Chapter 19
Rowan was just about to fall asleep with a naked and satisfied Nell wrapped around him when his cell phone went off. Rowan reached for it and answered it in a whisper as he tried not to wake Nellie.
“Townsend.” Rowan listened as the nurse told him about an emergency life flight on its way in. It was too technical a case, which is why his team had asked that Rowan be called in. “I’ll be right there.”
Rowan hung up the phone and slid from the bed.
“What happened?” Nellie muttered against her pillow.
“I’m being called in for an emergency surgery. I’ll have one of my brothers come sleep on the couch. Don’t be surprised if you see them in the morning. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Rowan leaned over and kissed her quickly.
“Don’t rush back because of me. Go do your job. Good luck.”
Rowan was dressed and out of the door in under three minutes. He called Damon from the road. His big brother grumbled and hung back up. Rowan knew it would be done. Nellie would be safe so he could focus on work.
Rowan arrived at the hospital three minutes before the helicopter did. He was scrubbing in when the child was wheeled into surgery. The parents had left their home in rural South Carolina at midnight, hoping the traffic would be lighter on their drive to Florida for a family vacation.
The father had grown sleepy and accidentally drifted across lanes and hit the tail end of an eighteen-wheeler. The car had spun, caught a tire, and flipped several times. The entire family—father, mother, and two children—were fighting for their lives.
Rowan entered the surgery room and got his first good look at the injuries. He felt his whole body deflate. He’d do everything he could, but it would be a long shot to save this six-year-old boy, a child the same age as James Avery.
Rowan got home right before dinner. He heard Nellie’s laughter in the kitchen with Damon’s deep rumbling voice. They stopped as soon as they saw his face.
Damon frowned and stood up. “Sorry,” was all Damon said before wrapping him up in a brotherly hug.
“Everything was good here today. Jordana and Maggie came for lunch and hung out for the afternoon, while I had to get some work done. Granger, Bex, and Peter will be over after dinner to discuss the sheriff’s warrant. ”
Damon patted his back and gave Nellie a hug before he left.
“What happened?” Nellie asked him, reaching out to take his hand in hers.
“I couldn’t save my patient. The father didn’t make it either.
A mother lost her husband and one of her children.
I can still hear her screams when I had to tell her I couldn’t save her son.
” Rowan answered robotically. His mind was still in that hospital room as his heart broke, telling a woman that she lost half her family.
Warm arms wrapped around him and Nellie placed soft gently kisses on his cheek. “Come sit down. I’ll make you some tea.”
Rowan didn’t have time to question her because she practically shoved him onto the couch. A couple of minutes later, she placed a mug of hot tea in his hand. “Drink this.” Rowan did as he was told while Nellie gently rubbed his back. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Me?” Rowan asked.
“Yes, you. I can see this is hard on you. What can I do to make you feel better?”
Rowan didn’t know how to answer. He’d always dealt with the loss of his patients on his own. Occasionally, one of his brothers might hear about it, but normally, he took a long, hot shower and tried to process it.
Nellie didn’t wait for an answer. He guessed she knew one wouldn’t be coming. Rowan was the one who helped others, not the other way around. So, she quietly wrapped him up in a side hug that allowed him to sip the tea and her to continue rubbing slow, gentle circles on his back.
Nellie let go of him when he finished his tea and stood up. “Come on,” she said, holding out her hand.
“To where?”
“To let me take care of you. You take care of everyone else, Rowan. It’s time someone took care of you.”
Nellie gestured with her hand and Rowan placed his in hers. She led him into his bedroom and turned on the shower. Between soft gentle kisses, Nell slowly undressed him then herself. Rowan groaned at the relaxing feel of the hot water as she led him into the shower.
Rowan reached for the soap, but Nell took it from him. “I’m taking care of you. You just relax.”
Rowan closed his eyes, his mind working through all the injuries and evaluating all the potential courses of treatments that might have worked, and by the time Nell finished bathing him, his mind was at peace. He’d done everything right and he’d done everything he could to save the boy.
“Dinner is ready,” Nellie told him after they’d gotten dressed. They took a seat at the table and Nellie reached over and took his hand. “Do you want to talk to me about it?”
Rowan nodded and told her about what he’d been thinking his way through in the shower. “That poor family. Does the hospital have trauma and grief counselors who can help them?”
“They do. I called them in as soon as I lost my patient.”
“And what about you?”
“Me?” Rowan asked.
“Does anyone offer you counseling?”
“There’s a staff member for us, yes.”
“But let me guess, you don’t see them.”
Rowan shook his head. “I would have to see a lot of them. Sadly, I lose patients at a higher rate than most doctors because I take on the high-risk surgeries. I cope well on my own. I have my process.”
“Then let me be part of that process. It helps talking about it. I’m always here to listen.”
Rowan squeezed her hand in thanks. “You don’t have to worry about me. What’s this meeting about tonight?”
“Bex called me after Wilder filled her in. They were trying to find a way to get hold of the warrant without tipping anyone off that they know where I am. She did say I wasn’t going to be arrested tonight.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Rowan asked, still feeling awkward after exposing his grief process when losing a patient.
“You all have done more than enough. I admit that I wanted to run as far as I could after Ingram blew up my sister’s van.
To do whatever I could to keep Sue Ellen and the kids from him.
. But I’ve been thinking about this whole situation.
I can stand and fight. It’s Sue Ellen and the kids who are vulnerable.
Not me. Ingram, his family, and the whole town must be held accountable for what they did to us.
They turned my sister, who is absolutely the victim here, into the bad guy.
