the space. Prescription medications lined a stainless-steel rolling cart against the wall.
“It’s okay, Mama,” Conrad said. “I know you’re in pain, but the medication should kick in soon.”
Liam watched, his stomach churning as Conrad picked up a glass of water and helped his mother take a sip through a straw. The sight of the frail, ghostly pale woman twisted at his insides. Her hair was gray and thin, her bones poking through her skin. Blue veins stood out on her wiry arms in a crisscross pattern and age spots dotted her leathery hands.
Liam cleared his throat, and Conrad glanced over his shoulder at him, a pained expression on his face.
“Do you need help?” Liam asked. “An ambulance?”
Conrad shook his head no, then covered his mother with a blanket and patted her shoulder. “Rest now, Mama. I’ll be back to check on you in a little bit.”
He glared at Liam, then motioned for him to leave the room. Liam studied the woman, searching for signs of elder abuse, but didn’t see any visible injuries. And Conrad had been gentle with her.
“Are you okay, Ma’am?” he asked gruffly.
Perspiration beaded her forehead and her eyes were glassy with pain and medication. But she muttered something like her son was a good boy.
A vein throbbed in Conrad’s neck, and he pointed down the hall with a sharp look, clearly angry that Liam had invaded his mother’s bedroom.
Liam led the way back to the living room and to the front door. But Liam refused to be dismissed.
“Mr. Conrad, your mother is obviously very ill. Don’t you think she should be at the hospital?”
The man scrubbed a hand over his face. “There’s nothing else they can do,” he said in a pained voice. “She’s final stages, ovarian cancer. She fought it for as long as she could, but the last chemo wiped her out, and the cancer spread to her bones. All the doctors can do now is to make her comfortable.”
Liam couldn’t imagine watching your loved one die a slow and painful death. “I’m sorry to hear that. It must be difficult.”
He made a low sound in his throat. “You’d think I’d be used to seeing death and dying on the job, but it still gets to me.”
“It’s different when it’s your own family,” Liam said, sympathy nudging at his suspicions.
“Anyway,” Conrad said. “What are you doing here?”
Liam explained about his investigation. “I’m talking to everyone who was on duty the night Mrs. Inman died.”
Conrad heaved a breath. “I was working that night, although I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Except the man blew up when his wife died.”
“Blew up?”
“Yeah, I thought he was going to attack the doctor and Nurse Weiss.”
They hadn’t mentioned that they’d felt physically threatened. “Inman claims he heard Nurse Weiss say something about a mistake in the ER. Did she talk to you about that?”
Conrad shook his head. “No, but it was a madhouse all evening. One emergency after another.”
“What about the night of the fire? Did you see Mr. Inman in the hospital?”
Another shake of his head. “Sorry, I’m not much help.” He gestured toward the bedroom. “I really should check on my mother again.”
“One more thing. You were questioned regarding suspicious deaths at another hospital two years before Mrs. Inman died. Edna Fouts and Lydia Corgin. You worked at Pine Ridge then.”
Conrad held up his hand. “Before you go any further, I’ve been down this road before. Both of those instances were investigated, and it was decided there was no wrongdoing on my part or the hospital’s. Besides,” he said, emphasizing the word, “in both cases, those were elderly patients who were already critically ill and at high risk when they were admitted.”
“But you were asked to leave the hospital,” Liam said.
Irritation snapped across the man’s beefy face. “The head of the hospital freaked out. So I left on my own. Found a place at Serenity Now. They appreciate me there.”
“Yet a patient named Hilda Rogers died on your watch at the nursing facility,” Liam said.
“Hilda was ninety-five and developed pneumonia,” he said, his tone taking on an edge. “When you work at a nursing facility you lose patients. Look at the statistics, Agent Maverick. Unfortunately, it comes with the job.”
“It does. As long as the patients aren’t helped along.”
Conrad rolled his hands into fists. “I do my job and make the patients comfortable,” he said in a gruff voice. “Now. I really need to check on my mother.”