Chapter Ten

"We still didn't get anything worth having. Mrs. Connoly was willing to pay for a gigolo, great, and she may have an extra income. I can't arrest her for that," MacDuff said.

"But," Carly told him, "we can get him with a sketch artist. And we can see what else tech can find out about the Connoly family."

Brendan Campbell turned to look at her. "Thank you again, by the way. The man is an absolute...caveman! I am sorry that—"

"Sir! No problem. We use whatever methods we must. Now I'm thinking more and more about Lily Connoly. But—"

"We're going to need a real confession, written, from the wanker in that room!" MacDuff said. "Because so much of what he said is true. You can't send a man to trial for trying to get a date."

"You can for forcing people, which he did do. But I think that Luke will get him to confess. He's still in there with him now, and he's passing the paper to him to write it all down...you know. Luke has to win. That's how he gets out of working for a woman."

MacDuff and Campbell just shook their heads.

"We do what we need to do," Carly said. "I'm fine—Stone doesn't faze me in the least. We use what we have and what's legal when we need to."

"But no getting into a van," Campbell warned her.

"Yes, sir," she told him.

"And don't worry about the Connoly house, or them panicking or taking off or anything," MacDuff said. "They're being watched. So, if you still feel that another interview at the hospital would be helpful, now would be the time to do that."

"What about the children, sir? Not Marjory's children, the others we found. What about their parents? Have they been located?"

"We're having a bit of a problem with that," Campbell said.

"They don't know who their parents are?"

"The little girls are three and five," Campbell said.

"A five-year-old, though, she must know her full name, right?" Carly asked.

"Oh, aye, she knows it," Campbell said. He looked at Carly. "Smith. You think that you have a lot of people in the States named Smith? It's the most common surname here. The girls are Kenna, the five-year-old, and Skye, her little sister. They just know that they were sleeping and when they woke up, they were scared, and a lady tried to make them feel better. She gave them food and took care of them and told them stories."

"Let's go back. You said you found a woman with the children who was a prisoner, too. Who is she, where did they find her and what does she know?" Carly asked.

"Ameerah Abassi, a young woman from Pakistan. She studied here and was trying to gain her residency, and she was given a call and was assured that the college was setting things up for her. She was met at the airport by the man at the house who was pretending to be from the college—next thing she knew, she was locked up with the children and told to take care of them or she'd be killed," Campbell said. "And she's in protective custody now, too. She won't be able to give us anything more—she was taken in a car to the house and then she was forced down into the tunnel. She knows nothing else. Of course, we have people still tearing the house apart, and we're seeking the owners."

"The children know nothing about where they live?" Carly asked.

"We don't think they live in Edinburgh," MacDuff said. "Skye is three—seriously, she is very little help. Kenna told us that it's a big house with lots and lots of yard space for them to play. We're looking through missing persons reports, but so far...nothing."

"So, I will go back to the hospital. I'll try to find out who has disappeared off their lists—" Carly began.

"We checked records. No one was fired recently," Campbell told her.

"There's something that someone there must know," Carly said. "Again, not Dr. Forbes, and I doubt that any of the doctors on his team are involved. But..."

"Do you think that someone quit and was angry?" Campbell asked her.

"I don't know about anyone quitting! But I do know there is someone there that coworkers refer to as Nurse Ratched, so..."

"Nurse Ratched?" Campbell repeated.

"The tyrant character from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Carly murmured.

"You saw that movie?" Campbell asked her.

"Streaming—you can see just about anything," Carly said. "I'll try to find out more about her—"

"Real name?" MacDuff asked.

"I don't know. I will find out!" Carly assured him. "Oh, wait, I was talking with one of the younger nurses, and she said that her name was Dorothy Norman. I'm thinking she must be a senior nurse, maybe irritated with young nurses making mistakes. But I didn't see anything that would suggest anyone was doing more than caring about their work."

"All right. Dorothy Norman. But take Luke with you this time. If the hospital is on the up and up, then it's not going to matter if anyone there knows you are law enforcement seeking help," Campbell said.

"They know that already—I had to give real information to get to see Dr. Forbes. As soon as Luke finishes with Jared Stone, we'll take off," she told him. "And Stone seems to be writing away!"

