Murder at St Mary's

Chapter 07

7.1

Ironside wheeled into the hospital conference room. Katherine stood up as he and his Mark entered the room. Looking over his shoulder, he said to his aid, "Give us a minute, will you Mark?" Sanger turned and left the room.

"I get the feeling that something is going on, Robert."

"Jody Dent has died under suspicious circumstances. I am afraid I am going to have to have Mark drive you home."

She raised an eyebrow. "Murder?"

"I suspect so but it will have to be investigated. I am going to have to stay here."

"I understand. But Robert, I would like to take you to lunch for all the help that you have given me on this event." It was a good excuse to see him again. "And you promised to visit the vineyards."

Ironside smiled. "Yes, I did promise to visit the vineyards and I will keep that promise. Call my office and we will arrange to go to lunch." Taking her hand, he kissed the back of it. "Goodnight, Katherine."

"Goodnight, Robert." Boldly, she bent down and brushed her lips against his. "You will be hearing from me."

Without taking his eyes from hers, Ironside called out, "Mark!"

"Please drive Katherine home. By the time you get back I will probably be ready to go."

"Yes, sir." Mark turned to Katherine. "Mrs. DeNureve." Katherine followed Mark out of the conference room. Ironside sat there for a moment, smiled and shook his head. He then wheeled out of the conference room.

When he arrived at Jody Dent's room, Eve and Ed were just finishing up. "As you can imagine, Chief, there were plenty of fingerprints. We paid close attention to those on the IV into his wrist. We will just have to see if it matches anything in the police database," Ed told his boss.

Ironside looked around. "Where is Sister Agatha?"

"She has not returned yet," Eve replied.

"Chief," Ed said, "she should have had enough time to inventory those syringes by now."

Ironside was developing a very uneasy feeling. "Let's go find out what is holding her up."

Eve stepped in behind his wheelchair and started pushing. It really was not necessary as Ironside wheeled the chair as they went. However it had become a habit for both of them. When they arrived at the pharmacy, there was a flurry of activity around the door. People were running in and out. Eve and Ed ran into the room. Ironside spotted Doctor Peter Witt and headed directly for him. "What is going on?" he asked.

"Sister Agatha had apparently been climbing on a chair. She must have lost her balance and fallen to the floor. The assistant head pharmacist unlocked the door and went in. She found her lying on the floor unconscious. Dr. Prentis called me immediately."

"Another accident, Doctor," Ironside said sarcastically.

"Oh come now, Chief Ironside. The door was locked from the inside. She was in there alone. How do you propose someone got in? Do you think they crawled through the key hole, knocked her off the chair and then crawled back out again or do you think a vampire materialized into the room for the blood bank and attacked her in the process?" Witt said just as sarcastically.

"Was there any blood missing?" Ironside asked, his voice short and gruff.

"What?"

"You heard me, Doctor. Was there any blood missing?"

"Well...no...I don't think so," Witt said confused.

"Then I think we can rule out a vampire," Ironside said and wheeled away from the doctor.

He wheeled into the room. They had just finished placing Sister Agatha on a hospital bed and were about to wheel her out of the room. Chief Ironside noticed she had a bruise around her right ankle. "Just a minute," he commanded.

The hospital personnel stopped immediately. Ironside wheeled over to the unconscious nun and checked her ankle. He could tell by the color that the bruise was new. He wheeled forward and touched her face. She was still breathing but he noted it was rather shallow. "Ed! I want a twenty-four hour police guard around her... and don't let anyone give you any argument."

"Yes, Chief." Ed left the room with the attendants.

"Everyone else, clear out of this room," Ironside ordered. The hospital staff nearly fell over one another as they ran for the door. No one wanted to stay behind and deal with Ironside. "Eve, find the head pharmacist and bring her here."

"Yes, sir." Eve left the room.

Ironside looked around the room. It looked like any ordinary pharmacy. He pulled out his handkerchief and opened several drawers. There was not anything unusual about them except he did not see any syringes in any of them. Would it not be a natural place to keep the syringes? He continued opening drawers until he had opened all but one. The detective turned his chair around to open the final drawer. The drawer was empty so he started to close it. Then at the back he could see something seemed to be keeping the drawer from shutting. He re-opened the drawer and reached to the back of it. He pulled the paper from where it was lodged. When he examined it, he realized he was holding a syringe in a protective paper covering.

The door to the pharmacy opened and Eve walked in with a woman in her forties. She walked over to Ironside and waited for him to speak.

"You are the head pharmacist?"

"No, sir. I am the assistant head pharmacist. Barney Moller is the head pharmacist."

"He is not on duty tonight?" Ironside asked although it was more of a statement.

"No. We rarely work at the same time," she answered him.

"Who else has a key to the pharmacy?" Eve asked.

"I do obviously. So does Sister Agatha and Dr. Todd Prentis has one. A member of the nursing staff always has one and one of the doctors as well. In this case the two with the most authority tonight are the two I mentioned."

