AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is there a problem?” Wayne sauntered over and for a brief moment she wondered if he'd done this to her. If he’d gone so far as to frame her for the thefts just to discredit her and take over the role of medical director.
“Yes, there's a problem. Someone used my password to take percocets from the machine.” Jillian worked hard to sound professional, but the way Amy skirted her gaze made her stomach knot. Did the nursing staff really think she had done this? How could this have happened? Then she recalled Alec telling her he could see her enter her password. She had changed it since then and had been more careful, but apparently she had not been careful enough. Her heart sank.
“I have to report this,” Amy said, reaching for the phone.
Glued to the spot, Jillian couldn't move. Not even when Amy informed her that Rose Jenkins and the director of security were on the way. Not even when Chris the medical director arrived, his bushy eyebrows pulled together in a deep frown.
After she'd been questioned for almost an hour, and her office and car searched, the leadership team still didn't look convinced of her innocence.
They hadn't found anything, no proof of her culpability. She tried to take solace in that, but her relief was short lived.
Chris stepped forward. “Jillian, I think we need to suspend you from duty while we investigate this situation.”
“Why? We know this person has been stealing passwords.” She glanced at the somber faces of the hospital administrators surrounding her. “Do you want me to give you a urine sample so you can test for drugs? Because I will.”
“That would help,” her boss admitted. “Jillian, I'm sure you understand our position. We'll need to inform the police and let them take it from here, and I think it would be better for everyone if you took a few days off.” Chris turned to where Wayne hovered just outside the conference room doorway, blatantly listening as he pretended to help cover patients. “Wayne, will you assume the role of interim medical director? I also need you to cover Jillian’s shift.”
“Of course.” Wayne didn't go as far as to smile, but the gleeful light in his eyes was enough. “Don't worry about a thing.”
Jillian couldn't think of anything to say in her defense. Submitting to the humiliating process of giving a urine sample was the worst. Once she'd finished, the two security guards who'd searched her desk, her purse, and her car accompanied her along the route back to the emergency department.
“Wait. I need my purse from my office,” she said in a low voice.
The two security guards hovered in the doorway as she entered the small space. She stood there for a moment, wondering what would happen to her. Where could she go? What could she do? As much as she wanted to call Alec, she shied away from that idea, knowing he wouldn't be thrilled to hear from her.
Especially not under these circumstances.
The security guards sent her curious side-long looks. Did they think she was going to go off the deep end, do something completely irrational?
They didn't find the drugs because she didn't have them. Someone else did.
Being alone had never been so hard. She needed someone to talk to. Someone other than Alec. Lacy? Maybe. After all she'd been to Lacy 's house once for a house warming party. And the charge nurse didn't live too far. Lacy was upset, but so was she. They could console each other. And she also wondered if Lacy would remember if anyone else had been around the narcotic dispensing machine during the timeframe in question.
When she arrived at Lacy’s house, she noticed the nurse lugging a suitcase to her car parked in the driveway.
After parking on the road, Jillian pushed out of the driver side door, and called out, “Lacy? Do you have a minute? I really need to talk.”
Lacy's gaze darted to the street behind her. “No, I'm sorry. You caught us as we're getting ready to leave. My brother and I are going out of town.”
They were? On a Monday? “Just a few minutes? Please? This time it was my password used to steal narcotics.”
Instead of being shocked and horrified, Lacy tossed the suitcase into the back seat and shut the door. “Don't worry, you have an excellent reputation, Jillian. There isn't a single person there who will believe you're taking drugs.”
“Are you kidding? That’s not true. I've been suspended. This is serious, Lacy.”
“I know it’s serious.” Lacey's eyes filled with tears. “I can't talk about this now. You don't understand. I have to go. I have to take Eric and go.”
As Lacy became more and more agitated, Jillian began to understand what was happening. Seconds later a police car pulled up in front of the house, blocking the end of the driveway. A quick glance proved she was right. Alec and Rafe were there.
Lacy was the one who'd taken the drugs.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Alec couldn't believe Jillian was there, talking to Lacy. He tried to tell her with his gaze to step back and get out of the way, but she didn't move. It was as if her feet had been fused to the cement.
“Lacy, it's over.” He tried to keep his tone non-threatening, especially because Lacy looked as if she might bolt. “We've arrested Nelson Collins and he told us he obtained the percocets from your brother Eric. Which he in turn, got from you. We had you at the top of our suspect list because of how frequently you used the narcotic dispensing machine. And one of your coworkers thought she saw you placing percocets in your scrub pocket.”
To his surprise, Jillian rounded on him. “Alec, there must be something we can do. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for Lacy’s behavior.”
