Death Changes Everything by Linda Crowder Read Free Book Online Page B

you’ll have to do. She’s not here today.”
    Turning away from the surly young woman, he pulled his notebook out of his pocket and made a note of her name. He would have the community affairs officer speak with the hospital. Her hostility couldn’t be allowed to interfere with a murder investigation. He hoped her supervisor would acquaint Krystal with the hospital’s policy on what information could and could not be shared with police.
    “He’s here,” said the ER triage nurse when she saw Matt plodding down the hall. “Doc’s expecting you.” She buzzed him in.
    “Brandy! I thought you quit this chicken outfit.”
    She stuck her tongue out at him. “Gets in your blood.”
    “You should see a doctor about that.” Both laughed, quietly, instinctively keeping their voices low. “You got a guy named Wilson here? Ambulance would have brought him in.”
    “Grayson Wilson, yes, but you won’t get anything out of him tonight. Doc had to sedate him.”
    “Man, I’m two for two with witnesses today. Got any idea when he’ll be back with us?”
    “You harassing my patients again, Joyner?”
    Matt turned and grinned at the man approaching him. Dr. Ted McNutt was a former Navy Corpsman, who’d served three tours in Iraq, and collected two Purple Hearts. Stateside, he’d graduated top of his class at medical school, completing his active duty service at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda before coming home to Wyoming. A slight limp on his left side was the only visible scar from his wartime service.
    “Would be if you docs wouldn’t keep knockin’ them out. Whatever happened to cowboy courage?”
    McNutt laughed quietly. “That’d really knock ‘em out. Don’t stock that in the pharmacy though.”
    McNutt reached the station and leaned on the counter. “Assume you’re here about Mr. Wilson? Hit me almost as hard, first time I saw a guy get shot to death. Gave him meds to stop the vomiting, but with his blood pressure, I was concerned he was gonna stroke out on me so I gave him a mild sedative.”
    “He say anything?”
    “Couldn’t shut him up, but nothing that’ll help you. Just kept going on about the blood.”
    “Seems to be the general consensus. Gimme a call when he wakes up, okay?”
    “Sure thing.”

 
     
     
     
     
    5
     
    Sunday dawned bright and cold, with the smell of snow in the air. Frost covered the ground and Jake had to rub his hands together to keep them warm enough to grip the trigger. He and Jeb had awakened before dawn and driven the four-wheeler to a clearing about five miles from the cabin. They hiked another half mile into the woods, near the same stream that eventually ran past the cabin.
    They were crouched in the spot they’d gone to the day before, waiting in the half light for elk to come to the stream. Yesterday, only cow elk and their calves had appeared and Jake’s license was for a bull elk. The trees bore telltale signs that bulls had passed by, rubbing their antlers against the rough bark to scrape the velvet, but so far, they’d remained elusive.
    Both men swiveled at the sound of wildlife near the stream. A deer stepped from the shelter of the trees and stood, head turning back and forth, looking for signs of danger. Seeing none, she took a few steps forward and bent her head to take a drink. Two spring fawns, a little more than half her size, joined her.
    Jeb’s general deer license permitted him to take a doe, but a buck would yield at least fifteen pounds more meat so he waited. A bull elk would surpass a buck by almost a hundred pounds, so both had agreed that Jake would take first shot if he could get an elk and Jeb would only take a buck if no bull elk presented.
    They sat in silence, watching the doe and her fawns fade into the woods, for perhaps another forty-five minutes. The frost had melted and Jake could no longer see his breath when he heard the unmistakable sound of a large animal moving through the woods. He shifted his crouch and