The Wife of a Lesser Man (LA Cops Series Book 1) (3 page)

“Sure, I can call Grace.  She might be able to help.”  Grace was a friend of the family and was transferred ten years ago to nurse at one of the largest hospitals in Chicago.  Her husband Bill was on the board of directors for that hospital.  They met online and decided she would move in with him. 

“That would be wonderful mom, thanks.”

“Give me a half hour or so and ring me back, okay?  I was going to call tomorrow but I can see if she’s home tonight.  If not, I have Bill’s work number.” 

…

Lily’s head popped into the room.  “He’s settled in the room but you can only visit for a minute.  He’s heavily sedated and needs his rest.  Follow me.”  She opened the door fully as Sarah and I rose, gathering our purses.  Sarah grabbed my arm and steadied me.  We walked to the elevator arm in arm.   I drew in a deep breath as we entered the elevator and Lily pushed the button for the cardiac floor.

“So he’s heavily sedated and there are some tubes around him. He’s also on a ventilator, so his breathing will be laboured but don’t panic.  You’re going to hear lots of beeps and small alarms.  But it’s all normal.  You can only stay a minute, please understand.”  Sarah and I nodded as the elevator dinged and the door opened.

Lily led us through a hallway similar to the one on the main floor.  My hands once again searched for the familiar texture in the wallpaper.  “Are you okay?”  Sarah asked with a puzzled look on her face.  “I don’t know,” I answered in a whisper.  “I will stay with you as long as you want, you know that, right?”  Sarah asked.  I nodded.

Lily stopped in front of the door Mark’s room.  For a moment I felt weak again, like I was going to faint.  I closed my eyes tightly and recited a silent prayer to God.  I could feel Sarah’s hand steady me. Lily grabbed the chair under the window and placed it behind me.  I pushed the chair closer to Mark and leaned over so I could look at his eyes.  I reached up and stroked the side of his face softly.  The only words I could find were, “I love you.”  and I kissed him tenderly. 

…

Later that day, Mark underwent a procedure to unclog his arteries.  While he was recovering, we waited patiently.  It was me, Sarah and Richard, Mark’s former partner from the station.  Suddenly I heard a broken up snore come from behind me.  I let go of Mark’s hand and looked back at Richard, where I suspected the sound came from.  Richard had a deep grin on his face and his finger pointed devilishly at Sarah.  She sat in the chair, slumped over and her head rested on her arm, which was outstretched.  Her mouth was wide open and a bit of spittle had escaped and was gently trailing down her forearm.  He took a tray, covered it with cold water and dipped her hand in it.  We waited.  Richard’s face was that of a little boy’s; like he had just booby trapped his big brother’s room and was hiding in the closet, waiting for the bucket of oatmeal to pour down on his head.

Suddenly Sarah’s head popped up and a bridge of spit formed in the sunshine that peeked through the window. 

“What the
fuck
are you doing?” she said in her sleepy voice.  Then she tried to lift her outstretched arm unsuccessfully.  It had fallen asleep.  The image of her lifting her arm from the elbow using her opposing arm made me almost fall off the chair in laughter.  She looked like she was going to bat.  Richard had to put the tray down as he began to laugh so hard he nearly dropped it. 

“You’re a
fucking loser
!” she said, smacking Richard with her good arm. 

We were all laughing hysterically when we heard Mark clear his throat and say “That’s no language for a lady.”

I turned around first and knocked the vomit tray over, spilling water all over Sarah.  Richard began to laugh again when Mark commented “There…..that oughta clean you up a bit.”  I looked at him and he winked.

“How are you feeling?”  I asked.

“Fine from what I can tell.” Sarah commented snidely.

Richard, still laughing, walked towards the bathroom to get a towel and Mark added “All that water make you have to pee my boy?”

Mark nodded in mock disbelief “I can’t get any sleep with all these children around.”  I looked at him and smiled.  His blue eyes seemed deeper as he looked at me.  His face almost seemed to return to normal as he awakened fully.

As Richard bent down to soak up the water with the towel, Sarah took the first opportunity to kick him in the ass.  She did it gently, not enough to hurt and he commented, “Well, I guess I earned that, didn’t I?” 

