his eyes narrowed. “It’s not like you’re going to believe me. No one did back then.”
Summoning his self-control, Liam stood, calm, forceful, steel in his eyes. He’d waited five years. He could wait this bastard out until he convinced him to talk. “All right. If you don’t want to cooperate, I’ll escort you to your cell.” He reached for the man’s arm, but Inman jerked away.
“Wait, all right?” Inman barked.
Liam cocked one eye at him. “Are you going to tell us what happened?”
Inman gave a small nod. “My wife was having trouble catching her breath, said she was having chest pains. I thought she was having a heart attack, so I rushed her to the ER.”
“Go on,” Liam said.
Inman ran a hand over his face, his voice thickening with emotions. “They took her in right away, said they needed to do tests to figure out the cause. Then one of the nurses gave her some kind of medication, but that only made her worse and she stopped breathing.” Tears filled the man’s eyes. “Then she...just died.”
Liam considered the man’s story. “Why do you think the hospital was at fault?”
“Because I heard another nurse question the doctor,” Inman said. “They were whispering, and she looked upset and told him something wasn’t right.”
Liam tensed and glanced at Jacob who frowned at the man’s statement.
“You filed a lawsuit based on that?” Liam asked.
“Not at first. I tried to talk to the doctor about it. But he said I was off base and denied the conversation. Said I was just upset and misunderstood. But later, I saw that nurse talking to another man in scrubs. She looked all nervous-like and hurried away.”
“She could have simply been upset over losing a patient,” Jacob cut in.
Inman hesitated. “Look, I know what I heard and saw.” He flexed his fingers on the table. “She knew something but clammed up. That’s when I hired the lawyer. He talked to the doc and staff, but that damn nurse denied the conversation.”
“Then what happened?” Liam coaxed.
Inman balled his hands into fists. “The lawyer subpoenaed records, but before he received them, the case was thrown out. I was so upset and insistent that he promised to move forward. He still intended to obtain those records, but then that fire broke out and the records were all destroyed.” Inman glared up at Liam. “I wanted those records to prove I was right,” Inman said bleakly. “So, if anything, that blows my motive to hell.”
Liam and Jacob exchanged looks, then Liam set a notepad on the table. “Write down the nurse’s name.”
Surprise flickered in Inman’s eyes. “You believe me?”
The verdict was still out. “I told you I want the truth. That means running my own investigation.” Liam leaned over, palms on the table, and gave Inman a cold look.
“But if I find out you’re lying or that you did set that fire, you’re going to rot in prison for the rest of your life.”
* * *
PEYTON TOSSED AND TURNED all night. Finally, a little after dawn, she gave up the attempt to sleep, rose, dressed in yoga pants and a T-shirt and went for a run.
As her feet pounded the pavement on the running trail around the lake where residents at Golden Gardens liked to gather, she fought guilt. She’d known Barry Inman had been a person of interest in the hospital fire because of his lawsuit. She’d understood his anger at the staff and the system and sympathized with him.
The police should have investigated his allegations more thoroughly. Except there had been no evidence.
She’d kept her suspicions to herself when the sheriff had questioned her about Gloria Inman’s death. If she had spoken up, maybe the truth would have come out, and Barry wouldn’t have harbored such rage.
The memory of almost losing her mother made her chest tighten. Her mother had sacrificed to help Peyton attend nursing school and supported her financially and emotionally while she’d studied for her boards.
Peyton had to protect her.
But guilt weighed on her. Had others died in that fire because of her silence?
Perspiration trickled down her neck and into her sports bra as she increased her pace and circled the lake. By the time she completed the run, the lawn was filling with residents enjoying breakfast on the patio.
She jogged back to the small apartment complex where she and some of the other staff members lived, let herself inside and hurried to shower before she had to report for duty. Praying the police discovered the truth about