"Did you see this Dorothy Norman?" MacDuff asked.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure. There were two older women working when I was there—one might have been her. I don't know," Carly said.

"Get a look at her today, all right."

"Will do," Carly said. She looked through the one-way mirror again and said, "Jared Stone is still writing."

"He wants to prove that Luke was the best interrogator," Campbell said. "Even to his own detriment, the man has to practice his machismo."

"Hey, it worked," Carly said. "When I was at the hospital before, the Douglases' son wasn't working—he didn't have office hours that day and wasn't at the hospital. I want to speak with him, too."

"Right. Until we have some real answers, we cannot discount the neighbors or a Doctor Douglas," Campbell said.

"And...look! Jared Stone is finally finishing up!"

She smiled and walked out of the observation room followed by MacDuff and Campbell. They met Luke in the hall, and Luke gave Campbell the man's written confession to his part in the abductions.

"We'll be going to the Connoly house?"

"We will. This evening. Tech departments are still searching financials, and I want to have possible ammunition when we go in there," Campbell told him. "As I told Carly, they're being watched, and they are not going anywhere."

"And I still want to get to the hospital," Carly told him.

"Let's do it," Luke agreed.

Carly had a good sense for people. Luke wasn't surprised to agree with her assessment of Dr. Leith Forbes. He was naturally disturbed to consider even the remote idea that someone who worked so diligently on his staff could be involved, but he understood their need to explore every possibility.

"We're not really thinking someone on your staff is involved," Luke assured him, "but whoever is doing this must be accomplished enough to manage these surgeries. Someone who might have tried for a job but quit for one reason or another. Our departments have gone through public records looking for someone who might have been fired, but we don't know much about everyone who might have worked here in the past and moved on for whatever reason. Or perhaps someone who wanted to work here, but was never hired," Luke suggested.

"That's possible," Forbes said thoughtfully. "I'm very careful about hiring staff—conditions here must be as sterile as possible. We have hired many men and women as nurses—we've had both as surgeons operating here..." His words broke off and he concentrated for a minute. "There was one man who came in saying he'd worked at a key hospital in Miami, but I didn't like his attitude. He seemed to be so full of himself. Despite the assumption that many doctors think they're gods, most good doctors do not. And it's as annoying to the rest of the medical community as it is to patients when one of our number behaves so. I'll see to it that you're given the information that I have on him."

"Thank you!" Carly told him. "And on anyone else that gave you a hard time in any way."

"Believe it or not, I do have a list of those people we didn't take on. We have a tremendous reputation and doctors, nurses and orderlies all seek positions here. Even kitchen staff," Forbes told them.

"And other operations take place here, too, right? Well, not just surgeries, other medical treatments?" Luke asked.

"Yes, it's a major hospital. We're a part of it all," Forbes told them.

Carly glanced at him, leaning forward. "Do you know Dr. Douglas?"

"Which one?" Forbes asked her. "You do realize the name Douglas—"

"Is akin to Smith," Carly said. "I'm sorry. Dr. Westin Douglas?"

"I do, indeed. He is a fine pediatrician. He works in the hospital and through his office in the city. He is a young man but dedicated. I've been impressed by his work." He frowned. "Dear Lord, you can't begin to believe that Westin..."

"No, I'd just like to meet him," Carly said. "We were with his parents. I don't think that it was publicized, but the press discovers everything. His parents own one of the fine manors in front of the vennel where one of the victims was discovered."

"You would just like to meet him?" Forbes said skeptically.

"Doctor—" Luke began, but before he could continue, Forbes waved a hand in the air.

"It's all right, I understand. You are just doing your jobs. I'll see if he can come up for a minute."

He picked up his desk phone and dialed a number, greeting the man and asking him if he could spare a few minutes.

Apparently, Dr. Douglas said yes.

Forbes ended the call and folded his hands on his desk.

"Harold Gleason," he said suddenly.

"I'm sorry?" Luke said.

"That's the name of the man I refused to hire who had such a horrific attitude. I'll have my assistant go back and find the application he filled out and make sure you get it," Forbes said. He was thoughtful. "There was one other man... Just the opposite. I didn't think he had enough confidence in himself. If you're hesitant when you are speaking about surgery, you might as well be hesitant while doing it. And in the middle of surgery, you must know what you're doing, know how to stop a bleeder..."

