I See U

By William Marion

A double homicide in a hotel parking garage in Columbia, South Carolina, is proving to be troublesome to investigators. The female victim is found shot in her car; the male is a rent-a-cop, paid to protect the parking garage from breakins and bandits. They had nothing in common, and although the brutality of the killing points to a hit, lack of evidence points to a more random act.

The Irish DuoDetectives Kevin Riley and Walter Murphyare called to the scene. The woman is soon identified as Barbara Pinkham, assistant head nurse at a local medical clinic. As a matter of protocol, on scene officers make note of all nearby license plates. A vanity plateI See Uleads Riley and Murphy to the doorstep of one Raphael Bonsante. Is there a connection between this married man and the dead woman?

The spotlight is on Raphael when the detectives begin to suspect he was having an affair with Ms. Pinkham. They wonder if she planned to tell Raphaels wife, and maybe he wanted to shut her up. The scandal deepens, however, as Raphaels wife and an entire medical practice are put under the investigative microscope. The murderer might have left no clues at the scene, but where revenge is involved, people get sloppy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abbott Press
• Release date: Jul 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9781458205032

William Marion

William Marion attended prep school in Massachusetts, graduated from college, and later earned a master’s degree. He served in the United States Coast Guard before entering a career in professional sales. He retired from pharmaceutical sales and now resides in South Carolina.

Book preview

Copyright © 2012 William Marion

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Abbott Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Abbott Press

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.abbottpress.com

Phone: [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

ISBN: 978-1-4582-0503-2 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-0505-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-0504-9 (hc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012912520

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

To Mary Alice, a wonderful sister, faithful wife, devoted mother and doting grandmother. She performs all the above with class and dignity.

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author is grateful for the cover design by Ms. Brittney Huffman.

Chapter 1

DOCTOR SYRIE BONSANTE looked out the third floor window of the doctor’s surgical lounge. She was the only physician in the room at the time. Plush wall to wall carpeting and only the best and most comfortable furniture occupied the room. There were three phones for the personal use of the doctors on staff. The walls of the lounge were adorned with large color portraits of physicians that once served here. Muted lighting and soft easy listening music escaped from the Boise speakers located in each corner of the room. All these special amenities were provided to give the staff doctors a place to untwine before and after their surgical cases.

Syrie was looking down at the doctors’ private parking lot located in front of Mercy Hospital. The sleek, blue Mercedes Benz with the South Carolina personalized plate, I SEE U, was backing up to leave. Syrie knew that car well; it belonged to her husband Raphael. She remembered going to the dealer with her husband to pick out the car. His favorite color and her favorite make of car. The Benz was another example of their mutual give and take in all they did. The perfect couple, the perfect physician team was what their friends deemed them to be. She smiled as she buttoned her blouse. She thought to herself, this beautiful, hot, sunny day was going to be one to remember for all the days to follow.

Syrie had just left the operating room after completing a long and difficult case. She was tired from standing for so long and from the pressure associated with the intricate surgery. In spite of that she was still quite alert. The operation went well, and the patient had a very good chance for a successful outcome. A quick hot shower in the women’s changing room adjacent to the lounge helped to steady her nerves. She was one of only three neurosurgeons practicing in Columbia, South Carolina. Syrie knew the other two specialists in her field. They were not as well trained or experienced as she was. She was in partnership with one of them. Their very busy two physician practice was actively trying to recruit a third member.

She was scheduled to work at The Spine Center for Pain Relief all afternoon. It was now ten after twelve and she needed to account for all her time. Documenting her time for today was job one. Today was the day that would change the course of many lives. She walked out of the lounge and stepped into the hallway that lead to the surgical suites. As luck would have it, two of her colleagues were entering the lounge at that exact moment. She intentionally bumped into Doctor Miles, spilling her coffee over the front of his hospital greens.

Oh my God, John, I’m so sorry, Syrie said apologizing.

Doctor Miles looked at her with an astonished expression. Wow, what’s the hurry?

The three doctors went back into the lounge where Syrie made a big show of fussing over Doctor Miles and his coffee-stained greens. Syrie knew that Doctor Miles was attracted to her, and had made some obvious overtures in that regard. She was not interested in him in the least.

Thank goodness it’s not my new khaki suit, Doctor Miles stated in a good-natured way.

They all had a laugh over what appeared to be an accidental collision. Syrie was sure that both Doctor Miles and Doctor Goodell would remember the incident. Syrie left the two doctors with their misconception of what had taken place. She again entered the hallway and called for Maureen, her nurse practitioner.

Are you ready to go? Maureen asked from down the hall. She was sitting at the nurse’s station making some last minute entries into the patient chart. Maureen was in her late twenties and had worked with Doctor Bonsante for the past five years. She assisted Doctor Bonsante in both the operating theater and at The Spine Center. Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon they worked together at The Spine Center for Pain Relief. Maureen was paid very well for both her training and her rapport with Syrie. They were quite a team.

All set. We just have to stop at Groucho’s, Syrie replied. They ordered their lunch from Groucho’s Deli in advance and picked it up on the way to the Center. The deli was a mainstay in Columbia ever since it opened in 1941. Harold Groucho Miller, the founder, brought with him a number of family recipes. In 1960 he started to feature his famous Dipper sandwiches and the deli became even more popular. The stop at the deli would only take minutes. The deli was on the way to the Spine Center. Everything was going according to plan. All of Syrie’s time would be nailed down to the last minute. Again she mused, today was the day that would change everything.

