Read Rocky Road Online

Authors: Josi S. Kilpack

Tags: #Cozy Mystery

Rocky Road (24 page)

“Nikki,” Sadie said, keeping her voice soft and even and calm. Dr. Hendricks suspected an affair as well, or the potential for one, but he didn’t think it had reached that point before he left. Sadie had learned the hard way to focus on facts, and that’s what she needed Nikki to do now. “Those are guesses, assumptions made based on the worst possible fear a woman can have with regard to her husband. I’m the one who found them in the classroom, and, other than working so hard to be private, there was nothing ... romantic in their actions. The whole time I was listening at the door, they were talking—no silences that could have indicated ... something else.” She felt her cheeks heating up slightly.

Nikki turned back to Sadie and wiped at her face with the hand she’d been holding to her mouth. “But why would they do that? They work together every day—why would they need to hide like that?”

“There could be a hundred different reasons. And the phone calls Anita made could have been to ask questions she would normally ask Dr. Hendricks, like you said. Dr. Waters avoiding her could have everything to do with him not liking her very much.” She paused as she thought of something else. “Since Dr. Hendricks’s disappearance, things have been really hard for your husband, haven’t they?”

Nikki nodded slowly. “For all of us, but especially him. He’s tried to coordinate with other doctors in the area, but we’re a small community, and there are only so many appointment slots. He hates having to send people to Cedar or Vegas, and he’s so worried about the practice going under if he can’t keep up with payments and things. He’s working fourteen-hour days, and he’s on call almost every single night and trying to juggle Trent’s patients and his own.”

“I bet you miss him a lot,” Sadie said sympathetically. “Even as a doctor’s wife, who understands the sacrifices, this isn’t what you expected.”

“Not even close,” Nikki said, wiping quickly at a tear and sniffling. “I don’t talk to him about stuff with the kids because he’s just so overwhelmed, and I’m doing everything at home. That sounds so selfish—it’s been way harder for him, I know, but I’ve had to kind of put all my focus here at home and let him do what he needs to do with the clinic. And then this.”

A clearer picture was opening in Sadie’s mind. “No wonder you’re feeling so anxious about your relationship—no one falls in love and gets married so that they can live separate lives. And then you hear about them meeting up at the church. I am not the least bit surprised that it felt as though they must have been having an affair—if that were true it would make sense of everything else and explain the distance in your relationship.”

Nikki stiffened. “You think I want to believe my husband cheated on me?”

“Not at all, but things aren’t great between you—maybe sort of like they weren’t great between Trent and Lori before the divorce—and maybe you resent the time he’s been spending with Anita, the way she can get his attention when she asks for his help, and then you heard—third person, remember—that they were found together. Can you see how circumstances have you primed to believe the worst?”

Nikki swallowed, staring at Sadie as her words sank in.

“What happened at Anita’s house last night, Nikki?”

Nikki seemed almost to be in a trance when she started talking. “She denied it. I told her I needed her to tell me the truth, and she told me to leave, that I was crazy.”

“Did the two of you argue about it?”

“I kept demanding that she tell me the truth, and she finally yelled at me to get out of her house and go back to my husband that ... loved me. I-I thought she was mocking me.”

“Did you leave?” She held her breath, waiting for the answer, praying that Anita was alive and well when Nikki left the house.

Nikki nodded, and Sadie could breathe again.

“You’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Nikki said, nodding again. Sadie searched her face for any duplicity or falseness, but the sincerity of a woman who just realized there might be fresh hope in her marriage was all that was reflected back at her. Please let that hope not be wasted, Sadie thought. Nikki’s chin trembled. “I don’t know what happened after I left. She had a glass of wine when I got there. Maybe she was drinking heavily—the police said they think it was an accident.” There was a pleading quality to her voice. “But my fingerprints might be in the house—on the door, on the glass of water she offered me. I accepted it because I needed something to hold on to. They’ll think I did something. They’ll know I was there.”

“You need to tell all of this to the police.”

Nikki went even paler. “I’d have to tell them my suspicions about Jake.”

“Nikki, you’re a woman of faith, are you not?”

She nodded.

“Then have faith in yourself and your family and your husband. Not faith that everything is fine and that appearing perfect means everything is, but faith that whatever lies ahead can be faced together. That’s what marital vows are about—that in times of difficulty you will remember the promises you made and find a way to soldier through. Beyond that, God tells us to be honest and helpful and good. You need to talk to the police about what happened last night—only then will you be able to move forward and will they be able to find out what happened to Anita.”

“You sound as though you don’t think she fell.”

