"Fuck no. He's actually kicking it up. We haven't released anything to the media because I don't want to cause a panic." Wexler leaned against the tree.
"You need to. Even though the town council will be up your ass daily, the women need to know there's a sexual predator out there. Maybe someone saw or heard something. You never know."
The sheriff's stomach churned. "You're right. I'll give the chief a call when I get back to the office. You got any plans to take your family on vacation?"
Contreras laughed. "I always have plans. The trouble is they always change. I want to take the family to Disneyland, but I haven't let them know in case it doesn't materialize. What about you?"
"Not any time soon. With these rapes and some other problems, I'll be lucky if I can take a day off."
"I hear you, man. Let me know how things go. If you need my help with anything, give me a call."
Before going to the office, Wexler decided to stop by the office of the Alina Post. He'd have to brace himself for the pressure his department would experience from the town council and the residents. His life would soon be hell after the evening paper came out.
He shoved a stick of gum into his mouth, cranked up the patrol car's AC, and headed to the newspaper office.
Chapter Fifteen
Goldie sat in the recliner, his eyes fixed on the hallway in front of him as his grandma slept. For the past half hour, he'd hoped to catch a glimpse of Hailey. Earlier he'd gone to Patty's room to check in on her and find out whether Hailey was coming by for a visit. Patty had told him Hailey said she'd be by around three o'clock. It was now four o'clock. He had no intention of leaving until he saw her.
Each time the nurse came in, he seemed surprised to find Goldie still in the room. Goldie's habit was to leave once his grandmother fell asleep, but he couldn't risk not seeing Hailey. As he waited, sparks of anger zapped his nerves. Why the hell did she have to be so damn hot? The way she looked at him with her innocent eyes and the way she brushed against him drove him wild. What was it with her? The only woman who'd ever messed with his head happened to be his best friend's little sister. Is that ever fucked. He was supposed to be watching over her. He'd promised Ryan he would, and all he could think about was kissing, touching, and licking her. He wanted to make her beg him to let her come, then watch her as she did. Fuck!
Blue orbs caught his and Hailey smiled weakly before darting her eyes away as she walked past the door. Like a jack-in-the-box, he sprang up and dashed to the door. "Hailey," he said to her departing back.
Stopping, she looked over her shoulder. "Goldie. I didn't know you were here."
Bullshit, but if that's how you want to play it, I'm in. "Yeah. I looked in on Patty when my grandma went down for her nap. Come on in. I want to talk to you."
Frowning slightly, she shook her head. "I have to see my aunt. I'll come by later. How late are you staying?"
He shrugged. "What about you?"
"An hour or so. I have to get back to the shop. I'll be by in a bit. If you're there, I'll stop in."
Goldie went back into the room and debated about leaving. If it were any other chick, he never would've hung around hoping to run into her, and then she acted like it was no big fucking deal. I should go now and show her I don't give a shit. But the problem was he did give a shit, and he didn't know why. There was something about her that gnawed at him, made him do silly stuff like wait around for her. He shook his head; he was going to go.
"Is she still sleeping?" Dan, the nurse, asked.
Goldie nodded. He looked at the medium-built man as he leaned over his grandmother. Even though he'd been thrown into the medical arena by his grandma's illness, he still couldn't get used to men being nurses. "I noticed one of my grandma's eyes is a little red and crusty. It's the right one."
Dan turned on the overhead light, then bent over and looked at Helen. "You're right. There's a lot of crustiness there. I'll let Dr. Rudman know. We need to get her up. Dinner is ready and she really needs to try and eat something."
"Okay. I'm here, so I can coax her."
Dan smiled. "She always eats so much better when you or your sister are with her. I'll have the CNAs help her up and see if I can find Dr. Rudman."
