Chapter 6 - THE NURSE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH|
"Her name was Alma Ruiz."
Lena Price sat across from me in a small interview room at the police station.
Her hands trembled around a paper cup of coffee.
Detective Torres had arranged the meeting after Lena agreed to speak.
Luca sat beside me.
He hadn't slept since the dinner.
Dark circles surrounded his eyes.
But when Lena mentioned another elderly woman, he straightened immediately.
"Who was Alma Ruiz?"
Lena looked down.
"A seventy-nine-year-old widow who owned an apartment building on the West Side."
She swallowed.
"She was one of Dr. Harrison's patients."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What happened to her?"
"Her granddaughter hired me because Alma had started becoming strangely confused."
Lena rubbed her forehead.
"She'd always been independent."
"Did she have dementia?"
"That was the diagnosis Dr. Harrison kept suggesting."
Lena looked directly at Luca.
"But her family noticed something strange."
"Tell me."
"Whenever she stopped taking the medicine he supplied, she became more alert."
The detective began writing.
Lena continued.
"Her granddaughter asked for a second medical opinion."
"What happened?"
"Before the appointment, Alma was transferred to Northbrook Haven."
I remembered the receipt hidden in Rosa's old apron.
"That's the facility Vanessa wanted Rosa sent to."
Lena nodded grimly.
"Northbrook Haven is connected to a company controlled by Dominic Rinaldi."
Luca's jaw tightened.
"Are you certain?"
"I found the corporate records after I was fired."
Lena opened a worn folder.
Inside were photocopies, handwritten notes, and several printed photographs.
One picture showed a smiling elderly woman standing outside a brick apartment building.
Her arms were wrapped around a younger woman.
"That's Alma and her granddaughter, Teresa."
I studied the photograph.
Alma looked healthy.
Happy.
Proud.
Nothing like the frightened, exhausted woman Lena described.
"What happened to her building?"
Lena hesitated.
"It was sold while she was in residential care."
"To whom?"
"A holding company associated with Northbrook Haven's investors."
Luca leaned forward.
"How much?"
"Her granddaughter believes it was sold for far less than its value."
Detective Torres held up a hand.
"We'll verify the financial records before drawing conclusions."
Lena nodded.
"Of course."
Then she removed another photograph.
This one showed Vanessa standing in Rosa's bedroom.
Dr. Harrison was beside her.
He held a small medical bag.
And Dominic Rinaldi stood near the doorway.
The date on the photograph was three weeks earlier.
"Where did you get this?"
"I took it before they fired me."
Lena's voice shook.
"Mrs. Moretti had been calling for help."
She looked toward Luca.
"When I arrived, your mother was crying."
Luca didn't move.
"She said Vanessa had told her she wasn't allowed to eat until she'd taken her medication."
I closed my eyes.
"And you confronted them?"
"Yes."
Lena nodded.
"I asked to see the prescription and medication record."
"What did Harrison say?"
"He said it was none of my business."
"That's when they fired you?"
"Not immediately."
She wiped her eyes.
"First, Vanessa threatened to report me for stealing medication."
Luca looked horrified.
"She threatened your nursing license?"
"Yes."
Lena nodded.
"I left that night because I was afraid of losing everything."
I reached across the table.
"You were trying to protect her."
"But I didn't protect her."
Her voice broke.
"I knew she was frightened."
I squeezed her hand.
"You're helping her now."
Detective Torres asked whether Lena had retained her employment records or messages.
Lena handed over a small envelope.
"I kept everything."
Inside were copies of work schedules, instructions from Vanessa, and messages requesting that Lena not document certain evening treatments.
One message particularly disturbed me.
It came from Dr. Harrison.
Patient's confusion is expected.
Do not contact outside physicians without family approval.
Luca stared at the words.
"He was isolating her."
Torres nodded.
"We're going to examine the medical records and the circumstances of those instructions."
Then Lena showed us her final document.
It was a handwritten letter from Alma Ruiz's granddaughter.
Teresa had sent it after Alma returned home from Northbrook Haven.
In the letter, Teresa described finding unexplained legal paperwork among her grandmother's belongings.
She also wrote that Alma had begun remembering conversations between Dominic and Harrison.
At the bottom was one sentence underlined three times.
They weren't trying to take care of Grandma.
They were trying to take what she owned.
I looked at Luca.
His expression was unreadable.
"Does Vanessa know about Alma?"
Lena nodded.
"I heard her discussing the case with Dominic."
"What did she say?"
Lena lowered her voice.
"She asked whether Rosa's trust would be just as easy to control."
The room fell silent.
Luca slowly stood.
For one terrible second, I thought he might leave to confront Dominic himself.
Instead, he turned to Detective Torres.
"I want every financial document associated with those properties examined."
"That's already being arranged."
"And if my businesses were used?"
Torres studied him carefully.
"Then we'll need your cooperation."
Luca looked at Rosa's photograph on his phone.
"You'll have it."
I had never heard him speak that way to an investigator.
But before anyone could respond, Matteo appeared at the doorway.
"Boss, there's a problem."
Luca turned.
"What kind?"
Matteo looked at me.
"Someone accessed Claire's personnel records from the company system."
I frowned.
"Why?"
He hesitated.
"Dominic's office is claiming she received payments from a company vendor."
My stomach dropped.
"What payments?"
Matteo answered quietly.
"Forty-eight thousand dollars."
I stared at him.
"I've never received that money."
Luca looked toward Detective Torres.
May you like
Matteo continued.
"And Dominic is telling everyone he has proof Claire helped arrange your mother's private medical care."