Sadie paused for a moment, but she’d thrown caution to the wind so many times that she couldn’t think of why to hold back now. “I don’t.”

“You think someone ... killed her.”

Sadie nodded and watched Nikki carefully. “I do.”

Sadie wanted to ask if Nikki’s husband had been home last night, but she felt certain that would close the conversation. Nikki going to the police would automatically open that line of questioning, and the police already had an interview with Dr. Waters. Sadie hoped he didn’t have anything to do with Anita’s death. Relief over Nikki’s innocence had transferred her thoughts to Nikki’s husband. Nikki closed her eyes slowly and dropped her chin.

“The sooner the better,” Sadie said. “It shows you’re interested in doing the right thing.”

“There really isn’t a better way, is there?” Nikki’s eyes filled with tears again, and Sadie’s heart ached. Nikki Waters was used to being respected, even admired, and to find a chink in that armor of belief, one that was so potentially heart-wrenching, was a very difficult thing to face. Sadie could understand that, and she was glad that, despite all of the difficulty, Nikki had accepted that going to the police was necessary.

Sadie crossed the kitchen and put her arms around the younger woman’s shoulders. Nikki fell into her embrace, sobbing with the enormity of what was happening and perhaps some relief for the hope Sadie had given her. Sadie held her for nearly a minute before pulling back. “One more thing,” she said with a motherly smile. “Do you happen to know how I can get into the clinic?”

 

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips*

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup chopped macadamia nuts or pecans

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheet; set aside.

In large bowl, beat shortening and butter together with electric mixer 30 seconds at medium to high speed. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, occasionally scraping sides of bowl.

Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour and cocoa powder. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and nuts.

Drop by heaping tablespoons or 1-inch scoop 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Flatten dough slightly. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until just set. Let stand 1 minute on baking sheet. Remove to cooling rack.

Makes 4 dozen.

*Dried cranberries are a good substitute for chocolate chips.

Note: For a flatter, chewier cookie, increase baking powder and baking soda to 1 teaspoon each.

Note: For a less-is-more version of this cookie, cut back to 1 3/4 cups oats and 1/2 cup nuts.

Chapter 34

 

Nikki confirmed that she had a key to the clinic, and Sadie tried to keep from showing her excitement as Nikki wiped at the last of the tears on her cheeks. “Why do you need to get into the clinic?”

Proceed carefully, Sadie thought to herself. “Dr. Hendricks hid some information in the clinic before his disappearance. I need to get it to the police so they can review it.” It was a pretty good non-lie, if Sadie said so herself. Unfortunately, Nikki didn’t buy it completely.

Nikki sniffed and took a breath. “If the police need it, why don’t they get it?”

Excellent question. “Didn’t Tess tell you we’re working with the police?”

“She said you were, but she was kind of funny about it.”

Sadie stiffened slightly. “Funny? Funny how? Like she didn’t believe me?”

Nikki shrugged and smiled awkwardly. Sadie took a breath. “I am working with the police. Things are happening really fast, and there’s no time for a search warrant. Can you help me get into the clinic?”

“Um, I don’t know. I probably need to talk to Jake about it.”

“Nikki,” Sadie said calmly, “I know this is a weird request, and you’ve had a really intense day, but please, I need to get into the clinic. I promise you that I am retrieving one thing, that it has nothing to do with patient confidentiality, and when your husband learns what it is, he’ll be glad I got it. But I need to get it now, before the vigil. As soon as possible.”

Nikki held Sadie’s gaze for a few more seconds, and then she finally nodded. “I’ll have to get the alarm code from someone who works in the office. They change it every few months, and I usually don’t have any reason to know it.”

“But you can get it?” Sadie asked, trying not to look too relieved.

Nikki searched Sadie’s face for a long time, weighing this decision carefully. Sadie tried to breathe normally, but she was well aware of the fact that if Nikki said no, Sadie was in a pickle. She thought back to what Officer Nielson had said about God wanting her to work on this case. Now she would see whether or not that was true. Half a dozen things she’d uncovered in this case pointed to His hand, but this one felt different. More important in a way. Or maybe it was just that the timing was becoming more crucial. “Let me call the office manager,” Nikki said. Sadie began to breathe normally, although she tried to hide her relief. “And I’ve got to change my clothes if we’re going to the clinic.”

Sadie raised her eyebrows at the idea of Nikki coming with her, but Nikki simply returned the look, daring Sadie to complain. Sadie wasn’t about to do that. Instead, she smiled. “I’ll box up the rest of the cookies while you get changed.”

