The nurse or resident care aide, or whatever the hell she was called, twisted her hands.
“Can I—”
“Yes, put your arms down.”
“Thank you.”
She moved slowly, never taking her gaze off Delaney, who was still standing behind Vaughn. Reached for the man’s wrist, pressed two fingers against the thin skin just below his palm. Her lips moved slightly as she counted.
“Pulse is good,” she told Ivy. Then she rambled, “I’m sorry about this, Officer. Really sorry. Dr.Reeves gets confused and wanders off sometimes. Especially around this time of year. Around the time of the accident.”
“He was running—”
“Quiet, Delaney!” Vaughn hissed. “What’s your name?” he asked the woman.
“Sarah.”
“Sarah, I want you to take him back to the home, okay?”
A nod sent a ripple cascading through the woman’s multiple chins.
Expecting a protest from Delaney, Vaughn held a finger up and out to his side as a warning.
“Thank you.”
“It’s okay, Dad,” Ivy whispered. Then she turned to Sarah. “I thought you didn’t tell management?” Accusing.
“I didn’t! I didn’t!” the woman protested.
Vaughn clued into what was going on.
“Ivy, the cops aren’t here because of your father.”
Ivy’s eyes shot in his direction.
“They’re not?”
“No. They’re here because there’s been another gassing.”
?Chapter 36
“Gassing?” Ivy wasstill reeling from a cop threatening to shoot them.
Vaughn squirmed—he clearly hadn’t meant to say so much.
“Yeah. The body you saw...” he trailed off.
Ivy had heard enough.
Gassing, as ambiguous as the term was, explained the white paste she’d seen on Aaron Treadman’s face.
She shuddered.
“And there’s been another one?Here?”
“Yes. I just got the call. That’s why I came.”
“Ryan, why’d you let the other two go?” Delany demanded.
