Almost Dead (Lizzy Gardner #5)(55)

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“Well, I think we need a second opinion,” Michael insisted.

“That’s fine,” Dr. Calloway said, “but I am afraid Lizzy has the legal authority here.”

Michael was about to protest before Dr. Calloway cut him off. “And you do realize that your son gave Lizzy power of attorney stating that in the event he was ever diagnosed as being in a vegetative state, his directive is clear: withhold all treatment.”

“Clearly, my son wasn’t thinking straight when he signed that worthless piece of paper. Otherwise he would have chosen life over death.”

“Jared is not breathing on his own,” Dr. Calloway stated calmly.

Michael finally looked at Jared.

“His kidneys are shutting down,” Dr. Calloway continued, his tone respectful and professional. “The only thing keeping your son alive is the ventilator and feeding tube.”

“This isn’t about me or you,” Lizzy said to Michael. “It’s about doing what’s best for Jared.” She forced herself to take a deep breath. “I love Jared. I don’t know how I will go on without him, and if you decide to drop your petition, I’ll let him go because I love him.”

Silence.

And then Jared’s mother stood and turned toward Michael. “She’s right. We must honor Jared’s wishes. If you love him like you say you do, you’ll let Lizzy handle this. You’ve got to let him go.”

Mr. Shayne’s entire body seemed to tremble. He looked from the doctor to Lizzy, his eyes no longer blazing with anger but with a sudden bleak understanding. And then, with sadness weighing down his shoulders, he left the room.

Thirty minutes later, Lizzy sat alone by Jared’s side, exhausted as she watched him. She felt no victory in having seen clarity come to his father’s face or with knowing his mother was on her side, since there was no good side in this fight. They all loved the same man, wanted only the best for him.

Her gaze drifted to the flowers by the bed. She took the tiny envelope and opened it.


I kood have killed him, put a pillow over his nose and mouth. So easy. But I want to watch you sufer instead.


She closed her eyes, swallowed, read the note again. Shooting to her feet, she looked around the room, from right to left, for any further signs that a madman might have been inside this room.

A nurse came by, and Lizzy called out to her and asked her who left the flowers for Jared.

“He came by this morning to drop the flowers off. A tall man, said the two of them went way back.”

“Did he sign in?” Lizzy didn’t wait for an answer. She headed back to the nurses’ station to see for herself. The nurse followed her, even passed her by. She tried to grab the sign-in sheet before Lizzy could get her hands on it. “He signed in an hour ago. His name is Samuel Jones.”

Lizzy pulled out her cell phone and took a picture of the sign-in sheet.

“What are you doing?”

Lizzy ignored her.

The nurse grabbed the clipboard. Lizzy didn’t care. She had what she wanted. She walked back to Jared’s room, took pictures of the card and the flowers, then tucked the card into her purse.

Outside, she walked quickly to the parking garage. It irked her to know that she might have driven past the man who was doing his best to make her life a living hell.

The lighting in the garage was minimal.

She watched a car pull in, take a ticket, and move on. As she made her way to the elevators, her gaze roamed over every alcove and dark space between cars. She felt for her shoulder holster, made sure her gun was in place. She fingered the pepper spray on her key chain as she approached the elevator doors, pushed the button, and waited.

A ding sounded.

The door opened.

After she stepped inside, she realized she’d been holding her breath. As she exhaled, a hand reached in and stopped the elevator doors from closing.

The second she saw his face, she aimed the nozzle at his eyes and sprayed.

He cursed as he bent over, rubbing his face with the sleeve of his left arm as he reached out with the other. She darted past him, out of the elevator, and ran for the exit.





CHAPTER 38

Jenny stayed inside her car until she heard the garage door clank shut. Then she climbed out and hurried inside the house.

Once she was in her bedroom, she flung off her sunglasses. The curly red wig came off next. Her heart raced as she wrapped the wig in tissue paper and then placed it with the others inside the bottom drawer.

That was a close one.

“You worry too much.”

She pulled off the ugly dress she’d worn and then removed twenty pounds of padding underneath. It felt good to remove all that extra weight.

There were probably security cameras all over the place.

“It doesn’t matter. I parked far enough away. Nobody would have paid me any mind at that point. And this won’t be the first time I was caught on video. Nobody will recognize me.”

What about the tray you dropped in the garbage?

“It was disposable, and I wore plastic gloves.”

You’re going to get caught for sure this time.

She slipped into a terry cloth robe and tied the sash around her waist. “I’m tired of your constant jabbering. I’m not going to listen to you.”

You haven’t scrubbed the kitchen sink in days. Those tiny organisms are on everything. I saw them with my own eyes. They cause disease.