When they arrived at the building that housed the clinic and the foundation offices almost twenty minutes later, Sadie furtively looked around to see if anyone was watching them. They stopped at the foundation offices first to drop off the cookies at the front counter. There was no one to receive them yet, but neither Nikki nor Sadie wanted to be seen right now. Sadie wanted to keep a low profile, and Nikki kept saying she hadn’t left the house without makeup in years. Nikki scribbled a note on the back of a flier, saying the cookies were from her.

Sadie was relieved the clinic was on a different level, and she cast another cautious look around as they headed up the stairs to the second floor. Nikki turned the key in the lock of the big glass doors with her husband’s and Dr. Hendricks’s names on them. As soon as she pulled the doors open, an intermittent beeping could be heard from inside the office. Nikki hurried toward the reception area, and Sadie followed her. When they reached a keypad, Nikki punched in the four-number code the office manager had given her. There was a final beep before the alarm went silent, and Sadie’s heartbeat slowed down as well.

“Now what?” Nikki asked.

“Can you point me toward the x-ray room?”

“It’s down this hall,” Nikki said, pointing straight ahead, “the last door on your left.” She looked nervous, and Sadie prayed that Nikki could hang on a little longer. She was so close.

“Wait for me here,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

Nikki nodded, and Sadie headed down the hallway. She didn’t want to turn on any lights, but the hallway grew darker and darker the farther she got from the reception area, and she finally had no choice. The x-ray room had a big sign on the door, making it impossible to miss. Sadie let herself in and flipped on the light switch. The fluorescent lights flickered overhead, causing Sadie to squint as the bright white light reflected on the equally bright white walls. She scanned the walls lined with cabinets and equipment and wished she didn’t feel so overwhelmed by it.

“Mindray,” she said to herself, repeating the brand name of the piece of equipment Dr. Hendricks had told her to look for. It sounded loud in the empty room. She walked toward the far corner where Dr. Hendricks had told her they stored unused equipment in an alcove behind a curtain. She drew the curtain back to reveal several wheeled cart-looking pieces of equipment tightly pressed together. Dr. Hendricks had been gone for two months, and although he had assured her it would be here, what if it weren’t?

Without any further delay, she pulled on the first piece of equipment, wheeling it out of the dark corner and into the light so that she could find out if this were the Mindray machine. What if there were more than one?

She soon found the manufacturer’s name—Voluson—and pushed the machine aside. She pulled out a second one, and, while she tried to find the name of the manufacturer, she knocked a probe or paddle-type thing to the floor. It clattered like a hundred cans of beans spilled in a grocery store aisle and sent her pulse skyrocketing. She hurried to pick it up and tried to store the thing more securely before determining that this machine wasn’t a Mindray, either. She pushed it aside a bit more carefully. The wheels of the third piece of equipment were locked, and she wasted nearly a minute trying to figure out how to make it move, only to find it also wasn’t the Mindray machine. How many different pieces of unused equipment did they have?

She was wheeling the fourth machine out of the corner that was more than half-empty now when she thought she heard something. She froze for a count of five, waiting to hear the sound again. When she heard nothing, she continued pulling the equipment to the middle of the floor, where she saw, clear as day, the Mindray name on the front of it. Bless them for making it easy to read. Now—to find the USB. She walked around the machine first to visually orient herself with it. Dr. Hendricks had said that the drive was taped underneath, which had seemed like enough information at the time. Now that she was looking at the machine, however, she realized that “underneath” could mean that it was under the main console, or the part that opened in the middle, or underneath the wheeled assembly at the bottom. There were far more “underneaths” than she’d expected there would be.

She heard a footstep in the hall, and she looked at the door, expecting to see Nikki telling her to hurry. Instead, a confused and startled Dr. Waters stood in the doorway. They stared at each other, both of them searching for something to say. Dr. Waters found his words before Sadie did. “What the ... Who are you? What are you doing in here?”

Sadie straightened and swallowed, looking past him for Nikki—she knew he was here, right? She hadn’t left the clinic, had she? “Um, I’m, well, I’m looking for something.” She wanted to ask why he was there, but it was his office, after all, so there could be any number of legitimate reasons.

“How the heck did you get in here?”

Sadie put up her hands, still waiting for Nikki to make an appearance and remembering that the police didn’t want her talking to Dr. Waters. “I can assure you, Dr. Waters, that my intentions are honorable, and that if you could just—”

“Wait,” he said as a flash of recognition crossed his face. “I know you.” He didn’t say how he knew her, but he didn’t need to. They both remembered their encounter at the church the day before.

Sadie held his gaze and gave him a single nod, confirming who she was without either of them having to point it out.

