The Widow and the Will (23 page)

Chapter 40

Mike Andrews walked into Dr. Guildford’s office ten minutes early and hung up his coat in the usual spot. After storing his lunch in the fridge, he moved through the halls towards his desk, whistling the theme from Star Trek. He smiled at the other nurses and staff, feeling good. As he approached his cube, he adjusted his scrubs. It was always hard for him to find them to fit his well-muscled chest, arms, and legs. He checked himself in the reflection on a metal c-fold dispenser to make sure his shiny, black hair was still pulled back into a tight ponytail. Giving himself a grin and a wink, he whipped his neck left and right enjoying the pop and crack of the muscles and tendons.

              A post-it on the front of his computer screen caught his attention immediately and he pulled it off to read before sitting down. Ms. Moore wanted to see him right away.

Frowning, Mike crumpled the note and tossed it into the garbage. He turned to go straight to Ms. Moore’s office, but Sarabeth the biller caught him by the arm as she walked into the room. “Did you hear?”

“What?”

“There was an investigator here asking questions. I was off yesterday so no one will tell me anything. We’re both supposed to report to Ms. Moore right away.”

“I got a note. Why don’t you go first, and then I’ll go after, okay?”

Sarabeth looked nervous and her graying hair quivered on her head as she nodded. “Okay.”

When she was gone, Mike fished his cell phone out of his pocket. His previously good mood was shattered. He shot off a quick text: We’ve got a problem.

Chapter 41

David Kingston slammed the phone down and cursed. Once again, the investigating cop on Jack’s case hadn’t given him squat. He refused to answer any questions and would not tell David what he was doing or where he was going with the case. This was the third time, and the thought of Tess Langford spending more time out and about, instead of in jail, made him want to storm over there and demand answers.

One more time, he would have to make the call to his parents to give them bad news. The last two times he’d done it by phone, but this time he would have to make a trip to the house. There was no way around it. His gut clenched with anxiety at the thought. He hated seeing the looks on their faces whenever he had to confront them about Jack.

Looking at his watch, it was almost five. Might as well knock off early and get this done. Packing up his briefcase, David left his office and told the receptionist he was going home for the evening.

On his way to his parents’ house, David stewed over how the scene would go down. His father would rage. His mother would cry. And he would have to do damage control, calming his father and comforting his mother. Frankly, he was getting sick and tired of the whole business. More than once, the idea of having Tess taken out crossed his mind. But then he’d be no better than she. There was no way he was going to risk going to prison for life. Plus, if she died, then all the money would revert to the beneficiaries in the will she no doubt already had prepared.

David knew the police were trying to work up a solid case against Tess, but it was all circumstantial at this point. Yes, Jack had been poisoned and yes, Tess was the only one with Jack for the hours leading up to the wedding. But they still didn’t know how she’d given him the poison and her grieving widow act was a good one. She was fooling everyone into believing she had nothing to do with it. David worried that a jury would either find her innocent or be hung and not able to convict her. How would his parents be able to live with something like that?

Pulling into the driveway of his childhood home, David sighed. His mother was puttering with the plants in her flowerbeds and shooing the dogs away from them.
Why does she plant shit she knows could hurt them
?
Whatever
. His dad sat on the porch reading the Wall Street Journal. They both waved to him and smiled, but he couldn’t make himself return the gesture.

“What’s wrong now?” Roger asked, as they approached him. He crossed the driveway so that he wouldn’t have to shout.

“I got stonewalled again. The police won’t tell me a thing.”

“Dammit!” Roger roared as Emily’s pruning shears clattered to the cement.

“Why?” Emily whined. “Why won’t they talk to us?”

“I don’t know, Mom.”

Just then, a buzzing noise came from the pocket in Emily’s gardening apron. With a look of embarrassment, she fumbled for her phone and pulled it out. “Excuse me, won’t you?” She stepped away to examine the device. David watched after her, but Roger pulled him away.

“You have to do something, David. Your mother can’t go on like this. This needs to get on the fast track, otherwise we’ll never be able to fix whatever damage is being done to my investments.”

Pulling his gaze away from his mother, who was going into the house and followed by the dogs, David cocked his head to the side. “You mean Jack’s investments, don’t you?”

Clearing his throat, Roger glanced down at his feet. “Yes, yes, of course. You know what I mean.”

David’s bottom lip pouted out the slightest bit and he shrugged his shoulders. “Believe me, Dad, I’m as angry about this as you. But there’s nothing I can do.”

“You need to figure out
what
to do, son. You owe it to your brother!”

David controlled the urge to scream at his father with gargantuan effort.
Don’t you think I know that
? He wanted justice for Jack as much as anyone, but the law was the law. There were steps and procedures to follow, no matter who you were. They would have to be patient and let the case develop. David wished he could take some of their pain away and comfort them, but he didn’t know how to do it.

