The Root of All Trouble

"May I help you?"

  "I'm here to see Cain Monahan."

  She tapped on a keyboard. "Did you have an appointment?"

  I tried not to fidget. "No, but he gave me his business card and told me to drop by any time if I had questions for him."

  This was only a slight stretching of the truth— I was proud of myself.

  "What is this in regard to?" she asked, looking me up and down and by the way her face turned stony, I barely passed muster.

  I was glad I'd washed off the dirt or else she probably would have called security by now.

  "The Joey Miller case," I said.

  A look of recognition crossed her face. "I'm sorry, but Investigator Monahan isn't in the office right now. He's down in the morgue. Do you want to wait for him here?"

  "Do you know how long he'll be?"

  She shook her head. "Sorry."

  Disappointment flooded me. "I'll come back later."

  "Do you want to leave your name? I can have him call you and set up an appointment. That's the best way to reach him," she said snottily.

  "Just tell him Nina Quinn stopped by."

  She pasted on a fake smile. "Will do."

  I left the office dragging my feet and trudged my way downstairs. Ana paced the lobby, her heels clicking on the marble floor. "He's in the morgue," I said.

  Ana stared. "So?"

  "So what? I didn't see him. And Ms. Snotty Pants doesn't know when he'll be back."

  Ana placed her hands on my shoulders. "Nina, just go down there."

  Panic sluiced through me. "Down where? The morgue?"

  Eagerly, she nodded.

  If I was the corpse whisperer, she was a corpse whisperer wannabe.

  "You're out of your ever-loving mind. I am not going down there. There are dead people down there."

  "Buck up! It's not as if you haven't seen dead people before. Up close and personal even."

  She didn't need to remind me.

  "Oh, come on," she said, grabbing my hand. "I'll go with you."

  I allowed her to tug me along, only because I wanted to be done with this whole Cain Monahan mystery. To see the man's eyes, I'd risk seeing a few dead bodies.

  Dread built in the pit of my stomach as we walked down the stairs. Ana talked on and on—about what I couldn't quite say. I'd tuned her out.

  When she abruptly stopped in front of a door with MORGUE stenciled on a frosted glass pane, I started paying attention again.

  "Do we knock?" I asked.

  "I don't know," she said.

  Before we could figure it out, the door opened and a man in scrubs came out, holding the door open for us. "Going in?" he asked.

  I peeked inside and was relieved to see that it was some sort of anteroom with a desk, chairs, and a large opaque glass window. Not a toe tag to be seen.

  Ana gave me a good shove. I didn't budge.

  "Yes, we are," she said.

  He eyed us. "Do you two need help?"

  I couldn't find my voice.

  "We're looking for Cain Monahan," Ana said.

  "You just missed him. He was just called out on an emergency, not even five minutes ago. If you hurry, you might be able to catch him in the parking garage. Our spaces are on the first floor, north."

  "Thanks!" Ana called and grabbed my arm. "I know a shortcut for employees only. This way."

  She towed me along one corridor, then another. We zigged, we zagged, and finally she pushed open a heavy metal door leading into the garage.

  We were both out of breath as we scanned the lot. Unfortunately, we'd made it out just in time to see Cain Monahan's taillights heading up the ramp toward the exit.

  Ana swore. "I gave myself a blister for nothing."

  Unexpected tears filled my eyes.

  Ana swiped them away. "Try, try again, right?"

  I nodded.

  "Come on," she said, wrapping her arm around me. She swiped her badge to get back inside the building. "There's an ice cream stand just outside the lobby. How about a caramel sundae? It'll cheer you up."

  "It's not even eleven in the morning."

  "So?"

  "I see your point. Okay."

  As we walked, I received a text message from Tam. All it said was Beware!

  "What's that about?" Ana asked.

  "I'm not sure."

  Almost immediately my phone rang. Maria. Ah. I understood Tam's message now. My sister was so transparent sometimes.

  I answered with a light, "Hello?"

  "Neeeeee-naaaah! How could you?"

  "What?" I asked. Ana went on ahead to the ice cream cart, and I leaned against a light pole.

