Chained Guilt (Hidden Guilt (Detective Series) Book 1) (27 page)

“Hi, Stacy!” Rodney yelled.

“What are you doing?” Hilary spun around to find Rodney standing behind her.

“Idiot! Get back in there!”

In the master bedroom, Stacy paused on the other side of the closed door. She sniffed the air, detected the faint hint of weed. They had been in the bedroom. She looked around, but it didn’t look like anything had been touched. She was on a short break from her shift at the hospital, but had wanted to pop in to see what that sneaky bitch Hilary might be up to. Snooping in her stuff, most likely.  She reached down to open her laptop to check on the camera feeds and noticed it was warm. She hadn’t used her computer for hours.

“Those little bastards!”

She hadn’t set up hidden cameras in the master bedroom yet, but she was pretty sure Hilary and her boyfriend had been on her laptop. Or maybe it was just warm from sitting in the sunshine that filtered in from the nearby window. Either way, she was sure they had been up to something.

“Hilary, there was a file with a Texas Tech transcript in it on her computer. The name on the transcript was Lisa somebody. Why would Stacy have somebody else’s transcript in her computer?” Rodney said.

“How the hell would I know?” Hilary said, rolling her eyes at him. “I’ll tell you what I do know. I think the weed is playing with your mind. And you’d better hope this freakin’ smell is gone by the time my dad gets home!”

Rodney and Hilary stood by her window and watched Stacy head back to her car. They both ducked away from the window when she glanced up at Hilary’s room. They stayed out of sight until they heard the squeal of her tires as she peeled out down the road.

Rodney wasted no time working on Hilary again. He was captain of the swim team and had the abs to prove it. He took off his shirt and tossed it across the room. This time, Hilary wouldn’t tell him to stop.

53

“Karen Porter,” a nurse called out.

“Come on, honey let’s go,” I said to Karen.

Over the past few weeks, Karen had been experiencing horrible headaches, chest pain, and muscle weakness. She’d missed several days of school. During the last week, she’d been throwing up and coming close to blacking out. Even Stacy couldn’t put her finger on what was making Karen so sick. I thought I’d waited long enough, and a trip to the pediatrician was in order.

“So, Dad tells me you haven’t been feeling so well?” the doctor said, smiling at Karen.

“No,” she told him, eyes filling with tears. “And I hurt, too.”

“Well, we’re going to run some tests, nothing painful, and see what we can do to get you feeling better. That sound good to you?”

The pediatrician ordered a battery of tests and told me it could be a few days before the results were ready. In the meantime, he suggested children’s Tylenol and a diet of soft food and fluids.

“Karen, you did a great job at the doctor’s office,” I said as we got back in the car. “You feel like getting some ice cream or something?”

“No, Daddy. I just want to go home.”

Once back at the house, Karen headed for her room. When I went in to check on her fifteen minutes later, I found her fast asleep, her notebook open on the bed beside her. I couldn’t help but read what she’d written.

Hi mommy,

It’s me! I dont feel so well. Everee thing has been hurteing. Stacy has muved in with us. I like her shes nice. I hope you are not mad at me for that. I hope the dr can fix me. I did not tell daddy but I hurt so bad I think I want to die some times and come see u in heven not all the time but jest some time. I know u r watshing me from heven!Luv you mommy – im going to take a nap now.

Karen.

**

I had been reading a criminology book, analyzing the behavior of copycat criminals. I couldn’t put in much time on Miranda’s case while I was at the station, and I didn’t want to work on it around Stacy. I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, so this was as good a time as any.

I hadn’t told the girls or Stacy about the severed finger the perp had sent me. Eventually, this perp would make a mistake. It happens every time. I was way too good not to catch him. Obviously he didn’t know that, or he wouldn’t be playing games with me.

As I let my mind wander, I heard Stacy call my name from downstairs.

“Stacy?” She wasn’t supposed to be home for a few hours. I gathered the papers strewn over the bed and stuffed them into a folder, “Yeah, I’m up here!”

A moment later, she came into the room. Her smile faded when she saw the folder.

“You bringing work home again?”

“You’re early,” I said with a shrug.

“You want me to go back to work?” She laughed. “Don’t answer that, mister.”

She sat down beside me on the bed, still smiling.

“I have a surprise for you,” she said.

She placed her hand over mine gently interlocking our fingers.

“I know you said you wanted to wait on another kid, and I agreed . . .”

“Whoa,” I murmured, staring at her. “Hold on. You aren’t going to tell me that after a few weeks you’re ready to start trying, are you?”

“No . . . better than that.”

She leaned over to kiss me. I wasn’t prepared for the words that came out of her mouth next.

“I’m going to tell you I’m already pregnant!”

I stared, my mouth agape. After several seconds, I gave a slight shake of my head.  In no way did this please me. We had all been trying to adjust to her moving in and now another hurdle. It was way too soon.

“You’re not happy,” she said, her grin fading.

“Well . . . it certainly happened sooner than we wanted, but I guess we can’t change it now. How did this happen anyway? I thought you were on the pill?”

Stacy scowled. “Don’t worry about it, David,” she said, climbing off the bed. “I can clearly see you’re not happy about this. Maybe I’ll just move out and raise the baby alone. I knew you weren’t going to be ecstatic; I mean, you already have your own kids, but I didn’t expect this.”

“Gimme a break, Stacy,” I said gently. “You sprang this on me pretty fast.  I don’t do well with surprises. I just never expected this in a million years. Cut me some slack here, would you?”

She continued to frown at me. I plunged ahead.

“And let’s face it. We’ve been moving at warp speed for quite some time now. I want you here, you and the baby.”

Just as the words left my mouth, the door flew open. Karen stepped into the room, her face pasty and slack.

