Dark Legacy by Jen Talty (reading books for 4 year olds .txt) 📗

to have faith in Gretchen. Wanted to trust she’d be one of the few who truly changed the course of her life, but Shannon had her doubts.

Big doubts.

Gretchen would have to learn how to change and then like the person she chose to be.

The choice was always the hardest part.

“I’m tired. I want to sleep,” Gretchen said, tossing the candy wrapper onto the floor.

Shannon knew anything she said at this point would fall on deaf ears. Gretchen needed some time to detox, and then Shannon might be able to break through her defenses once again.

Shannon stepped into the hallway, closing the curtain.

“That didn’t go too well,” Erica said.

“No. It didn’t. I’m concerned she’s coming off the drugs too hard. Can you get Dr. Franklin to check her blood levels and adjust medication if necessary? No reason to let the poor girl suffer when we can make the withdrawal easier.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I could never question Dr. Franklin.”

Shannon let out a long sigh as she checked her watch. All she wanted to do was put her feet up and stare at Jackson’s strong profile under a cool spring night in front of a fire.

“You’re not questioning him. You’re giving him a message.” Shannon took a piece of paper from behind the nurses’ station and scribbled instructions. “I know Dr. Wood is in the hospital tonight. I will get him to check on my patient. You can give this to both Wood and Dr. Franklin.” She shoved a piece of paper at Erica. “Learn to stand up to the doctors. You stood up to me, but only because you fear Dr. Franklin. Don’t ever be afraid to speak your mind. We can’t do our jobs without nurses. In this situation, you spend more time with our patients than we do. I bet you noticed how agitated Gretchen has been.”

“Yes. I noticed.”

“Good. Now, keep me informed. I’m concerned about Gretchen.”

Shannon knew she’d done everything she possibly could for Gretchen. Yet her patient had still landed herself in the psych ward.

On suicide watch.

That had to reflect poorly on her ability as a therapist.

Maybe she should cancel on Jackson tonight. Because the way she felt, she just might be willing to use him purely for what he offered as a man.

And that would be a trigger to a beast she wasn’t sure she could tame.

Chapter Five

If one thing had served Jackson well over the years, it was listening to his gut. Currently, his gut told him that things with the Montgomery case were not adding up to a girl on a vacation. He was glad that Janice, the roommate, had finally filed a missing person’s report, and that the family had been notified—though they didn’t seem to care all that much. They believed Belinda had fallen off the wagon and would show up the second she needed money.

According to Belinda’s mother, Belinda had never been able to stay off drugs for more than a couple of months…except for this last year. She’d actually told Jackson that it was about time Belinda started using again. The hard part was that Jackson understood why Mrs. Montgomery would say such a horrible thing.

He sat in the parking lot of the Sagamore Hotel. The white building overlooked the lake, much like the cover of the book, The Shining. The massive hotel filled the small island, giving the occupants a panoramic view of the lake set in the mountains’ valley. During the day, the piece of property gleamed and ushered in relaxation. But he’d seen the hotel from a boat at night, and it screamed a tale of horror, imagined by little boys who’d seen Halloween one too many times.

The crew at the reception desk had been more forthcoming than Jackson had expected. That might have been because the police had already been by to ask questions, but according to the hotel records, Belinda hadn’t been there at all.

Just as Jackson threw his truck into gear, his cell vibrated. “What’s up, Katie?”

“Two things. First, I got a name on the new boyfriend for Belinda. Clayton Moosehead.”

“Moosehead?” Odd name.

“Yeah, but when I searched, I got about thirty names locally. Most are either eighty-year-old men, dead, or don’t live in the area anymore. Those who do, don’t fit the description.”

“Need to widen the search to the entire state.” Jackson put the truck into park. “Who gave you the tip on the name?”

“One of the bank tellers. Ms. Timms was none too happy I was there, and I suspect she gave the teller a hard time. But, basically, the employee remembered the guy because he came in to cash a check and was all flirty. She said that Belinda walked him outside and gave him a wet one in the parking lot.”

“A wet one? Is that new talk for blow—”

“Jesus, get your mind out of the gutter. A kiss. You know? Sucking face. Making out.”

Jackson laughed. “Anything else?” He hit the speaker button, placed the cell in the hands-free cradle, and pulled out onto Route 9, heading south. It wouldn’t take more than ten minutes to get home. He was tired and hungry and had a sudden need to throw a couple of hamburgers on the grill.

That was if Shannon hadn’t eaten already.

“No,” Katie said flatly. “But I also talked with Ben again and asked him if he knew this guy, Clayton. He told me that Clayton was a freelance photographer or something, and that Belinda had some nudes taken. She told him it was a gift for him, but not until after he’d gotten jealous and freaked out on her.”

“Nice,” Jackson said.

“Pig.”

“I act like a guy; you call me a pig. I put flowers on your desk; you call me a girl. I can’t win with you.”

“Well, maybe you can win with the shrink.”

“She’s not a shrink,” he said under his breath.

“Aren’t you touchy?” Katie said. “I’m going to do some more digging when I get home and see what I can find. Before I forget, the package you