Mischief in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #2)(46)

“Oh, no. Maryse already did that breaking-and-entering medical-records search with you and it wasn’t exactly an overwhelming success.”

“Yeah, but this time there’s no breaking or entering. That’s over half the battle. Besides, don’t tell me you’re not just a little interested in getting a peek at those records. You’re still looking for a match, right? You might just get two possible answers with one small, unobtrusive trip down the hall.”

Sabine bit her lower lip. Any other time, she would never, ever agree with what Helena was saying, but the ghost did have a point. If someone had tried to poison her, the medical records might indeed give her the clue she needed to identify who it was. And it certainly wouldn’t hurt to look for their blood types while she was at it. A matching blood type didn’t mean a bone marrow match, but it was a good start.

Shit.

“Okay,” she said before she could change her mind. “We’ll do this tonight.”

“If you don’t want to risk it, I understand. I can get the files myself and bring them to you.”

“Oh, no! I am not going to have a repeat of the New Orleans police department on my hands. There aren’t any hotdog stands in the hospital to cover up your exit, and hospital carts do not move themselves down the hallways, especially on level ground.”

“Fine, if you’re going to get all picky and geographical on me. You’re still going to need a key, though. The lock on that door is a deadbolt and doesn’t open from the inside.”

Sabine threw her hands in the air in frustration. “Then what are we even talking about this for? I don’t have the keys and wouldn’t know the first thing about picking a lock.”

“Oh, I can get them.”

Sabine groaned, knowing from the sound of her voice that Helena’s offer would come with strings attached. “Out with it, Helena. What do you want?”

“Well, I just figured that while we were in the records room you might be able to get a copy of my autopsy report.”

Sabine narrowed her eyes. “Is that all?”

“Scout’s honor.” Helena worked up her best sincere look.

Sabine frowned. It sounded so simple. Copy a couple of sheets of paper in exchange for a set of keys. Unfortunately, she already knew that anything involving Helena was never easy or without consequences.

Helena or the Mudbug police. Her two options for solving a crime.

Sabine sighed. “What time should we do this?”




[page]
Chapter Eleven




It was two more long hours and after three a.m. before Sabine was transferred to a private room. The entire time, Helena had been champing at the bit—and a bag of beef jerky from the vending machine. Watching the ghost inhale the dried meat, Sabine couldn’t help thinking people should be very, very careful what they wished for.

All her life she’d wanted to see a ghost, and she’d gotten Helena.

All her life she’d wanted to find her family, and now it looked like it might have been better—and safer—if she hadn’t.

All her life she’d wanted to find “the” guy. The guy who made her heart skip a beat, who made her skin tingle with the slightest touch, who made her palms sweat when he looked at her. And in he’d walked, just after she’d been given a potential death sentence by cancer, and a much more probable one by poisoning unless they got a grip, and fast, on what the hell was going on.

Sabine pushed herself out of the wheelchair and slid into her new hospital bed with a sigh. The nurse gave her a critical eye for a couple of seconds, then went about the business of checking her blood pressure for the hundredth time since she’d been brought to the hospital. She’d been too critical of Maryse, Sabine decided. She’d accused her friend of avoiding life, of avoiding relationships, especially when Luc had come on the scene. It wasn’t like her accusations were untrue, but now that Sabine found herself in a frighteningly similar position—her world upside down, everything she’d known as fact now in question, her life in danger, and a veritable Adonis just waiting for the word—she regretted having ever pushed her friend.

The overload to her emotional and mental systems was staggering, and although she’d thought it was as high as possible, Sabine’s respect for Maryse shot up even another notch. As soon as she saw her friend, she was going to give her a huge hug, a high five, and an apology. Then she was going to demand her secret. How the hell had she handled all this pressure without exploding?

The nurse removed the cuff and made some notes on her file. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Try to get some sleep.” She pulled the covers up on the bed, flipped out the lights, and left the room.

“Thanffkt Godfft,” Helena said, her mouth full of jerky. She paused for a minute and swallowed. “I thought she’d never leave. Are you ready?”

“No, but that’s totally irrelevant, isn’t it? Do you have the key?”

Helena nodded. “Swiped it from the front desk.” She tugged at the key ring wedged in the front pocket of her entirely too-tight blue jeans and finally managed to wrench it loose while pushing up the bottom of her spandex tank top by two inches and at least three stomach rolls. “I should probably change into something loose and comfortable for the mission, right?”

“You should probably change into something loose and comfortable because I can see you.”