Chapter 9 - The Doctor
Dr. Raymond Cole had treated my parents for seventeen years.
He came to Dad’s funeral.
He hugged Mom.
He sent flowers.
And according to Valerie, he had been helping Gavin identify elderly homeowners with valuable properties.
“He gives Gavin names,” Valerie said from her hospital bed.
Detective Ortiz recorded every word.
“Patients with early memory problems. Widows. People without nearby children.”
“People like Mom,” I said.
Valerie nodded.
“And Dad figured it out?”
“He figured out part of it.”
“When?”
“Before he died.”
I wanted to reach across the room and shake her.
Instead I asked, “Why did you help them?”
She stared at her hands.
“Debt.”
“What debt?”
“Online gambling.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Not because it made the betrayal smaller.
Because it made it stupid.
Painfully, horribly stupid.
“How much?”
“Eighty thousand at first.”
“At first?”
“Then Gavin loaned me money.”
“You borrowed from him?”
“He said I could work it off.”
“By stealing Mom’s house.”
Her eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“And Dad?”
“I didn’t mean to kill him.”
“You pushed him.”
“He grabbed the phone. I panicked. I shoved him.”
“And then?”
“He fell.”
“You could have called 911.”
“I tried.”
She started crying again.
“Gavin took my phone.”
“But you stayed with him afterward.”
“I was already guilty.”
“That doesn’t explain three years of what you did to Mom.”
Her face collapsed.
There it was.
No excuse.
Not even from her.
“I hated you,” she whispered.
I stared at her.
“You hated me enough to drug our mother?”
“No. I hated that Mom always talked about you like you were coming home to fix everything.”
“I was paying her bills.”
“That’s exactly it.”
Her voice rose.
“You were always the hero from six thousand miles away. I was here. I was taking her to appointments. Buying groceries. Listening to her ask when you were coming home.”
“So you punished her?”
“I told myself I was keeping her calm.”
“With sedatives?”
“I know.”
I stood.
“I need air.”
Valerie called after me.
“Nora.”
I stopped.
“Cole knows you’re alive. Gavin knows you’re alive. If Cole thinks I told police anything, he’ll come after Mom.”
“She has police protection.”
“He has hospital access.”
I turned.
“What?”
“He’s a doctor, Nora.”
I ran.
By the time I reached Mom’s floor, two officers were outside her room.
Everything looked normal.
I entered.
Mom was asleep.
A nurse adjusted her IV.
“Has Dr. Cole been here?”
The nurse frowned.
“Dr. Cole?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Relief hit me.
Then Mom opened her eyes.
“Nora?”
“I’m here.”
She lifted one hand weakly.
“There was a man.”
My pulse jumped.
“What man?”
“He said he was checking my medicine.”
I turned to the nurse.
She looked confused.
“Nobody signed in.”
“What did he look like, Mom?”
“He wore a mask.”
“Hair?”
She shook her head.
Then she looked toward the IV bag.
“Nora…”
Her eyelids began drooping.
The nurse moved fast.
She checked the monitor.
Then the IV.
Her face changed.
“Call a rapid response!”
I grabbed Mom’s hand.
“What’s wrong?”
The nurse clamped the line.
“This bag isn’t ours.”
The room filled with staff.
Someone pushed me out.
I stood in the hallway as alarms sounded.
An officer checked security footage.
Five minutes later, he showed Ortiz and me a still image.
A man in scrubs.
Cap.
Mask.
But I recognized the eyes.
Dr. Raymond Cole had just walked into a protected hospital room and tried to finish what Valerie had started.
And according to the timestamp—
May you like
he was still somewhere inside the building.
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