He broke off when there was a tap on his door.

It opened and a man in a doctor's white coat stuck his head in. "Leith, you wanted to see me?" he asked.

"Come in, come in, please, Americans with an international force after our murderers want to meet you," Forbes said flatly.

Carly and Luke both stood, offering their hands to the young man who didn't seem surprised to see them. He didn't resemble either of his parents but was about six-one with smoothed-back dark hair, features that were well-contoured, and amber and green eyes.

"Hello!" he said, offering them both firm handshakes and a nod. "I've heard about you, of course, so I'm going to assume you are Special Agents MacDonald and Kendrick?"

"Carly and Luke," Carly said, smiling. "And, of course, you are Dr. Westin Douglas."

"I am. How can I help you? Ah, wait, never mind. People are being killed, and it's suspected since they have been gutted that a doctor must be guilty. Personally, you know, I never thought Jack the Ripper was a doctor or a medical man, though that supposition went around."

He seemed relaxed, not offended by them. His handshake was that of a man who had both confidence and a willingness to listen to others. Of course, it was impossible to judge any human being quickly, but there was something about his understanding of why he might fall under suspicion that seemed to slant him toward being innocent.

"Sit, everyone, please," Forbes said. He glanced at his watch. "I need to prepare for surgery soon, but this office is the best place for us to talk."

They took seats, Forbes behind his desk, Carly and Luke returning to the seats they'd been in, and Westin Douglas perching on the edge of Forbes's desk. "I don't live with my parents," he told them. "I have a place on Canongate. But my family is close—my sister and I both watch out for my folks. They're in good shape and they're not that old, but..." He trailed off, shrugging. "They were good parents. We try to be good kids in turn."

"That's great. We're lucky. We have good families, too," Carly told him. She glanced at Luke, not looking for his approval but his agreement. And he did agree. With this, they could just be honest. "And, I'm sorry, but yes. When a body was found in the vennel that borders your parents' house, and with you being a medical man, well we did need to meet you."

"And I am not resentful or offended," Westin Douglas assured them. "I'll be honest, too. Leith told me you were here, and you're trying to investigate by truly understanding the needs of transplant patients. I'm a pediatrician and honestly, I deal with more colds and flus than anything else—tonsillectomies and illnesses that often plague children. The most heartbreaking, for me, tends to be the occasional horrendous accident or cancer. But I did go to medical school, and I have a sound knowledge of anatomy. So...a doctor in the family, a body in the vennel. Trust me, I understand. But I swear to you, I am innocent. I don't believe I have any way to prove it, but..."

Luke shook his head and assured him, "Innocent until proven guilty is still the norm. And quite frankly, we believe you. But we did need to speak with you. And we hope that you, just as Dr. Forbes has done, might give us any help that you can."

"Of course! We are sworn to save lives, not to take them!" Westin Douglas said.

"Exactly," Carly murmured. "There's something else, though. We've discovered people involved with helping to send victims out alone while inebriated. And they were being forced to participate. If someone suddenly doesn't show up for work, disappears...anything of the like, can you please make sure to alert us immediately?"

Westin Douglas and Leith Forbes spoke at the same time. "Aye!"

They looked at each other and shook their heads, and Westin Douglas said, "I think it would be difficult to find a person truly dedicated to healing who would take part in this—especially at risk to their own life."

"These people were holding children and threatening them with a slow torturous death if their mother didn't cooperate. That could be done to anyone—professional, nonprofessional—anyone," Luke said.

"Wait!" Forbes said. "Westin, I was telling him about the man who was here, applying for a job, the man that I didn't hire. You saw him when he left my office, and I know I said something to you about having just met one of the most obnoxious human beings."

"I do remember," Westin Douglas said. "He pushed me and looked at me as if I was a piece of dirt as he left. I thought..."

"What?"

Douglas shrugged. "I thought he might be someone furious because he wasn't high on the list for one kind of transplant or another. Then Leith told me the man was angry he didn't fall on his knees, cross himself and thank him for walking in."

"Did he have credentials?" Carly asked.

"He had the right papers. I never verified them because...because I would never hire him to work on any team of mine," Forbes told them. "I will get all that information for you. I have surgery and I need to prep, but I'll see to it Selina gets that information to you."

