Goldie stood by his grandmother’s bed as they led Dan out of the building and to the waiting squad car. Kevin came back in with a mop and bucket and started cleaning up Dan’s blood. Goldie glanced at Wexler, who nodded at him and then walked out of the room.
After the room was cleaned and Goldie had turned the light back off, he sat by his grandmother and held her hand. He kissed her soft, wrinkled cheeks and his gut twisted. “I almost lost you tonight, Grandma. That would’ve killed me. You’ll go when you’re ready.”
Helen lay still, her eyes closed, oblivious to the drama that unfolded in her room. For a long time, he sat holding her hand, and then he stood up and walked to the door.
“Garth,” a voice said behind him.
He spun around and saw his grandmother looking right at him with clear blue eyes. “Grandma.”
“Thank you.” Then her eyes closed.
“You’re welcome,” he said to the darkness, then stepped into the hallway.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Wexler stood onthe other side of the two-way mirror, looking at Dan Krutcher’s battered face as Barnard sat opposite the suspect on a metal folding chair in the interrogation room.
“We know about the deaths that occurred at each place you worked. St. Clare’s Hospital in Topeka had seven suspicious deaths, Pinehurst Nursing Home in Omaha had five, Mesa Clinic in Tucson had four, and now we have six at Cherry Vale. And you know what the common denominator is? You. When you get to a place, patients die, and when you leave, the dying stops. What do you say to that?”
“I’d say it’s a pretty big coincidence.” Dan smiled and leaned back in the chair.
“I don’t think coincidences work out like that so many times. And you were caught with the syringe trying to murder Helen Humphries. And before you lie to me again, we checked with Dr. Rudman. He never ordered any sleeping medication for Mrs. Humphries.”
“She was living in darkness. I needed to bring her back to the light.”
“And how were you going to do that, Dan?” Barnard leaned forward.
“By ending her darkness. I was trained to care for people. Letting them linger when they are so ill, when they have no quality of life left, is not caring for them. I’m their angel of mercy, and they always smile at me when I help them on their journey to the next world. The world of light and peace.”
“Did Susan O’Brien need your mercy?”
Dan scrunched his face. “She was just a nosy drunk. She tried to stop me from helping Gus. By being a drunk, she put all the patients’ lives in jeopardy. She got what she deserved.”
“You pushed her, didn’t you? Our crime scene team tells me her fall isn’t consistent with tripping.”
“Detective, I’m not going to do all the work for you.” Dan smiled.
Barnard wanted to finish what the biker started, but he just smiled and leaned back. “You’re going to make me work for Susan. What about Nadine and Doris? They both worked at Cherry Vale.”
“What about them?”
“You raped them, but you killed Nadine. Did she tell you your dick was too short?”
Dan shifted in his chair. “I didn’t kill Nadine or rape Doris. I liked them. Doris worked hard in the laundry room. Do you know how hot it gets in that room?”
“Then why did you rape her? She didn’t want to have an affair with you?”
“Can I have an aspirin? My head is pounding. The doctor ordered it when I got my stiches. That Goldie’s one crazy biker, attacking me like that.”
“I’ll get you an aspirin when you tell me about Nadine, Doris, and all the others.”
“Are you trying to pin those rapes that have been on the news and in the paper on me? I don’t rape women. I’m the angel of mercy for sick people. I’ve known that since I was a child. That’s why I went into the medical field.”
“What did you do with the American eagle ornament on your SUV?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“We know you have a dark brown SUV.”
