“Miller Conrad.” A pause. “He was also on duty at Whistler Hospital the night Gloria Inman died.”
Liam’s instincts kicked in, and he threw his legs over the side of the bed. “Send me his contact information. I’ll have a chat with him.”
“On its way.”
Liam shuffled toward the shower. If there was a link between Gloria Inman’s death and this PA, he’d find it.
Thirty minutes later, he wolfed down a breakfast sandwich, poured a travel mug full of coffee and headed out to his vehicle. Bennett had sent Conrad’s work schedule. It was the man’s day off, so Liam swung by his place.
He lived on the mountain in an older clapboard house that looked in disrepair. When Liam parked and got out, two big dogs ran up to him. He paused to let the dogs sniff him and to scratch their backs.
Before he made it to the door, it opened and a stocky guy with a goatee stepped outside.
He spotted Liam and his car and stopped, his brows climbing his forehead.
“Mr. Conrad.” Liam flashed his badge and identified himself. “I need to talk to you.”
“It’ll have to wait,” Conrad said. “I have to get my mother breakfast. She’s bedridden.”
The hair on the back of Liam’s neck prickled just as it always did when he felt something was off. “No problem. I’ll come in and wait.”
Panic flared on the man’s face, then he turned and rushed inside, slamming the door behind him.
* * *
PEYTON WOKE TO the sound of the kitty purring. She rolled over and rubbed his back and he snuggled up to her.
“You’re a sweetie,” she said softly. He reminded her of the cat she and Val had had growing up. “If you’re going to stay with me, I’ll have to buy you a litter box.” Although as soon as she said it, he hopped down. She slipped from bed and followed him. He lumbered straight to the sliders and scratched at the door.
“So that’s the way it’s going to be. You like your independence, don’t you?” She understood. She’d been alone a long time herself.
She knelt and scratched his neck again, then opened the curtain and glanced at the backyard. Last night someone had attacked her on her patio. But once they’d knocked her unconscious, they’d disappeared.
Why? Nothing had been taken. If it was the person who’d threatened her, why hadn’t he just killed her? Did he just want to toy with her, keep her living in fear?
She unlocked the door and let the kitty outside. “Come back tonight,” she whispered as he scrambled off toward the gardens. “Maybe we can be friends.”
She closed and locked the door, then rubbed at her temple. Her head was throbbing, so she downed some painkillers and showered. Last night, after cleaning up the blood, she’d felt a lump starting to form. Today the lump was still there, so she styled her hair to make sure it wasn’t exposed and left it loose around her shoulders instead of the ponytail she usually wore to work.
By the time she finished her coffee and ate a piece of toast, her phone was ringing. She rushed to get it and saw it was Joanna, so she punched Connect.
“Peyton, you need to come to your mom’s. I stopped by to give her her morning meds and found her unconscious. The medics are here now.”
Peyton’s breath stalled in her chest. “I’ll be right there.” Panic stabbed at her as she grabbed her keys and ran for the door.
Chapter Ten
“Mr. Conrad?” Liam said as he pushed open the door.
“I’m sorry—I need to tend to my mother.” A low groan sounded from the rear of the house, and Conrad disappeared down the hallway.
Liam quickly scanned the small den and kitchen. The place was a mess with dishes stacked everywhere and laundry piled in a chair in the corner. The groaning noise echoed again, and he headed down the hall.
Was someone hurt inside? Was that why the man had shut the door in his face?
He passed a small, cluttered office, then noted two bedrooms at the end of the hall. The scent of antiseptic and an acrid odor filled the air, one that smelled like death.
Senses alert, he glanced to the left. A bedroom that looked just as cluttered as the rest of the house. To the right, he spotted Conrad injecting something into an IV that hung on a pole by the bed. The strong smell of medication and sickness permeated