Noah's Adventure - 31. Reference check

There was commotion in the hallway.

Griffin didn’t look the least bit fazed as he stared at Dr. Meadows.

“Are you really that stupid?”

“Excuse me?” Meadows gasped.

“Cut the crap,” Griffin said through gritted teeth. “That wasn’t Matt’s car.”

The room went dead silent.

Uncle Matt’s face drained of color.

“What do you mean, Griff?” he asked quietly.

“Your new job,” Griffin said, letting the words hang in the air. “There was a second candidate who thought she was a shoe-in for the position.”

Every head in the room turned toward Dr. Meadows.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Griffin,” she spat.

“Don’t you?”

Uncle Nick stood in the doorway.

Behind him were several local police officers and two FBI agents who looked more than ready to make an arrest.

The room held still for several long seconds while Dr. Meadows tried to gather herself.

“It’s simple, Nicole,” Griffin said. “Noah remembered the steering felt loose and told his grandmother. She contacted her son, who pulled surveillance footage from the parking garage.”

Uncle Matt went even paler.

“Matthew, are you alright?” Grandma asked, rushing to his side.

“I… I don’t know, Mom,” he croaked.

“The footage showed someone entering the garage and tampering with the car,” Uncle Nick said. “Unfortunately for you, they looked directly at the camera several times and made no effort to hide their face.”

He paused.

“Identifying your brother-in-law was easy.”

Dr. Meadows began to shake.

“You,” she hissed, spinning toward Uncle Matt. “You use your family name to get whatever you want. And this so-called gift. You had no business taking that job. You’re a disgrace to this profession.”

“No,” Uncle Matt said, finally finding his voice. “You are.”

He stepped forward.

“I don’t even know you.”

“You got that job in New York after Dr. Gray died,” she snapped. “A job you had no business getting. You were only interim chief while she was on maternity leave, but somehow you conned your way into becoming permanent chief.”

Recognition flashed across Uncle Matt’s face.

“You worked there,” he said slowly. “I remember you now. You kept filing grievances against me.”

He blinked.

“The hospital fired you after your thirtieth one.”

“She was fired?” Griffin asked, genuine shock in his voice.

“Yes,” Uncle Matt said. “Terminated for filing false complaints and fraudulent reports. Administration warned her repeatedly.”

“Her file was spotless,” Griffin muttered.

“Yeah, I bet it was,” Uncle Matt said bitterly. “You wouldn’t want anyone knowing you were fired, would you, Dr. Watson?”

“Watson?” I asked.

“Her husband,” Uncle Nick said. “The doctor who did your initial evaluation.”

Dr. Meadows jerked her head toward him.

“He’s already been arrested.”

For the first time, real panic crossed her face.

The Fairfax County officers stepped forward and placed her under arrest.

She left the room without another word.

“This makes no sense,” Uncle Matt said, staring after her.

“She was after you,” Uncle Nick replied. “Noah was just an unexpected complication.”

“Old-fashioned jealousy,” Griffin said, tapping furiously on his tablet. “I had no idea she was even married.”

“That’s because they divorced on paper,” Uncle Nick said. “Still stayed together.”

“Why would anyone do that?” I asked.

“To hide things,” he replied. “Sometimes finances. Sometimes records. Sometimes scandal.”

“She likely hid the termination,” Griffin muttered. “We’re going to need better background checks.”

“Unless she lied,” I said.

Everyone looked at me.

“It would make sense.”

Griffin nodded slowly. “It would.”

Another doctor came in later, ran a legitimate psych evaluation, and checked me over.

They decided to keep me overnight for observation.

Little B refused to leave.

His dad tried to coax him home, but Little B crossed his arms and declared he needed to stay with me.

No one argued.

I lay there staring at the ceiling, thinking about the fact that someone had tried to kill Uncle Matt—and almost killed me doing it.

The other thing eating at me was Shiloh.

How exactly was I supposed to tell him I’d met his dead brother?

And then hand him a bracelet that obviously meant something important?

My thoughts spiraled until exhaustion finally pulled at me.

Little B had curled up beside me like a guard dog in pajamas.

Then—

More shouting in the hallway.

Running feet.

Doors slamming.

Suddenly, my hospital door slammed shut hard enough to rattle the walls.

I looked over.

Little B was awake.

His eyes glowed faintly in the dark.

“What’s going on?” I whispered.

Before he could answer, Grandma appeared in the room, glaring at the door like it had personally offended her.

“My team is handling it,” Uncle Nick said as he stepped in behind her.

“Nicholas, this cannot keep happening,” Grandma snapped.

“This one’s on Fairfax,” he replied. “Somehow the judge released them on their own recognizance.”

I turned to Little B.

“How did you know they were here?”

“You’re awake,” Grandma said, noticing me.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Kind of hard to sleep when people keep trying to kill my family.”

Grandma let out a dry chuckle.

“You’d better get used to it,” she said. “Unfortunately, it comes with the territory.”

“I don’t know what happened,” I said carefully. “The door just slammed when the commotion started.”

Little B elbowed me.

“I did it, silly.”

“You closed the door?”

He gave me a look that clearly said obviously.

Honestly, fair.

“Why did they come back here?” I asked.

Little B gave me the same look.

“I think they were planning to kidnap you,” Grandma said.

Uncle Nick nodded.

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m getting the feeling you knew this was coming,” I said, looking at Little B.

He nodded.

“That’s why I had to stay.”

Grandma checked her phone just as there was a light knock at the door.

Uncle Nick cracked it open.

One of the Black Hawk security leads stood outside. They exchanged a few quiet words about guards being stationed on every floor.

A lot of good guards had done last time.

“You got me, Noah,” Little B said with a yawn.

Then he was asleep again.

I must have drifted off too.

Because when I woke up, Little B was gone.

And Shiloh was standing beside my bed looking completely shaken.

He was staring at the bracelet on my wrist.

“Where did you get that?” he stammered.