Say When

Last time on Say When:

"Now we sat down and went through all the test we did on the victim" he started, "and we have come to find out that Mrs. Isles was with child when she went missing…."

The room was tense and silent, as we realized the victim was with child. All I could think about was my wife, pregnant with our own child…

"What else did the screenings say Dr. Andrews?" He pushed his glasses off the bridge of his nose, skimming through the long list of information on our victim.

"Well it says here that Laura was on a strong drug, used as a pain killer, some type of Vicodin, which is a mixture of acetaminophen and hydrocodone, issued to her by Dr. Browning."

"Anything else?"

"Hmm…none that show up on the detoxify, the screenings, or the blood test. We still have to do an internal evaluation which can take up to three or four days. When it's complete, we will call and let you know."

"There's something off, about the hospital staff. I'm going to look at a few records on the computer. You want to help me?" Lewis asked as the doctor left the station. I nodded and we went up to the second story, Digital Files Record, and first typed in the name of Beatrice, the name of the nurse who told us Laura's story. She was 35 years old and was charged with a minor case of malpractice in 2006-2007.

An article of the charge showed up at the bottom. Mrs. Nickelson was being escorted out of the hospital in handcuffs.

"How do you suppose she got charged with malpractice?" Lewis murmured. I shrugged, skimming through the rest of the article. Apparently, police looked into the case when they got an anonymous phone call, from a pay phone outside the hospital. The caller confessed that Beatrice was harboring and administering drugs from the pharmacy to patients and family. With no solidified evidence the charges were dropped and Beatrice was appointed to the King's College Hospital in 2008.

"When did Dr. Browning start working on the hospital staff? He seems a little too antsy and suspicious for my liking..." I typed in Dr. Browning's name in the Files Record and a long list of charges showed up.

"Look at this! His track record is full of things!" Lewis and I sat, staring bewildered, at the computer. Dr. Browning had two counts of malpractice: One in California and the other in Canada. In the first charge, he supposedly administered Vicodin to a young girl after a minor surgery on her leg. In the second one, he gave painkillers to his next door neighbor, an elderly woman who lived alone. Both "patients" died….

"I'm starting to wonder if he even has his medical degree" I murmured, looking through the newspaper clippings. He was also charged with attempted statutory rape on an eleven year old girl, who came to the hospital he supposedly worked at.

"Look at this!" Lewis exclaimed, pointing at the article of his charge in Canada. "This charge was given about the same time Beatrice was charged in Maine. Coincidence…? "

"Henning, Mickel" we turned around, seeing Lt. O'Connell in the doorway. "Mr. Isles is downstairs for questioning…."

Ray Isles was a very tall, gruff man. His face was worn and tired and I could tell he was grieving over the loss of his wife.

"Mr. Isles" I greeted him. He nodded, folding his hands neatly into his lap. "We're so sorry for your loss, and we thank-you for shifting your schedule to come down and see us. Do you mind if we record this conversation?"

"No" he said weakly. We started the tape recorder, bringing out our pens and notebooks.

"Now Mr. Isles, from our visit to the hospital, we have learned that you and Mrs. Isles were having marital problems, prior to her discovery. For the record, is this true?"

He confessed, "What relationship doesn't have problems? But for the record, yes, my wife and I did have problems. It was over little things really. I got laid off at my job and she was bringing in all the money, she didn't like pulling all the weight. There were also problems with our children. I stayed at home mostly, and was there when the children got home from school. I would cook dinner, help them with homework; put them to bed, etc. She would constantly complain that I "wasn't raising them right". We had our first child very early, and at that time I wasn't ready for a kid, I was 15. Anyway, I argued that she wasn't around anymore, for me or the children and it was hard raising three kids by myself. I was upset that she was always taking the night shifts. Even though I wanted her in my life, I wanted her to be home for the kids even more.

Our kids are 10, 7, and 2 and they always came to me saying "daddy, where's mommy?" "Why doesn't mommy come home anymore?" "We miss mommy". It's not that Laura was a bad mom, because she wasn't. It's just that she didn't put the kid's needs before her own like she used to. Anyway, we got worse and worse and she spent more time at work. I wanted my wife and family back. And then a few weeks before she went missing, she came home, instead of working the late shift. We sat down and talked out our problems, and she said she wanted to work things out. I agreed and things seemed to be getting better.

I finally had my wife and family back…. For a while everything was normal, until Laura came to me, saying there was somebody at the hospital stalking her. She said she called the police but he didn't stop. So, I went to the hospital, enraged. I had just gotten my family back! I wasn't going to let some creep, ruin it! So I came with a bat to the hospital, not intending to hurt him or anything, just to scare him. But then he said some things…

"Your wife is pretty I couldn't stay away from her" "I would be lucky to have a girl like that. But sadly she's married to you" It's like he was antagonizing me to hit him! I raised the bat but somebody snatched it away. I was already too far gone, so I punched him. I heard the crack of his nose, but I couldn't stop. I kept punching and kicking, telling him to stay away from my wife. But then the police came and pulled me off of him. They asked if he would like to press charges but he refused.

That night I talked to Laura about it, telling her that he hopefully wouldn't mess with her again. She went to work that Friday, and she called me on her lunch break, saying she needed to get some extra hours in. I was a little upset at first but she said it would be the last late shift she worked. And it was…."

He was tearing up by the end of his story, and I pulled a napkin out, handing it to him. He dabbed at his eyes, swallowing the lump, forming in his throat.

"You said you went to the hospital to-"

"I'm not proud of what I did. I just wanted to scare him. But he pushed me too far…." His eyes darkened immensely when he mentioned Dr. Browning. I jotted down a few notes, and asked him, one more question. The question I knew would probably set him off….

"Mr. Isles, were you aware of your wife's affair, with Dr. Browning…?"

"Yes" he nodded, "I had an inkling she was cheating, so I asked around the hospital. They gave me all the information I needed. I didn't let her know I knew. I just let her play up her little act…."

"Are you aware that she was with child, when she went missing?" his eyes widened at our discovery, as ours did.

"S-She was…pregnant?" he choked out. I nodded grimly, "I'm afraid so. It's difficult to determine a paternity test on an unborn child, especially one that is…deceased, but it is not impossible."

"I'm sorry detective, but I would rather not know, whose child it is…" his eyes were still wild. They weren't enraged but they weren't grieving. It was a cocktail of emotions running behind his eyes, jumping and flickering from one emotion to another.

"Mr. Isles" I started, "if there is anything I can do for you and your family. You just let me know and I'll-"

"What you can do for me detective is find the bastard who did this to my wife. Who ruined my family…?"

I sat at my desk later on that afternoon, talking to Alisa about her day out.

"It went great. Marjorie and I found the cutest clothes and furnishings. You have a nice day at work, and a warm meal will be waiting for you, when you get home. I love you honey."

"I love you too baby" I hung up the phone, looking at all the notes scattered across my desk.

"That your girlfriend?" a voice said behind me. Mr. Isles was standing behind me, his eyes locked on the picture of me and Alisa on our ski trip to Vancouver.

"My wife, actually" I said, picking up the picture and handing it to him. He gripped the picture, his eyes starting to tear once again.

"She's beautiful, he murmured, "you been married long?"

"Two years. She's pregnant with our first child, two months along." He nodded and set the picture down, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Thanks for trying to catch this guy. It means a lot to me….most people wouldn't try so hard."

"Well I know how I would feel if ever lost my wife or child. I'm going to catch this guy, don't you worry Mr. Isles…."