Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
Eric followed Wyatt inside a cream-colored home office and waited while he dug a file out of the desk drawer. He handed it over to Eric.
It was a good half inch thick. Eric set the file on the desk and snapped on a pair of gloves. “You mentioned a more recent one that had her spooked.”
“Knowing Meg, it should be the one on top. Most recent, most readily available.”
“All right.” Eric grabbed the top sheet and noticed two things right away. This wasn’t a copy of the threat, rather the original, and there was a sticky note stuck to the page. He read that first.
Celeste Barrington, failed as an intern, fired
The threat was typeset and printed.
I blame you for my life. My failure of a life.
You never had anything nice to say, never had my back.
All you had to do was show just a teeny amount of kindness, but no, you were too proud and arrogant for that.
You never listen to my side. You bitch! I plan to make your life a living hell, and if you doubt I can get that close, think again.
Short and to the point, signed off with the initials CB. She wasn’t exactly hiding her identity. Beal was clearly able to determine who she was by the letters and likely some wording in the message.
Eric was about to return the threat to the folder when he noticed an anomaly at the base of the page. The top layer of the paper had been lifted, the fibers frayed as if something sticky had been stuck there and peeled off. Eric pointed this out to Wyatt. “Do you know what was there?”
Wyatt came closer and leaned in, shook his head.
“And she never mentioned this to you?”
“I…” Wyatt looked away.
Right, you don’t make a habit of listening to your wife when she talks… “Does your wife have any close friends who she might have confided in about this letter?”
“Phyllis Hudson. I have her number if you’d like that.”
“Please. Does she work at the hospital?”
“No, she’s with Child Services.” Wyatt took his phone out of the interior pocket in his suit jacket and rattled off the number as Eric tapped it into the Notes app on his phone.
“Your wife noted this letter came from Celeste Barrington, a failed intern. Is your wife responsible for the fate of interns?”
“Not directly, but she can override the decision of their supervising doctor.”
“Has she ever done that?”
“I don’t see why. As a confident leader, she trusts the judgment of the doctors she puts in charge.”
“That makes sense to me, but clearly there’s something your wife must have done to make Celeste feel slighted by her.
” Though maybe not sticking up for her was enough.
In that case, Eric could see motive for Celeste to hate Megan Beal.
Her career would be over before it began, and she’d be hundreds of thousands in debt from medical school with no way to pay it off.
Eric pulled out his phone to show Wyatt the pictures of the three armed suspects.
“Let me know if any of these people look familiar to you.”
Wyatt leaned in toward the screen. “Nope.”
Eric shuffled to the next and received another no, and the same for the third picture. He then pocketed his phone.
“Who are those people?” Wyatt asked.
“They are working with the woman who is holed up in the boardroom with your wife.”
“Yeah, well, I swear, I’ve never seen any of them before. I can’t even believe this is happening.” Wyatt raked his hand through his hair.
“Well, it is, and I need to leave. But I’m taking this with me.” Eric referred to all the threats, and he pulled an evidence bag from his back pocket that he’d grabbed before coming into the house.
“Sure, do whatever you need to do. Call when you know more.”
Eric turned around in the doorway. “I will. You should clear your schedule until all this is over and keep your phone nearby.”
Wyatt patted his hand over his suit jacket, indicating the interior pocket. “It’s always right here.”
Eric left the house and called Phyllis Hudson from the department car. The woman answered on the fourth ring, just when Eric thought he was destined for voicemail. “This is Detective Birch with the Metropolitan PD. I understand from Wyatt Beal that you are close friends with his wife, Megan.”
“That’s right.” Leery, and Eric couldn’t blame her.
“Do you know anything about a letter Celeste Barrington sent her?”
“Threat, you mean. And yes. What’s going on? Is Meg okay?”
“There is a situation at the hospital, and it’s on lockdown. An armed woman is in the boardroom with Ms. Beal.”
