Goldie(Night Rebels MC Romance Book 4)(48)

A rush of footsteps sounded behind him and then hands clasped his shoulders, pulling him away from the crumpled man on the floor, enraging him. "Leave me alone. I'm gonna kill his fuckin' ass!"

"Goldie! Stop!" Shelly's voice broke through his fury-filled haze.

When he relaxed, Kingsley and Kevin pulled him farther away from Dan.

"What's going on here?" Shelly asked, her voice unnaturally high.

"I came in and this fucker was standing over my grandma, ready to inject some shit into her arm." He rushed over to Dan, who still lay on the floor, and kicked him hard in the ribs. A low grunt came from the battered man's parted lips.                       
       
           



       

"Goldie. Please, calm down." Shelly placed a hand on his shoulder and tugged him back. "I don't even know why Dan's here. He wasn't on the calendar for tonight."

Hendricks came in, redness rimming his off-focused eyes. "You came here to beat Dan, dude?"

Shelly sighed loudly. "Kevin, call the police. I'll call corporate."

Kevin rushed out of the room, his voice echoing in the hallway.

In less than ten minutes, blue and red flashing lights blinked through the curtains. Kingsley and Shelly left the room and spoke to Wexler, who stood in the hallway. Inaudible voices filled Goldie's ears, but the thought of his grandma almost dying at the hands of someone who was supposed to care for her stuffed his mind.

Wexler and Barnard walked into the small room. One of the deputies came in and helped Dan to his feet and gave him a handful of tissues; he put them to his nose.

"What the hell happened here, Goldie?" Wexler asked.

"This fucker tried to kill my grandma, and he would've succeeded if I hadn't caught him." He pointed to the syringe under the bed. "He was trying to put that shit in her arm."

Barnard went down on his knees, picked up the syringe, and bagged it. "Do you want to tell me what's in it?" he asked Dan.

"Medicine. I'm a nurse, and my job is to make sure the patients are comfortable. Dr. Rudman told me to give her some if she's restless. She was. Then this crazed biker attacked me. I want to press charges."

Goldie lunged at him, his arm pulled back, ready to punch him again. "You lying sack of shit. You're lucky the badges showed up."

The deputy and Wexler held him back. "We've got this, Goldie," the sheriff said.

Barnard turned to Shelly, who was standing in the doorway. "Do you know anything about the doctor ordering anything for this patient?"

She shook her head. "Dr. Rudman's never ordered any sleeping aid for Mrs. Humphries. I don't even know why Dan's here. We only have one night nurse on the first and second floors. I'm the first-floor nurse tonight, and Janet is working the second floor. He's supposed to be home with his wife and kids."

"Mr. Krutcher, you're under arrest for attempted murder," Barnard said as he placed the handcuffs on the nurse's wrists. "Anything you say may be used against you in a … ."

Goldie stood by his grandmother's bed as they led Dan out of the building and to the waiting squad car. Kevin came back in with a mop and bucket and started cleaning up Dan's blood. Goldie glanced at Wexler, who nodded at him and then walked out of the room.

After the room was cleaned and Goldie had turned the light back off, he sat by his grandmother and held her hand. He kissed her soft, wrinkled cheeks and his gut twisted. "I almost lost you tonight, Grandma. That would've killed me. You'll go when you're ready."

Helen lay still, her eyes closed, oblivious to the drama that unfolded in her room. For a long time, he sat holding her hand, and then he stood up and walked to the door.

"Garth," a voice said behind him.

He spun around and saw his grandmother looking right at him with clear blue eyes. "Grandma."

"Thank you." Then her eyes closed.

"You're welcome," he said to the darkness, then stepped into the hallway.





Chapter Thirty-Five





Wexler stood on the other side of the two-way mirror, looking at Dan Krutcher's battered face as Barnard sat opposite the suspect on a metal folding chair in the interrogation room.

