks led out of the room.
Hadley exhaled. Miranda wasn’t here.
Heart heavy, she decided to look around a little more before leaving. She tiptoed around the bank of lockers, cringing as she realized she was creating clear tracks and that she’d be stupidly easy to follow.
No one’s going to follow me, Hadley assured herself.
She glanced up at the tall windows, thankful for the fall sunshine streaming through them. This whole ordeal would be a lot creepier in the dark.
The sound came from the wall to her left. Thump, thump, thump.
Hadley didn’t scream or jump or do anything. She couldn’t even breathe.
Thump.
She suddenly realized she’d been very wrong about it being less creepy in the light. All that had been frozen a second before it hit her full force. Her pulse was so loud in her ears she was sure she wouldn’t have been able to hear any more of the thumping. Now she’d found her breath, it came in loud, ragged gasps.
Swallowing her fears, Hadley slowly followed her dusty footprints back the way she’d come. Instead of turning left, back toward the open window—toward the freedom she so desperately wanted—she went right, her hand clasping over the doorknob.
She wanted to cry when she pulled the thing open and beheld a pitch-black hallway.
Thump, thump.
With shaking fingers, Hadley grabbed her phone out of her pocket and turned on the flashlight function. The beam shook along with her breathing as she stepped out of the safety of the daylight.
The door snicked shut behind her. A whimper died in her throat.
Thump. Gathering every molecule of bravery she ever hoped to possess, Hadley walked forward, following the sound. She moved slowly, shedding the light from her flashlight on each inch of hallway as she passed. Her mind helpfully created monsters, flashing eyes, and movement in the darkness beyond her beam.
Finally, she stopped in front of a door on the left side of the hallway.
The doorknob rattled from her shaking hand, so she gripped it tighter and pulled it open. Instead of rushing in like cops always did in the movies, Hadley peeked around the door, slowly stepping inside.
Her heart sank as she scanned the empty utility room.
About to go back into the hallway, Hadley heard the thumping again. This time, however, the sound was so much louder. Her attention went right to a thick pipe running up the middle of the room. It was backed by a pillar, but it vibrated and clanged.
Exhaling, Hadley closed her eyes for a moment. It was just an old pipe. These old buildings had big furnaces that made a racket. She remembered the old high school building was the same way. Those pipes had clanged and pinged and made an awful din anytime the furnace was on during the winter months.
Thump, thump.
Hadley’s spine stiffened as a cloud of her breath settled in front of her. It was freezing. The building had been deserted for decades. The furnace wouldn’t be on.
Eyes wide and wild, she searched the room. Was there a lower floor than the one she was on? She couldn’t see a—wait! There! A staircase was just visible in the corner, hiding behind the skeletons of metal racks. She ran over to it, following the stairs as they led down, down, down. Her light bobbed as she took shaky steps on her wobbly, anxious knees.
She held her breath at the bottom of the stairs, using her flashlight to coat the room in light. In the middle of the furnace room, sat two chairs, and in them, Miranda and Dennis were tied and gagged. Their chairs were secured to the piping running down from the ceiling and to the floor before branching off to the different parts of the giant furnace behind them. Dennis must’ve gotten his rope loose enough he was able to rock back and forth, hitting the back of his chair into the pipe.
Her heart soared, seeing them blinking back at her. They looked tired and scared, but they were alive.
As relieved as she felt, Hadley suddenly realized they couldn’t see who she was by the way they were angling their faces down and squinting at the light.
“It’s me, you guys. It’s Hadley.” She angled the flashlight up shedding light on herself.
Miranda’s face crumpled into a relieved sob. Her shoulders shook. Hadley glanced over at Dennis, his tense body sagging in the rush of hope.
Fast as she could, Hadley set her phone on a nearby shelf so she would have her hands free. From that position, it cast a dim light throughout the room but wasn’t shining directly in any of their eyes.
Dennis gestured to Miranda with his head and Hadley agreed. She ran behind the teenager first, fingers shaking as she undid the gag. Miranda’s sobs became louder when the fabric fell away. As she began to tackle the ropes around her wrists and ankles, she wished she had something more than a bottle of body spray in her pocket.
“Have you seen anything sharp around here?” she asked Miranda.
But the girl just gulped at the air in an effort to stop her bawling.
Hadley moved to Dennis, figuring she could at least get his gag off first.
“Thank you, Hadley,” he said. His voice hoarse. “When we heard a crash upstairs, we knew right away it didn’t sound like him. Thank you for finding us.”
She tried his bonds, but they were just as tight.
“You guys, I need to go find something sharp to cut these ropes. Hold on.” She raced over to the shelf, picking up her phone and angling the light down. Miranda’s eyes widened as she thought about being in the dark again, but Hadley said, “I won’t leave you, I promise. I’ll be right back.”
As she ran up the stairs into the utility room above, she turned on her phone screen to see if she could call Paul. The words No Service made her heart sink.
She was on her own.
After what seemed like an hour searching—but was probably only a minute and a half—Hadley pounded back down the stairs.
“Anything?” Dennis asked.
“No. I’m going to try again with my hands. I don’t want to waste time searching. I don’t know how long we ha—”
The rest of the word died in Hadley’s throat as she heard a door shut somewhere above them.
From the way both Dennis and Miranda’s faces froze in terror, she knew it was the sound that, in Dennis’s words, definitely did sound like him.
24
Hadley willed the sound to be fake, something her mind had made up like the figures moving in the dark when she’d been in the hallway.
But when a footstep rang out, she knew it was real. He was coming.
She looked helplessly down at the two of them for a moment and she considered putting their gags back in hiding, but then she remembered the van parked out front.
“He’s going to see my van. He knows I’m here,” she said in a strangled tone to no one in particular.
Suddenly, her body kicked into action. She moved toward Dennis, figuring it was better to free him and have another adult to help her fight off Kennedy.