"I need to get back, too," Douglas said. He produced his card. "You may call me day or night if I can help you in any way."

"Thank you, and here's ours," Luke told him, producing a card in turn. "One more quick question—what do you know about your parents' neighbors?"

"The, uh, Connoly family?" Douglas asked.

"Yes," Carly said.

Douglas shrugged. "They, uh...they're nice enough. Ewan Connoly likes to come over for morning tea with my dad. Lily is a bit..."

"A bit?"

"High-strung, I guess you'd say. I've warned her she needs to watch out for her blood pressure since she can get so upset. My mom told me she's been the proverbial basket case ever since the body was found. But...as far as I know, they're just...normal people," Douglas said, shrugging.

"Did you ever see them behave suspiciously in any way?"

"To be honest, I haven't lived at my parents' home in fifteen years. College, medical school, interning...and now having my own position. I haven't seen much of the Connoly couple in years," he said. "I remember when they came, though. I must have been about seven or eight years old. Old Mr. Connoly was a great guy, a storyteller, and we kids loved him. When he passed on, the house went to the couple who are there now. They came over from America, and..."

Carly interrupted him. "I know he said that he'd spent time over there when his father was working in the States. I had the impression she was Scottish."

Douglas shrugged. "You can meet a good Scottish woman in the States," he told her lightly. "Let's see, you are Special Agent MacDonald."

"Of course," Carly said. "Well, thank you! We'll let you both go. We do not want to take you away from your patients!"

"Let me give Selina a heads-up; she'll get what information we have for you. You'll find her at the nurses' station."

"Thank you," Luke said. "And we'll get out of your hair." He and Carly both rose, nodded a second silent thank-you and went out of the office.

"Nurses' station," Carly murmured. "Luke, do you think this person that Dr. Forbes was talking about could be...?"

"It wouldn't be surprising. There are a few ways this might be happening. Either, yes, it's someone at the helm who has a huge medical chip on his or her shoulder, or someone who is being forced to comply, just as Marjory Alden was forced. Very few people could simply refuse to do something if their children's lives were in jeopardy."

"True. Hopefully, they'll be able to hunt down the Smith family that those two girls belong to," Carly said. She was looking at him, and he knew the entire episode with Marjory Alden disturbed her.

"She will have to pay for her part," he said quietly. "But I do believe she will be given special consideration because of the circumstances."

An attractive young brunette in uniform was standing at the nurses' station when they reached it, apparently waiting for them.

"Hi, Carly," the young woman said, producing a stack of papers. "Dr. Forbes said you needed these."

"Thank you!" Carly told her, and of course, Luke realized Carly had met the young woman on her first trip to the hospital. "And—"

Carly didn't get to finish the introduction. The young woman looked at Luke and said, "I'm sorry, hi!"

"Hi, I'm Luke," he said. "And thank you! That was fast."

"I'm Selina, and of course. Modern technology and a really decent printer! I was thinking I could have just sent them all digitally, but I didn't know your email address, so..."

"This is great," Luke told her. "We can figure it all out from here. Even in this day and age, we can still read off paper!"

Selina smiled, but then her smile faded and she looked around swiftly as if afraid of being overheard.

"I'm guessing you think the killer stalking the city might be in this group," she said.

Luke glanced at Carly, but he was sure she hadn't explained anything about their investigation to the young woman. It was all probably fairly obvious; if law enforcement was asking questions, there was suspicion regarding someone, even if Carly had just been "researching" medical information.

"It never hurts to know all that we can," he said.

Selina wasn't ready to let them go.

"Please! This is all so horrible. I'm even afraid when I leave here at night... What's happening, it's just..."

"You've seen the news conferences, I'm sure. Just be careful not to be alone and not to accept any drinks from strangers," Luke said, glancing at Carly.

She glanced back and smiled at Selina. "One more thing: if you do go out, go out with friends, stay with friends and I suggest you drink out of cans that only you open."

"Cans...so that..."

"Simple. So that a drink can't be spiked," Luke said.

"Of course," Selina agreed. She drew in a deep breath. "Truthfully, I haven't gone out. I go home and lock myself in. I broke up with my boyfriend a month or so ago, and now I'm wishing I'd been a lot more patient with him and that we were still living together. I can't go home—home is in Stirling, not so far, but not a great commute to the hospital on a daily basis."