  "You know what!"

  "Look at it this way, Maria. You have something to occupy yourself until the baby's born."

  She let out a small cry and hung up the phone.

  Ana held out my sundae. "By the smile on your face you don't need this anymore."

  I snatched it before she kept it for herself. "A little more cheer can't hurt."

  I'd taken only one bite, however, when Ana said, "Uh oh."

  I looked up to see Kevin running out of the building. He stopped short when he spotted us. I didn't like the look on his face. Not at all.

  He bent at the waist and drew in a breath. "I've never been so happy to see you in all my life."

  Ana shot me a worried glance.

  "What's wrong?" I asked.

  "What are you doing here?" he said. "Never mind! You need to come with me."

  "Where?" I asked.

  "Mario and Perry's house. There's been an accident. A horrible accident. I was at Delphine's hearing when the call came in."

  Ana dropped her ice cream. "Who's hurt?"

  His eyes softened. "I'm not sure. You can ride with us, too."

  And just like that, I had the sick feeling that I knew where Cain Monahan had been heading...

  Chapter Twenty

  The ride to the Mill was nerve-wracking to say the least. With no details, my brain ran wild with various scenarios of what could have happened.

  All of them bad.

  There were any number of things that could go wrong on a job site. Having the heavy equipment around made the risk that much more.

  Kevin had set lights on the dashboard and blared the siren. He drove as fast as the traffic allowed, his mouth set in a grim line. I glanced over my shoulder, into the backseat. An ashen pall had settled on Ana's skin as she stared out the window. Her hands were clenched in her lap.

  My stomach roiled with anxiety.

  If Cain Monahan had been called to the scene that meant someone was dead.

  I closed my eyes and tried to scare up all the old prayers I'd learned at St. Valentine's. I silently pleaded that it not be true—that no one had been fatally injured. That Cain had been called somewhere else—anywhere else.

  But as Kevin turned onto my street, I knew my pleas had been futile. The road was crowded with cars, including an ambulance that was screaming away from the scene. Three police cars and two fire trucks blocked the road. Parked directly in front of my house was a county coroner's car.

  Ana rolled down the window and stuck her head out, her gaze zipping from face to face. "Do you see him?"

  Kit.

  "No," I said softly, still searching. "Not yet."

  Kevin maneuvered the SUV onto the lawn of the house for sale as another ambulance pulled away, its lights flashing, its siren emitting a loud, "Whoop, whoop!"

  He threw the car into park, shoved open the door, and started wading into the chaos.

  Ana quickly hopped out, bobbing in between onlookers.

  I sat, paralyzed.

  What in the hell had happened?

  Two ambulances? A death?

  Next thing I knew, Kevin was at my side, tugging me out. "Come with me."

  Numbly, I nodded and tried to mentally prepare for what I was about to see.

  Kevin grabbed Ana's hand, too, as she weaved around the crowd, trying to find an opening.

  "Police!" Ke
vin shouted loudly. "Move aside!"

  It was a tone no one dared defy. The crowd parted just enough for us to squeeze through. Kevin held up the yellow tape that had been roped around the yard to keep people at bay and Ana and I ducked under. He followed.

  "Kit!" Ana cried. "Kit!"

  The desperation in her voice cut straight to my soul. I swallowed hard, praying again. It was a jumbled prayer, a mix of what I remembered and silent begging.

  Ana stood on tiptoes. "I don't see him. Kit!"

  It was so loud here with the crowd and the emergency crews that I could barely hear her and she was standing next to me. If Kit was back there, mixed in with all the uniforms, then there was no way on earth he'd hear her either.

  "Do you see him?" I asked Kevin.

  His head moved left, then right, as he quickly scanned the yard, the faces. "Not yet."

  Ana let out a cry and covered her mouth.

  A commotion on the walkway caught my attention as another ambulance crew arrived. When I looked up at Kevin, he wore a stony expression, one I couldn't read.

  Maybe I didn't want to read it.

  "I'll be right back," he said and walked over to a uniformed officer who stood guard by the house's front door.