“Oh my God. If it’s Celeste, she’s crazy, Detective. There’s no telling what she can do.”
“Did you see the threat from Celeste, or did Megan just tell you about it?”
“I didn’t see it for myself, but Meg was shaken by it. Celeste sent clippings of Meg’s hair with it.”
Nothing creepy about that… “And she was sure it was hers?”
“I don’t think she had it tested, but it was the right color, and she received the letter a day after a haircut.”
Maybe Megan had submitted the hair for testing, and that’s why it was no longer attached to the letter. “And that was when?”
“Toward the end of last week. Thursday.”
“Was the letter sent to the hospital or her house?”
“The hospital. Left on her chair.”
It sounded like Celeste was building up her nerve to confront Megan Beal face to face. “Why didn’t Megan call the police?”
“Are you blaming the victim here?”
“Not at all. I was just curious.”
“She might have thought you had better things to do,” Phyllis added.
Nothing like brutal honesty… As a seasoned detective, Eric had encountered prejudice against the police before.
He even understood why it existed and wasn’t about to fault anyone for their opinions.
“Before I go, Megan left a note on the threat that Celeste was a failed intern who was fired. Is that how you know it, or is there more you can tell me? The more details, the better.”
“That’s about right. She just couldn’t hack the job or stay in her lane. She fainted at the sight of blood and advised the parents of a dying child against taking the advice of their doctor. That child died.”
“Okay, thank you. All of this has been very helpful.”
“Please don’t let anything happen to Meg.”
“Everyone is doing their best to ensure the safety of everyone in that hospital, ma’am.” Eric ended the call and selected Lieutenant Coleman’s number. Neal picked up on the second ring, and Eric announced himself. “It’s Detective Birch.”
There were a few seconds of silence, then, “What did you find out?”
“I have a potential lead.”
“Great news. I’m putting you on speaker.”
Eric gave it a few beats before he continued.
He imagined Sandra sitting on the other end listening in, and just the thought brought him closer to her.
“Beal received threats against her on what seems a regular basis. But the most recent one had her quite concerned, and it seems like for good reason.” When he finished, there was silence while he assumed everyone was absorbing his message.
“A clipping of her hair? That’s a little Silence of the Lambs,” Brice piped up.
Eric wasn’t going to correct the reference. There were no hair clippings in the movie, and there was no evidence Celeste was a cannibal.
“She could fit,” Sandra said, and Eric picked up on the nuance in her tone.
“Could fit? Is there something I’m missing?”
“The woman in that boardroom feels unheard, and it also seems that this might be about money. But I hesitate for one reason, and it might be down to interpretation. It could also be the use of plural pronouns that is throwing me, but she made it sound like no one was listening or cooperating. I wonder if she is appealing to the group.”
“Right,” Eric said, though the change in direction made him feel like he may have wasted his time. But following leads to their conclusion was what investigations were about. Some panned out, while others smacked into a dead end.
“Again, I might also be wrong and reading it too literally,” Sandra amended. “And regardless, even if this woman’s issue is primarily with Beal, she could hold everyone in the room accountable.”
“Then what do you think I should do? See if I can track this Celeste down? If I find her, she’s obviously not in that boardroom. And if I can’t find her, I can talk to her closest friends and family.”
“Couldn’t hurt,” Sandra said. “And I can try to elicit a reaction by using her name.”
“So what is it, Lieutenant Coleman?” Eric asked, eager to know his next steps.
“Go, see if you can track down Barrington. But I also have another lead for you to follow if that doesn’t pan out.”
“Name it.”
As Coleman filled him in on Jamie Radcliffe, Eric couldn’t ignore the negative voice in his head that said both these leads could turn to dust. Not putting them any further ahead.
The fact he had Cross in custody was the only thing currently soothing his conscience.
Even then, he still didn’t know who Cross let into that server room.
The ongoing search at his house hadn’t turned up anything of value.