I won’t let that stand. I’m ready to stop hiding and do whatever we need to do to take them down. ”
The doorbell rang before Rowan could tell her what he thought of that. He understood her mentality but hated the idea of her not hiding at the same time. He didn’t want Nellie to be a target. However, he guessed Ingram had already made her one. It was time for her to fight back.
Rowan answered the door while Nellie cleared the table. Granger, Bex, and Peter walked into the house.
“Thanks for having a late meeting with us. It took this long to get a copy of the warrant,” Peter told them as they came to sit around the table.
Peter set a copy of the warrant on the table and Rowan leaned forward to read it over Nell’s shoulder. “How did you get it?”
Peter grinned. “Miss Tibbie told her garden society what she needed and one member’s housekeeper’s cousin works the night shift at the courthouse doing the cleaning. They found where it had been filed and took a picture of it. That woman has better connections than most police departments.”
“Well, for the official record,” Bex said. “An anonymous member of the public dropped off a printout of it.”
“I take it that anonymous member was in a matching skirt suit and pearls?” Rowan grinned thinking of Miss Tibbie.
“That was the description given to me by the front desk,” Bex said with a grin.
“And why shouldn’t I be worried about you all arresting Nellie now that an actual warrant is out for her?” Rowan asked.
“Same as when the wanted poster came out. Nellie has a rock-solid alibi. You can’t get a better alibi than my wife.
Plus, we photographed her hands, arms, and face as soon as we got the notice that he’d named Nellie as the assailant.
There are clearly no marks on her. If blood was found under Ingram’s nails, Nellie should have clear injuries.
She doesn’t,” Granger told him. “The question I have, though, is: How did he get your blood?”
Nellie was shaking her head. “I have no idea.”
“When was the last time you donated blood?” Rowan asked.
“A year or so ago,” Nellie answered.
“You had a bandage on the crook of your elbow when you came into the ER with James Avery. What was that from?” Rowan asked, sitting up straighter as an idea came to him.
“I had to have my blood drawn to test my vitamin levels.” Nellie jumped up in her seat, her eyes going wide as she figured out the answer. “Oh. There’s only one place to get my blood drawn in Holland Spring. My PA is great, but her boss is Ingram’s brother. Doctor Griffith Faust.”
“He could have grabbed it either at the clinic or from the metal lock boxes you place samples in waiting for the lab to pick them up,” Rowan told them.
“Which means, that as soon as Ingram knew Nellie was still with Sue Ellen, Ingram put a plan in motion to get Nellie out of the way. What better way to expose Sue Ellen than to remove Nellie from the picture?”
Nellie was nodding now. “Right, so when we didn’t come forward after the news of his assault, they’ll remove me from the equation by putting me in jail. They think that makes Sue Ellen vulnerable and easy pickings.”
“I agree with that assessment,” Peter told them. “But we need evidence of it.”
“On it. I’ll see if Miss Tibbie’s sources might have access to security footage. Those lab collection boxes are usually outside doctors’ offices. Anyone could get into them,” Bex said, working her phone already.
“Ingram thinks I’ll hide. What if I don’t? What if he finds me here?” Nellie asked.
“Technically, someone from the Holland Springs sheriff’s department would come and pick you up from my jail.” Granger looked thoughtful. “I know I can’t fight the transfer. Let me ask Liv if there are any stunts a lawyer can pull.”
Granger’s phone rang and Rowan saw Miss Tibbie’s name flash on the screen. Granger stood up and took the call off to the side of the room.
“I know I’m not a lawyer,” Peter told her, “but you can’t fight the transfer. Your attorney would have to file a change of venue in Holland Springs, which we both know wouldn’t happen.”
“Okay,” Granger said, putting his phone down.
“Miss Tibbie has more news. She’s working on getting footage for us.
Before that, she got notice that deputies from the Holland Springs sheriff’s department were seen in Charleston.
They’re basically walking around asking anyone if they’ve seen you.
Rumor has it that all of the Faust family and extended family are spread out in various towns looking for you.
They even have a trending hashtag. Justice for Judge Faust. I’ve texted Liv. She’s on her way.”
“We could take her into federal protection,” Peter told them as they waited for Olivia. “She’s a witness against Ingram.”
They discussed options until Olivia showed up a short time later.
After she was filled in, she frowned. “I can’t represent you.
Neither can anyone at my firm because of our connection with Granger.
A good attorney would have me tossed for conflict of interest.” Olivia’s brow creased as she thought.
“Let me check something.” Olivia made a call.
“Where are you?” she asked into the phone.
“Excellent. I’m going to need you to represent my future sister-in-law.
Rowan, yes. No, he’s dawdling. No, I’ll come to you and fill you in on everything. Okay, see you soon.”
“Can I take photos of these?” she asked, and like a whirlwind, she’d spun her phone around and had snaps of the entire file Granger had been putting together. “I’ll be back, but don’t worry, you have an attorney and a good one.” Then she was back out the door and gone again.
“I feel I’ve missed something important,” Nellie told the group. “Who is my attorney?” Everyone just shrugged.
“I guess you’ll find out after she gets back,” Rowan told her.
“So, no hiding. We fight this.” Bex said. “And if we have to, we can take her into protective custody.”
“If anything happens to me, get Sue Ellen and her kids immediately. Promise?” Nellie asked.
“Promise,” Bex and Peter swore.
Rowan took a deep breath. This wasn’t the plan he wanted. He wanted to keep Ingram as far away from Nellie as possible, but maybe she was right. It was time to stop hiding and start going public.