“Alana was fired from her job at another hospital for negligent patient care,” Cindy got it out fast, not wanting to hide a thing.
“Oh boy!” Mattheus bristled, “that doesn’t sound good.”
“I talked to Alana about it,” Cindy continued methodically, “she said her patient, an old woman, died of old age. The family turned on her and blamed her. I’m sure if we check the medical records we can find out exactly what happened.”
“The medical records never show exactly what happened,” Mattheus declared. “If there was patient negligence, a person could die and the death can be blamed on anything. We need to see in exactly what way they said Alana was negligent.”
“Yes, I guess we do,” said Cindy, sorry she’d brought the whole thing up right then.
“You guess?” Mattheus was edgy. “Alana’s behavior could have direct bearing on our case.”
Despite everything, Cindy felt strongly that Alana had nothing to do with Tara’s death. She jumped in immediately on Alana’s behalf. “Why would Alana kill Tara? Give me one good reason,” Cindy demanded.
“There’s a whole bunch of reasons,” Mattheus replied. “Maybe Alana thought she was doing it for Tara’s own good? Maybe Owen convinced her? Maybe he paid her to put the toxins into Tara’s IV?”
“Complete conjecture,” said Cindy.
“So far everything is conjecture,” said Mattheus, “except that someone intentionally ended Tara’s life. We need a confession. We need an eye witness to something.”
The sounds of music playing on the deck below grew louder. Dancing had probably begun and soon it would be time to sit down for dinner.
“We can go down and enjoy the evening,” said Cindy then, “or we can stay up here and thrash everything out.”
“Let’s do both,” said Mattheus, drawing closer to Cindy then and putting his arm back around her. “Let’s go over whatever else we found quickly, so it’s off our minds, then let’s go downstairs have dinner and dance.”
“That’s like walking a tightrope,” said Cindy.
“Yes, it is,” said Mattheus, “but we need to learn to do it. We’ve got to solve cases and also stay close. We can’t let anything tear us apart, ever. When one case is over, another one’s always waiting down the road.”
Mattheus said it with such fervor that tears filled Cindy’s eyes. She put her head on his shoulder, “You’re right, you’re right,” she whispered.
“I love you so much,” Mattheus said then, “I want us to live like this forever, together.”
“Will the cases ever end?” asked Cindy.
“They won’t ever end,” Mattheus whispered. “With each case we’ll grow stronger, we’ll help others and love each other more and more.”
It sounded good to Cindy and yet something was also missing. “We’ll never settle down?” she asked then, in a small voice.
“We’ll settle down wherever we are,” Mattheus put his face on Cindy’s head and rested it there.
“And children?” Cindy asked quietly.
“We’ll take them with us,” Mattheus laughed.
Cindy couldn’t help but laugh as well. This was hardly a life to bring children into, how could they bring them along?
“We’ll hire a nanny and she’ll travel with us,” Mattheus’s voice grew more fervent. “Anything is possible.”
The waves tossed up and the wind blew more strongly as the music downstairs enveloped the night. Mattheus was right, anything was possible if they just opened their minds. Once again they kissed for a long time in the moonlight, before they went downstairs to dance and dine.
Chapter 14
The cremation was scheduled for two o’clock the next day. Cindy and Mattheus had time before attending, to go over whatever they hadn’t had a chance to discuss the night before. The music, food and dancing on the cruise had been wonderful and they’d let themselves surrender to it and have a wonderful time.
Both of them woke up in the morning glowing, filled with contentment and warmth. Cindy had never felt so certain of anything as that Mattheus was the one for her. She was sure they could build a strong, meaningful life together, and she felt ready to take the next step.
Mattheus called for breakfast in their room so they could get back to work on the case while eating. Pleased about it, Cindy dressed for a busy day. As soon as the food had been delivered and they started eating, Cindy felt ready to begin.
“Firstly,” Cindy started, “I heard from Tara’s mother that the police have new evidence against Owen.”
“Yes, it’s true,” Mattheus commented, cradling the hot coffee cup in his hands.
“Why didn’t you didn’t tell me about it?” asked Cindy surprised.
“We haven’t had time to really catch up,” Mattheus reminded her. “There’s been a lot to share for both of us. I also heard from the police that Owen’s been acting up. He’s doubling his writing campaign and conducting interviews from jail. Basically he’s blaming the hospital for Tara’s death. It’s a great way to get the focus off himself.”
Cindy was upset. “He didn’t consult with us about any of this.”
“I guess he didn’t feel he had to,” said Mattheus. “Owen’s claiming that the medical staff at the hospital are shifty and have easy access to drugs. That isn’t sitting well with the private donors. There’s a lot of pressure developing to get this case closed.”
“I heard exactly the same thing from Todd,” Cindy jumped in. “Not only did he say that there’s lots of drugs available at the hospital, he said that many of the doctors and nurses are users.”
“Whew,” Mattheus exclaimed, “that’s a big claim. Tell him to prove it. Give us names and facts, then I’ll listen.”
“Good point,” Cindy agreed.
“Did Todd suggest that Alana was using?” Mattheus was riled up. “Was that why she was fired from her other job?”
“I don’t think Todd knows for sure, exactly who is or isn’t using,” replied Cindy.
“Or he knows and doesn’t want to be implicated,” Mattheus added. “Todd’s got a great job, assistant to the hospital administrator! It’s amazing he said that to you at all.”
“Todd doesn’t like Konrad,” Cindy quickly added. “There’s something off between them.”
“He implied that Konrad was on drugs, too?” Mattheus couldn’t drop it.
“He didn’t say who was using specifically,” Cindy repeated. “Drug use is a problem at lots of hospitals, isn’t it?”
“Yes, definitely,” Mattheus replied. “And the fact that the staff can get hold of drugs easily can point us to who put the substance into Tara’s IV. I’ve been doing research on this hospital, but still have to look into medical mistakes here. I had a good talk with Tara’s doctor, though. Dr. Padden’s a great guy, very smart, and wants this case solved, too. There’s too much publicity and pressure on everyone. But Owen’s keeping the fires flaming big time.”
“I can understand why, can’t you?” Cindy could feel Owen’s desperation and wished she could do more to help him.
“Sure, I can,” said Mattheus. “The guy’s well connected and he wants out.”
“What’s the new evidence the police have against him?” asked Cindy.
“They’re keeping it close to the vest,” said Mattheus. “I haven’t heard details yet. But I’m sure Owen knows they have something else on him. That’s probably why he’s cranking things up.”
“We need to go to the police station right now and find out what they’ve got,” said Cindy.
“We also need to talk to the lawyer who’s prosecuting the case,” said Mattheus. “Unless we come up with something new, it looks like Owen’s going on trial.”
Cindy felt frightened. “Have we got anything to stop this at all?” she asked.
“Our information about Alana is new,” Mattheus suggested. “I don’t know if the police have heard that she was fired from another job for patient negligence. But that could certainly make a dent.”