“Glad to see my misfortune hasn’t affected your sense of humour,” Mark joked.

“Not at all buddy, how you doin’?”  Richard rose and shook Mark’s hand.

Mark must have taken Richard’s question as rhetorical because all he did was shrug his shoulders in response and frown a bit, as if to say “Whatever.”

“Well you definitely look better.” I commented.

Sarah interjected, “Yeah, that sex change was really effective.”

Mark retorted “Sex change?  No wonder my junk is killing me…I thought I’d been castrated.”  He said, lifting up the sheets and taking a look, mischievously smiling.

I gently nudged his arm. “That’s just because they took the catheter out.  Do you want me to call the nurse?”

He looked around, noticing he was still hooked up to a few machines.  “Yeah, I need to pee badly and I don’t think I can get up on account of all this spaghetti stuck to me.” 

“I’ll be right back.”  I said, walking towards the door.

Mark called “Shelley, honey, that’s what they have this here magic button for?”  He was holding up the small grey contraption that was attached to the fitted sheet on the bed with a safety pin.  I rolled my eyes and walked back in the room.

“You know, baby, we oughta think of getting one of these….that way I can call you when I want you.”  He winked.

Richard sighed. “Okay, too much information….although, that button would have gotten you out of this mess to begin with, had you already had one at home, you know…”.

Mark’s head cocked to one side “True.”

Nurse Nancy entered with Mark’s chart.  She was a woman of colour in her mid forties if I was to guess.  Her hair was kept natural but tied back in a tight bun and she wore light blue scrubs and not a stitch of makeup.  As she opened his chart I noticed the flaming red nail polish adorning her extremely long nails.  Mark’s eyes widened as he stared at them.  “No wonder my junk hurts,” he commented.  “You didn’t come to stick another catheter in me with those claws, did you?”

Nancy looked at Mark and shook her head while tapping her index finger nail on the clip board.  “Now listen here Mr. Tame, I already went against doctors orders and let you call your wife, so no lip outta you or I’ll give you a barium enema.”  Then she winked and walked closer to him.  Richard giggled and I heard Sarah smack him.

“How are you feeling now?”  Her expression was serious.

“Good, but my bladder feels like it’s gonna explode and my parts don’t feel too eager on being used if you get my drift.” 

“It’ll only hurt for a second…..you’ve heard that a few times before, right?”  She said, winking. 

Mark’s face went blank.

“Don’t worry.  You can pee in a bottle.  I have to take a sample anyhow.”  She turned to the rest of us and said, “Okay, now unless you all want a show here, when I come back you’ll need to leave for a few minutes, okay?” 

Mark looked worried.  He was still staring at her nails.  “Can my wife stay?”  He asked, terrified.

She bent down closer to his face and said “Aw, yes, she can stay if she wants.  But I promise I’ll be real gentle.  In fact, you can do it yourself if you like.”  She patted him on the arm and left the room.

Richard’s eyes followed Nancy out of the room.  As soon as the door closed shut, he said, “Freddy Kruger has shorter nails than she does.”  Not helping,” Mark said.

I interjected, “Okay, why don’t you guys go and get us a snack or something while she does her thing?” 

Sarah and Richard both rose reluctantly.  Richard added, “But I want to watch him squirm.”  Sarah smacked him playfully on the back and pushed him toward the door. 

“What would you like?’ she asked me.

“Anything edible….a bagel with butter if they’ve got anything that looks fresh.  Oh, and some water please.”  I nodded.  She nodded back.

When the door closed, I immediately put my arms around Mark’s head.  He kissed the side of my face and said, “I love you so much.”  I kissed him in return and said, “God, I love you, too.  I was never so scared baby.  You have no idea.”  Mark’s hand was around my neck and he hung on for a few moments.  Our faces gently pressed against each other. 

“Do the girls know?”  he asked. 

“Yeah, I told them this morning.  They wanted to come home but I talked them out of it.  Sarah helped with Jess.” 