  A movement near the tree where I'd tied Gracie earlier caught my eye. I squinted. Joy filled my heart as I grabbed Ana's arm. "There!"

  A strangled sob came out of her mouth as she stumbled forward, first in an awkward walk, then in a full-out run. "Kit!"

  Tears pooled in my eyes when he caught sight of her, and opened his arms wide to catch her as she launched herself at him. Her body pulsated as she sobbed into his chest. He clutched her tightly, rubbing her back and saying things into her ear. His gaze shifted to mine.

  A teardrop spilled down my face as I nodded at him.

  He nodded back.

  I wanted to go over, get the details of what had happened, but didn't want to interrupt them. I did notice that Coby and Shay stood near Kit. But I didn't see Marty or Jeff.

  The focus of what had happened seemed to be within the house, so I let out a small breath of relief that it hadn't involved my crew. That everyone was okay. But then I remembered that Mario and Mr. Cabrera had been in the house and some of Delphine's crew, too, and the anxiety started all over again.

  I wrung my hands and watched Kevin as he finished his chat with the officer and came back to me.

  "What happened?" I asked just as firefighters came out wearing fancy SCUBA-like ventilation gear.

  "Carbon monoxide leak. Extremely high levels."

  I sucked in a breath. I was about to ask if everyone was okay. But I knew by the coroner's vehicle that wasn't the case. "Who?" I said softly. "Who's hurt?"

  "Mario, Mr. Cabrera, Ethan, and the plumber have been taken to the hospital. Bear is dead."

  My bottom lip trembled. Tears filled my eyes again.

  Kevin said, "Mario and the plumber are critical—they were with Bear in the basement where the leak originated. Mr. Cabrera and Ethan are stable—they were upstairs, working on tiling the bathroom. I can take you to the hospital."

  My hand shook as I pulled out my cell phone. "I need to call Perry."

  He nodded.

  As I tried to dial, my fingers kept slipping off the numbers. Kit and Ana walked up to us, and she clung to him like a barnacle to a rock. I gave Kit a quick hug and said, "I have to call Perry and Brickhouse."

  "Already did," Kit said. "Neither answered."

  I swore under my breath.

  "I'll send a car to the salon and to Brickhouse's townhouse," Kevin said. "You ready to go?"

  "We're going to the hospital," I said. "Did you two want to come?"

  Kit shook his head. "I'll stay here and wrap up the job for the day. Everyone's pretty shaken up knowing that we were all just outside while that was going on inside."

  "Who found them?" I asked, rubbing my temples. I couldn't believe the turn this day had taken.

  "Mr. Cabrera came outside for some fresh air after feeling woozy and passed out. I called for help and went inside to see if everyone else was okay... They weren't."

  Ana sniffled and clung a little tighter.

  "We should go," Kevin said, putting his arm around me.

  I leaned into him, grateful for the support, and said, "Ana, can you check on Gracie in a little while? She's in my kitchen."

  She nodded.

  "Kit, tell the crew... Tell them I'll email later."

  "Will do."

  As Kevin and I threaded through the crowd, I checked to see if the coroner's car was still there, but it was gone.

  Kevin used his lights and sirens to get me to the hospital in no time flat. We hadn't said a word to each other the whole ride. As he pulled up in front of the emergency room drop-off he finally said, "You'll be okay on your own?"

  "You're leaving?"

  His eyes looked troubled. "I need to get back to the scene."

  "Why?" He was a homicide detective. "This was just a horrible accident. Wasn't it?"

  "The fire department doesn't think so, Nina. It looks like someone tampered with the water heater. This case is a homicide investigation."

  ***

  I had a hell of a time getting any information at the hospital. I finally had to lie and say I was Mr. Cabrera's daughter and Mario's cousin so the nurse would tell me anything about their conditions.

  Mr. Cabrera and Ethan had been lucky—they'd been working in the bathroom with the window open. They were being treated—as were all the others—in hyperbaric oxygen chambers to increase the oxygen flow that the carbon monoxide had robbed from them.

  There was a good chance for a full recovery for the two of them. Mario's and the plumber's conditions were still critical, as they were both still unconscious. The doctors feared the likelihood of brain damage for both of them due to lack of oxygen.