"Just be very careful. And if you do go out, stay with a group," Carly told her.

Selina nodded and they thanked her and headed for the elevator.

On the way, another nurse paused, looking at Carly. She looked to be in her mid-to late thirties, a petite blonde woman.

"Hi, you're back!" she said to Carly.

"We are," Carly said. "Luke, this is Milly Blair. Milly, Luke Kendrick."

"Milly, how do you do?"

"Ah, tough day, we have a number of people in recovery!" Milly said. She frowned again, looking at Carly. "Are you thinking of coming here for medical help? You are so lovely, sweet lass, I hope that—"

"No, no, and thank you, I'm quite well. Just asking for others," Carly assured her.

"Right," Milly said, shaking her head. "And you're coppers, eh?"

Carly laughed. "Something like that."

The elevator door opened, and Milly glanced around and slid into the elevator with them.

"If you're looking for someone mean enough to be involved, it's Nurse Ratched!"

"Dorothy Norman, right? She's the one who makes everything so hard on others?" Carly asked her.

Milly nodded. "I think she's been here since the dawn of time. She seems to feel she owns the place, and it should be lovely all the time. We have a young fellow working here as a nurse, and she's especially hard on him. A bit opposite from what we strive for these days. Dorothy seems to think only men should be doctors, and only women should be nurses. Of course, Dr. Forbes just cares about good, knowledgeable and hard-working people—he could care less if a doctor or a nurse is a man or a woman. If it were me... Well, it's not. But I do believe he is considering replacing her. She's good—she's excellent at nursing. But she makes those around her miserable, and I know he is weighing the possibilities of replacing her."

"Interesting," Luke said, glancing at Carly. "Perhaps we should have a chat with her before we leave."

"I'm sorry, Dorothy isn't here today. I believe she called in sick, or I don't really know. I just know she didn't come in. But you might want to check up on her!" Milly said seriously. "Oh! And please! I need this job, so—"

"Not a word, Milly," Luke promised her. "We'll see what we can find out."

The elevator reached the ground floor and they stepped out.

"Oh!"

Another young woman in a nurse's uniform, a brunette with a wealth of dark hair carefully knotted up beneath her cap, was waiting to step on.

"Uh—hi!" she said to Carly.

"Hi!" Carly said.

Milly laughed. "I don't believe you met formally—or informally!" she said. "We three did have a swift chat the other day. But I was rude and I forgot to introduce you to my friend. Janelle, please meet Carly and Luke. Carly and Luke, Janelle."

"Nice to meet you," Janelle murmured nervously, glancing at Milly.

"It's okay, they're good." She laughed and whispered, "They did not come to report us for talking trash about Nurse Ratched!"

The brunette managed to smile. "Hey. Sorry. I'm afraid I'm a wee bit late and need the elevator!"

"Of course!" Carly said, and she and Luke stepped off.

"Good day," Luke added, nodding as the elevator doors closed.

"Let's get out of here," he said quietly to her, catching her hand and hurrying them both out the doors. On the street, heading for the car Campbell had given them to use, he glanced at her and said, "So. Nurse Ratched isn't here today. Either she's just an old grouch who decided to take a day, or she's off helping chop people up. You didn't meet her the other day?"

Carly shook her head. "No, but one way or the other, we should get tech looking into her. And now we have the papers that might lead us to the person who is the snake's head," she said.

"I'll give Campbell a call."

He did so, telling Campbell what they had gained from the hospital, assuring him they'd be right in with the sheets for the tech team. For now, they had two names to start with—Dorothy Norman, known around the hospital as Nurse Ratched—who hadn't shown up for work today—and Harold Gleason, M.D., turned down for a job at the hospital because of his arrogance and attitude.

"We're on it," Campbell told him, and then he said, "All right, pause on the one of them, bit of a wee problem there."

"What is it?"

"There's not much we'll be able to blame on Nurse Dorothy Norman."

"Why—"

"Her head was just discovered in a bin outside of Greyfriars Kirkyard."

"Her head—"

"Just her head. Decapitated from the rest of her body. Lord, Almighty! Just her head. Meet us at the scene, I'll send you coordinates."