"Why were you not in the pharmacy when Sister Agatha was attacked?" Ironside demanded.

The pharmacist became a bit defensive. "I get a break, Chief Ironside. That is where I was. I was on a break."

"And who would know you were on a break, Miss..." Ironside continued to inquire.

"Jill Kramer," she introduced herself. "Sister Agatha and Dr. Prentis know the staff schedules."

"Where are the syringes kept?" Ironside asked, changing the subject of his questioning.

She walked over to the drawer the chief had pulled the syringe from. Surprise was displayed on her face when she saw that it was empty. "They are normally kept in this drawer but Barney has been rearranging the pharmacy ever since he took over.

Ironside handed the syringe to Eve. "That came from that drawer. Where are the rest of them?" Ironside looked around the room again. "Eve, where was Sister Agatha found?"

"Second row back on the floor," Eve answered. "But there were no syringes anywhere in sight that we could find."

Ironside wheeled around the first row of shelves and headed down the aisle. "Show me."

Eve went in front of him and pointed out where the nun had been found. Ironside looked around. He spotted something that bothered him. "Eve, go around to the other side of this shelf."

"And do what?"

"You're a detective. Detect!" he barked.

Eve looked at her boss and then did as she was told. When she got there, she said, "Okay, I am here but I don't see anything."

"Look at the drugs on the third and fourth shelves up. Do you see anything unusual about them?"

Eve climbed up the shelves. She was not sure what the chief was getting at. "No, nothing."

"They are all perfectly lined up?"

"Yes... no, wait. There are a few boxes that are knocked over on the fourth shelf."

"And there is a clearing directly through that area."

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Use your phone camera to take pictures of it and then come back here," Ironside ordered.

Eve did as she was told. Just as she was about to get down, Ironside said. "Climb up higher and check the top shelf." Eve sighed and again climbed up toward the top. When she got there, she picked up a lone syringe.

"There is a syringe up here, Chief."

"Alright, Eve. You can get down." Ironside told her. She climbed back down and walked around the shelf.

When she arrived back, her boss seemed to be staring at Miss Kramer's shoes. "Your shoes seem to be pure white."

"Of course, Chief Ironside. Sister Agatha insists that we keep them perfectly white. Do you have any idea how expensive white shoe polish is these days?"

"No, Miss Kramer. My shoes would not look good with white polish." Ironside turned toward Eve. "Well, Officer Whitfield, what do you make of it?"

"I would say that row of drugs was disturbed by someone." A look of revelation showed on her face. "Someone reached through there and... possibly grabbed Sister Agatha's ankle. It would explain the bruise!"

"Very good, Miss Whitfield," Ironside said, having deduced that already. Now he would see if she could figure out what he already had. "Now, how can we tell if Sister Agatha climbed this particular shelf?"

"The syringes were obviously on the top shelf and the chair was here. She probably used it to climb up on the shelves."

"That is what the medical staff figured but it doesn't prove Agatha stood on that shelf," Ironside argued.

"But Chief, she had to in order to have fallen," Eve exclaimed.

"Prove it, Officer. We deal in facts not guesses." Ironside looked down at Jill Kramer's shoes again.

"I don't see how we can prove it, Chief."

"Officer Whitfield, what did Sister Agatha have on her feet?"

"Well, a pair of white... shoes." Eve realized what her boss was getting at. "And if she was pushed off that shelf then her shoes could have left polish on it."

"And we will never know unless you climb up there and find out," Ironside said gruffly.

"But, Chief! I am wearing a skirt," Eve protested.

"You are one that chooses your wardrobe, Miss Whitfield. Now, are you going to check that shelf?"

"You can at least turn your back, Robert Ironside."

Ironside turned his chair around so that his back was to the shelf. Eve did not see the smile on his face. When Eve had climbed up on the shelf, he called out, "Well?"

"You are right. There is what appears to be white polish scuffed on this shelf."

"Get a sample and a picture of it and then come down," Ironside ordered.

Within moments Eve was back on the floor. She showed the polish she had scraped onto a piece of paper to the detective. "Eve, I want the shoe that scuffed this shelf."

"I'll take care of it. This proves one thing," Eve said.

"Someone tried to murder Sister Agatha because she knows too much," Ironside said. "And whoever did it is going to pay for it. I will find him."

7.2

Sgt. Ed Brown stood outside the treatment room. Four uniformed officers were walking his way. He greeted them and then addressed the one man he knew his boss would want heading the detail. "Duffy, the chief wants Sister Agatha guarded around the clock. You are to be suspicious of everyone. Someone in this hospital tried to kill her. I suggest that you have a sign-out sheet and make everyone sign in that goes in her room. Find out who her nurses and doctors are on every shift. No one else is allowed in the room. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Ed. Is this someone the chief knows?" Duffy asked.

