Chapter 8 – Dead Ends
Audrey woke at the crack of dawn, feeling well rested and refreshed after her gloriously relaxing night. Her nose was still a bit stuffy and she still had a cough, but the pressure inside of her skull seemed to have abated for the time being. After she had gotten ready for the day, she waited on the front porch of the Bed and Breakfast for Nathan to show up. Even though she had her own car, a cheap rental car she'd gotten after making the decision to stay in Haven for a while, he had picked her up for work at least every other morning. She bounced on the balls of her feet in the chilly autumn air in an attempt to keep warm, checking her watch every few minutes.
At twenty past she started getting uneasy. Nathan was never late to pick her up.
Making her decision, Audrey stepped back into her room and grabbed her keys, and then climbed into her car. She gave a grateful sigh when it actually started for once and instantly began the drive up to Nathan's place. The first thing she noticed when she pulled into the drive was that his truck was still there, parked at a lazy angle on the concrete with dew still sparkling undisturbed on the glass. Warning bells went off in Audrey's head and she all but jogged onto the porch of the little cabin.
"Nathan?" she shouted as she knocked on the door. She waited impatiently but there was no noise of response from inside. Brow furrowing anxiously, she knocked again harder. "Nathan, are you in there?" Still nothing.
Starting to fear the worst, Audrey twisted the doorknob but it was locked. She had to jump to reach the key hidden on top of the high doorframe, but once she had it she hastily opened the door and stepped inside. Nothing looked out of place in the living room, but it was still unnervingly quiet in the house. "Nathan?" she called, her heart pounding in her chest.
She searched the house slowly and carefully, looking for anything that seemed off but everything looked the way it should. Finally she reached the bedroom and pushed the door open. She stopped short when she saw Nathan, his body spread haphazardly across the mattress and not moving. "Nathan!" Three steps closer she realized he was moving. He was breathing.
He was asleep.
Almost laughing at herself, Audrey relaxed the hand that had instinctively gone to her sidearm. Nathan was wearing only a pair of faded flannel pants, his bare back rising and falling steadily with his breathing. His face was buried in a pillow and a flat sheet was tangled around his waist. He was sprawled at an awkward angle on the bed, one of his arms draped off the edge of the bed and one long leg dangerously close to joining it. His other leg was trapped beneath the head of Delilah the dog, who seemed to be taking up most of the blankets from her position in the centre of the bed.
This time Audrey really did laugh. Delilah lifted her head slightly, and then let out a lazy breath and rested her head on Nathan's thigh again. Rolling her eyes, Audrey said, "Alright Nathan, out of bed." He didn't even stir. Audrey felt uneasy again as she moved closer to the bed and raised her voice. "Nathan, get up." Still no response. Why wasn't he answering her?
Walking around to stand directly beside the bed, Audrey practically shouted, "Nathan," and for her own benefit she shoved his shoulder roughly.
Nathan twitched and pushed himself up on his elbows, blinking around bemusedly. "Hmm, what, who's there?" he mumbled sleepily. He squinted up at her and then frowned. "Parker? Why are you in my bedroom?"
"Because somebody decided their beauty sleep was more important than work," she answered with a smirk. "I've been yelling at you for like five minutes. You sleep like the dead. Did you drink last night or something?"
"What? No. Just that tea. It wiped me out. I just came home and crashed." He sat up, removing his leg from beneath Delilah's head so he could swing them over the edge of the bed. "I overslept?"
Audrey glanced at the clock on the night table and nodded. "We're supposed to be at the station in ten minutes," she said. Nathan followed her gaze and let out a quiet curse.
"I don't know how I slept so late, normally I'm a really light sleeper," he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Sorry, I'll just get ready." Suddenly he glanced down and seemed to realize his attire, and he tried to subtly cross his arms over his bare chest. "You could just wait in the living room while I get ready."
"Yeah, I'll be out there," she agreed, trying not to stare. She hadn't even been paying attention until he'd drawn her eyes to his bared torso, and now she was finding it a bit difficult to look away. This was Nathan, her partner and best friend, and she shouldn't think these sorts of things but – damn.
Turning tail before she could open her mouth and insert her foot, Audrey made a hasty retreat to the living room. She didn't relax until she heard his bathroom door close and the shower running. Trying to distract herself, she made her way into the kitchen and busied herself with the coffee percolator on the stove. Anything to keep her mind out of the gutter and in reality. In the reality where she wasn't going to jeopardize the one solid relationship in her life.
She was just starting on her first cup of coffee when Nathan wandered into the kitchen, fully dressed and hair still damp against his forehead. "Made yourself at home, I see," he remarked with the slightest curl of a smile. In response she just nodded toward the cup she'd poured for him and he picked it up eagerly.