"We know about the deaths that occurred at each place you worked. St. Clare's Hospital in Topeka had seven suspicious deaths, Pinehurst Nursing Home in Omaha had five, Mesa Clinic in Tucson had four, and now we have six at Cherry Vale. And you know what the common denominator is? You. When you get to a place, patients die, and when you leave, the dying stops. What do you say to that?"

"I'd say it's a pretty big coincidence." Dan smiled and leaned back in the chair.

"I don't think coincidences work out like that so many times. And you were caught with the syringe trying to murder Helen Humphries. And before you lie to me again, we checked with Dr. Rudman. He never ordered any sleeping medication for Mrs. Humphries."

"She was living in darkness. I needed to bring her back to the light."

"And how were you going to do that, Dan?" Barnard leaned forward.

"By ending her darkness. I was trained to care for people. Letting them linger when they are so ill, when they have no quality of life left, is not caring for them. I'm their angel of mercy, and they always smile at me when I help them on their journey to the next world. The world of light and peace."                       
       
           



       

"Did Susan O'Brien need your mercy?"

Dan scrunched his face. "She was just a nosy drunk. She tried to stop me from helping Gus. By being a drunk, she put all the patients' lives in jeopardy. She got what she deserved."

"You pushed her, didn't you? Our crime scene team tells me her fall isn't consistent with tripping."

"Detective, I'm not going to do all the work for you." Dan smiled.

Barnard wanted to finish what the biker started, but he just smiled and leaned back. "You're going to make me work for Susan. What about Nadine and Doris? They both worked at Cherry Vale."

"What about them?"

"You raped them, but you killed Nadine. Did she tell you your dick was too short?"

Dan shifted in his chair. "I didn't kill Nadine or rape Doris. I liked them. Doris worked hard in the laundry room. Do you know how hot it gets in that room?"

"Then why did you rape her? She didn't want to have an affair with you?"

"Can I have an aspirin? My head is pounding. The doctor ordered it when I got my stiches. That Goldie's one crazy biker, attacking me like that."

"I'll get you an aspirin when you tell me about Nadine, Doris, and all the others."

"Are you trying to pin those rapes that have been on the news and in the paper on me? I don't rape women. I'm the angel of mercy for sick people. I've known that since I was a child. That's why I went into the medical field."

"What did you do with the American eagle ornament on your SUV?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"We know you have a dark brown SUV."

"A lot of people have that color." Dan squirmed in his chair.

"But they aren't rapists." Barnard pounded on the table.

Dan shook his head. "I want a lawyer," he said, then looked down at the table.

Barnard stood up and walked out of the room. "I pushed too fucking hard," he said to Wexler, who met him in the hallway.

"We got him on the murders at Cherry Vale. While he's stewing for those, we'll have time to get more evidence on the rapes. I know he's the one doing them. He's a sick bastard."

"Yeah. I'm going to interview a few more witnesses. I'll catch up with you later."

When the detective walked into the sunlight, he squinted. Sitting in the interrogation room made a person lose track of everything. Putting his sunglasses on, he ambled to his car.





Chapter Thirty-Six





After Dan's arrest, Goldie breathed a little easier knowing a killer had been put out of commission. If he hadn't had any interruption from the staff that night, he would've saved the taxpayers a helluva lot of money. But the badges got him, and now the criminal process would go on for months, maybe years.

"They're saying that fucker who tried to kill your grandma is the serial rapist. They should give you a fuckin' medal," Paco said.

"I shoulda killed the bastard. I was ready to, but the citizens interfered," Goldie replied.

A blast of heat surged in, and Goldie turned around just as Diablo entered the club. He gave Goldie and Paco a chin lift.

"Any news on my bike? I don't want those fuckers to dismantle it for parts. And Easyriders is coming to the rally next week."

"I got an address for their mechanic shop. Dog says Rusty hangs there most days."

"Does Dog know anything about my bike?"

"He says no, but we know that's a crock of shit. I'm positive it wasn't his idea, but he's not gonna sell out a brother, even a shitty one."

"Let's get the bike. Then we can decide how to handle Dog and his fuckin' club."

"You need some help?" Paco asked.