Murder at St. Mary's
Chapter 11
11.1
Morgan Haynes would finally get his revenge on Robert Ironside. All he had to do was snuff the life out of the woman who had caused their problems. Their operation would be running smoothly if it had not been for the nosy nun. Well, she would cause no more problems for him.
He would have to move to a new city and find new doctors to work with but that was the price of business. At least in a new city, he would not have to deal with Robert Ironside.
It was time to end this. Once the nun was out of the way, he would take care of Dr. Prentis and finally that idiot that would not listen to him.
11.2
Sgt. Ed Brown knocked on the door of Janice Lipton's home. He had learned while at St. Mary's about a nurse that had been on duty in the security wing of the hospital but had gotten off duty just before he arrived there. He wanted to talk to her. It had been rumored by some at the hospital that she had had an affair with Billy Carson. Maybe she could tell him more about whom Billy had associated with. The other employees did not seem to know much about his private life. He would then check with the institution where he did his banking.
Ed did not understand why he was not getting an answer. He was told that Janice had to be back on duty in a few short hours. He would have thought that she would go home and get some sleep. He knocked again, this time with more force. Still Janice did not answer the door. Brown left the porch and went around to the side door. It had been left ajar. He checked the door to the garage. That one was left open as well. Developing a feeling of uneasiness, Ed pulled out his service revolver. He pushed the garage door open. Reaching around the doorframe, he switched on the light. Ed searched the garage before turning his attention back to the house. When he reached the door, he peered out and checked both ways before moving to the side entrance of the house. The door was closed but ajar. Brown did not even consider knocking as his senses were on high alert. Using the barrel of his service revolver, he pushed the door open. He could not see into the house. There wasn't a light on in Janice's home. Had he been wrong? Maybe she was a heavy sleeper.
Ed hesitated. No! He trusted his instincts! Something was wrong. The garage had been empty. She would have driven from the hospital. There was no car here and no one went to bed and left doors unlocked. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small flashlight. He placed it in his left hand while at the same time steadying the gun he was holding in his right. Ed pointed it in front of him and moved quietly through the house. When he found nothing in the living room and kitchen, he headed down the hall. Brown jerked the flashlight back to the floor when something there caught his eye. As he moved closer, he could see someone on the floor.
Ed knelt down beside the body of Janice Lipton. He checked her pulse but knew instinctively he would not find one. Reaching into his pocket, Brown pulled out his cell phone. After calling in homicide and a forensic team, he again dialed. He waited for the gruff voice of his boss.
"Ironside."
"Chief, it's Ed. I am over at the home of Janice Lipton. She is a nurse employed by St. Mary's Hospital. She works in the security wing. Chief, she's been murdered."
Ironside's mind began racing. Security wing… Sister Agatha… security badge! "Ed, is her security badge for that wing on her?"
Brown checked her body and then went through her purse. He found the usual things you ordinarily find in a woman's purse and that was it. "No, it is not here, sir."
"Leave her to the homicide squad and get back to St. Mary's, NOW!"
Ed hung up the phone and raced out of the house. He got into his vehicle, turned on the siren and drove as fast as he dared back to St. Mary's.
11.3
"Mark! Let's go!" Ironside shouted without explanation. He was already up the ramp and close to the door when Mark grabbed his jacket and ran to catch up with him.
Once in the vehicle, Ironside picked up the phone and called Lt. Carl Reese who had been assigned to protect Dr. Todd Prentis. Carl could hear the ringing of his cell phone. It was a welcome distraction as Prentis did not want police protection. All of Carl's instincts told him the man had something to hide. He had been nasty to him and insisted that he did not have to have police hanging around him for protection if he did not want it. Carl knew better than to leave him after the chief had ordered him to protect him. He had been forced to call the chief from Prentis' office. After being told of the situation, Ironside immediately ordered Carl to arrest Prentis. Even though Carl knew they did not have grounds for such an arrest, he had started reading Prentis his rights. It had the desired effect that Ironside knew it would. Prentis had calmed down and agreed to police protection. So Carl was stuck babysitting a doctor who was nasty to him every chance he got. He wished Ironside would call him off and let Prentis face his fate. He deserved it.
His cell continued to ring. Carl reached into his pocket and glanced at his smart phone... Ironside's van phone. "Lt. Reese."
"Carl, get up to the security wing. Duffy is on his way to report for duty but he won't make it in time. Someone is going to try to kill Sister Agatha!"
"On my way, Chief!" Carl did not question Ironside as to how he knew or why. You did not question Chief Robert T. Ironside. You obeyed his orders and you did so immediately. Carl raced down the hall and hit the up button on the elevator. "Come on, come on!" he yelled impatiently as he slammed his hand on the wall.
