Page 53 of Heart of a Hero

Nodding slowly, she remained quiet but should have known her girls were not only intuitive but intelligent.

“And you can’t date him while it’s happening, right?” Laura asked.

She nodded again.

Olivia wrinkled her nose and said, “That stinks. Just when you and he were going out more. That really stinks!”

A bubble of laughter erupted, and Karen squeezed her daughters before releasing them. “You’re right, baby. That stinks.”

The rest of the day passed easier. The girls finished homework and watched TV while Karen completed the house cleaning with a little less frantic energy. Her mind was still uneasy, but she was tired enough to fall fast asleep when she fell into bed, hoping for a better day tomorrow.

It didn’t take long for her hopes to fall flat. Sitting in a staff meeting for the whole ESHH, which included not only her group but multiple others, she cast her gaze around, suspicion overtaking all other thoughts as she tried to make sense of the tangled web of potential suspects.

The ESHH director would undoubtedly have information on every patient who used their services. Selma would go to each of Karen’s clients who need continued assistance that a nursing aid can provide.She’s in her fifties… I can’t see her breaking and entering. But she also doesn’t have a very high salary. Oh… and her son is always looking for a get-rich scheme.Rick is a counselor.No way. That doesn’t fit his personality at all. But he does have twin sons who are going to college.Sharon likes pretty things and has champagne tastes with a beer pocketbook. Karen looked at Miles and thought of the ring Sharon had recently shown off. She also spied a bracelet around her wristthat Karen hadn’t noticed before.Maybe he supplies the baubles that keeps Sharon happy.Patrick is a happily married man.He wouldn’t risk his life being a thief. But then, he still has student loans.

The investigation impacted everything she was involved in. The only knowledge she had was of TV shows and movies.Are they looking at my bank account?She almost snorted. She made a good salary, but life chewed up much of it. The girls’ college accounts had been created and mostly filled with the insurance she received four years ago when Jeffrey died.My phone records?This time, she couldn’t hold back the snort.Calls to the girls. Calls to office. Calls to a couple of friends. Calls to Mark. Calls to the dentist, doctor, and a few businesses. Hardly the phone records of a master criminal.

Suddenly, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor snapped her out of her thoughts. People were standing, and the meeting was over. She’d missed the entire thing, lost in her own tangled web of suspicion. Heat flushed her cheeks as she quickly stood, trying to refocus on her day.

She thought she would take someone with her on the visits but wasn’t able to. It wouldn’t have proven anything, and everyone had their own schedule—there was just no way to double up. And if I were a thief, I could just pass on any home details to my band of thieves,who would do the dirty work.She snorted again and, this time, could not ignore the questioning looks being shot her way. Ducking her head, she headed to her office.

She had no new patients to evaluate today, so she was able to visit three patients she had seen before who needed to be checked on. The first was an elderly couple living in an old hotel renovated into efficiency apartments. The rent was cheap, and she hoped their social security payments would allow them to pay all their bills. Mr. Carswell met her with a smile and led herto where his wife was resting in a living room chair. Once he’d settled, she took their blood pressure and temperature, checked for leg swelling, and ran down the questions she needed to ask.

The part of her job she loved the most was taking a few extra minutes to get to know the patients. She only saw some for a very short time, maybe no more than a few visits. Sometimes, if someone had surgery, the ESHH was only involved until they could take over their care themselves, including outpatient physical therapy. A few patients who were nearing the end of their life would be transferred to hospice. However, some patients, like the Carswells, had ongoing conditions that required ESHH services to be involved for a while.

Yet as she glanced around their small efficiency, ensuring there were no rugs to trip over with their walkers and the bathroom still had the toilet rails and shower seat, she suddenly felt as though her assessment could be invasive. Obviously, she knew her innocence, but was there somebody on her staff who was not just assessing for health reasons? Someone who was looking for things to steal?

She had read the police notifications in the local newspaper and was glad they were online and easily searchable. She discovered that for the last month, there had been five reported break-ins, with the thieves taking cash, credit cards, jewelry, and, in one case, a home safe that contained a firearm.

Five residences. Five break-ins. Five clients of the ESHH. And five clients she had seen.

Selma had been to three of them. Miles had been to all five, except one of them quickly transferred to outpatient physical therapy. The speech therapist had only been in one home. Sharon had been in three of the four, and Patrick had been in two. Only one had been Rick’s patient.

Patient records were entered into the database when a new client came in. Of course, the director of the ESHH had accessto everything. Karen had never wondered who else might have access to client records but now wondered if a tighter hold should be made on those.

But even if someone from the ESHH had access to the patient services’ schedule, it would need to be someone who had been inside the home to know precisely where cash, credit cards, or a small safe would be located.Oh God, we’re back to me.

“Ms. Karen?”

She jerked her head around, embarrassed that her mind had drifted off to burglary cases and not focused on the man before her. “Oh, I’m sorry. I seem to lose focus today so easily,” she said, forcing her tone to be much more lighthearted than she felt. Mrs. Carswell was dozing in her chair, but his eyes were sharply staring at Karen.

Making sure to give him her complete attention, she watched as his hand lay lightly on his worn Bible. “Have you been reading today?”

He nodded, then patted the leather-bound book. “I find comfort in the words.”

“I’m glad you do,” she replied honestly. “I hope we can all find the comfort we need.”

Suddenly, he looked up and pinned her with his eyes. The blue appeared faded, and for a second, she could imagine him as a robust young man with piercing blue eyes.

“Did you know I did time in prison?”

Karen jerked slightly, his words surprising her. In her career, she’d heard many confessions. Some were deathbed confessions, but others were just people who felt that a nurse was someone who could help them carry their emotional and physical pain as well. She relished the extra time with him, listening to his stories and sharing a little of her life in return.

“No, Mr. Carswell. I didn’t.”

“I was a young fool back then.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to say that they all had been fools in their youths, but she remained quiet as she listened.

---