In fact, he was starting to regret his suggestion to go out. Normally Ford was the one organizing the social calendar for all his friends. He loved spending time with people, but over the last year, he’d withdrawn a little. It hadn’t been an intentional thing, but he realized in that moment that it had been months since he’d met the guys at the Nickel.
With renewed desire, he picked up his phone and tapped Nash’s contact.
“Hey,” he said after two rings.
His voice was groggy, but it hit Ford straight in the chest. He hadn’t realized how smooth it was, even with gravel from sleep.
“Shit, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“No, it’s fine,” Nash assured him. “You’re up?”
“Yeah, just woke up a few minutes ago.”
“How’d you sleep?”
It occurred to Ford that they’d known each other such a short time, but this felt normal, like they’d been friends all their lives. It was comforting and slightly disconcerting at the same time.
“Like the dead. I think I would have slept through a bomb going off in my apartment.”
“I’m glad. I left messages for Caleb, Rob, and Adam. Caleb is in. I’m still waiting to hear back from the other two.”
“Sam texted, saying he and Adam would be there, and Rob will likely just show up. I’d be surprised if he didn’t. For a guy who is so very into girls, he sticks pretty close to Caleb.”
“Okay. What time do you want me to pick you up?”
“Give me an hour to get presentable?”
“That works for me,” Nash said.
AN HOUR
later, to the minute, Nash phoned to let Ford know he was waiting outside. Ford ran downstairs to see Nash leaning against the side of his SUV. Looking casual and relaxed in comfortable jeans and a long-sleeved gray T-shirt, he pushed off and held the door open for Ford to climb inside.
When they arrived at the psych unit, a different police officer was stationed outside the door, looking incredibly bored. Nash said hello as they approached.
“Ford?”
He heard his name called from behind him as he lifted his ID card to unlock the door.
Ford turned, a knot forming in his belly. When they’d been together, trying to see Peter while at work had been nearly impossible. He rarely came down from the surgical floor, and when he did, it was to provide a consult for a patient or a second opinion for a doctor in another department. These days, Peter seemed to pop up everywhere Ford was, and it threw him off-kilter every single time.
Peter stood there, looking stern in his dress pants covered in a crisp white lab coat. No surgery today, obviously.
“Hello, Dr. Provost,” Ford said with as much civility as he could muster.
“What are you doing here?”
“I work here,” Ford countered with more of an edge than he’d meant to.
“I’m aware of that. But you’re obviously not working today. I’m wondering why you’re going into the psych unit on your day off.”
“I’m visiting a patient.”
Ford ignored the way Nash was looking at him, alert and observant.
“Oh, the kid junkie that was brought in? The whole hospital is talking about it.”
Ford scowled. “His name is Joel.”
Peter shook his head. “I’ve told you before, you shouldn’t get attached to your patients. You never know what will happen to them. You of all people should be aware of the recidivism rates on drug addicts, especially ones who are addicted from a young age. It’s likely only a matter of time before he ODs.”
“I appreciate your concern, but Joel will be fine.”
Peter’s gaze shifted to Nash, who was observing them with quiet speculation.
“Could I speak to you a moment? Privately?”
That was absolutely the last thing Ford wanted, and he was fully aware Peter wasn’t going to out himself in front of Nash, even if he was a total stranger. He was far too concerned with his image to risk tarnishing it with anyone finding out he liked to date hot blonde women but loved to fuck men.
“Actually, we are kind of in a hurry. Maybe another time.”
He didn’t mean it, and Peter knew it. It earned him a glare that was meant to intimidate, but Ford had moved past that. Ford felt like Sarah in
Labyrinth
. He wanted to shout “You have no power over me,” but he kept his mouth shut. Peter had connections that ran right to the top of administration, and Ford wanted to keep his job.
“Take care, Ford. I’ll see you soon.”
Ford swiped his card and pushed open the heavy door, feeling as though he could only breathe after it was closed behind them.
“What was that about?” Nash asked once they’d passed through the first set of doors and were standing in the anteroom outside the unit.
