Dead Cold Mysteries Box Set #4: Books 13-16 (A Dead Cold Box Set) by Blake Banner (read aloud books TXT) 📗

“Sure.” She frowned.

I said, “You understand what I am saying. I want them kept away from each other.”

“I get it, Stone. What are you going to do?”

“I need to have a word with Father Arundel. I won’t be long.”

What I learned from Father Arundel was exactly what I expected to learn. So I made a phone call to Blackstone’s and joined Dehan ten minutes later, where she was sitting in the Jag, watching the fire department hose the house down while the cops evacuated the neighboring houses. I said, “Come on, let’s go to the hospital and wrap this thing up.”

She stared at me for a moment with mild surprise on her face, then went around and climbed in the passenger seat while I got behind the wheel. As we pulled away, with the growing flames playing on the wet road, Dehan was frowning. “I don’t know how you plan to wrap it up, Stone. As far as I can see, we are exactly where we were. We can charge him with kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and arson, but we still can’t pin him to Celeste’s murder.”

I nodded. “That’s true.”

She eyed me a while. “That’s it? ‘That’s true.’ That’s your answer?”

“You’re right. You deserve more. We’ll play it by ear when we get there.”

She looked away. “Dork.”

“You know that was my nickname at school, right?”

“You told me.”

Half an hour later, we arrived at the Jacobi and the receptionist, after looking dubiously at us and our badges, told us how to find the Reynolds’ rooms. They had put Samuel and his father next to each other, with a cop sitting outside each room. Helen was sleeping after surgery. The cut had not been life threatening, but it had been deep and needed stitches. She was very traumatized and was under observation by a psychiatrist.

Samuel was awake. He had second degree burns to his face and hands. When he saw us come in, he said, “I’ll confess to everything and take my punishment.”

I gave a single nod. “Don’t you think we’ve had enough punishment and redemption and cleansing of sins for one night, Samuel? How about we stop burning things down and start building them up?”

He looked away at the black window, where distant lights and luminous raindrops speckled the glass. “I don’t know what you mean.”

I sat on the edge of a chair under that black window with my elbows on my knees and looked at his partially bandaged face.

“I’m not going to question you tonight, Samuel. You need to rest and sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow. But I’d like you to think about something. Will you do that?”

“I never stop thinking.” He said it sullenly, to the window.

“A lot of people got hurt tonight, a lot of innocent people. It’s a miracle nobody got killed. Those people are paying the price for your guilt. Maybe it’s time you started taking responsibility, instead of guilt tripping everybody.” His eyes shifted and he stared at me. I leaned over and patted his foot. “I’ll see you tomorrow, not too early.”

Out in the corridor, Dehan screwed up her face at me. “What was that supposed to mean, Stone? Take responsibility instead of guilt tripping everybody. What does that mean?”

“It means it’s time he took responsibility for what he’s done.”

She watched me go into the old man’s room. He was sitting up in bed, looking depressed. A nurse was checking the bandages on the back of his hands. I asked her, “How is he?” I showed her my badge. “Detective Stone. This is my partner, Detective Dehan.”

She glanced at the badge and smiled at me. “He’s fine. Some minor burns to his hands, but he’ll be OK.”

“Have you been able to locate his doctor?”

She frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean… Dr. Patel is just here…”

I nodded, then smiled. “OK, thanks.”

“Don’t tire him. He needs rest.”

She left us. Dehan sat on a chair on the far side of the bed, by the door. I sat on a chair under the window, where I had sat in his son’s room.

“You’re a very tough man, Mr. Reynolds. Good stock. Your whole family are as tough as old boot leather.”

He gave something like a smile. “The Irish,” he said. “We’re a tough lot.”

“Sure are. How’s the angina?”

“I’ll live.”

“And the blood pressure? They must have checked that straight away when you came in, right?”

He nodded. “It’s under control.”

“But you should give them your doctor’s details, Sean, so they can contact him and get your medical records. That kind of thing is important.”

“Oh yeah, I will, don’t worry. They have everything under control.”

“How long has it been?”

“What?”

“That you’ve been incapacitated by angina and high blood pressure?”

He shrugged. “Few years.”

“You know, I don’t know a lot about medicine, but I never heard of a case before where somebody was actually bedridden by high blood pressure and angina. I always thought gentle exercise was advisable. Just goes to show, right? What do I know?”

“Rest.” He nodded several times. “That’s the thing. Lots of rest, and don’t get excited or upset.”

“I asked Father Arundel.”

“What?”

Dehan was frowning at me.

I said, “How long you had been bedridden. He said it was two years. He said it was your daughter’s death that crippled you physically and emotionally.”

He looked down at his hands on his lap. “I never did recover. Poor Samuel had to shoulder the burden of everything. He’s a strong lad, but I suppose the pressure got to him, and he cracked.”

“He supports all three of you, financially, doesn’t he?”

“Him and a small pension from my wife’s insurance. We get by.”

“Because before, it was both of you working,