Pensacola Hospital
Maggie arrived at exactly ten. She signed in again as Jeremy’s cousin. When she arrived, Clara was at the nurse’s station. “Good morning. Nice to see you again.”
“Good morning to you, too!” Maggie grinned. “How is my cousin doing today?”
“Seems to be coming along. They took the stitches out of his head earlier, but I suppose I shouldn’t be telling you that.” She leaned closer. “It’s just that he seems so lost. Sad. I hope his girlfriend comes back today. She seemed nice.”
“I haven’t met her.” Maggie made a mental note to find out about the girlfriend. She wondered who it was and if she could offer any additional information. She was going to check with Jeremy. “I better get moving if I don’t want to get thrown out of here.” Maggie moved quickly to Jeremy’s room.
“Hey. Good morning,” Maggie smiled.
“You came back.” Jeremy looked pleased.
“I said I would. Listen, they don’t give us a lot of time, so I need you to fill me in. Your girlfriend. How much does she know about the accident?”
Jeremy strained a chuckle. “She’s not really my girlfriend. We worked together. Sorta. I mean, we both worked at Sunnydale. I was the pharmacist. She’s in the administration office. We’re just friends, but it was the only way they would let her up here.”
She placed her finger on her lips, looked around to see if anyone was in view, pulled a device out of her bag, and walked the perimeter of the room. She was checking for bugs. Not the bed type, but camera and audio types. Nothing, so far. Just in case there were prying ears, Maggie whispered, “Tell me more about this morphine thing.”
Jeremy’s eyes followed her every move. She returned the device to her tote and nodded for him to continue.
“I noticed we were shorted several boxes of OxyContin, Vicodin, codeine, and morphine a few months in a row. When I called the sales rep, she blamed it on someone else. After the third time, I brought it to my boss’s attention. The next week I was out the door. Said they were automating the system.”
“That’s not a coincidence,” Maggie said softly. She had been around long enough to know when things don’t add up, or when they do.
“Yeah, ’cause when I asked Regina—that’s my pretend girlfriend—she said she didn’t know anything about automation. She works in bookkeeping, so she would know if any invoices were paid.”
Maggie bit her lip. Ever since she stopped biting her nails, her lip had been taking the brunt of her nervous tic. “Then you were run off the road,” Maggie said plainly.
“Yep. And then they said they found a vial in my car.” Jeremy shook his head. “Who is doing this?” he asked rhetorically.
“I don’t have an answer for you right now, but I can promise you, I will. Just give us some time.”
“Us?” Jeremy asked inquisitively.
“I work for enormously powerful people. If anyone can get to the bottom of this, my boss can.” Maggie knew divulging Annie’s role would not be an issue. Maggie worked for thePost, and Annie owned it. “We’re also going to find a lawyer for you, should this situation go any further.”
Jeremy’s eyes welled up. “Why are you doing this? Don’t misunderstand me. I really appreciate it, but you don’t know me from a hole in the wall.”
“We fix holes.” Maggie grinned, the gap between her front teeth on display. “You need to gather your strength. But, in the meantime, do you think Regina would be willing to talk to me?”
“I can ask. That’s if she comes back.”
“I’m sure she will.” Maggie really had no idea if she would, but once again, her gut was telling her that Regina was someone who cared about Jeremy. Maybe not as a love interest, but at least as a friend. A colleague. Maggie pulled out her business card. “Please give this to her and tell her about our cousin thing.”
Jeremy tried to laugh, but it hurt too much. “I have a fake cousin and a fake girlfriend. I hope I don’t have a fake doctor.”
Maggie was happy to see Jeremy in better spirits. “I have to fly out to Arizona later, but I’ll be back in Florida tomorrow afternoon. Are you allowed to make phone calls?”
“I don’t know. Haven’t tried. Besides, who would I call, anyway?”
“Me, for one. I’ll talk to Clara. She seems like a reasonable woman.”
“She brings me ice a few times during her shift.”
“Good. Okay, I am off for now. Sit tight. I’ll be back.” She patted the shackled hand.
“Maggie.” He gently grasped her wrist. “I can’t thank you enough.”
