Chapter 51: Zach's Help

No cops guarded the front entrance of the emergency department of Centre Community Hospital. Grace and Zach walked in among the bustling nurses as if they belonged there, too.
The multi-casualty accident whose patients had just rolled into the hospital were a godsend to the plan she’d hatched with Zach.
Without anyone noticing, she and Zach made their way to the morgue which sat in the bowels of the hospital. No one passed them in the lime green hallway behind the kitchen.
One of the patients from the car accident had died and his body lay outside the morgue door which stood ajar. Grace eased her way in behind Zach.
She slipped into a closet she knew sat by the front door while Zach asked to see Dolores.
“You’ll have to go yourself, I need to make copies of this paperwork and ours is jammed. Just stay until I get back so I can log in your visit,” the attendant said before pushing out into the hallway.
Grace came out of her hiding place. Zach’s gaze studied her. “Last chance to change your mind.”
“I won’t Zach.”
He kissed her as if he wouldn’t see her again, then she walked into the cold storage room.
Pausing before Dolores’ door, Grace drew in a deep, steadying breath. “Here goes,” she said to no one.
She rolled open the drawer and uncovered Dolores who must have been expecting her. Without hesitation, the dead woman grabbed Grace’s hand and spoke.
The colors swirled and Grace held onto her sanity with a nail. Where would she end up this time?
***
Zach pulled up in front of Dolores’ house as she stood talking to a stranger. Something about the petite woman seemed familiar, but he didn’t think he’d ever arrested her for murder at all. But when he was a cop he came in contact with all sorts of people.
The blond woman smiled at him as if they’d met, but he still couldn’t place her.
“I’ve already rented the place,” Dolores said as Zach walked towards them.
“If I may be nosy, is the man’s name Mark.”
Dolores’ jaw dropped open for a moment, but then she shook off her surprise. “I’m not sure that’s your business.”
“Do you know this Mark person?” Zach asked.
“Yes, I do and I think he’s trouble,” the woman said with such conviction Zach and to enquire.
“How do you know him?”
“We’ve been friends for years.”
Zach frowned and ran a hand through his hair. “Lovers’ spat?”
“No, we’ve never been that way.”
“Then why do you think he’s trouble?”
“This is Grace, by the way, Zach.” The phone inside Dolores’ house rang. “I’ll get that.”
Zach turned his attention to the beautiful woman in front of him. Her concerned look had his protective instincts surfacing.
Her eyes were a magnificent green, her hair a striking white blonde.
“I think he’s going to kill Dolores.”
He took a step back. “Kill? Did he tell you that?”
“No, and I can’t explain how I know.”
“You have to tell me how you know. You can’t go around accusing people of murder especially when there hasn’t been one.”
She frowned, brushing a hair out of her face. “I know things before hand.”
He stopped his eyes from rolling. “A psychic? I don’t believe.”
“Then you’ll just have to trust me.”
“So when is this murder going to take place?”
She shifted on her feet. “In the next two days.”
“Your sources can’t give you an exact date?”
“No, it’s changed.”
She stopped talking as if she’d said more than she wanted. Her hand covered her mouth.
“What’s changed?”
“Never mind.” She reached into her purse and produced a car. “Dolores is about to tell you she’s pregnant. If I’m right or wrong, call me.”
She bounced off down the street to an older Mustang. He fingered the card as she drove away from him.
***
Grace knew who the caller would be when her phone rang.
“So she’s pregnant?” she said even though she knew the answer.
She walked back and forth from her dresser to a suitcase with the phone tucked under her chin. If the place was going to burn she might as well be ready.
“There are a dozen ways you could know that.”
“Name three.”
“You could work for her ob/gyn.”
“Not with HIPAA regs these days.”
“You could just know. Some women do.”
“I’m not an empath.”
“I’m out of ideas, but I’m sure there is a logical explanation. Just because I can’t think of it now does not mean it doesn’t exist.”
“We could go around like this for days. Why don’t we prevent a murder. You need to find out who Dolores’ tenant is. I’ll bet his name is Mark Handon.”
“Whoa, I need more details before I go off half-cocked. How do you know this guy.”
“He’s a friend.”
“Then why don’t you know for sure he’s there?”
She hated to admit this. She didn’t want to think Mark had anything to do with her troubles. They’d been friends for such a long time.“He didn’t tell me, but I don’t know why.”
“Why would he kill Dolores.”
She frowned at her folded clothes, then settled on the bed. “I haven’t figured that out yet.”
She could hear his breathing and maybe even the wheels in his head, too. His hand was probably going through his hair.
“Are you free tonight?”
“I work.”
“A dinner break?”
“Not always possible.”
“Where do you work?”
“I’m a medic for the hospital.”
“I’ll pay you a visit.”
“Our office is in the back, by the morgue.”
“I’ll be there.”
***
Not a date, but Zach would take it.
Something about Grace intrigued him. Maybe what attracted him was her combination of strength and fragility. Dolores was fragile, but only when she chose to be.
And lately Zach had been going for independent, strong women. Ones who didn’t really need him and his penchant for being a knight. Would Grace even let him save her? And from what did she need to be saved?
He never answered the question as he pulled into a parking lot beside the hospital.
A squat man with a day’s growth of beard lurked at the entrance Zach needed to use. He jumped when the detective walked up behind him.
“Looking for someone?”
“Uh, no.” The suspicious man walked away without making eye contact.
Zach found Grace in a bay stocking a plastic container that closed. Her hair fell out of her bun and her eyes had a tired tinge to them.
“Grace?”
She smiled when she made eye contact. The gesture lit up her whole face even while lines etched around her mouth. He probably would not have noticed her in a crowd, but she was pretty nonetheless.
“Hey.”
“There was a strange man hanging around outside. You guys might want to be careful when you go home tonight.”
“Oh, thanks. I’m almost finished here, we can go outside and talk at the picnic table across the street.”
“Sure, I’ll wait for you there.”
“Coffee?”
“No thanks.”
Minutes later, Grace shuffled over to him a Styrofoam cup in her hand.
“Rough call?”
She nodded then took a sip. “I’m losing my touch.”
“How long have you been a medic?”
“A decade.”
“Burnout?”
She looked past him as if the answer to his question lay there. “Not exactly. Maybe I just need a vacation.”
“Tell me about what you think is going to happen to Dolores?”
She took in a breath, then blew it out. “She’s going to be killed and I think Mark will do it.”
“Her tenant. Your friend.”
He wasn’t sure if her story could get crazier, but she believed what she was saying. “Look, Grace if this is revenge for some break up, I don’t want to be part of it.”
“We were never lovers.”
“Did you want to be?”
“No, but he does.”
“Does he know about your gift?”
“You don’t believe me do you?”
Corpse Whisperer
Detail
Share
Font Size
40
Bgcolor