Page 55 of Whispers Left Behind

“Where’s Rachel?” The question went unanswered while it was obvious Louise was urging her son to press the morphine drip. “Maybe she can get me a loner from the dealership.”

The silence that emanated from the room was enough to cause Renee to turn on the heel of her white sneakers. She was no longer willing to wait on behalf of the police, and her first and foremost concern was her patient. Kinsley figured she wouldrather Gage’s memories come back to him slowly versus the shock of being told outright that his sister had been brutally murdered last week.

“Mr. Baird, how are you feeling?” Renee asked a little too loudly as she entered the room. Her presence seemed to have caught everyone off guard, but the interruption afforded Louise time to discreetly wipe away her tears. “I’m pleased with how—”

“I know you.” Gage’s focus slipped past the nurse and fixated on Kinsley. His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. Renee took her time wheeling a small computer so it was positioned near Gage’s bedside. She appeared more comfortable with her patient’s reaction to Kinsley than Douglas’s approach to blurt out the truth. “Your…”

Gage shook his head, but he immediately winced and closed his eyes. Renee began to ask him questions about his pain level while Douglas crossed his arms in agitation. Louise had composed herself, and she was busying herself with pouring water from a plastic pitcher into a small cup.

“…remember to push the button if your discomfort becomes too much. As for the two detectives, they were hoping you could remember the night of your accident. If you can’t, that’s quite alright. There is no need to—”

“Did someone run you off the road, Gage?”

“Douglas!” The reprimand came from Louise, but Douglas had already moved to the end of the bed. “The doctor said—”

“He has a right to know about Rachel, and the sooner he can remember what happened that night, the faster those bastards will be behind bars. We all know that Sebastian and Jack—”

“I don’t think now is the time—”

“Stop!”

Gage raised both hands to his head as the pain became obviously unbearable. Everyone was talking over one another,and their voices had become slightly raised. Renee reached over him for the morphine drip and pressed the button herself.

“This is the ICU. I will not have my patient—”

“Rachel was murdered last week, Gage,” Douglas stated in anguish. There was a protective undercurrent in his tone, but he didn’t understand the damage he had done to Gage or the case. “It was no coincidence that you were run off the road. We need you to remember everything you can so that the police can make an arrest.”

“Leave,” Renee ordered Douglas. She even solicited Alex’s help. “Remove him from this room. Now.”

“He has a right to—”

“Mr. Glynn, you need to come with me,” Alex stated firmly as he took the man’s arm. “I understand that you want…”

Alex escorted Douglas from the room, but the damage was already done. Gage's reaction had been visceral, the news hitting him like a physical blow. A guttural sound escaped him, raw and pained, as he stared at his mother for confirmation. Louise was crying uncontrollably, and her shoulders shook with each sob that wracked her body.

“Please, not today.” Renee approached Kinsley, all but turning her toward the door. “I’ll see to it that Mr. Baird is given a sedative. He needs his rest. Your questions will just have to wait.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Beck Serra

October

Friday — 11:32 am

The mid-afternoon sun washidden behind a thick sheet of grey clouds. The elements weren’t conducive to bringing rain or snow into the area this afternoon, but the recent cold front had been successful in producing bone-chilling gusts of winds.

Beck sat in his rental car outside a row of townhomes. He had left the engine idle while deciding whether he should break into Kinsley Aspen’s residence. Unfortunately, it was hard to miss thesecurity camera positioned directly above her garage door. She probably had one installed around the back, too.

He reached for his travel mug, but the cold stainless steel reminded him that he had drained the contents twenty minutes ago. His choices were limited now regarding a search of Kinsley’s home for any evidence to disprove or corroborate the claim made in Gantz’s handwriting.

Unless…

Beck shifted to the right in his seat. He reached into his coat pocket for his cell phone, settling back when he used facial recognition to access his contacts. He browsed through the names until he came to the person listed who just might have the answer to his problem.

While he waited for the line to connect, he couldn’t help but wonder if Kinsley had heard about Gantz’s missing person investigation being reopened by the department. Beck had spent the past three days tracking down a distant cousin of Gantz.

At first, the woman hadn’t wanted anything to do with Beck. They had spoken for a good thirty minutes about the deserted house in Fallbrook, and how it could potentially go into foreclosure at some point due to unpaid property taxes.

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