11.4
Just as Morgan Haynes was about to apply pressure with the pillow that would end Sister Agatha's life, he heard voices outside the door. Haynes put the pillow back as the knob turned and two nurses entered the room. "Good evening, Doctor, how is our patient tonight?" One nurse went directly to her IV drip as the other spoke to him.
"She's stable but unfortunately still in a coma." Haynes began walking toward the door. He hated leaving her alive but he could not take the chance of staying here any longer. "Take good care of this one, girls, she's a friend of Ironside's."
The nurse laughed. "Yes, we know. He comes in here like a category five hurricane." The two nurses laughed as Haynes left the room.
He walked at a normal pace down the hall. The man was a professional killer. He was not prone to panic. He changed his mind, turned around, and headed down to the other end of the wing. When he reached the elevator, he smiled and waved at the police officers as he got on. Morgan rode it down and suddenly hit another button. This could not be a complete waste. He would stop and take care of Prentis.
11.5
Ironside entered the emergency entrance of St. Mary's Hospital at the same time Ed Brown did. "Ed!"
"I'm on it, Chief!" Ed did not stop. He whirled around Mark and the chief on the run.
"Come on, Mark!" Ironside yelled as they headed for the elevator that would take them up to the security wing. Anyone coming down this way would have to get by him first.
Ed took the stairs two at a time. With his lanky frame and youth, he knew he could get up the stairs faster than any elevator could carry him. When he arrived at the security wing, the officer recognized him immediately. "Carl just came up like a fire had been lit under him," the officer told him. "What's going on?"
Ed did not answer him. He pulled his service revolver and went directly to Sister Agatha's room. From the look of the two nurses, Carl had scared the living daylights out of them and Ed was not much comfort. "Is she all right?" Ed asked.
"Yes, she's fine. What the hell is going on, Ed?" Brown explained what happened to Janice Lipton.
"Then he could have gotten up here with her security badge?" Carl asked. "Don't they have pictures on them?"
"Yes, but you know how easy it would be to change that," Ed replied.
The door opened and Officer Duffy entered the room. "One doctor entered this room with a security badge. Officer Donaldson said he came back that way and then changed directions. He must have gone down the other security elevator."
"Duffy, you stay with Sister Agatha," Ed said. "He will have to get past the chief. He was coming up that elevator."
"Let's go," Reese said. He and Ed left the room and raced down the hall.
11.6
"Damn it, what is taking this flaming thing so long," Ironside shouted. Just then, the elevator stopped and a doctor got off. Ironside noticed he was wearing a security badge.
The doctor smiled at Ironside and said, "Good evening, Chief." He continued toward the exit.
Ironside stared at him. He looked familiar and if he looked familiar, it could not be good. He reached into his suit coat and pulled out his service revolver. "Just a minute doctor!"
Haynes reached slowly to his waist and pulled out his gun. He turned quickly and pointed the gun at Ironside, pulled the trigger but not before Ironside got off a round of his own when he spotted the gun. The bullet hit Haynes in the chest but the detective knew it was over too far to have entered the heart.
Haynes' shot had gone wide of the detective as he jerked his arm when Ironside's bullet entered his body. He ran for the door. Ironside aimed and shot him in the leg but Haynes kept going. "Mark! Go after him!" He reached over his shoulder to hand Mark the gun but he did not take it. He wheeled his chair around to see Mark standing against the wall. "Go after him!" Ironside bellowed.
Instead of obeying his order, Mark Sanger slid down the wall to the floor and passed out. The chief wheeled over to his aid and friend. He had been shot in the stomach. The elevator opened. Carl and Ed came running out. When Ed saw Mark, he ran to his side.
"Carl, go after him! He is wearing doctor's clothing!" Reese raced out the door with his gun in hand.
"Ed, get a doctor and fast!" Ironside roared. Brown ran down the hall in search of medical attention for Mark. The chief looked toward the exit and yelled, "DAMN IT!"
11.7
The clock ticked on the wall so loudly it sounded as if it was making the time go slower. Ironside was pacing in the waiting room of St. Mary's waiting on word from the surgeons that had whisked Mark off to perform emergency surgery to save his life. He had lost a lot of blood, they had told him. Ironside knew he should contact Eve but he could not get his mind off the man who had waltzed right into the hospital into the security wing. If it had not been for the two nurses that had interrupted him, Sister Agatha would be dead right now. Now Mark was fighting for his life because he had not spotted that gun fast enough. Damn it! He knew that man from somewhere, but where?
Ironside did not hear the door to the waiting room open nor did he hear Katherine DeNureve approach him. "Robert."
