Chapter 21

Sister Alice hopped on her moped and scooted to Lakeview hospital early to make her rounds, hoping to be back at St. Michael’s on time for the eleven o’clock meeting. Except for Mike Swanson and Ella’s mother, Marie Dayton, most had minor procedures or injuries, but she still made rounds to see all of them, offering prayer and communion. If time remained, she cast the net to other patients as well. Some welcomed her, some acted as if she was the devil himself. Today, she planned to save plenty of time for her visits with Marie and Mike.

After finishing the last of the patients on her list, she looked at her watch. Mike first. She hustled to the ICU.

“Can I help you, Sister?” a nurse said from behind the desk. 

“Hi, Sally. I’m here to see Mike Swanson.”

The nurse cocked her head to the side. “I wasn’t aware he was one of yours anymore. I’m glad he found his way back to the fold.”

Sister Alice shook her head. “He hasn’t yet. Father Vincent is still praying he will. Nevertheless, I’m here to pray with him.”

“No can do,” Sally said with a sigh. “He hasn’t regained consciousness yet. We’re all hoping he does, but to be honest, it’s not a positive outlook for him.”

“What can you tell me about what happened to him?” Sister Alice asked. 

“Hmm.” Sally appeared to recollect details. “Not too much, Sister. Someone shot him in the alley beside City Hall. Missed his heart by a breath.” She shook her head slowly. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”

Sister Alice had been around death so often it no longer bothered her. But if that was the expected outcome, getting information to help catch the killer was crucial. “It’s imperative I see him, Sally.” If Mike wasn’t Ivan’s killer, then perhaps finding Mike’s shooter would also nab Ivan’s killer.

“He’s in a coma, Sister. But if he can hear you and something you say upsets him, that could turn the tides on whether or not he pulls through.”

“Do you know if they have any suspects?” Sister Alice asked. Sally was a local who was up in everybody’s business, so Sister Alice was confident she knew something useful to shed light on the situation. 

“They don’t tell me details of an investigation,” she said. “But I overheard something about the gal who owns the inn. You know who I mean, the new gal that took over after Honey’s husband died.” She shook her head and pursed her lips in disapproval. “Sad when someone like that moves into our safe community,” she said. “Terrible. Just terrible.”

Overheard, indeed. “Innocent until proven guilty, Sally,” Sister Alice said. “Not the other way around. I know that young lady, and I’d be hard-pressed to be convinced she did it.”

“I only told you what I overheard.”

“Did someone say she’s the suspect?” Sister Alice said.

“Well, not those words exactly.”

Sister Alice sighed with relief. “Then we ought not to assume.” 

“Yes, Sister,” Sally said quietly, her cheeks flushing. 

Sister Alice bit her tongue to keep from saying more. She didn’t want to stop Sally from revealing all she knew, but where Andie Rose was concerned, Sister Alice was a tad overprotective. 

“Don’t suppose you heard other suspect names. Positively heard, no assumptions,” Sister Alice added. 

“No, Sister. Ella’s name came up, but I didn’t hear the reason behind it.”

Sister Alice pondered that for a moment. Ella’s name could have arisen as a suspect or as Mike’s significant other. She was grateful she’d stopped here before visiting Marie Dayton. 

“I might just quietly peek in his room to give him a blessing,” Sister Alice said, lightly touching Sally’s arm. “A blessing won’t upset him. As always, it was nice to see you today.”

“You too, Sister,” Sally said, brightening again.

Sister Alice turned toward Mike’s room.

“Sister Alice?”

“Yes?” she said, turning back toward Sally.

“I just remembered something else.”

“What’s that?”

“Something about Ella knowing Ivan had been blackmailing someone.” 

Sister Alice’s eyes grew wide. “You heard this from the police?” Sally nodded. “Any chance you heard who that someone was?”

“No. What I told you is all I heard.”

After running possibilities through her mind, she finally said, “All right then. Could you let me know if you remember anything else?”

“Of course. Are you helping the police?”

Sister Alice hesitated a moment. “In a roundabout way, you could say I am, Sally.”

She hurried to Mike’s room, quietly slid open the glass door, then closed it behind her. He was hardly visible beneath all the tubes and machines hooked up to him. The rhythmic whoosh, pause, whoosh, pause of the ventilator, the consistent beep, beep of the vital sign monitor, and the hum of the blood pressure cuff as it kicked in were noisy in the otherwise quiet room. Any chance of Mike waking soon, able to recall what had happened, was slim to none. She watched him a moment longer and sighed.

After a whispered blessing, she slid open the glass door, startled at a shrill consistent beep beep beep from behind her, growing louder. A nurse pushed her aside. Another followed as a nasal voice blasted across the speakers: “Code blue, ICU. Code blue, ICU.” 

Sister Alice remained fixed in the corner, praying, as blue scrubs and white lab coats rushed into the small machine-packed room, attempting to revive a heart that chose to stop. 

“Does the patient have a DNR?” someone asked. 

“Would we be trying to resuscitate him if he did?” another snapped. 

