Strictly Business (19 page)

CHAPTER   NINE

Despite her bravado,
Nina was wary her first night back at work. Wade had cautioned her repeatedly to watch her back and to stay with groups of people. She was glad to see Sally’s easy smile. Her presence added a layer of normalcy to her muddled life. It was difficult keeping secrets from her, but Nina had to fortify her resolve and remember that getting her friend involved would only expose her to risk.

It was also difficult
not disclose the fact that she was staying with Wade. She circumvented countless questions about her reclusiveness during the past week. Sally thought Nina had been hibernating because she was still depressed and hurt over her breakup with him. Nina listened mutely while Sally offered her support and continued to curse his very existence. Her friend threatened to amputate certain vital organs if she were to ever lay eyes on him again, and Nina couldn’t help but quirk a satirical brow as the memory of the usefulness of said organs popped into her brain.

It was well past four in the morning and most of the
physicians had retired to a call room in search of rest while Nina was seeing her last in a long line of patients. Walking out of an exam room she was surprised to see Dr. Reynolds approach her, his face stoically set.

“Hello
, Nina.”

“Hi Dr.
Reynolds,” she said, feeling the familiar awkwardness that always surfaced in his presence.

“How are things going?”
he asked smoothly.

“Fine
,” she replied, but couldn’t shake the feeling that he was waiting for a more detailed response. Fine hairs on the back of her neck stood in instant alarm.

“Only a week left before the board meets to decide on your promotion to senior attending
,” he reminded.

Nina felt her muscles tense in alarm at his words. It wasn’t so much what he said, as the way he said it. He left the sentence hanging precariously in the air like a
n intangible concept that threatened to float away.

She nodded
mutely.

“I imagine that’s very important to you.”

“Yes it is. I’ve worked very hard for it.” she declared.

“I’m well aware of that.” Dr. Reynolds deep baritone
droned like a tuned engine then came to a sudden stop before revving up again. “I wouldn’t think you’d want to do anything to jeopardize what you’ve worked so hard for. I’ve always thought that you had a promising future. Always remember whose side you’re on.”

She
felt her vocal cords knot in her throat. She stared at him in stunned silence.

“Good. You think about that
, Nina. Think about how you’re proceeding. You wouldn’t want to make any errors in judgment at this stage of the game. It could be deadly.”

She watched his thin lips turn up in a sinister smile that caused goose bumps to punch up on her skin. She nodded silently. Her voice was lodged deep in her throat, held back by the fear that strangled her.

She
watched him walk away, and as she replayed the conversation over in her head, fine tremors started in her hands. Maybe she completely misunderstood him. Maybe he was just telling her that she should be at her best performance at work since her promotion was being decided soon, and errors in her line of work could be deadly. Maybe she was just being paranoid. She exhaled a slow tremulous breath.
No maybes
. She had distinctly heard the threat weaved in his words.

She
felt panic zing through her, and she held her hands together to keep them steady. Her eyes darted quickly around the hall, trying to find a quiet area where she could escape and pull herself together.

“Nina? Nina? Are you all right?” 

Nina turned and saw Dr. Tanno gazing at her with concern. His rounded spectacles were almost sliding off the bridge of his nose.

She
swallowed at the lump in her throat, trying to stay calm.

“I’m fine.”

“Come here and sit down.” Dr. Tanno ushered her to a chair in the hall. “Is everything okay? I saw you talking to Ethan. Did he say something to upset you?”

She
shook her head, still too shaken to speak. She swiped her damp palms along her scrubs.

Dr.
Tanno shrugged his sagging shoulders and adjusted the frame of his glasses. “Did he say something about your promotion? You know, he can be a real pompous ass sometimes. He enjoys intimidating his subordinates. Don’t let him upset you. You’re doing a wonderful job.”

She
looked into her friend’s kind eyes and smiled at his encouraging words. Sitting down for a minute had given her the opportunity to collect herself.

“Thank you
,” she said to him, smiling genuinely. “That makes me feel better.”

“Now, don’t give it one more thought. I’m on that committee too you know.”

Dr. Tanno winked, the deep lines fanning from his eyes crinkling.

She stood and hugged him
. “I don’t want any special treatment, really. I just want to be judged on my work here.”

He
gave her a quick fatherly hug before shuffling away. She tried to refocus her attention back to work, aware though that her nerves were still rattling. She tarried over her notes the next morning in an attempt to avoid her customary walk home with Sally. She couldn’t very well explain why she was now lodging elsewhere.

“You sure you don’t want me to wait for you?” Sally i
nquired again, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“No. I’m
gonna be a while” Nina indicated the large pile of charts awaiting her attention.

Sally gave her
a quick hug then stood back to look into her eyes. Nina squirmed on the inside, but was able to hold her friend’s long assessing gaze.

“You sure you’re ok?”

Nina nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“Just forget about that creep!
He’s not worthy of you,” Sally said, referring to Wade. She punctuated her words with another compassionate hug.

Nina nodded a
gain then waved her friend away, swallowing guilt she felt over her dishonesty.

“Oh
, by the way.” Sally turned back to her. “I know you probably don’t want to deal with your mom right now, but you should give her a ring. She called me. She’s concerned because you haven’t been in touch. She’s also trying to finalize the plans on your birthday party.”

Nina closed her eyes and groaned audibly.

“No, I mean it. If you don’t, you’re likely to end up spending your thirtieth birthday at Chuckie Cheeses!”

