Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
Maggie was just sitting down in her recliner with a hot cup of coffee when furious knocking sounded at the door. Her body tensed, suddenly on edge, wondering who it could possibly be when Anatoly’s voice boomed from the other side.
At that, she got up so fast she nearly spilled coffee all over, but she somehow managed not to slosh too badly. She was practically giddy with excitement to see him again. Somehow, she thought he’d be gone longer, not that she was complaining.
“Maggie!” He knocked again, more urgently this time and she started to think something was wrong.
By then, she had reached the door and was opening it. No sooner had she that he barreled inside without preamble. “How’s the bishop?” she asked, once again eyeing the hot coffee as she scurried to get out of his way.
Anatoly only babbled something in Russian, sighed in frustration, and then took the mug from her hand. “There is little time to explain,” he tried again, setting the cup down on the bookshelf and then taking her hand to lead her toward the bedroom.
“Whoa, slow down, what’s the problem?” Maggie was incredibly confused.
“I learned what connection is between Father Abrams and Starry Meadow!” The words came out in a rush, his thick accent making comprehension a little difficult, but Maggie caught enough that she didn’t need him to repeat anything. “Father Abrams was patient at Starry Meadow!”
Maggie shook her head as they arrived in her bedroom. “No, that would have come up in the investigation, Anatoly. I’m sorry, but whoever told you that—”
“It was under different name,” he insisted, swinging the closet open and turning away from her just long enough to grab a shirt and slacks off their hangers.
“Robert Johnson. Bishop Peter told whole story. Father Abrams struggled with drugs, even after becoming priest, and Peter took him personally to Starry Meadow under false name.”
“Whew, that is one hell of a bombshell if it’s true…” She was baffled as he put the clothes in her hands and then started to leave the room. “Wait, where are you going?”
He stopped short, half-turning to face her. “I am leaving so you can change.”
Maggie almost laughed and would have if his expression wasn’t so serious. “You’ve already seen everything, but okay. Do you want to tell me where we’re going at least?” She slipped the oversized t-shirt off as she asked, not bothered in the slightest if he saw her naked again.
Anatoly seemed almost impatient as he glanced away and answered. “Starry Meadows. We need to find out if Father Abrams knew counselor, da?”
That was good enough for her. She wasn’t sure how much information the facility would be willing to share, but if Anatoly was confident that Father Abrams had been there, she’d take the time to confirm.
Maggie only took a few minutes to get dressed and throw her hair up before following Anatoly out to the car.
She had to practically run to catch up with him, but she didn’t tease him for it like she wanted to.
He was entirely too serious right now and so she put her cop mask on and focused on the case.
“Okay, let’s say they knew each other,” she started to say once they were en route to the facility. “What’s the motive? Why kill people connected to Starry Meadow?”
“I do not know motive, but connection is there,” he insisted. “Peter would not lie to me.”
She let it go at that, mulling over the information as she concentrated on driving. It was about six o’clock and the worst part of evening traffic was past, but they still had a way to go from her apartment all the way out to Abbott Loop where the facility was located.
Anatoly seemed so certain, she didn’t want to rain on that, but she had to remain objective, too. Until she was staring at proof of a connection, she wasn’t going to get her hopes up.
About thirty minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of Starry Meadows and found a place to park, which at this hour wasn’t difficult. The facility would have had round the clock staffing, but naturally night shift saw a lot less visitor traffic.
“Let me do the talking,” she told him as they strode across the lot together. “Without a warrant, they may not be able to tell me much, but I’ll do my best to find out what I can. I promise.”
Anatoly only nodded as he opened the door for her and waited for her to step inside.
A very tired looking receptionist glanced up at them and immediately pointed at a sign on the wall. “Visiting hours are over. Come back tomorrow.”
“I’m Detective Boone and this is my consultant, Mr. Brusilev, working with me on a case,” Maggie cut straight to the chase, flashing her badge in the lady’s face. “I’m gonna need to speak with someone in administration. Now.”
The woman glanced between them as if trying to decide what to do with the information. She must have decided it was too high above her pay grade because she picked up the phone a second later. “You may need to wait a few minutes, the director just went home, but I’ll try to get him back.”
“Perfect. We’ll wait over here.” Maggie stepped aside, drawing Anatoly with her.
Given the time, Maggie half expected to be kept waiting for a while, or to be brushed off entirely, but to her surprise a man joined them within thirty minutes.
He didn’t look particularly thrilled as he pushed through the main entrance, but as he closed the gap to the pair of them a tight smile tugged at his thin mouth.
“Detective Boone, was it?” He held out a hand to shake, and Maggie took it firmly.
“That’s right. Is there somewhere we can speak in private?” she asked, resisting the urge to side-eye the nosy receptionist who was pretending not to listen in.
“This way,” he indicated the hallway and started in that direction.
On the way, he began to introduce himself.
“I’m Director Matthews, I run the facility here and I don’t mean to be rude, but it has been a very long day, Detective.
I hope this is as pressing as Miss Ida made it sound.
I should be taking my son to hockey try outs, my wife is furious I’m missing it… ”
Maggie didn’t let anything he said offend her. She was used to coming at a bad time and generally being unwelcome. That he was polite about it was the only reason she remained civil and didn’t double down or interrupt as he whined about his personal life.
“I’m sorry for the late visit, but we came across information that had to be investigated immediately. Are you at all familiar with a Father Abrams?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know anyone by the name Abrams, but I might be able to check the database.” Matthews stopped short by the nurse’s desk, his eyes bouncing from Maggie to Anatoly and then back again. “Do you have a warrant?”
“Father Abrams may have been checked in under a false name, Robert Johnson,” Maggie answered instead, dodging the other question entirely.
“Doesn’t ring a bell,” he replied, shaking his head, but his eye twitched giving away his lie. “Detective, you know if you don’t have a warrant, I can’t give out personal information about a client.”
She nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. “I’m not asking for his personal information. I just need verification, off the record, that Robert Johnson or Father Abrams was in fact a patient at this facility.”
Matthews narrowed his eyes and shook his head in irritation. “Again, without a warrant—”
“Yeah, you said that,” she interrupted. The clenching of her jaw was the only sign of frustration she showed. “Look, is there anything at all you can tell me?”
“No, Detective. Even if I remembered the person in question, I wouldn’t tell you anything. It’s the law that every patient has the right to privacy.” Matthews swept his arm back the way they had come, clearly dismissing them. “Now, if you please, I have somewhere to be…”