They took the physicians private elevator to the first floor. There they checked for any last minute phone messages. Maureen made small talk with one of the medical secretaries as Syrie check her in house mail slot. There was nothing pressing at the moment to delay their escape from the large medical center. Syrie complemented the young secretary on her appearance. The secretary smiled and thanked Doctor Bonsante for the compliment. Putting an imprint on the moment was what Syrie was doing. It would all be remembered.

As they drove to The Spine Center, Syrie kept looking at the dashboard digital clock. Her afternoon hours started at one, and she always had a full slate of patients to be seen. It would take her and Maureen well past five o’clock before they were finished. It was now ten to one and Syrie’s thoughts again turned to her husband. The parking lot of the Marriott Downtown should be popping with activity. She smiled to herself and was surprised at how calm she was at this very moment.

Another rushed lunch before we see our first patient, Syrie complained.

Maureen was looking out the passenger window lost in thought. What else is new? she replied.

They parked behind The Spine Center for Pain Relief and entered the building through the rear door. The Center was located in the northeastern part of the city. It was surrounded by private physician offices and a number of other outpatient surgery centers. Well landscaped and with plenty of patient parking, the area resembled the thousands of other such medical complexes throughout the country. They proceeded to the staff kitchen located just off the last patient exam room. Maureen and Syrie were the last to eat so they had the kitchen to themselves. They wolfed down their STP Dipper sandwiches, a specialty of Groucho’s. They hurried to the changing room and put on their powder-blue scrubs provided by The Spine Center. Their names were embossed over the front pocket. The Spine Center was a state of the art treatment facility. It contained the most up to date and expensive medical equipment available. It was designed for both physician serviceability and patient comfort.

Two other doctors were working this afternoon in addition to a number of support staff. Syrie was the only neurosurgeon working at the Center today. She was going to make every effort to speak with the other two doctors on call. She wanted them to remember her working today, this day of all days. She proceeded to the central nursing station and checked over her afternoon appointments. The patients she treated here had the same type of problems common to her specialty. Persistent back pain accounted for most of the cases.

She was making a lot of money in this very lucrative field of medicine. She was well paid as one of the partners in the very busy two-physician practice. The hours she put in at The Spine Center just added to her financial portfolio. She was offered a limited partnership in The Spine Center itself. She took it and the financial rewards just rolled in. She was now making excellent money at both her private practice and at The Spine Center.

Her twin daughters were off to their freshman year of college. Teresa was at the University of North Carolina, and Gabriella at Duke. Her daughters had insisted on going to separate universities. Syrie and Raphael thought that was the best course of action. The girls were excellent students. They were ranked 1st and 2nd in their graduating class at Heathwood Hall. That private high school was very expensive and selective. They were both very attractive young ladies. They excelled at everything, from school work to sports. College would be a great adventure for her daughters. There was absolutely no doubt in anybody’s mind that they would succeed. Teresa was the quiet one while Gabby, as she liked to be called, was very outgoing.

The large house that Syrie and Raphael called home was now very quiet without the girls. That was something that Syrie had been looking forward to, all that alone time with her husband. She and Raphael could finally do some things that interested the both of them. They talked of tennis, golf and perhaps taking up bridge. Then that all changed.

Syrie picked up the patient chart from the file holder on the door to exam room No.2. It was her first afternoon patient and as she anticipated, another back problem case. She had already viewed the MRI compact disc sent over from the Image Center. Mr. Utroski had a severely herniated L3 disc in the lumbar region of his spinal column. Syrie knew he was in severe pain. His family doctor had referred him to the Center. Mr. Utroski had been placed on pain medications along with a muscle relaxant, but was afforded no relief of his discomfort. She knew he would be walking with a cane. She glanced at her watch, one-fifteen. The shock at what was taking place at the Marriott Downtown should now be setting in. She entered the exam room.

Mr. Utroski was in his late sixties. When he saw Doctor Bonsante his eyes brightened along with his smile. Syrie was used to this type of reaction. She was a beautiful fifty-three-year-old woman. She was trim and in excellent physical shape. She worked out religiously to keep her swimsuit physique. There was no mistaking the air of confidence she displayed. Her physical appearance was impressive, but her personality and smile are what captivated her patients.

Doctor Syrie Bonsante, but please call me Syrie, she said as she extended her hand.

With that gesture alone she put Mr. Utroski at ease. Her handshake was firm and warm. She took a brief history and consulted the chart. She knew that Mr. Utroski needed immediate relief for his back pain. She would spend ten minutes speaking with him and then escort him to the procedure room. She was going to give him a spinal injection that would do wonders for his condition.

The injection was a combination of a powerful steroid and an equally powerful pain killer. Mr. Utroski would be in awe of Doctor Bonsante after the injection. For the first time in months, perhaps years, he would be able to walk standing upright. He would no longer need the use of a cane. He would also be free of pain. The overriding concern of most patients with back problems was the relief of pain. With that problem solved, patients had the ability to resume normal everyday activities. Syrie was about to provide both for Mr. Utroski. Syrie again looked at her watch.

Chapter 2

EVERYTHING IS SET for the afternoon schedule so if you have any questions, just beep me on my pager, Barbara Pinkham said to the two secretaries working the front desk at the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center. The large open atrium was crowded with both patients and family members. The secretaries looked over the schedule and knew there would be no need to page her. Barbara was the assistant head nurse at the Center and was known for her efficiency. Dressed in the Center’s powder blue scrubs, Barbara was a knockout. She had a blond pageboy hair style that surrounded a gorgeous face. Sparkling blue eyes seemed to match her beautiful smile. She possessed what most women only dream of, a picture perfect figure. The way she walked with her flawless posture only added to her movie star looks. The two older