“Like I said,” Delia drawled, “mighty nice.”
The elevator chimed and we got off. I started toward the nurses’ station to ask about Helms. There was no sign of Marsh or anyone else waiting to see her. I supposed Marsh had to work even though she was hurt, and her family probably hadn’t arrived yet.
“I’d like to see Detective Macey Helms, please.”
“Are you a member of the family?” the nurse asked me.
“No, but I was with her when she was brought in.”
Dark eyes in a chocolate brown face narrowed. “She isn’t allowed visitors right now, except family. Sorry.”
I opened my mouth to argue the point, and an alarm went off. People started running past me.
One of them was Detective Marsh. “Someone tried to get into Helms’s room,” he yelled. “I think he wanted to finish what he started.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
“How is that possible in a hospital?” I yelled after him. “Where’s security?”
“We should get out of here.” Delia glanced nervously around us. “It could be dangerous, Zoe.”
“No! We have to find out what happened. Didn’t they have a police officer protecting her?”
The nurse at the desk heaved herself out of the chair. “We don’t need anyone to protect our patients. We have the best security in the world.”
“It sounds like it,” I muttered before following Marsh.
“I’m going to find Miguel and Ollie,” Delia said. “Watch your back, Zoe.”
I walked quickly down the hall, looking for Marsh. Everyone else was running down the hall toward the exit.
The door to one room was open. I saw Marsh standing in there and went in to see what he was doing.
“Zoe.” He glanced at me and then back at his partner. “Macey’s safe, thank goodness. I’d like to know what she found out that made her a target.”
“Me, too.”
“You couldn’t understand anything that she was trying to tell you after she was shot?”
“She only said that she had information about what had happened. It had to be important. She almost died trying to get to me.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know why she didn’t call me. I don’t even know where she was when she was shot. The police couldn’t find a crime scene.”
“I don’t know. What happened up here?”
“I had to go to the bathroom. Someone walked in, pretty as you please, and cut the lines to her IV while I was gone. A nurse saw it and started screaming. Everything went crazy after that.”
“Did the nurse see the person who did it?”
“I don’t know, Zoe. I stayed right here next to Macey.” He scratched his head. “The last few days have been like a circus. I don’t know what’s going on—except that a good friend of mine is dead and someone tried to kill Macey. How that goes together is anyone’s guess.”
I went over and held Macey’s hand. It was cool to the touch. She didn’t move. They’d already replaced her IV lines. She was lucky the nurse came in when she did.
“Now what?” I asked Marsh.
“The Birmingham police said they’ll keep an eye on her—at least until her family can have her moved back to Charlotte. I’m going to head back home, too. The chief says he’s sending someone else out with ‘fresh eyes’ to take a look, whatever that means.”
“But they’ll lose all your experience with the case.”
He shrugged. “We haven’t been doing all that well with it. Frankly, I’m ready to call it a day.”
I studied Macey’s face, willing her to open her eyes and tell us what she’d found. It didn’t happen, and the doctor and two nurses came in to shoo us both out.
“Well, I’m going on to Mobile,” I said to Marsh in the hall. “Please let me know what happens. I’d like to see Helms when she wakes up.”
“I will. Thanks, Zoe.”
As I turned to walk away, he said, “You know, at first I thought it was you. McSwain died right after he talked to you. You were involved with the race. It seemed possible.”
“I guess you changed your mind.”
“About you,” he agreed. “Not about Miguel Alexander and his girlfriend. I’d expect a call from the police in Mobile when you get there.”
That was thrilling news—nothing like having to deal with police in four different states. I wasn’t expecting that as part of the food truck race.
I found Miguel with Ollie and Delia. Tina had been treated and released. She’d been waiting at the front of the hospital, trusting that Miguel would come and get her.
We bundled back into the Mercedes. Tina tried to call shotgun. I edged her out. I try to be a nice person, but that wasn’t going to happen. She sat beside Ollie and Delia with great reluctance. I could tell it wasn’t going to be a fun trip home. At least Mobile wasn’t far away.
All I could think about was Helms, and the information she may have almost died twice for. What did McSwain’s and Alex’s deaths have in common? How did they relate to Reggie’s death?
“It had to be the same person that Alex was talking to on the phone that first day behind his RV.”
I realized that I’d spoken out loud. Everyone in the car was immediately quiet. I had no idea if there was a conversation that I’d interrupted.
“What did you say?” Ollie asked.
“I was thinking that McSwain was killed in Charlotte because he went to talk to Alex about the phone call I’d overheard. The man who was talking to Alex was the killer.”
Delia sighed and closed her compact mirror. “What does that even mean, Zoe?”
“It means that what Zoe overheard got McSwain killed,” Miguel clarified.
“But you said you didn’t really overhear anything that made sense,” Ollie added.
“Well, it was a little disjointed. I was sure that Alex was talking about being responsible for what had happened to Reggie. He sounded like there was more to come.”
“The more-to-come part came true,” Ollie said. “But I don’t think Alex was standing there planning his own death.”
“I’m sure he wasn’t. But what if all the disruptions in the race were meant to cover up Alex’s death?” I looked at Miguel. “This whole thing has been a setup from the beginning.”
I reminded everyone how the police had somehow been tipped off about Tina and Miguel. “She gave him money to defend her against Alex, who wanted to take everything from her.”
“Which I didn’t ask for,” Miguel reminded Tina. “And I don’t plan to keep. It was only supposed to be filing fees.”
“You’ve always been so good to me,” Tina declared. “I knew you would help me if I asked. Alex had a really good attorney, and I was too emotional to fight him. You were one of the best courtroom lawyers in our class.”
“Wow,” Ollie said. “I knew he was good when he got me off of that burglary charge.”
“Thanks,” Miguel said. “But what’s your point, Zoe? How is that related to Alex being killed?”
“Okay.” I got ready to explain. “Alex, and the man he was talking to that first day, were planning to kill Tina. They were going to use all the mayhem from the race, and Reggie’s death, to disguise her murder.”
“He knew I was there.” Tina nodded. “It’s possible he was just tired of fighting and knew I’d eventually win.”
“When McSwain confronted Alex, his partner—probably a paid killer—was there and realized that McSwain was a liability. How could they do what they wanted with him hanging around waiting for something to happen?”
“Let’s say that happened,” Miguel said. “How did Alex end up being the one who was killed instead of Tina?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe they had a disagreement. Maybe the killer wanted more money. There was some mention of money in the RV before Alex was killed.”