The two of them continued to stand on the hot cement in silence. The late afternoon sun was like fire and David could feel himself sweating inside his expensive suit. All he wanted to do was go home and take a shower.

Just then, Emily came out of the house and returned to her husband’s side. She no longer wore her apron and had changed clothes. “That was my friend, Moira. She needs some help with a personal problem. Roger, why don’t you and David have dinner together? I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”

“Yeah, sure dear.” Roger pecked her on the cheek and Emily walked briskly to her car. She got in and drove away at a faster pace than David thought safe.

“Moira? Who’s Moira?” David asked.

Roger shrugged. “Hell if I know. You know your mother. She always has some friend in need or committee meeting. Wanna grill some steaks?”

There goes my shower
. But he couldn’t leave his dad alone after another disappointment. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you want, Dad.” David watched his mother’s tail lights disappear down the street.

Chapter 42

“I’m not seeing much here.” Hudson scratched his head and sifted through all the notes Ford had taken during his interviews. “Unless we polygraph them all, I don’t see which person shows any signs of having something out for Tess.”

“There are still two more I have to talk to,” Ford said. “Some guy nurse and a woman in billing.”

“A guy?”

Ford shrugged.

“Well, I know guys are nurses too. You just don’t see them in a private practice. Usually in hospitals.” Hudson leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head. “When are you going?”

“I’m on my way there now.”

“Good. We need to find something, Ford, anything.”

“Doing my best, brother,” Ford sighed. “My police contacts are avoiding me. I can’t get anyone to talk.” He turned away to stare out the plate glass window of the office.

Hudson watched his brother watching traffic. “You want to tell me what’s bugging you?”

Ford stiffened but didn’t turn back around.

“I know something’s going on, Ford. You might as well tell me because I’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Bullshit,” Hudson spat. “You’ve been more distant than usual. I can hardly get you in the same room with Tess. You don’t pick up the phone or respond to texts like you used to. Spit it out.” Hudson got up and crossed the physical distance to his older brother, wishing he could bridge the mental divide as well. He nudged Ford with his shoulder. “Out with it.”

Ford sighed, but continued to stare out the window. “Just frustrated, brother. We don’t usually have cases like this. I don’t like not being able to figure shit out.”

Hudson nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I hear you. You don’t know how many times I’ve wished I hadn’t taken Jack Kingston’s call. And then I feel guilty thinking that because then where the hell would Tess be now? Everything happens for a reason.”

Ford finally looked at Hudson and gave him a grave smile. “You’re probably right.”

“I know I am. And we
will
figure this out.”

Hudson went back to the table and slumped into the chair. He picked up a piece of paper and then put it back down again. Then he shuffled for another. Ford turned to observe him. “I’m going to read every word in this file a million times if I have to. I’m going to think of what we haven’t thought of. And you’re going to help me.”

Ford stepped over to the table and put his fist out. Hudson bumped it with his own.

“Now get going and interview those people.”

* * * * *

Ford smoked and rode his bike to Dr. Guildford’s office. He knew he dodged a bullet with his brother and felt a little shaky from the close call. No matter what happened in his life, Ford knew that Hudson loved him. He would be there, through everything, even when they fought. He’d been about as close as he’d ever been to spilling the beans about Tess, but his instincts made him clam up at the last second. It wouldn’t serve anyone’s purpose to have Hudson pissed off. And he’d asked Tess to promise to keep it a secret. Who was he to be a hypocrite?

Hooking up with Tess wasn’t something that could lead anywhere, and Hudson would know that as well as Ford did. He knew his brother’s counsel would be to stay away from her, that she’d been hurt enough in life. She didn’t need some worthless biker guy coming into her life.
Not when she could have the upstanding lawyer
, he thought peevishly. Ford knew damn well Hudson had a little thing for Tess. He smiled sadly, thinking how sibling rivalry was always present, no matter what the circumstance.

Ford climbed off his motorcycle and hung the helmet on the back, cutting off his internal monologue about Tess and Hudson. Shaking his shoulders and taking a deep breath, he ambled to the doc’s door and went inside. The waiting room was empty of patients and he was glad for that. At his last visit, he’d gotten quite a few ornery looks from what appeared to be a mostly geriatric patient pool.

Walking to the window, he didn’t even have to rap on the glass before the receptionist opened it. “Hi. Ms. Moore is waiting for you. I’ll bring you right back.”

Ford nodded and within a moment, a door leading into the belly of the office opened and the pretty young girl motioned him forward. He followed her back to Daphne Moore’s office. She sat waiting behind her desk, hands folded on the top. She looked grim and displeased. He wasn’t prepared for the defensive look in her eyes and hoped he wasn’t in for trouble.