“Nothing. Dr. Provost works upstairs. He has some strange opinions about patient care, but he’s the best surgeon in the city.” Ford was struggling to keep his composure. He was too tired to deal with Peter and then questions about it from Nash. Keeping his guard constantly up was exhausting. Hoping he’d let it go at that, he changed the subject. “Let’s go see Joel.”
HELEN WAS
at the desk, and she smiled brightly when she saw them walk in.
“You’re back to check on your patient?”
“We are. How’s he doing?” Ford asked.
She tilted her head to one side, and Ford followed the line of sight until his gaze landed on Joel, who was sitting in the living room watching a hockey game.
He grinned wide. “Better.”
“Much,” Helen agreed. “He’s through the worst of it, and he’s eating again. He still hasn’t said much. Diana was here earlier today to talk to him. He told her his name and his age, but she couldn’t get much out of him other than that.”
“It’s all he’d tell me too.”
“Hopefully another night’s sleep will do him some good. The detectives are coming by tomorrow morning to talk to him.”
“Does he know?” Nash asked.
“We told him earlier today. There wasn’t much of a reaction, so I guess we’ll wait and see what happens when they get here.”
Joel turned away from the TV then, his eyes brightening when he caught sight of them standing at the nurses’ station.
“Hey, bud, feeling better?” Ford asked as they walked over. He and Nash both sat, Ford taking the chair next to Joel and Nash sitting across from them.
Ford heard the tentative yeah escape from him.
“Who’s winning?” Ford tilted his head toward the TV.
“Canucks,” Joel croaked with a barely there smile.
“Maybe they’ll win that cup this year,” Ford said, grappling for something to say. He knew jack shit about hockey, save what he’d overheard from Adam’s conversations with Caleb and Rob. They followed closely, but it had never been something that had piqued Ford’s interest.
Nash looked at him, barely containing his laughter. Ford ignored him.
“So the nurse told you the detectives are going to be coming by tomorrow to ask you a couple of questions?”
“About Rory?”
“Is that your friend’s name?” Ford asked.
Joel nodded, his gaze falling to his hands clasped in his lap. His shoulders hunched forward, and his voice was quiet. “Yeah.”
“You’re not in trouble, Joel. They just want to find out who hurt Rory.”
“He’s dead, right?”
Ford was struck dumb. He’d comforted countless families who had lost loved ones, and there had been one or two instances where he’d been the one to break the news that a patient had passed away, but the way Joel asked, his voice so flat, tore Ford right open.
“I’m so sorry.” Nash spoke so Ford didn’t have to.
“I knew.”
“Do you know who hurt him?” Ford asked, as gently as he could.
Joel shook his head. “It was the same man.”
“Which man?”
With his head tipped forward, it was difficult for Ford to hear what he was saying. He managed to decipher, “The man from the hotel.”
“Which hotel?”
The question was met with a shrug. “I don’t know.”
“Can you tell us what he looks like?” Ford pressed. He wasn’t sure he should be asking questions without the detectives there, but in case Joel wouldn’t speak to them, getting him talking when he was willing seemed like the right thing to do.
“I… I don’t remember.”
Joel was becoming more and more agitated with each question Ford asked, his hands fidgeting and his body beginning to shake.
“It’s okay,” Ford said. “You’re safe. They can’t get to you here. You’re behind two locked doors, and there’s a police officer outside. Helen’s here too, and she’s tough.”
“Maybe we should let Joel get some rest,” Nash suggested.
“That’s probably a good idea,” Ford agreed. “Joel, we’re going to go. We’ll come back, maybe tomorrow if you’d like.”
Joel nodded once more but stayed put in his chair. A hint of a smile played at his lips.
They said good-bye and headed for the desk.
“Did the detectives mention what time they’d be here tomorrow?” Nash asked as they were leaving.
Helen had been watchful of them since they’d been there. Ford felt better about Joel being in her care, knowing she was protective of him. She consulted with the file that was spread open in front of her on the desk. “They said they would try to be here around ten thirty.”
“Do you think it would be all right if Ford came as well? Joel seems to be more relaxed when he’s around.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea.”
“Thanks. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good evening, gentlemen.”