Sister Alice knew DNR meant Do Not Resuscitate and the ramifications staff could face by disregarding the patients’ wishes. She had seen it happen before and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Emotions and tensions were high until a male voice pronounced, “Time of death ten-oh-one.” After which, mere sighs, followed by silence, as somber medical staff filed out of the room murmuring to each other:

“Another one gone too soon.”

“He was so young.”

“That was my second one in as many days.”

“Sometimes I hate my job.”

Sister Alice stayed visible should they need prayer or an ear. Sister Ida always chided her for her lack of soft compassion, but she could put aside her brusque, blunt honesty when the moment called for it. At least she tried. To prove Sister Ida wrong, if nothing else. Her job was to make sure everyone knew God’s love, not to please Sister Ida.

After calling Father Vincent to notify him of Mike’s passing, Sister Alice hung tight for half an hour before taking the elevator down to the chapel and then to Marie’s room on the fourth floor. 

****

Marie’s door was closed, so Sister Alice turned toward the nurses’ station to inquire about Marie’s status.

“Hi, Sister,” the woman said with a pleasant smile.

“Hello, Clara. As always, it’s so nice to see you.” She gestured toward Marie’s room. “I noticed Marie’s door is closed. Is a nurse with her?”

She shook her head. “No, no. Ella is here with her. They probably wanted privacy.”

“Very well. I’ll hang around until she leaves.” Sister Alice leaned against the desk. “How have you been?”

“Been better. It’s a little disconcerting when someone gets murdered in our town and another nearly murdered days later.” She tsk’d. “What is this world coming to? Spirit Lake of all places. We’ll soon be the hopping tourist town that turned into a ghost town. Pardon the pun.”

Sister Alice pressed her lips together, preventing herself from spilling the news that there now were two murders. Her mind traveled to Ella’s disappointment about not getting her inheritance as quickly as she’d hoped.

“You know, Clara, I think I’ll go to Marie’s room, anyway. I’d like to check in with Ella as well. And I need to get back to St. Michael’s.”

“Okay. Have a good day, Sister.” Clara waved and smiled again. 

Sister Alice stood outside Marie’s room, her ear pressed against the door. Hearing nothing, she knocked softly.

“Come in,” Marie called, her weak voice weary.

Sister Alice slowly pushed the door open and peeked her head around it. 

“It’s Sister Alice,” she announced before entering the room. She looked at the empty chair and then at the open bathroom door. “Are you alone?”

“Yes. Ella left a moment ago.” 

Unless Ella left before Sister Alice arrived or she took the back stairwell, it would have been impossible for Sister Alice to miss her departure. She peeked her head into the bathroom should Ella be hiding; finding it empty, she moved toward the bed.

“For someone who’s getting better, you don’t sound happy about it,” Sister Alice said.

Marie sighed heavily. “Ella isn’t happy with me. And she let me know it in no uncertain terms.”

Sister Alice pulled up the chair and sat. “What happened?”

Tears escaped Marie’s eyes. “Now that I’m not dying, she won’t be getting the inheritance she’d counted on. She asked if she could get it early, and I said no. She told me she incurred a significant debt, so she needs it now. That it’s a matter of life and death. Her death.” She sniffled. “She’s always been such a dramatic girl. Worse, it feels pretty crappy when my own daughter is disappointed I’m gonna live and she can’t get her money.”

Sister Alice leaned forward and covered Marie’s hand with her own. “Did she say what that significant debt was?”

Marie shook her head and stared toward the half-bare branches of the trees reaching toward the sky outside her window. “No. That’s why I told her she couldn’t get it.” She smiled mournfully. “Ella has never liked the word ‘no’ from the day she was born. Her father treated her as royalty, and she’s always resented that I didn’t give her the same treatment.” 

“Could Ella be caught up in something that has spiraled out of her control? Something dangerous?”

She sighed again. “If she won’t tell me, I don’t have no way of knowing.” She gasped and looked from the window to Sister Alice. “Oh—I just remembered something. The night I came to the hospital, before that I heard Ella and Mike talking in the front room. They thought I was sleeping, but I was on my way downstairs for a glass of warm milk. When I was halfway down the stairs, they talked about how Ivan was blackmailing someone for a substantial amount of money.”

The ashy shadows beneath Marie’s eyes were in stark contrast to her pasty, ghostly white complexion. Her hair, matted against her head, had at least two inches of gray regrowth at the roots of her lifeless brown strands. “Did they say who it was?”

“No. But what if he was blackmailing Ella? And why? What did he have on her? And what if Ivan was in on it with someone else, and that someone else is now blackmailing my Ella?” Her eyes widened, and her trembling fingers pressed against her lips. “Maybe that’s what she needed the money for. Oh, dear God, what have I done? Maybe she wasn’t being dramatic at all. I need to give her the money.”

“You have done nothing wrong, Marie,” Sister Alice assured her. “I can speak with her if you’d like.”

“Oh, yes, please do,” she begged. “And fast.”

Sister Alice bit her lower lip and mulled over how to phrase her next question. Finally deciding the direct approach was best, she said, “Marie, do you think Ella could have killed Ivan?” 

Marie’s eyes misted again, and she whispered, “I don’t know.”