Ironside turned quickly to see her standing in front of him. "Katherine! What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit a friend when I heard about what happened. They told me I could find you here. Are you alright?"
Ironside blew out a breath. "Mark… was shot. He's in surgery."
"Oh no! Robert, I am so sorry. How serious is it?" she asked him.
"Serious. He could die." Ironside wheeled his chair over to a nearby window and looked out. "I need to call Eve. She will be very upset with me if I don't call her."
Eve walked into the room. "It's okay, Chief. Ed called." She walked over to her boss and put her arms around him. Ironside squeezed in return. "He's a fighter. He will make it." She kissed his cheek and held on. "Did you see the man well enough to identify him?"
"I saw him and there is nowhere he is going to be able to hide. Eve, I described him to a police artist." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sketch. "I know it is late but I would like you to take this to the office and check the mug books, no… first check all known hit men. I believe he's a professional. If I am wrong, then check the mug books. I want to know who he is and I want to know now."
"Of course, Chief. Are you sure you want to be left alone right now?"
"I am not alone. Katherine is here. Now go… please."
Eve kissed his cheek and said, "You'll call when you know about Mark?"
Ironside removed her arms from around his neck, took her hand and kissed it. "I'll call. You can count on it. Now, get going." Eve squeezed his hand one last time and left the room.
"Your people are very devoted to you," Katherine observed.
"We are devoted to one another. It is part of why we work so well together," he responded.
Katherine took his hand. "I would like to wait with you if that is alright with you."
Ironside smiled, squeezed her hand. "That would be nice." He then returned his attention out the window.
The door opened to the waiting room. Ed and Carl walked in. "Chief, there was no sign of him anywhere," Carl said. "I checked the entire parking lot. I followed a trail of blood but it seemed to end at a parking spot."
"He must have got in a car and drove away. Ed, I have a hunch that this man was trying to force Billy Carson to kill patients. I am betting Carson did not do any of the killings. I think he wanted to blow the whistle on him. He must have had him backed into a corner somehow. I want his bank account checked. If this man wanted something to hold over him, He might have been placing money in his account. The young man was up to his ears in debt due to a sick kid. If so, see if the deposits coincide with the murders.
"Eve should be able to tell us who this guy is soon. Mark is to have around-the-clock protection. He will be added to this man's list of people to eliminate."
"Chief, aren't you missing something?" Ed asked.
"Like what?" Ironside returned.
"You also saw him. You are on that list too." Ed reminded him.
"No, I did not miss that. In fact, that is how we are going to catch him. He has to come after Sister Agatha, Mark and me. I am going to help him out by making myself available."
Reese and Brown began arguing immediately but Ironside would have no part of it. "This is not open for discussion, gentlemen. I want this man."
The door to the waiting room opened and Dr. Peter Witt came in. "Hello, Chief Ironside. When I heard Mark had been shot, I handled the surgery myself. I have removed the bullet and repaired the damage done to his stomach. He is not completely out of danger but barring no complications I believe he will recover."
Ironside breathed a sigh of relief that was audible to all those around him. "Thank you, Doctor."
"Mark is in recovery if you would like to see him but I am limiting it to only you. We will move him to a room as soon as possible." He reached over and handed the bullet to Ironside. "As required by law." He smiled at the detective.
"I want him moved to the security wing and under an alias," the chief said.
With a look of surprise, Witt said, "If that is what you want, Chief that is what we will do. Anything else?"
"Yes, no one is to know that Mr. Sanger has been admitted to this hospital. In fact," he grinned, "I would like a room myself."
Witt looked at Ironside knowingly. "You intend to make yourself a sitting duck for this maniac?"
"That is right, Doctor. Do you have any objections?" Ironside growled.
"No… I guess not but from the look on your people's faces, they might have some," Witt answered.
"They have nothing to say about it. I would like you to announce in the morning that I have been shot by the individual who attempted to kill Sister Agatha. My condition is critical but stable. I have not awakened to talk to anyone. Is that clear?"
Witt smiled. "Crystal clear, Chief. I will see to it that arrangements are made for both you and Mr. Sanger." Witt turned and left the room.
"Chief!" both Ed and Carl exclaimed at the same time.
"Now listen to me, both of you. The best chance we have of catching this killer is using me and both of you know it… or you better know it if you are half the cops I give you credit for."
Both Brown and Reese became quiet. They knew he was right but neither of them liked it. "Okay, Chief. What do we do?" Reese asked.