"It'll be cool by now," she informed him and he nodded gratefully before taking a sip.
"You're feeling better, I take it?" he asked, leaning against the counter as he drank his coffee.
"Much," she agreed. "That tea is a miracle cure."
Nathan breathed deeply through his nose and frowned. "I must need more of it then because I still can't smell a thing," he said and shook his head. "You know the worst thing about having no sense of smell?"
"The fact that you accidentally overcompensate on cologne?" Audrey offered with a smile.
"Did I?" Nathan asked, his brow knitting. Audrey shook her head and he relaxed. "No, it's how it screws with your sense of taste, too. This coffee tastes so bland even though I know you always make it strong." He took another swallow and wrinkled his nose. "Alright, so where are we on the Sandman case?"
They finished their coffees over discussion about their case and were still talking about it when they arrived at Haven Regional. This time the woman at the front desk gave them directions to the cancer ward, and up on the third floor another receptionist pointed them toward Thomas Yardley's bed. It was just one of the many that lined a wide, open corridor, not granted any more privacy than what was supplied by the flimsy curtains that separated the beds. He was sitting up in bed, reading from a worn book, and only glanced up when they stopped at the foot of his bed.
"Thomas Yardley?" Audrey asked.
"Yes," he answered uncertainly, his eyes lingering on the badge clipped to Nathan's belt. "Can I help you?"
"Did you know a nurse by the name of Angelina Waters?" Audrey asked as Nathan took up his typical, protective stance just behind her.
"Angie? Yeah, she was the nurse up here just a few days ago, day before last I think," Thomas said. "Really sweet gal. She would come by every hour or so just to chat, to help fight off the boredom."
Audrey nodded thoughtfully. "So you liked her then?"
"Of course I did," he said, brow furrowing in confusion. "She was nice, really cared, you know? And she was the first to be frank with me about all of this medical stuff. She didn't sugarcoat it, just told me the truths right out. It's a nice change to be given the facts for once."
"How did your wife feel about that?" Audrey asked.
Thomas Yardley's eyebrows shot up at that. "What does Marion have to do with this? What's going on? Is she hurt?"
"No, Angelina Waters is," Nathan said flatly. "Did you notice anything peculiar about her yesterday? Did she maybe mention someone she was having a conflict with?"
"What? No," Thomas said, his forehead beetling in concern. "She was fine. Other than she was complaining of an ear infection. And she was tired. She'd been doing rotations through different wards and medical centres for the last two weeks. She said she was trying to find a new place to work, something about a man she was in love with and not having a workplace romance. I'd be tired too if I was trying to figure out a new place every day of the week." He frowned. "What happened to her? Is she going to be alright?"
"What about Jeffrey Halter?" Audrey asked, ignoring his question.
"Oh right, Marion told me about what happened to him," Thomas said. "I wasn't fond of him personally, he wasn't much of a people person, but it's a shame about what happened. We'll never understand why God takes people before their time like that."
"Or why God gives good, healthy men cancer?" Audrey asked with a raised eyebrow.
Thomas' expression was sombre as he nodded. "He tests us all in different ways," he answered wearily. "I am sure that the both of you have faced tests of your own." Nathan and Audrey shot short glances at the other, thinking of the hardships faced between the both of them. Convoluted pasts and rare medical diseases, all beneath the heavy weight of trying to control the madness that was the city of Haven, Maine.
"Well clearly he has nothing to say that will help us," Nathan said, rolling his shoulders and giving Audrey a pointed look. "We should go."
"We'll be in touch," Audrey said and then turned to follow Nathan back out of the hospital. When they reached the elevator Audrey looked up at him curiously. "What was that about?"
Nathan lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he asked in confusion. "He wasn't giving us anything useful. I just figure it would be a better use of our time to question people who might actually be suspects."
"You think we can rule him out then?" Audrey asked. She hadn't sensed much of a murderer in Thomas Yardley either, but she always liked to have Nathan's opinion as well. He was a fairly good judge of character and he understood the people better than she did, despite his serious lack in social skills.
"Yes, him definitely," Nathan agreed. "I'm still not sure about his wife though. I think our best bet would be to question her again." Audrey nodded in acquiesce and they left the hospital. "But after lunch. I haven't eaten yet this morning."
Audrey laughed quietly, muttering, "Figures," to herself. She should have known pancakes had something to do with his abrupt departure.
Nathan glanced over at her with a furrowed brow. "You say something?"
"Hmm? No, nothing," Audrey said, feigning innocence. He looked sceptical but he nodded and turned his attention back to the truck. If she'd managed to escape Nathan's super hearing for once, she was going to relish the moment and not push her luck.
The strange niggling feeling in the base of her stomach that was warning her danger was coming was determinedly ignored. Danger could wait until after lunch.