"She was his nurse when he spent three months in this hospital after he was shot. He is pretty fond of her, Duffy. You know what that means."

"No mistakes or the chief will have me directing traffic," he said with a smile.

Ed laughed. "Do we really know of anyone who has ended up directing traffic after one of his threats?"

"No, but I don't intend to be the first." Duffy grinned.

Ed laughed again. He knew no mistakes would be made with Duffy heading the assignment. That is why Ironside always asked for him. He turned to go. A doctor approached him. "Sgt. Brown, Officer Whitfield called down and said Chief Ironside wanted these. They are Sister Agatha's."

Ed took the shoes and headed for the pharmacy. When he arrived Eve and the Chief were just coming out. "One pair of shoes," Ed said.

"Eve, put them into a bag." Ed handed the shoes to Eve.

"What did you find out?" Ed asked.

Ironside gave him a rundown on their part of the investigation. "What about Agatha?"

"She took quite a blow to the head. They are taking her to surgery in the morning to relieve pressure on the brain."

"Who is doing the surgery?" Ironside asked.

"According to what I could find out, Peter Witt is."

"No way in flaming hell. I don't trust anyone right now. When we get back to the office, I will call Ben Stern and have him recommend someone. If Ben says they are alright, then I will accept it. I don't want her dying on the table of a heart attack that can't be explained."

"What do you want to do now, Chief?" Eve asked.

"I want the two of you to go home and get some sleep. There is nothing else we can do tonight. Be in the office at seven tomorrow morning... both of you."

Mark Sanger was coming down the hall toward them. "Are you ready to go, Chief?"

"No. Ed, I would like you to drop Mark off at headquarters. I need the van. Then go home."

"I can take you where you want to go," Mark offered.

"Thanks, Mark, I have something I want to do. The fingerprint team has finished here so there is nothing else we can do tonight." He put out his hand and Mark gave him the keys to the van.

7.3

Ironside pulled the van to a stop in front of Katherine's home. He wheeled his chair onto the lift and pressed the button. After he was lowered to the pavement, he wheeled toward the house. He hoped she did not have any flaming steps. He never realized what an inconvenience they could be until he landed in a wheelchair. He pushed the doorbell and waited.

A moment later the door opened. With a look of surprise on her face, Katherine exclaimed, "Robert! You are the last one I expected to see tonight. Come in!"

Ironside wheeled into the spacious living-room. The furniture was exactly what he imagined Katherine's taste would be. She had paintings on the walls that he recognized... another of his interests. "I am sorry for showing up so late..."

"Don't be! You are always welcome here. Would you like a drink?"

"Yes, thank you... a glass of your own wine would be nice."

"Coming right up." Katherine left the room and returned with two glasses and a bottle of wine. "I am afraid it is too dark to give you a tour of the vineyards." She smiled at him.

Ironside smiled back. "Actually, I wanted to apologize for the way I had to end the evening."

"Nonsense, Robert. You have a job to do. I fully understand that. Any clues as to what happened to Councilman Dent?"

"I have a pretty good idea but it is going to be hard to prove. That is not why I decided to stop by though."

Katherine set her glass down. "Why did you then?"

He did not know how to answer her because he did not know himself. "I just felt I had been too abrupt when I told you I could not drive you home."

Katherine smiled. "You said that already and you were a perfect gentleman."

"Katherine, Sister Agatha is in the hospital," he said, trying to cover his discomfort.

"Of course she is. She works there."

"No, I mean as a patient."

Now alarmed, Katherine sat forward. "What happened? Is she alright?"

"She took quite a blow to the head." He told her what they had discovered.

"Who would want to kill Sister Agatha... unless of course they were concerned she knew too much and might be getting to close to the truth."

"How much do you know about this?" Ironside asked.

"Just what Sister Agatha told me tonight. She said she had gone to see you and that you were going to help investigate the mysterious deaths."

"Unfortunately she may have drawn too much attention to herself doing just exactly what I told her not to do."

"Robert, will she be alright?"

"It is serious but she has to be. I cannot accept anything else. That woman helped me more than she will ever know. I am not sure I could have handled what happened to me if she had not been there." He looked away, embarrassed by his display of emotion.

Katherine put her hand over his. "I already knew how fond you two are of each other. She will be fine, Robert. In the meantime..."

"In the meantime I intend to find out who tried to kill her and who is killing patients at that hospital," Ironside said as he tried to stifle a yawn. "I better get going and let you get some sleep."

"It is late, Robert. I have an extra bedroom you could stay in. Rather than drive back into San Francisco, why don't you stay here tonight? I can get you up at whatever time you choose."

"Thank you but I told Ed and Eve I wanted them in at seven. I will not have to get up as early if I go home. But thank you. It was very thoughtful of you to offer."

"Alright but make me a promise, will you?"

"If I can," he told her.

"Be careful. Whoever tried to kill Sister Agatha will not hesitate to kill you when you get close to the truth."