Mark nodded, “They’ll be home in a few weeks for Thanksgiving anyhow….and your birthday.  That was what I would have done, rather than interrupt everything.  I’ll be home in a few days from what the doctor said right before I went under.”

I nodded.  Mark’s face looked into mine and he reached out to touch my cheek.  “Life sure is about to change”.  His face looked solemn; his eyes looked glossy and kept moving from side to side, following my eyes. 

“It sure is,” I said.

Chapter 4

It was Mark’s first week back to work after the heart attack; he and Richard sat in his  office eating lunch.  Luckily things had been quiet since Mark had been away and his deputy chief Andy Kerrington was able to manage everything during his convalescence.  They were beginning to gear up for Thanksgiving: crime tended to rise slightly during holidays.  Last year there had been two shootings and a home invasion on Thanksgiving Day and since the economy had taken somewhat of a nosedive and there was an election looming, statisticians projected that things could be worse this year.

Andy’s head popped in and he casually threw a file on Mark’s desk “Here’s the Reed file you asked for.”

“Hm. Thanks Andy.”  A woman named Karen Reed was murdered during Mark’s absence, and he wanted to be updated.

Andy nodded at Richard; Richard nodded back and said, “Hey, how’s it goin’ Andy?”  Andy nodded and closed the door.

When Mark and Richard first met, they were partners working the beat together.  Richard was married at the time to Wendy.  She was a high school counsellor, and they met through a mutual college friend.  The shift work tore them apart and Wendy couldn’t have kids which didn’t help.  They were only married for five years.  If Wendy wasn’t home they would go to the local pub together and have dinner and a beer.  Shelley and Mark met a few years into Richard’s marriage. 

“What’s goin’ on anyway?  Richard asked.  “Hate being back to the grind or what?”

“Nah.  It’s all these damn changes.  Diet, pills, exercise.  I hated it before the heart attack, and I still hate it,” Mark spat, covering his fist over his mouth to let out a burp.

“Well be thankful you’re alive.  That’s more than I can say for ol’ Karen Reed here.”  Richard said, opening up the file that Andy left.  He began leafing through the pictures and statements from the witnesses.

“Jesus.  I didn’t know she was only forty.  I only heard talk from Noonan and Hobbs when they got back from the Coroner’s Office.  A damn shame.  Shot.  Point blank in the forehead in her own home.  No witnesses except the neighbours; they heard the shot I suppose.”  Richard’s head shook slowly from side to side and his face frowned as he read the notes from the first cop on the scene.  He took the last bite of his sandwich and scrunched up the plastic bag.  Looking at Mark, he asked, “Are you done?” and extended his hand, offering to throw Mark’s garbage in the basket with his.  Mark balled up the waxed paper and handed it to Richard.  “Thanks,” he said, turning his attention back to the file.

“Any prints?”  Mark asked, glad the subject had changed.

“None.  Must have used gloves.  No forced entry, no sign of a struggle accept for a tear in her living room drapes.” 

“Any kids?  Husband?  Boyfriend?”  Mark asked.

“Nope.  Divorced.  Ex died last year in a car accident.  Drunk driver.”

“Well that’s a relief.  Thank god no kids were around to see that,” Mark said, recalling the murder that made him chief.  Every time a new murder case came up, he was reminded of how bad it could be.  James Gruber had served his sentence for raping and murdering a middle aged woman.  He escaped during his parole and went out again to rape and murder another woman.  He had a thing for performing his crimes in front of children, even though he never touched them. 

“Yeah.  Tell me about it.”  Richard agreed.  He was with Mark the night Gruber was shot. 

“Had our share of close calls, haven’t we pal?”  Richard patted Mark on the shoulder, rose from his seat and saluted him as he headed out the door. Mark returned the salute and took a sip of his fat free milk.  He swallowed and frowned, picking up the plastic reusable bottle and examining it. 
It looks like watered down primer
he thought. 
Tastes like it too.
  He sighed and began to compulsively chew his thumb nail. 
God I AM grumpy!  What the hell is wrong with me?
  Even Shelley had noticed the change in his attitude.  She’d been quiet the last few days since he’d returned to work.