There was a still a tiny part in Marnie’s mind that worried she would enter the small chapel and Mitch would run the other way. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
He cried. He stared at her on his great-grandfather’s arm and cried. Brooks gripped his shoulder, squeezing it and he smiled at his brother.
“Isn’t she beautiful?”
“She is, Mitch. And she’s yours. She’s all yours.”
Neither remembered much after that. They were prodded to say their vows, they exchanged rings, kissed, and then walked down the aisle to the cheers of the friends and family.
Marnie couldn’t remember ever seeing so many people in one place, and so much food. She took her shoes off after the fourth dance and was happy to dance barefoot beneath the tent.
Seeing the absolute light and bliss in Mitch’s face confirmed for her what she already knew. He really loved her.
“I will never get tired of staring at your face,” he whispered, kissing her just below her ear.
“Believe me, I feel the same about your face,” she smiled. “I see your brother and cousins, your dad and uncles, even Angel and think that’s the same face, but not. I really wonder how so much of the male genetics come through, yet your mothers genetics seem hidden in all of you.”
“Oh, they’re not hidden,” he smirked. “Believe me. I possess my mother’s kindness, her intelligence, her creativity. I have some of the best parts of my parents and I love that. Our children might look mostly like me but I want them to have your brains, your compassion, your sense of honor and doing right.”
“Mitch, you can’t say things like that today and not expect me to cry.”
He laughed, kissing her again as they danced again and again. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Noa.
“Give a guy a chance to dance with the bride,” he said with a wink. Mitch nodded at him, knowing what that meant. He released Marnie’s hand and walked toward the table of men who were trying desperately not to have the look of death on their faces.
“What’s wrong?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“We’ve got the complete background on this guy now. Alden Aaron Johns, only son of Gloria Morgan Johns Winslow Harper Talbot.”
“What the fuck?” muttered Mitch. “Married five times?”
“Four. Currently married to Lawrence Talbot. He owns a company that produces all the concrete girders for highways throughout the south, southeast, and southwest. Loads of money,” said Hiro.
“So, what’s his story other than he’ll be dead soon,” frowned Mitch.
“Attended Temple University for undergraduate, then NYU for medical school. He was an average student, nothing special about him. Didn’t seem to get into any trouble in school, no issues that we can find. At the time, his mother and stepfather number three were living in Philadelphia.
“When the stepfather died suddenly, we’ll come back to that, his mother moved to Gulf Shores, Alabama and started dating her current husband. They have multiple homes, including the mansion she lives in now. They belong to the local country club and several exclusive resorts around the country.”
“Go back the sudden death of the stepfather,” said Mitch.
“All of his stepfather’s died suddenly. Seemingly great health and then a car accident, heart attack, stroke, and now we’re waiting to see what number four dies from. It seems inevitable.”
“When did all this shit at the hospital start?” asked Ham.
“It wasn’t just the last hospital, the one Marnie was working in, it was several before that. There would be a miscount of the inventory of controlled substances. Mostly oxycodone, fentanyl, Demerol, and other pain killers.
“According to the medical license investigation, he would flirt with the nurses, get them to pull the drugs for him, and then sell them or keep them. The problem was he asked multiple nurses to pull the drugs. So, if a patient needed oxycodone, he’d ask three different nurses to pull it for him.”
“Wasn’t it all on the computer systems?” asked Brooks.
“It should have been but it seems he was playing with the system as well. When he moved to another hospital, one of the nurses knew about him from a friend that had been a nurse at his previous hospital.
“Then he moved to Marnie’s hospital. Nurses warned her about him and for the most part, she listened. They said he would touch her back, rub against her, outwardly flirting but she was cautious.”
“That’s my girl,” smirked Mitch, nodding at Hiro.
