Nan Shallowford was on duty when they brought Max Garvey into the intensive care unit. She adjusted his IVs and checked to be sure the transfusion was working correctly. Satisfied everything was working as it should, she picked up his chart and studied it.
“Did you hear how this happened?” Billie Franklin, the other nurse, asked.
“No. Did you?”
“One of Garvey’s neighbors found out he’d been having an affair with his wife. The neighbor lost his cool and beat the shit out of Garvey.”
“Do you know the neighbor’s name?”
“Carter, I think.”
“Oh, Lord,” Nan said. She had a sick feeling in her stomach.
“What’s wrong?”
“I live next door to George Carter. His wife was having an affair with Max Garvey.”
“How do you know?”
“We all live in the same condo complex.”
“The one where the Davidson woman lived?”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t know you lived there.”
“Yeah,” Nan said again.
“Did you know her?”
“Not very well.”
“The news said there was some connection. Do you know what it was?”
“No.”
“Pooh. I wanted to hear some good gossip.”
“Sorry.”
Robyn came through the door. “They said I could… Hello, Nan.”
“Robyn, I’m sorry. What in the world happened?” Nan took Robyn’s arm and steered her away from Billie.
“Oh, Nan. It’s a mess. A big mess. Just be glad you’re not involved.” She looked at the nurse. “You’re not involved, are you?”
“Of course not.”
“I can’t believe it. They say Max was having an affair with Tess Carter and several other women. Do you know anything about it?”
“Not much,” Nan said. “I’d see them all at the pool sometimes.”
“I’ve heard a rumor that they’re going to charge Max with Mindy Davidson’s murder. Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous? Max wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“He always acted as if he liked Mindy. I don’t think he’d kill her.”
“That’s what I tried to tell them, but they wouldn’t listen. They say he was involved with her sexually. I don’t believe that, either. Did you ever see him with her?”
Nan looked into Robyn’s haunted eyes, and guilt crept in. She wished she’d never sent George the DVD. She never dreamed he’d do this. She thought they’d fight, but make up afterward. That’s the way it worked in the movies. Why couldn’t real life be the same way?
“He’ll be all right, Robyn. Just have a little faith.”
“How can I? I loved him so much, Nan. I denied him nothing. He didn’t have to work. I let him follow his dreams. And he paid me back by screwing around with my neighbors. I don’t know if I can ever forgive him, even if he lives.”
“He just made a few mistakes. From what I can tell, he loves you.”
“How could he and Tess sit with George and me and share meals, go on trips, and pretend to be friends? I was always faithful. After I met him, I was never with any other men, and when we got married, those wedding vows meant something to me. Now everything has changed. Life will never be good again.”
“Don’t talk like that. Go visit Max. He needs you now.”
“I don’t know if I can stand to be in the same room with him.”
“You have to try. He’s in bad shape. Your love might be the only thing that can pull him through.”
“I’ll try. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”
The crushed woman turned away and walked into the unit holding her husband. Nan closed her eyes. She felt terrible. If Max Garvey died, it would be her fault because she sent that DVD to George Carter.
“Oh, Lord,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
The alarms went off.
“Code Blue,” Billie hollered. “Get Garvey’s wife out of there. He just stopped breathing.”
* * * *
Gordon waited until the car pulled in behind him, then jumped out of his car and opened the trunk. He took out a bag filled with DVD orders.
“Looks like a nice haul,” the man said. “This has been a windfall, hasn’t it?”
“I’m hoping you have some money for me,” Gordon answered.
“Will five thousand help?”
“That’s great. I wasn’t expecting that much.”
“I thought you could use it.” The man opened his trunk. “Do you mind lifting those letters into my car for me? I pulled my back today, and it’s hard for me to bend over.”
“Sure thing.” Gordon picked up the bag of mail, swung it around and, tossed it into the other trunk.
“Stick them close to the back. My wife might use this car in the morning. I want them hidden from her.”
“Okay.”
As Gordon bent into the trunk, a hard object struck the back of his head. Everything faded to black.
* * * *
The man looked around make be sure no one had seen him hit Gordon. Satisfied no one had, he pulled Gordon around and shoved him into the trunk of his own car. Then he looked around again. The parking lot was still deserted.
To make sure Gordon would never be able to tell more than he already had, the man took a kitchen knife from his pocket and plunged it deep into Gordon’s chest several times, making sure the blood spilled into the trunk and not on him or the pavement. Then he closed Gordon’s trunk, knowing his friend’s body wouldn’t be found for a while.
He took one final look around to make sure nobody had seen what he’d done, and then smiled into the deserted night.
He slammed his own trunk lid, got into his car, and hurried out of the parking lot. He was beginning to feel better. Things were going to work. He was going to emerge from this entire mess unscathed. Getting rid of Gordon had been the smart thing to do. The man had enough decency in him to break under pressure and tell everything he knew about the operation.
Now he was no threat.
The part of him that had enjoyed the killings was only sorry he didn’t get to see the look on Gordon’s face when he died. That would have made killing him much more exciting. But he couldn’t risk letting Gordon know what was happening. He’d had to knock him out first. He would have to be content knowing he’d done what he had to do.
Now, if the police would just go ahead and charge Max Garvey with Mindy’s murder, things would work out just fine. He had no doubt that he could find a way to fix everything else.