Goldie tensed as Dan left the room. He was not a fan of Dr. Rudman. His feeling was that the doctor decided who should be treated and who shouldn't based on the quality of their lives. At Cherry Vale, there were three doctors who treated the patients: Dr. Tyrell was the head physician, Dr. Rudman was part-time, and Dr. Daniels, also part-time, had his own practice. Goldie had tried to have another doctor assigned to his grandma, but so far Dr. Rudman was still her physician.
After the CNAs had his grandmother up and seated in her recliner, Kevin, a part-time CNA, came into the room with a dinner tray. He placed it on the hospital table and stared at the older woman. "Are you gonna eat good tonight, sweetheart?"
"What the fuck?" Goldie pushed away from the windowsill.
Kevin shifted his cold gaze to him. "Did you say something to me?"
"Yeah. You don't fuckin' call my grandma ‘sweetheart.' That's just fuckin' weird."
"I was only trying to be nice. Sometimes when I talk like that she'll eat better. Won't you, sweetheart?" He stroked her cheek.
Goldie grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard until Kevin cried out. "Don't ever call my grandma anything but her name. Give her the respect she deserves. And never touch her like that again. Next time, I'll break your goddamn hand."
"Garth! Don't take the Lord's name in vain." Her voice was strong and clear.
As mad as Goldie was, he laughed aloud and stroked her cheek. "You always catch me, Grandma." He bent down and kissed the top of her head.
"And don't you forget it. I'm hungry."
Looping his foot under a stool, he dragged it over and sat down, then took off the plate covers. From his peripheral view, he saw Kevin still standing and watching them. "You're done here. Get out." Goldie glared at him.
"So you're going to help her eat? I usually do."
"You're pretty dense. I'm fucking here so I'll help her."
Kevin's gaze was fixed on her as he slowly walked backward until he exited the room.
"Does he act weird like that all the time?" he asked as he put a towel around her neck.
While nodding, she picked up her fork. "He's a strange man. I really don't like him."
Goldie's jaw tightened as he helped her cut her chicken. "I'm gonna make sure he doesn't come into your room. I don't like the sonofabitch."
She broke out in a string of laughter. "You're on a roll tonight."
He loved it when the clarity came back and his grandmother was the person he'd known since he was born.
"Hi, Mrs. Humphries. It looks like you're enjoying your dinner with Garth." Hailey's voice was bright and warm, as if a beam of sunshine had been melted into sound. Goldie watched her as she came into the room and stood before his grandmother. "I'm Hailey Shilley. I'm not sure you remember me."
Helen peered at her as she chewed her food. After swallowing, she grinned. "You're Garth's girlfriend. It's about time." She clapped her hands.
"She's not my woman, Grandma. She's Ryan's sister." Goldie scowled at Hailey as she giggled.
"I know Ryan. Where is he? Is he coming over for dinner tonight?"
"I hope I'm not confusing her," Hailey whispered.
"You're not. She has moments of clarity and then they slip away," he said flatly as he saw the vacant gaze he was too familiar with creeping into his grandmother's eyes.
"What seems to be the trouble here? The nurse told me your grandmother's left eye is having a problem?" Dr. Rudman, a man in his late thirties, walked into the room, a stethoscope around his neck and a clipboard in his hand.
"My grandma's got an infection. I noticed it when I came in. It's all crusty and red."
Dr. Rudman went over to Helen's side and bent down low. "The eye looks fine to me," he said straightening up.
"Are you fuckin' serious? It's all crusted over, and no matter how many times I wipe and clean it, the crud comes back."
The doctor smiled thinly. "Stuff like this happens all the time to old people."
"My grandma was old yesterday and her eye was fine. She's got a damn infection, and I want you to treat it."
"It's hard to see a loved one slip away. We want our loved ones to never get old, to never be sick, and to never start the process of dying. Your grandmother is a very sick woman who has a serious illness that will only progress. Her quality of life is very much compromised. You need to consider that. A lot of families have a hard time letting their loved one go, but it's liberating for a sick patient to let go and move on to another level. Some call it heaven, but I like to think of it as-"