  I paced the hospital's ICU hallway, passing the plumber's family, who sat stunned in the waiting area. I'd just completed another loop when the elevator doors opened and Perry flew out with an officer I recognized following behind him.

  I'd never seen Perry look so...undone. His hair stuck up, his eyes held a wild beastly look, and I could tell by the puffiness around his eyes that he'd been crying.

  He ran over to me. "Where is he? How is he?"

  I explained about the treatment. "You need to talk to his doctor." I didn't want to be the one to tell him about the possible side effects.

  "Who?" he asked.

  "Dr. Kopec. Check with the desk." He started off and I grabbed his arm. "If anyone asks, I'm Mario's cousin and Mr. Cabrera's daughter."

  Dazed, he nodded, and headed for the nurses' station.

  The officer, Doug Keegan, looked at me. "He'll be okay here with you, Nina?"

  I nodded. "Did you drive him over?"

  Doug was a nice guy, married to Lindsey, a girl I went to high school with—and also a client of Perry's. "Yeah. We had to stop at his house first for medical paperwork. He was scared the doctor wouldn't let him see Mario without it. Then the FD wouldn't let him in the house... It was an ordeal until Kevin stepped in."

  Kevin had not only stepped in today, but he'd stepped up. I thought of the way he'd taken Ana's hand when we first arrived at Mario and Perry's house... Taking care of her without even thinking twice about it.

  Taking care of me.

  "Well, I can take it from here," I said.

  He tipped his hat and started to walk away.

  "Doug?" I called. He turned. "Has there been any luck finding Ursula Krauss?"

  "She wasn't home."

  "Thanks for trying."

  At the end of the hall, I spotted Perry talking with Dr. Kopec. Undoubtedly, he was hearing the same news about brain damage and heart function.

  Anger slowly built in my chest. How could someone have done this on purpose? Why?

  I thought back to the day before when I saw Bear and Ethan installing the water heater. Anyone could have tampered with it between then and
this morning. The house wasn't exactly Fort Knox—I could probably pick the lock on the back slider.

  I thought about Plum and how she'd been the only crew not working today...and wondered how her talk with Bear had gone. Because if it hadn't gone well, maybe she would have wanted him dead.

  But why risk everyone else's lives?

  I needed to let Kevin know about Plum and her fixation with Bear. I'd forgotten all about it while I was with him. But making a phone call meant having to leave Perry here alone. Something I couldn't do quite yet.

  Perry slowly walked back to me with such a despairing look in his eyes that my heart broke all over again. I led him over to a chair and had him sit down.

  "He's strong," I said. "And stubborn. He'll pull through."

  Perry stared at a spot on the floor.

  I sat down next to him and just held his hand for a while.

  After ten minutes or so, he said, "How're the others?"

  "Mr. Cabrera and Ethan are stable and expected to recover. The plumber Plum had called in to help is the same as Mario. You heard about Bear?"

  Nodding, he said, "He was a nice guy. A little rough around the edges but a nice guy."

  I recalled his advice yesterday to Mario. "Yeah, he seemed to be."

  I didn't mention my suspicion that he might have killed Joey.

  We sat in silence for a little bit longer and stiffened when Dr. Kopec walked into the waiting room. He walked by us and headed toward the family of the plumber, asking to speak with them in a conference room down the hallway.

  Perry squeezed my hand so tight I thought for sure bones would break, but I didn't let go of his hand or try to wiggle away.

  An older woman shook her head fiercely and held onto a young boy's hand much like Perry was holding on to mine. "Just tell us," she said.

  The doctor crouched down. "I'm very sorry to tell you he didn't make it. I'm so sorry."

  The woman's eyes opened wide and stayed that way until a chaplain came into the room a minute later. When she saw the man of the cloth, she broke down, crumpling to the floor.

  I glanced at Perry. "Let's go for a walk."

  Tears shimmered in his eyes. "Okay."

  I jabbed the elevator button as the woman's cries echoed down the hallway, and when the doors opened, I leaped inside and jabbed the button for the first floor as though my life depended on it.