Trumped Up Charges

“Dr. Gates would like to speak to you. He’ll meet you in your mother’s room.”

Matilda said a quick goodbye and made her exit. If this was bad news, she didn’t want to hear it. Today was already hell enough.

* * *

HADLEY LOOKED UP as the doctor joined them in her mother’s room. She was only vaguely aware of Adam standing beside her, but glad he was there. His strength and confidence worked like an invisible conductor to fight off hysteria and keep her at least semi-grounded.

“The surgery was a success,” Dr. Gates said calmly. “The tumor was larger than the scans indicated, requiring more involved and complex incisions, but it wasn’t attached to any vital organs.”

“That is great news.” She leaned against the bed frame. “Will she need follow-up chemo or radiation treatments?”

“Your oncologist will go over that with you when he gets the full results back from tissue samples taken from surrounding areas. Your mother tolerated the surgery well, but with her blood pressure problems, I’d like to keep her in the hospital for at least three nights. I’ve already cleared that with the insurance company.”

“Now you’ll only have to convince Mother.”

“I’m hoping you can help persuade her. She’s a very lucky woman to have caught this in time.”

Lucky.

Under the circumstances, the word seemed so ludicrous as to be vile. Yesterday, the news he’d just given her would have been cause for celebration. Today it barely penetrated the layers of horror.

“Is Mother alert?” she asked.

“She’s coming out from under the influence of the anesthetics, but I want her to stay as quiet and as calm as possible for at least the next twenty-four hours. That means no visits from those precocious granddaughters she was telling me about.”

“I’m afraid there’s a problem with keeping her calm,” Hadley said. Her insides began to churn again and for a few seconds she was afraid she was going to have to make a run for the bathroom or risk throwing up on the floor.

While she struggled to settle her nerves, Adam took over for her. He explained the situation to the doctor much more succinctly than she could have managed.

Shock shattered the doctor’s professional demeanor. “Someone broke into your house while you were sleeping and abducted both of your daughters? That’s...” He paused, evidently struggling for the right word. “It’s evil, depraved beyond comprehension. What kind of maniac would do such a thing?”

“Apparently, one with a key to Janice O’Sullivan’s house,” Adam explained. “No door or window locks were tampered with.”

“That’s why I have to tell Mother the truth,” Hadley said. “I have to ask her for the names of everyone who could possibly have gotten their hands on a key.”

“You’re right,” Dr. Gates agreed. “Her input is invaluable. Even if it weren’t, she’d never forgive you for not telling her the truth immediately.”

“How long before she’ll be coherent enough for me to explain the situation and ask her about the key?”

“She’ll be able to communicate within the hour though she will still demonstrate signs of the drugs.” He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I need to be in the room with you when you tell her about the kidnapping.”

“Are you afraid the shock could cause Mother to suffer a heart attack?”

“I’m a grandfather,” Dr. Gates said. “I haven’t had surgery and I’m in perfect health. I’d be in danger of having a heart attack if someone kidnapped one of my grandchildren, much less two.”

“I’ll make sure you’re in the room when I tell her,” Hadley said. “But that won’t be the end of it. Detective Shelton Lane is heading up the case and he’s already bugging me about questioning Mother.”

“That’s up to you,” Gates said. “But if it were me, I’d insist that a family member be in the room during any police visits, at least for the next twenty-four hours. Your mother, while cognizant, will still be under the influence of the anesthetics.”

“But if she can help find the girls in any way, I want her to be heard.”

“That’s why I recommend having a family member with her during the meeting. There’s a difference between questioning and harassment. The detective on this case may be the exception, but unfortunately, some cops don’t differentiate between the two very well. At least that’s been my experience with other patients.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Adam said.

“Yes, but I’m not sure I can call those shots,” Hadley said.

“I can,” Dr. Gates said. “If you want, I can leave an order with the nursing staff that says positively no visitors except you or someone you accompany.”

Hadley hesitated. She didn’t want to interfere with the investigation. She wanted the girls found. And it wasn’t as if her mother was a suspect.

“I think you should do as Dr. Gates suggests,” Adam encouraged.

“Okay,” she agreed, “but add Matilda Bastion to the list of people who can visit without me present.”

“Spell that last name for me, just to make sure I get it right on the order.”

She did and they talked for a minute more before the door opened and her mother was wheeled into the room. Hadley stood aside while her mother was transferred from the gurney to her bed.

She appeared groggy, her eyes narrow slits beneath puffy lids. Her usually well-coiffed hair was damp and pressed against her head.

She saw Hadley and smiled. Then her gaze moved to Adam. The smile vanished.

“Whass see doin’ here?” Her words were slurred but clear enough that they all got the message that she wasn’t happy to see him.

Hadley breathed a sigh of relief. Neither drugs nor pain would keep Janice O’Sullivan from coming to the brawl ready to fight. She’d stave off the effects of the drugs and give them the names they needed. Detective Lane and the DPD could do the rest.

Lacy and Lila might be home in time for her to tuck them into bed tonight.

* * *

THE LATE-AFTERNOON SUN was almost blinding as Hadley and Adam made their way across the hospital parking lot. Hadley slowed her pace to reach in her handbag for her sunglasses.

She put them on and adjusted the frame on the bridge of her nose. The glare diminished. Her desperation intensified. They’d spent an hour with her mother privately before the detective had joined them for a rehash of the same information. The illuminating moment that could change everything had never come.

Now, thanks to powerful medication, her mother was resting and in the hands of the private nurse they’d hired and the competent fourth-floor nursing team.

“I had such high hopes for Mother coming up with a name that would make sense of the abduction and lead us to the girls. Now it seems that’s just another dead end.”

“Don’t count it out yet. Lane said he’d follow up on the construction workers who’d been involved in her remodeling project.”

“He didn’t sound encouraged that construction workers were the best suspects we could come up with. Especially since the remodeling project has been finished for at least six months and Lacy and Lila had never been there when they were working.”

“Every lead is important,” Adam said. “Your mother may come up with more names when the meds wear off a bit.”

“She’ll definitely try,” Hadley said.

“I’m sure,” Adam said as they reached the truck. “I thought for a minute there she was going to jump out of that hospital bed, grab an AK-47 and storm every house in Dallas until she found the girls.”