Chapter 2 - THE OLD MAN AT THE HOSPITAL
At 6:12 the following morning, Delaney arrived at St. Bellamy Hospital with bruises along her left hip and a scraped palm.
She had slept for three hours.
Her uniform was clean.
Her shoes were still splitting.
She changed in the nurses' locker room, pulled her hair into a knot, and reported to the cardiac observation unit.
Nobody mentioned the gala.
That was almost worse.
At seven, Nurse Supervisor Judith Sloan summoned her.
"The Ferraro family filed a complaint."
Delaney stared.
"Against me?"
Judith folded her hands.
"Improper handling of temperature-sensitive medication. Unprofessional conduct at a private event."
"The cooler was knocked out of my hands."
Judith looked uncomfortable.
"Miss Ashford says you attempted to force your way into the reception."
Delaney felt something harden inside her.
"I was delivering medication under a hospital order."
"Do you have proof?"
"The dispatch record. The pharmacy release. The chain-of-custody sheet."
Judith sighed.
"Those documents are being reviewed."
"And the security footage?"
Judith looked away.
"The hotel says the entrance camera was temporarily unavailable."
Delaney almost laughed.
Of course it was.
She had spent seven years at St. Bellamy. She knew the difference between an unfortunate incident and an organized effort to make someone disappear.
"Am I suspended?"
"Administrative leave, pending review."
Delaney removed her identification badge.
Judith looked pained.
"I'm sorry."
Delaney placed the badge on the desk.
"So am I."
She was halfway down the corridor when someone called her name.
"Delaney Pierce."
She turned.
An elderly man stood beside the elevator, leaning on a dark wooden cane.
He wore an old-fashioned three-piece suit, polished shoes, and a silver watch that had probably cost more than her car.
His white hair was combed neatly back.
His eyes were startlingly clear.
"Do I know you?" she asked.
"No. But I knew your father."
Delaney went still.
Her father had been dead for seven years.
The man extended his hand.
"August Bellamy."
She recognized the name immediately.
The hospital had been named after his grandfather.
August Bellamy was ninety-one, a retired surgeon, and the former chairman of the hospital foundation.
He had disappeared from public life years earlier.
Delaney shook his hand cautiously.
"Mr. Bellamy."
"Your father was Thomas Pierce."
"Yes."
"He repaired medical equipment here."
"He did."
August nodded.
"And he was accused of stealing hospital funds before his death."
Delaney's stomach tightened.
"Yes."
August studied her face.
"Did you ever believe he was guilty?"
"No."
The answer came without hesitation.
"Good," the old man said.
Then he looked toward Judith Sloan's office.
"Because he wasn't."
They sat in a quiet consultation room.
August placed a leather folder between them.
"Your father discovered irregularities in the hospital's charitable medication program."
Delaney frowned.
"What kind of irregularities?"
"Medication shipments billed to the foundation but never received by patients."
She stared.
"Fraud?"
"Among other things."
August opened the folder.
Inside were copies of invoices, shipping records, and handwritten notes.
Thomas Pierce's handwriting.
Delaney touched the page.
She hadn't seen his handwriting in years.
August continued.
"Your father reported what he found. Two weeks later, he was accused of theft. His employment ended. His reputation was destroyed."
Delaney swallowed.
"He died three months later."
"I know."
Her voice sharpened.
"Then why are you telling me this now?"
August looked ashamed.
"Because I believed the wrong people."
Silence settled between them.
Finally, he said, "And because the people who ruined your father are still operating."
Delaney looked up.
"Who?"
August's expression darkened.
"The Ashford family."
At that exact moment, Casius Ferraro entered St. Bellamy through a private entrance.
He had come to see his mother.
But when he reached the cardiac unit, he found her room empty.
A nurse told him she'd been transferred overnight.
"Transferred where?"
The nurse hesitated.
"That's confidential."
Casius stared at her.
"I'm her son."
The nurse checked her screen.
Then went pale.
"Mr. Ferraro, the authorization was signed by your fiancée."
Casius felt the first real surge of fear he'd experienced in years.
"Where is my mother?"
May you like
The nurse swallowed.
"We don't know."