They thanked Helen again, then left the psych unit, heading for the exit that would put them out on the street closest to the Nickel.
“I hope I wasn’t out of line, asking if you could be there for the interview,” Nash said as they waited for the light to turn at the crosswalk.
“No. I want to be there, but I didn’t want to overstep either. Technically he’s not my patient, and I’m not family. I’m nothing to him.”
“I wouldn’t say you’re nothing to him. You’re a familiar face and someone he feels comfortable with. The change in his demeanor is obvious when you’re around. He trusts you enough to talk to you, and if the police have any hope of getting information from him, you being there is their best bet. It’s a good idea all around, both for Joel and for them, to have you present when they’re questioning him.”
Ford didn’t know what to say, his words caught in a clump in his throat. There was no reason for him to get emotional, and yet he was. He was completely overwhelmed. Luckily they arrived at the bar at that moment, and the noise, as soon as Nash pulled the door open for them, would have drowned out anything he’d have said anyway.
They found the others quickly, Caleb, Adam, and Sam already seated at a table on the second floor. They were in the corner, pushed back from most of the other patrons and across the room from the pool tables.
“Hey, guys,” Sam called, waving them over as they approached. It wasn’t long ago that Ford had arrived with Sam in tow, leading him to almost this very spot to meet Adam, Rob, and Caleb. It was crazy to think about how much had changed since then.
They slid into two of the vacant chairs, and Adam passed them both menus. Neither of them needed to look. They’d been to the Nickel so many times, they probably could have subbed in for the chef if there’d been a need.
When the waitress stopped by a few minutes later, Caleb let her know they were waiting for two more people to arrive, but they ordered a couple of pitchers of beer to have while they waited.
“Two more?” Ford asked when the waitress left.
“Rob’s bringing his new girl,” replied Caleb.
Ford let out a low whistle. “Must be serious.”
“Why?” Nash asked.
Ford turned toward him to explain. “Rob’s hooked up with most of the female population, but he’s never brought a girl to meet us.”
“Seriously?”
“Most of them don’t make it to a second date,” Caleb said.
“I can’t wait to meet her.” Adam clasped his hands in front of his chest and batted his eyelashes. “Our little Rob, in love.”
Everyone was still laughing when Rob and his date showed up.
“Guys, this is Corinne. Corinne, this is Caleb, my partner, Adam, Sam, Ford, and Nash,” Rob said, pointing around the table.
Corinne was older than Ford expected. Somewhere in her midthirties, she seemed to match Rob in age, which was surprising since he apparently usually went for younger women. Her light brown hair curled in tight spirals around her face. Soft skin covered high cheekbones, and her dark eyes sparkled as she smiled and waved hello.
“Nice to meet you,” Ford said.
She took her place beside Rob, who fell easily into conversation. She added a comment here and there, but she was soft-spoken and somewhat reserved. Her gaze never wavered from him long. He returned the looks, stealing glances at her in between the banter that flew back and forth across the table.
“So what do you do?” Caleb asked.
“I work as an aerospace engineer.”
“Like, spaceships?” Adam asked.
She laughed. “No. Airplanes. But many of the same principles apply, I suppose.”
“That is so cool.” Adam was clearly almost as smitten with her as Rob was.
“How did you get into that?” asked Sam.
“I fell into it, actually. I started out at university not sure which path I wanted to take. I’ve always been fascinated with math and physics and ended up taking mostly engineering courses. From there, it was an easy jump to aeronautics.”
Everyone at the table seemed quite impressed, and for the next half hour, she answered every question they had. Ford felt a little bad for her, being the only woman at the table and being interrogated by a bunch of men with no manners.
Finally someone changed the subject, and from there the conversation morphed, as it always did, to horror stories witnessed on the job. Sharing battle scars was always popular with the guys, and to Corinne’s credit, she didn’t seem squeamish, even when the descriptions became increasingly graphic.
“How’s the kid from the churchyard doing? You guys went to see him today, right?” Adam asked, looking at Ford. When the topic turned to work, it was inevitable that at some point Joel would be brought up. Ford didn’t know why he was surprised Adam knew they’d visited.