"Carl, find someone that fits Mark's size and description. We have to have him around the office and coming here checking on me. In other words doing exactly what Mark would do if I were actually here in the hospital. Before you leave make sure Duffy has taken over Sister Agatha's security. I don't want any doctors entering that floor unless they are cleared by Witt's office first. Same with nurses and this time any officer that allows one past them will be pounding a beat in Golden Gate Park. Then go home and get some rest. Report back here tomorrow."
"Yes, sir." Carl headed out with a smile over Ironside's threat of demotion. How often did he threaten that?"
"Ed."
"Yes, Chief."
"First of all I want you to quit blaming yourself for Billy Carson's death. He was a suspect and only a suspect. You did not know that he would be killed when he left my office. Secondly, I want to thank you."
"Thank me? For what?" Brown asked.
"For saving Sister Agatha's life. If you had not followed up on that hunch with Janice Lipton, you would not have discovered her murder and Sister Agatha would have joined her. So you see, Sergeant, your actions saved a life tonight," Ironside said gently.
Ed smiled. "What do you want me to do?"
"Find out if Eve has identified our would-be killer. If she has and has not already done so, put out an APB on him. Then follow that money trail from Carson's account if my hunch is right. Then you better have some cops assigned to me. Our killer would expect that."
"Okay. What about you?"
"I am unable to respond… remember? Oh… in your spare time, pick up Otto and bring him to the hospital."
"Otto?"
"It has worked before. Besides, I am betting our killer knows about Otto and me. He would expect him here. I just hope I will be able to get Otto to understand what I want him to do. Now get moving, Sergeant."
"Yes, sir." Ed turned and left the room.
"All of this sounds dangerous, Robert," Katherine said.
"I have a dangerous job," Ironside said softly.
"I know you do but I also know you are the best at what you do. Just promise me you will be careful," she said.
Ironside took her hand and kissed it. "I promise. I have no intention of sacrificing myself."
She rubbed his hand with her thumb. "I don't suppose you will let me stay with you for a while tonight?"
He smiled. "I don't see why not. Our killer has a bullet in his chest. He is not going to try anything tonight. He has to see a doctor."
"See a doctor? What doctor?"
"Now that is the question, isn't it?" Ironside said.
11.8
The doctor was wakened out of a sound sleep. Who in the hell would be pounding on his door at this time of night? He put on a robe and dragged himself out of the bedroom. This had better be good. He could not believe anyone would disturb him when they knew he had to be at the hospital in the morning. The doctor turned on a light in the living room and walked over to the door. Parting the blind with his fingers, he looked to see who was on the other side. Shock replaced anger as he opened the door. "Oh my God, what in the hell happened to you?"
"Ironside… that's what happened to me."
"You need a doctor," he said.
"No kidding. I thought that is what you were," Morgan Haynes said sarcastically.
The doctor helped Haynes into his home and led him to the kitchen. He examined the wound in Hayne's chest and then looked at the one in his leg. "I can't do this here. You need to go to the hospital!"
"Oh, that's brilliant. And what the hell do I tell them? Do I tell them Ironside shot me? Would you please remove the bullet and don't tell the son of a bitch," Haynes said, anger creeping into his voice.
"What were you doing at the hospital?"
"Trying to clean up some of this mess you have made. If only you had not killed Jody Dent. Ironside has made my life a living hell ever since."
"Did you get the nun?" the doctor asked.
"No. Two nurses interrupted me. I had to get out before they discovered I was not supposed to be there. I was going to take out Prentis instead until I ran into Ironside. He suspected something. He tried to stop me."
"But why? Have you ever had a run-in with him?" the doctor asked.
"No, but the bastard keeps up on hit men. He probably did not know me immediately but he will figure it out. Now we have to kill him too," Haynes answered.
"In the shape you are in? You have to be kidding."
"You are going to take Ironside's bullet out of my chest. I am staying here tonight. Tomorrow you and I are going to figure out how to get rid of that nun, Prentis, Ironside and that aid of his."
"Sanger saw you too?"
"Yes. He was with Ironside," Haynes replied.
"Of course, he is always with him. Why didn't you shoot them both?" the doctor inquired.
"I got a shot off. I must have hit Ironside but I didn't wait around to find out. That hall would have been crawling with cops in a few minutes."
"Well, we better get those bullets out. Lay down on the table. This is not going to be pleasant. I don't have anything to kill the pain."
"Just get it out!" Haynes yelled. As the doctor left the room to get the medical supplies he was going to need, Haynes thought about Ironside. That man was going to pay for this. He could not kill the damn nun and that was certain now. They would tighten up security around her even more. But they would not put Ironside on the security wing. He would be guarded but that could be overcome. He would figure it out. Ironside was a dead man. He just didn't know it yet.