Chapter 7 - The Missing Nurse
Jack’s first instinct was to call Martin.
His second was better.
“Don’t contact him,” Claire said.
“I wasn’t going to.”
She gave him a look that said she knew exactly what his first instinct had been.
Jack almost smiled again. This time the feeling hurt.
Dana copied the recordings onto an encrypted drive.
Ethan paced behind Luis. “Audio can be edited.”
“So can contracts,” Claire said.
Charles looked toward the front windows. “There’s someone else you need to speak to.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
Jack noticed.
“Who?”
Charles hesitated. “My nurse.”
“You have a nurse?” Claire asked.
“Had.”
Margaret cut in. “A temporary private nurse after his fall last winter.”
Charles shook his head. “Her name is Rebecca Lane. She left two months ago.”
“Why?” Jack asked.
Charles looked at Margaret.
“She said my medication list had been changed without her approval.”
Margaret’s voice sharpened. “It was adjusted by a physician.”
“Which physician?”
No answer.
Jack crouched in front of Charles. “Did Rebecca leave a number?”
Charles reached into his wallet and removed a folded receipt. A phone number had been written on the back.
Margaret stood. “You kept that?”
“Yes.”
Jack took a picture of the number.
Claire leaned beside him. “Call from my second phone.”
Jack looked at her.
“You have another phone?”
She reached inside the lining of her handbag and pulled out a tiny prepaid device.
“For three weeks.”
Jack felt a strange mix of pride and pain.
“How bad has it been?” he asked.
Claire looked at Ethan.
“Bad enough that I stopped trusting the walls.”
She dialed Rebecca.
The line rang twice.
A woman answered in a whisper.
“Claire?”
Claire froze. “How do you know it’s me?”
“Because I gave Charles that number for you.”
Jack leaned closer.
Rebecca’s breathing became fast.
“You need to leave the Vale house,” she said. “Right now.”
“We’re trying.”
“No. You don’t understand. They already know your father is there.”
A loud bang sounded through the phone.
May you like
Rebecca gasped.
Then the line went dead.
