She’d watched him with other residents and thought he had their best interest at heart.
Could she have misread him?
“Liam, do you think Director Jameson really had something to do with all this?”
Liam shrugged as he maneuvered a turn. “I don’t trust anyone at this point.”
Val had said the same thing. She couldn’t trust anyone.
“Jameson was accused of stealing opioids when he was a med tech. He’s certainly had access to them as a physician. And both Gloria Inman and Leon Brittles died with suspicious amounts of opioids in their systems.”
Peyton gasped. “Leon had opioids in his system?”
“Yes, heroin,” Liam answered. “But no evidence of abuse.”
Peyton’s eyes pinched into a frown. “Leon didn’t do drugs. He hated that he had to take blood pressure medication.”
“He was murdered,” Liam said.
Emotions churned inside Peyton.
The suggestion that opioids might be at the crux of the situation surrounding the hospital and suspicious deaths reminded her of Val again.
She checked her phone for a message from her sister as Liam parked at the hospital and they climbed from his vehicle.
Where was Val now?
* * *
LIAM STOOD OUTSIDE Mrs. Weiss’s door as Peyton rushed in to see her. There had been no change in her mother’s condition. Peyton looked forlorn as she seated herself beside her mother, stroked her hand and spoke softly to her.
His phone buzzed. Jacob. He connected. “Hey, brother.”
“Morning. We found the vehicle that hit Peyton,” Jacob said. “It was an older black SUV, left in an abandoned field about twenty miles north of Whistler. I’ve had it towed in for processing, but the paint samples match what we found on Peyton’s car.”
“Who owns it?”
“That’s the interesting part,” Jacob said. “Originally it was registered to Lydia Corgin. No record of it being sold after her death or a change of name on the title. So, either it was stolen, or someone who knew her took the car.”
“Did she leave the car to someone in her will?” Liam asked.
“I didn’t find a record of a will.”
Liam mulled over that fact. “But if she signed her life insurance over to a third party, that party could have taken the vehicle.”
“True.”
“Keep at it. Hopefully we’ll get prints or forensics inside the car to tell us who was behind the wheel.”
He hung up, then joined the deputy who was seated outside Mrs. Weiss’s door in front of the hallway computer station.
The deputy shook his head. “Just the medical staff checking vitals, that sort of thing.”
“You haven’t seen Brantley or Conrad?”
“No,” he answered. “The director of Golden Gardens came by early this morning,” Deputy Rowan said. “He showed me his ID, said he was just checking on Mrs. Weiss, that he had a soft spot for her.”
Liam’s breath tightened in his chest. “Director Jameson was here?”
“Yeah.” The deputy frowned. “Is that a problem?”
“It might be.” Liam debated whether or not to voice his concerns to Peyton. Instead he motioned for the head nurse to step into the alcove with him.
“I need you to run a full blood panel and tox screen on Mrs. Weiss.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I can’t explain at the moment, but it’s important we verify the medication Mrs. Weiss has been given and compare with doctor’s orders.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “I’ll talk to the doctor ASAP.” She pulled her phone from her belt, called the attending in charge and relayed his request. When she ended the call, she gave a nod. “I’ll take the blood samples now.”
He caught her arm before she went into the room. “For now, don’t mention this to Peyton.”
Confusion marred the woman’s face. “She asked for the same thing yesterday.”
Surprise hit Liam. Then again, Peyton was smart and educated. She might be putting the pieces together in the same order he was.
“Do you still want me to run it?”
“Yes.” Mrs. Weiss could have been given something off the books in the past twenty-four hours. The fact that Director Jameson had been here after they’d spoken raised Liam’s suspicions. Although he still didn’t see how Mrs. Weiss was a threat to anyone. And if someone had hurt her because of Peyton, they’d made their point.
There was no reason to kill her.
The nurse hurried to draw blood and Jacob sent a text.
Traced Mrs. Inman’s scripts to a pill mill. I’m going to check it out.
Liam sent a return text. Swing by here, and I’ll go with you.
Liam hurried to tell Peyton and found her dabbing a damp cloth on her mother’s forehead. “We might have a lead,”