Chapter 8 - THE DEATH THAT WASN'T WHAT IT SEEMED
Thomas Whitmore had spent twenty-four years grieving his mother.
Now he was holding a document suggesting her death had been connected to a secret that someone desperately wanted buried.
"What happened to her?" Annie asked quietly.
Thomas stared at the paper.
"I don't know."
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"Margaret was healthy until the final weeks."
Thomas looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"She began having headaches. Dizziness. Sudden weakness."
He remembered.
His mother resting on the living room sofa.
Doctors coming and going.
Eleanor bringing medication.
Then the terrible morning when Margaret never woke up.
"Her death was ruled cardiac arrest," Thomas said.
Evelyn nodded.
"But Margaret believed someone was tampering with her prescriptions."
Annie felt cold.
"Did she tell anyone?"
"Me."
"Did you report it?"
Evelyn began crying.
"I tried. But nobody believed a housekeeper over a trusted family employee."
Thomas's jaw tightened.
"We need the medical records."
That afternoon, Thomas's attorney contacted the hospital where Margaret had been treated.
The original records had been archived.
Some were missing.
But one physician's note remained.
It mentioned concerns about medication discrepancies.
Thomas read the note three times.
Then he contacted an independent medical examiner.
The evidence wasn't enough to prove murder.
But it was enough to justify a formal review.
Meanwhile, investigators examining Eleanor's finances discovered something unexpected.
She had been transferring money into accounts associated with a private eldercare company.
Thomas initially assumed the payments were another form of embezzlement.
Then Daniel Price discovered the company's ownership.
"Sir, you need to see this."
Thomas opened the report.
The eldercare company was controlled by Eleanor's younger brother, Victor Bennett.
Victor had been a licensed nurse before losing his professional credentials following allegations of medication misconduct.
Thomas stared.
"Where does he work now?"
Daniel hesitated.
"At St. Catherine Medical Center."
Thomas went completely still.
"Which department?"
"Postoperative recovery."
The room seemed to tilt.
Annie's grandmother was recovering from surgery at St. Catherine.
A threatening photograph had been taken inside her hospital room.
And now Eleanor's brother was employed in the same building.
Thomas grabbed his phone.
"Get hospital security to Room 318 immediately."
He called Annie.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from Annie.
Mr. Whitmore, Grandma's nurse says she needs another procedure. They're taking her downstairs.
Thomas's blood ran cold.
He called the hospital.
"Do not move Evelyn Carter without confirming the doctor's order."
A confused nurse answered.
"Mr. Whitmore, there isn't any procedure scheduled."
Thomas's heart stopped.
"Then who's moving her?"
Silence.
Then the nurse whispered:
"Someone just signed her out for transport."
Thomas demanded a description.
The nurse checked the system.
May you like
Then answered.
"Victor Bennett."
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