-l-l-l-

Chapter 26

-l-l-l-

James slept through the night and most of day Sunday. Laura finally convinced Lewis to go home to get some much needed sleep. She and Mindy stayed watching James and visiting with people who stopped in.

MacGim and Bell looked in on James and to update Laura on the Wycombe Hills murder investigation. "Chief Innocent is not convinced of James' innocents," Laura chatted with them.

"I think Mindy needs a walk," MacGim suggested to Laura. She knew he had something else on his mind. So, they took the dog to a park nearby.

"Call me if he wakes," Laura ordered the young Bell.

They were walking aimlessly around the park. Mindy would pause to sniff everything. She even stopped to have a staring contest with a park squirrel.

Stalling, MacGim decided they needed ice cream, he bought two Flake 99 and a small dish of ice cream for Mindy. Sitting at a park table they ate their frozen treats, Mindy was content with her cold scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The thick silence was getting too much for Laura. She knew MacGim was stalling, she knew he had something important to tell her. "All right, we've walked and had a snack, now talk?" She badgered him.

"Dr. Wills' killer stole a car to escape from the sanatorium," he told Laura. "The car was found burnt about a mile from where James was found. Chief Innocent and some others thinks maybe James was Mr. Smith, Dr. Wills patient. James would have had time to steal the car and drive to Shellingford."

Laura could not find words to express her anger, her disbelief. "They're idiots," was all she could manage.

"I agree, Laura. I know Innocent has a job to do, but she always wants to make a quick arrest just to look good in the papers," he waved his short arms in frustration. "I can't remember how many times she's pushed Lewis, I and others to quickly arrest someone only to find out later we arrested the wrong person. What could we say to them? 'Sorry mate, hope you enjoyed your stay in our cells'." He shook his head in disbelief.

"Sometime...," he started to say more, but stopped when he heard approaching footsteps.

"Sorry to interrupt," Chief Innocent stood before them, Lewis was standing behind her. "We need to talk."

"If you're here to tell us James is a killer, I don't want to listen," Laura stood, she was about to walk away. Lewis put his arms out to stop her.

"No, just listen," his was upset.

"What?" she questioned. The Chief Superintendent and Lewis sat at the table. Laura slowly sat back down not taking her eyes off Innocent.

"Chief Constable Liam Glasgow is," she cleared her throat. Jean was too upset and too angry to talk.

"He was found dead at his country house," Lewis had no trouble telling the tragic news.

"When?" Shocked MacGim stuttered. "How?"

"He apparently hung himself sometime Tuesday night Wednesday morning," Lewis continued, Innocent was still too upset to talk.

"Suicide?" MacGim asked disbelieving. He did not like Glasgow, but he would never wished the man dead.

"The coroner, Dr. Cook, hasn't made any preliminary statements," Innocent finally spoke. "Apparently he does not want to make another mistake listing a death as suicide when it's not." Laura blushed, Cook once listed a woman's death as suicide by hanging when actually she was strangled by her husband.

"Where?" MacGim continued his one word questions.

"He had a house in Hatford off Sandy Lane," she fumbled for words. "About two miles from where James was found." Tears welled up in her eyes.

Boiling mad Laura defended James, "Are you telling me you think James killed Dr. Wills?"

"No, I don't think he killed anyone," Innocent whispered.

"Then who?" MacGim paced around the table.

"I'm thinking Jimmy Fitzroy was the amnesiac patient of Dr. Wills," Jean thought out loud. "I have no proof but I would bet my career Fitzroy killed Wills, attacked the nurse, Aisling Gillpatrick and now had something to do with Glasgow's death."

"James was never convinced Fitzroy was dead," Laura remembered reading James' tormented words in his journal.

"I've asked Dr. Wills' nurse, Sarah Swan to stop by," Jean explained what she had planed. "I want her to talk and look at James."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Laura questioned. "Erik was like a son to her."

"She's the only one that was around the patient, Mr. Smith," Jean continued to explain her idea. "I have pictures of Fitzroy and James. They look almost like brothers." She showed everyone the pictures.