“What are you doing here?” His voice was different this time. Not angry so much as concerned. It made it easier for her to tell him the truth.

“I’m looking for evidence against Anita Hendricks’s fraud with the foundation and the boutique.”

He stared at her, and his mouth opened, but he said nothing for a few seconds. He looked around and said, “In the x-ray room?”

“Dr. Hendricks said it was hidden on a piece of Mindray equipment.” She waved toward the machine she’d been inspecting. “I’m assuming he meant this one.”

“He said?”

Shoot! Sadie watched the realization dawn in his eyes. Dr. Waters took a step toward her. “He’s alive?”

“Dr. Waters,” she said, putting out one hand with the palm facing him. She tried not to show her distress at letting the truth slip out. “I need your word that you will keep this to yourself until tomorrow morning. There are things at play here that are extremely volatile.” As soon as she said it, though, she knew she had to return to Dr. Hendricks at the cabin tonight. There was no way all these secrets could keep until tomorrow.

“But Trent’s alive?” Dr. Waters said. He paused, pushed a hand through his hair, and used a word Sadie hadn’t expected from a Mormon man. “He left on purpose?” He sounded furious.

Sadie didn’t know what else to say, and she crouched down and started feeling around the nooks and crannies of the machine in search of the USB. The sooner she could find it, the sooner she could get out of here and work out the details of bringing Dr. Hendricks in as soon as possible. She started pulling at knobs, and opening things up. Why on earth hadn’t she asked him exactly where he’d hidden it on the machine?

“What kind of proof are you looking for to prove the fraud?” Dr. Waters asked.

Sadie looked at him, and then she went back to her search. “Well, I don’t know exactly. But before he left, Dr. Hendricks stored certain documents that he felt proved Anita was behind fraudulent activities with the foundation.” She met his eyes and realized that he hadn’t been surprised by hearing what Sadie was looking for. “I assume you must know about it or you would have asked me about the fraud rather than what kind of proof there was.”

“Anita said everyone makes money when you put yourself on the line for a nonprofit like we did.”

Sadie realized that while Dr. Hendricks claimed not to even know he was earning a salary from the foundation, Dr. Waters would have to have known. The two men never talked about it? “That’s what I was talking to her about yesterday at the church,” he added.

Sadie looked at him long enough to see his sincerity. She wondered again where Nikki was. He continued. “The accountant sent me a copy of the taxes—I guess he’d always sent a copy to Trent, and without him here he sent it to me instead. I didn’t have a chance to look at it until yesterday, right before the service, but my brain was on fire after I saw the numbers. So little is being donated.” The last words sounded painful for him to utter.

“What did she say?”

“She tried to explain it away, and all her words made sense, but there was something about the way she said it—intense and kind of annoyed that I would question her—that made it impossible for me to take it at face value. She promised to explain it to me in more detail later, but we never had the chance.”

Was that true? Sadie asked herself. Couldn’t he have gone to her house later that night, after Nikki had been there, and demanded a better explanation? “When were you going to have that discussion?” Sadie asked in an even voice.

“We didn’t set a time,” Dr. Waters said, pushing his hands into his pockets. “After the service, I had two hours of appointments and then got called in for a delivery. I had planned to talk to her about it in more detail today, but ...”

Sadie let the words disappear while she continued feeling around the machine and trying not to think about what would happen if she didn’t find the USB. What if Anita had found it already? What if it didn’t exist and Dr. Hendricks was hitchhiking to Mexico? Sadie placed her head against the main console to reach underneath. She finally felt something that wasn’t metal. Instead, it felt like something wrapped in plastic, or ... duct tape. She probed with her fingers until she found the end of it, and then she picked at an edge until she loosened a corner of the tape. She pulled at it, and a minute later, she stood up with a bright yellow USB drive in her hands. Bits of adhesive stuck to it, but a cap covered the actual connector, protecting it from the stickiness. She looked up at Dr. Waters with a triumphant grin, only to notice how pale he’d become. He looked from the USB drive to Sadie’s face.

“That has proof?” he asked softly. “Proof of everything she did?”

“I assume so,” Sadie said as she stood up, her back screaming at her for hunching over so long. “Dr. Hendricks refused to come back without it. Can I ask you something else?” She took a few steps toward the doctor. Nikki hadn’t yet shown herself, and Sadie was beginning to suspect one of two things. First, she had seen her husband come in, and she had panicked and hid, or, second, she had killed Anita and was on the run. Somehow, Sadie didn’t believe the latter possibility, and she wondered if Nikki weren’t hidden somewhere listening to all of this, still unsure of what to think of her husband.

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