“Good afternoon.” He greeted her with a firm handshake and strong eye contact which she returned, but there was no warmth in it. He sensed a distinct change in attitude from the day before.

“Yes, well, it was. I’m afraid I can’t let you speak with anyone else in the office. Dr. Guildford got in touch with his lawyer and he’s concerned about liability.” Ford’s exhale of frustration was not lost on Ms. Moore. She glowered at him and placed her palms flat on the desk. “I’m sorry this doesn’t please you.”

“No, it doesn’t. What kind of liability?” Ford demanded.

“He didn’t tell me.” Ford could see the lie in her eyes on that one. “And I’m not at liberty to say more to you than that. The bottom line is you’re not allowed to interview any more employees.”

“Just to be clear, this was supposed to be for Tess’s benefit. Character witnesses, not interviews. What liability could there possibly be?” Ford folded his arms across his chest. “I think I need to speak with the doctor. Now.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, either. Dr. Guildford left early this morning for a medical conference in Tahiti. He doesn’t return for a week.”

Ford wanted to growl, but settled for a disgusted sigh instead. Glancing around the office in frustration, he noticed a picture on the credenza behind Ms. Moore’s desk. It was a photograph of the staff taken at Christmas time. Everyone was crowded together and smiling for the camera, but the only person not looking directly at the lens was Daphne Moore. Her eyes were firmly fixed on Thomas Guildford.

“That’s a nice picture,” Ford said, as he leaned across the desk to get a better look.

“Uh, thank you,” she said, shifting in her seat, and clearing her throat. She played with the pearl necklace around her neck. “It was taken this past Christmas.”

“Tell me, is Dr. Guildford married?” he asked. He watched her drop the necklace with a jolt and then she folded her hands together and squeezed. He could see her fingers getting whiter as the color was choked off from the pressure.

Sitting up straighter, her eyes narrowed with annoyance. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business, but yes he is.”

Ford cocked his head to the side and stepped closer to the desk. “Yeah? How long has he been married?”

“I don’t have to answer your questions.”

Ford didn’t have to be a psychiatrist to see the pain in Ms. Moore’s eyes. Softening his demeanor, he took a seat and lounged in the chair, which flustered her even more. It was evident she wanted nothing more than for him to leave immediately. “Well, if the doc took his bride with him to Tahiti, then how much of a medical conference could it be? But if the missus stayed home, then I’m more inclined to believe it was a business trip.”

Ms. Moore’s eyebrows knitted together in thought, and she slowly nodded. “I see your point. I also realize how unsettling it must be that the doctor changed his mind about being cooperative in less than twenty-four hours.” Ms. Moore’s eyes clouded over with a veil of peevishness. “Yes,
Mrs
. Guildford accompanied Doctor on the trip.”

Ford almost laughed out loud as she spat the words, jealousy practically dripping off her tongue. It was obvious that she carried a torch for the doc and probably had for a long time. Reaching across the desk, he patted her hands. “It’s okay. Like I said, this was just to find people to speak on Tess’s behalf. There’s nothing for anyone to worry about. They’ve all been talking already, right?”

Ms. Moore sighed and relaxed a little. She unclenched her hands and shook out her fingers. “Yes. There was no way to stop it, once you questioned Parker Lockwood. She’s the office gossip. I wish now I’d left her for last.”

Ford smiled. “No worries. You can tell the doc I’m through here.”

“Please tell Tess we’re so sorry about all this.”

“Will do.”

Ford gave her a two-fingered salute and then left the office while Ms. Moore sat back down and returned to her computer screen. The angle of her doorway prevented her from seeing him take the wrong turn at the end of the hall. Moving in a stealthy manner, he poked his nose here and there into offices and empty patient examination rooms, taking note of how he was received, if anyone saw him. He was counting on the usual looks of surprise, but was hoping he would see something more from Mike the nurse or the other woman he hadn’t spoken to, if he happened across them.

When he finally did come upon the one large room where several desks and cubicles were located, he knew he hit pay dirt. It was where the nurses sat to finish their notes and paperwork, the billers had their workstations, and most of the patient records were housed.

Ford leaned his head in the room and immediately almost all eyes were on him. He recognized most of the faces, except for the lady with the grey hair who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Ford felt around in his brain for his alarm beacon but it didn’t go off for her. It shrieked for the one guy in the room refusing to look his way. Mike the nurse was sitting at this desk, typing into a laptop. Not once did he look up to see what had caught everyone else’s attention.

“Hi there! Just wanted to thank you all for talking with me yesterday. I left my card with Ms. Moore, so if anyone has any questions, feel free to give me a ring.”

Ford waited for the nods of recognition and polite smiles, which came within seconds. And still, Mike Andrews never met his eye.