"No kidding," MacGim was amazed at the similarities of the photos. "They look like twins."

"Here she comes," Innocent waved to the nurse walking through the park.

Lewis, MacGim and Hobson watched the elderly nurse walk toward them.

"Sarah, thank you for coming," Jean introduced the nurse to everyone.

"I have nothing else to do," Sarah's voice was full of emotions. Her eyes were red from crying. "Erik was the only reason I worked at Wycombe Hills."

"I know this is not going to be easy for you," Innocent held the photographs in her hand.

"No this will be easy," tears were flowing down the nurse's face. "What's not easy is holding a young girl's hand as she's bleeding. What's not easy is looking at a young man's life wasted by some bastard. This will be easy."

Innocent wanted to give the nurse time to control her feelings, she decided to question Sarah. "Can you tell us again what happened?" She placed the photos in her lap.

"My shift started at six Wednesday morning," the nurse took a deep calming breath. "I arrived early. Nurse Gillpatrick was not at the front desk. Her boyfriend, David Miller, said she went to look for Dr. Wills." Sarah paused to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Erik was working in Mr. Smith's room," Sarah started to cry harder. Her words were becoming more difficult to understand. "It's my fault, I suggested he should work in that room. I thought it would be quiet. Oh God why? Why? Why did I have to suggest that!" She cried out loud.

Laura and Jean handed her some tissues and they tried to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Sarah," Jean apologized. "You don't have to continue."

"No, just give me a minute," she wiped her face. Lewis handed her a soda he bought off the ice cream truck. "Thank you." Sarah cleared her throat and sipped the soda.

"I saw Aisling laying in the doorway of Smith's room," she pause to take another sip. "I could see she was bleeding and then I saw Erik laying there, dead. That's when I pressed the emergency alarm locking the place down. But, I was too late Smith all ready escaped."

"Did you see anyone outside when you arrived?" MacGim asked the distraught nurse.

"Huh?" she did not understand him.

"Did you see anyone outside?" Lewis translated MacGims' thick Scotch accent.

"Just one car. When I drove in I saw someone leaving in a blue Vauxhall," she shook her head. "I didn't see who was driving."

Lewis whispered to MacGim, "A Vauxhall was found near Shellingfor."

MacGim looked at him with alarm. "This is bad," he replied. Lewis nodded in agreement.

Innocent placed several photos of James, Fitzroy, Glasgow and a few others from the mug shot book on the table in front of Sarah. "Do you recognize anyone in these photos?"

The nurse looked at each photo. She picked up a picture of James and one of Fitzroy. "Brothers?" She questioned. Innocent shook her head. Sarah looked at all the photos again. She tapped her finger on the photo of Glasgow, "This man visited the sanatorium yesterday."

"Whom was he visiting?" Lewis asked as he picked up the photo of Chief Glasgow.

"I don't know. He was signing in when I was leaving," an idea came to her. "You can look at the sanatorium visitors book. It should be written in there."

MacGim quickly scribbled a note reminding him to check the visitors book again. When he check the book a few days ago, the only familiar name was Mrs. O'Malley, James' neighbor. "About what time was this," he asked her.

"I was leaving, so around 9PM," she answered. "These two men look so much a like. Both could be Mr. Smith," Sarah held the photos of James and Fitzroy in her hands. "If I had to choose I would say this man is Mr. Smith. But, I would not want to swear to it," She pointed to the photo of James.

Lewis' heart sank. The evidence was stacking against his Sargen. He now was afraid to let Nurse Swan meet James. Laura's face was turning red with anger and fear.

"We have only one choice," Innocent whispered to Lewis. "She needs to see James."

"Why? So she can hammer another nail into his coffin?" He argued.

"We need to get to the bottom of this," she argued back. "Sarah, I have someone I would like you to meet."

Lewis ground his teeth together in anger and followed Chief Innocent and Nurse Swan. "Shall we all go to the inquisition?" Lewis growled under his breath to Laura and MacGim.

-l-l-l-