“Baby?” Karen whispered as she crumpled to the floor.

I leapt off the bed, scooped her up, and laid her gently on the bed.

“Hey don’t you worry about any of that,” I whispered. “We’ve got to take care of you right now.”

“Worry about any of what?” Hilary said, standing in the doorway.

“Stacy’s pregnant,” Karen mumbled.

Hilary cast a wary glance at Stacy. “Surprise, surprise,” she mumbled. “But I suppose that’s what happens when you don’t even open your birth control pills. You sure as hell can’t be taking them if they aren’t even open.”

Hilary glared at Stacy again and headed down the hall. I ran after her, determined to hear what she had to say.

“Hilary, what are you talking about?” I asked.

She glanced over her shoulder at me. I was startled by the mix of emotions I saw on her face.

“Dad . . . nothing. Whatever. Congratulations, I guess. I mean, if that’s what you wanted. If you—”

Before she could get another word in, Stacy lunged past me and slapped Hilary. I stared in disbelief. This was worse than a horror movie. What in the hell was going on? My life was spiraling out of control.

“You ungrateful, spoiled, little bitch!” Stacy barked. “That’s no way to talk to me and your father!”

              I stepped between Hilary and Stacy, prepared to wrap my arms around my daughter. Hilary stared past me; the look of fear on her face froze me in my tracks, and I turned around to find Karen in a full-blown seizure. Hilary ran over to her at the same time I did. I picked her up and ran downstairs, leaving Stacy and her news behind. Hilary was right behind me, grasping her little sister’s hand. Stacy caught up to us at the bottom of the stairs.

              We scrambled to the truck, and I eased Karen’s now-limp body into the back seat. Hilary climbed in next to her. I slid behind the wheel, backing down the drive before Stacy could get her door closed. My mind was racing a hundred miles a minute. I couldn’t even begin to process what had happened back at the house. At the moment, all I could think about was my sweet Karen.

We got to the hospital in less than five minutes. I slammed the truck into park at the emergency room entrance, lunged out, and took Karen from Hilary’s arms as she scrambled out. I burst through the doors of the ER, Karen lifeless in my arms.

“Do something! Help her now!”

“Sir, calm down, please,” one of the hospital staff urged as she approached and took Karen from me. She whisked her behind the curtain of one of the trauma bays.

Several minutes later, Stacy entered the ER to find me huddled with Hilary in a corner of the waiting room. She approached slowly.

“Hilary,” she said, her voice soft and apologetic. “I’m sorry I snapped. I wasn’t brought up to talk to adults that way, so it set me off. I’m sorry. It wasn’t my place. We can talk about it later.”

Hilary refused to look at her.

I was, however, unprepared for what she said next.

“Nothing to talk about,” Hilary replied calmly. “You’re not my mother, and if he won’t say anything to you, I will.”

She’d jerked her head in my direction.

“And one more thing. Don’t you ever put your hands on me again.”

And with that, Hilary walked away, moving to the opposite side of the waiting area.

“Let her go,” I said when Stacy moved to follow her.

Both of us sat quiet and motionless. How had my life gotten so screwed up? Karen was terribly ill. Stacy and Hilary seemed to hate each other. And to top it off, Stacy was pregnant. Why had I foolishly believed Stacy moving in would make things better?

About forty-five minutes later, a doctor came out. I still hadn’t said one word to Stacy. I had never been angry at her before, but I was now. She had slapped my daughter. As frustrating as Hilary could be, neither Miranda nor I had ever raised a hand to her.  If what Hilary said was true, Stacy had gotten pregnant on purpose. There were worse things than your girlfriend wanting a baby; it was the deceit that made me angry.

“She’s going to be just fine,” the doctor said. “The tests came back negative. There are many reasons why people have seizures. We don’t know what caused Karen’s seizure, but she’s doing fine now. We have the technology and medicine to help with the severity and frequency of them. As a precaution, we’re going to keep her overnight.”

“Can I see her?” I asked.

He nodded. “Just for a few minutes. We’ll be moving her to a room soon. She’s sleepy. That’s common post-seizure.”

I followed the doctor through the double doors, leaving Stacy and Hilary behind. When I got to the treatment room door, I almost lost it. Once again, I’d been unable to protect my family. I didn’t understand why the doctors couldn’t find the cause of Karen’s seizure. I peered down at her, so small and fragile in the big hospital bed. I felt deep sorrow for my little girl. Then her eyes opened and she attempted a smile. My brave little girl.

“Hey, Daddy.”

“Hey there, champ. Don’t talk; just rest.”

“Dad, can I see Grandma and Grandpa?”

Her request surprised me. “Sure,” I said. “If you’d like, you can stay with them for a little bit, when you’re feeling up to it.” I brushed a stray hair from her cheek. “Maybe Grandma has some old magic remedy that will get you feeling better.”

“I’d like that, Daddy. When can I go?”

“Just rest for now. I’ll call Grandma first thing in the morning and see if she’d like some company for a few days.”

“Thanks, Dad. I’m gonna sleep now.”

              I sat there and watched my daughter sleep. I had never really believed people could die from a broken heart. I’d read about old couples who died within hours of each other, one just giving up, no desire to remain behind after the other had passed. Being a detective, I relied on physical evidence to do my job.  I lived a life based on things I could taste, touch, and feel. But now I understood. My heart ached. My mind was numb. There was a strange buzzing in my head, like static, as if my brain was about to shut off at any minute. I could feel my heart skipping beats and my hands sweating, my fingers tingling. If my daughter died right this moment, I couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t follow. I wheezed, trying to catch my breath, as if breathing had become a chore, something I had to think about doing. I needed to regain control of myself and my life. And I needed to do it fast.