Page 9 of Hacker Auction

“Thanks, Wes.” Dr. Carlton held out his hand. “We haven’t officially met in person. I can’t say watching my daughter buying you counts as a meeting.” I glanced over to see Rachelle with her head in her hands.

“No, sir. I was actually coming down here because I needed to see one of your patients. You know the case we are working on.”

The older man nodded. “Yes, go. I’ll take care of this.”

I glanced to Rachelle, and she was now watching me. If I didn’t need answers, I would ask her why she hadn’t called. “Brock will have all the video down shortly if any were posted. I think we caught it quick enough for him to scrub them from social media.”

“Good. I know Rachelle is meeting her mother across the street for lunch. For your help, why not join them.”

“I would, sir, but I need to talk to the woman upstairs.”

His head tilted to the side. “If my wife was in this room, she wouldn’t accept no for an answer, so I’m not. Rachelle and I have a few things to discuss. So I’m sure you won’t be far behind.”

“I’ll make it quick.”

I left the security room in search of the woman. When I reached the nurse’s station, I asked for the room number of my patient. The nurse rattled off the room number, and I rushed down the hall. When I stepped into the room, my phone buzzed. Brock was sending Mia to talk to the woman. With what happened to Rachelle, he worried there might be retaliation.

The only problem was the woman we needed to speak to had a tube down her throat. And I recognized the drug on the whiteboard from when my mom was at the end of her life. The victim was in an induced coma.

I searched the room for personal effects but didn’t find anything.

CHAPTER4

Rachelle

After retellingmy father the story, I gathered my things and headed across the street. Mom had moved our lunch from the sandwich place I loved to the high-end steakhouse. My jeans and T-shirt weren’t appropriate for the restaurant, but my mother insisted. The host didn’t seem to mind when I walked through the front door. She smiled at me and told me my mother was waiting in the back dining area.

Mom stood and wrapped me in a hug the second I was near the table. One thing I knew was I would never outgrow my mother’s hugs.She squeezed me a second longer before pulling back. Mom was always dressed like she was heading to an important meeting. She had on a navy blue pair of slacks with a white blouse. Her curly brown hair was straightened. Mom motioned for me to take a seat and once I sat she took the chair across from me.

The waitress walked over and handed me a glass of clear liquid. I didn’t pay close enough attention as I took a long drag out of the straw, thinking it was water. “What the hell.”

My mother’s brow drew together. “I thought you liked Tito’s and Sprite. I had them add an extra shot because of your day.”

“I’m so sorry, ma’am.” The waitress looked like she was about to have a panic attack.

“My eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dim room, and I thought it was water. This will be fine, but could I get a glass of water as well.”

The woman’s eyes darted to the glass on the table, and I felt like an idiot. “You sure? I can get you something else. I feel bad.”

“Water is perfectly fine. My mom is right; with the day I had this will be perfect.”

“I’ll come back in a few to get your order.” The waitress ran off.

Once the waitress was out of earshot, Mom turned her full attention on me. “You want to talk about what just happened?”

“The drink was strong. I’ll be fine, Mom.” I knew that wasn’t what she wanted to talk about.

Mom’s eyes narrowed and I knew I was in store for one of her lectures. “I want to know what happened at the hospital.” Her fingers played with the petal necklace my father bought her for Christmas. “I know your father wants to make it a better place, but I’m not sure it will ever be the hospital it used to be.”

“Dad’s taking care of it. So what is the reason for lunch today, Mom. We had breakfast together.” I shot back and took a sip of my drink.

“Your father will fill me in later if you won’t. As for lunch I wanted to talk about the man you haven’t gone on a date with yet. Especially since when I stopped by the office and noticed Betty pushed your money over. You want to explain why Betty thinks you went on the date.”

I pressed my lips around the straw and sucked up the mostly vodka drink. “Mom, did you not see the man.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I think I pointed out how good looking he was. Now why did you turn the poor man down? He could be a good role model for Sage.”

“Nope. You can’t go from no date to me marrying the man, Mom. We both know he wouldn’t be interested in me. Dad already talked him into having lunch with us, please let me get through this with a little dignity left.”

---