Another groan issued from Nina’s throat
as she watched Sally give a fake shudder and stroll away. She wasn’t sure she could deal with Beth right now, but she did owe her parents a call. She felt guilty omitting a huge part of her life from her loved ones, but the alternative was too risky.

By the time Nina left the hospital it was midmorning.
The busy uptown traffic seemed to be moving well and stepping onto a curb she hailed a cab to Wade’s apartment. She was only about two blocks away from her destination when the cab slowed to an intolerable crawl. Deciding that she could probably walk faster than her idle cab, she paid the driver and stepped out into the morning sun to walk the rest of the way.

The quiet street was lined with tall boxy brownstones that
she admired for their prewar charm. She was admiring a particularly ornate façade when she caught a flash of movement somewhere behind her. Her breath died in her throat as fear seized her. She accelerated her pace, almost running from the unseen threat. She didn’t dare look back. Her only thought was to escape this danger that distressed the hairs on the back of her neck and caused her heart to thunder wildly in her chest. The heavy clogs she wore made her gait clumsy and her legs drag like lead.

The
clip clip
of rapidly approaching footsteps drowned out all sound, and Nina felt the quick jolt and expulsion of her breath as her body was knocked solidly against a brick wall. A rough hand pawed into her hair, pulling and dragging her flailing body into a lonely alley. She opened her mouth to scream, but was abruptly silenced by a large meaty hand clapping over her mouth and nose.

Her body was pinned tight from behind by a large unyielding form, the odor or cigarette smoke and rancid onions thick
and revolting, causing a wave of nausea to roll through her stomach. Her mind was frantic, trying to conjure a way to defend herself, but her small body was no match for the threat that immobilized her.

Her
eyes watered as she tried desperately to draw a breath. The man leaned in close, and his cloying stench engulfed her, causing a new wave of blinding panic.

“Don’t move
, bitch! Where’re the fucking
films
?

The words were sneered against her ear.
She tried to shake her head. The hand against her mouth eased to allow a strangled sound to roll from her throat.

“D..don’t know…”
she managed weakly.

“Like hell you don’t!
Where’re the fucking films?
”

“I..I don’t—
”

Nina was shaken roughly, her body flopping against the wall like a rag doll. Her temple connected with a brick
, and a searing pain lashed through her head.

“
Bitch!
Answer me!”

Her gaze
darted around frantically. She wondered if she should just lie and give any answer. She doubted it would save her life. The malice that poured from her attacker’s body was patently terrifying.

“You were warned
not to interfere…” he growled, his putrid breath puffing next to her face and punctuating every word.

She
whimpered when she felt his fingers inching down to her throat. She still couldn’t see her attacker, but sensed his malevolent intent. She opened her mouth to scream, but the scream she heard instead was coming from somewhere outside her head. A woman’s high pitched scream rent the air. The man behind her pushed her roughly to the ground, and Nina felt her knees scrape the concrete alley. Her arms shot out to break her fall. She took several deep gulps of air as a figure stooped beside her.

“Ma’am,
dear God…are you ok?”

She
nodded her head, trying to reassure the stranger as he guided her to a sitting position. The woman who’d screamed was now approaching them, her questions tumbling over one another in a dizzying frenzy. Nina looked up, emotion causing hot tears to run down her cheeks as she regarded the two people who had just saved her life.

“All right, tell us again exactly what Dr. Reynolds said to you last night,” Detective Sullivan’s gruff voice asked again.

“We’ve already been through this
, Detective.” Wade leaned forward in the couch he occupied and glared at the lanky Detective. Joe and Detective Sullivan had been occupying space in his living room for the past two hours, and he couldn’t wait to be rid of them. Although Nina had been cooperative and agreed to talk to them he didn’t want her badgered and overly taxed. She’d been through enough.

“It doesn’t really sound like much of a threat…”

“It was most definitely a warning!” Wade practically jumped from his seat. “Look at what happened to her!”

“We can’t rule him out as a possible accomplice in this
,” Joe interjected quickly, as the tempers of both men reached a boiling point.

“Are we done here?” Wade sighed and
speared his fingers through his hair. He watched Nina intently. He was concerned about the injury she’d sustained to her right temple, but she was still insisting she was fine.

“Listen, I’ll do a background check on Reynolds. I’ll see if anything comes up.” Detective Sullivan raised his hands in mock surrender. He turned to Nina who sat silently on an adjacent couch. “Is there anything else you can remember about the man who attacked you?”

She shook her head. “He was behind me the entire time. I never saw his face.”

Detective Sullivan harrumph loudly, his stance one of frustrated futility. He’d wanted
her to go to the station to make a statement and file a report, but Wade had adamantly refused.

“Y
ou already got a description from the couple who intervened,” Wade stated. “Sounds like the same guy from her apartment.”

“Could be the same, but the old bag next door had been more interested in
the Springer show, couldn’t really give much of a description.”

“Well it’s obvious they’re still trying to retrieve the film,” Joe interjected calmly.

Wade stared at the Detective. He wasn’t sure how much Captain Ryan had told him about the case, but it was obvious he wasn’t thrilled about
working with them. He’d done nothing but lob a barrage of irreverent questions at Nina and responded to her answers with unbridled hostility.

“Why
are
they so interested in the film?” Her voice shattered his thoughts and all three pair of eyes swiveled to rest on her.“Well, the films prove the fraud. Without them we have no evidence.”