The Note

By Nadine Bennett

This is the story of beautiful, lovely, and renown neurosurgeon, Kitty Kirkpatrick, who believes she is living the American Dream in Santa Cruz, California, only to discover that her husband has a list of how to commit murder, a post-it note of a how to list of how to kill HER. Her life is forever changed by one of her patients, a 5 year old boy, Timmy Reynolds. She also is drawn into a world of terror and serial killings where she meets a Sheriff Detective and falls in love during one of the worst times in her life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781479743797

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Kitty had always known that she was a beautiful woman; after all she had been a beautiful little girl and a beautiful baby. With long blond hair that curled naturally into ringlets that fell just to the middle of her back and was thick and the color of summer golden wheat. She had eyes that were as blue as the deep part of Lake Tahoe where her family went every Christmas their estate right on the lake with a few old growth redwood trees for shade and a house that was built by a rich rubber baron who made millions on the railroad from New York to California—first to San Francisco and then down the coast of California to the Los Angeles area. Kitty didn’t know how much money her family had, only that no one had to work for a living of the 8 immediate daughters and sons of her great grandfather, Martin Kirkpatrick (whom Kitty was named after actually) to all their children and grandchildren including Kitty never had to work but all were expected to graduate from an Ivy League college (they all did paid for by the family monies) which meant that there was enough money for 28 people to go to college and then get set up in a business of their choosing all with family money. Kitty went to Sanford University, then John Hopkins and was a neurosurgeon who really didn’t need to work, but she enjoyed the work and going to the hospital every day. Kitty’s husband Randall Morris, was a published writer but he didn’t make enough to keep them in the manner Kitty and Randall had grown accustomed so Kitty used the family money to purchase their beach house in Santa Cruz, and the day to day workings of their marriage went smoothly because of Kitty’s salary and her trust money. Kitty assumed that all was well in her marriage and that life was going great, until she found the note.

Kitty generally did not even go into her husband’s office, but she was late for work and she needed to write down the address information for a meeting she had this afternoon with a potential new patient, a six year old boy whose mother was calling to set up the appointment. Mrs. Reynolds, I do not know how you got my home phone number but I do not make appointments myself. I have an office which I prefer you to call my office from this time on, are we understood? Kitty asked. Fine, please repeat the address where you and Timmy will be available for me to assess his condition and his viability for the procedure we discussed. Kitty wrote down the address and said goodbye. She was setting the pencil down on the desk when she noticed the crumpled post-it on her husband’s chair. She leaned over the desk and grabbed the post-it. Unconsciously Kitty opened the crumpled post-it and read it. It looked like a to-do list . . . move money into new bank account, take Kitty to dinner, get the tranquilizers to liquid form, put into nightcap for Kitty, put Kitty in her car, roll car off cliff into ocean.

The post-it note had a short list on it:

1. Move money to new bank account.

2. Establish which Kitty you want to play with. Take the Kitty to dinner or movie, spend’ Time with Kitty alone and get her drunk or drugged, incapacitate her so that she is yours.

3. Play with the Kitty for as long as you want. Make sure she knows you are her Master in every way. Hurt her then pet her. Keep her unsure of all other things. You are the only one who is in charge of her living or dying. Hurt her more than pet.

4. With the help of your student, who should love and want to please only his Master, making sure the student is very attractive to the age group of your kittens. The student can change, but your kind of kitten and how they are disposed of should never vary. That way the Master is in keeping with God.

Kitty smiled at Randall’s notes. Was this list meant to be about her, Kitty? It was this just his weird notes for his newest book deal… a serial killer story wasn’t that what he had told her in passing? Kitty thought about her silly husband. Randall? They would have to discuss it later, maybe tonight or tomorrow morning. Whatever, she thought she needed to get to the hospital.

Kitty tucked the note into her pocket and ran to the front door. See you later honey! Kitty shouted over her shoulder. She had already put the note out of her mind. She had surgery at 9:00 a.m. and it was already 8:40. She jumped into her Mercedes SL280 put on her seat belt and started the car. Its big engine roared to life and she felt that deep pleasure of an excellent machine at her command and smiled like a schoolgirl with a crush. She jumped on the Pacific Coast Highway and shot through to town. Six minutes 38 seconds later she was parking her car in the Doctors parking lot the slot with her name on it. She had worked hard to become one of the country’s best neurosurgeons. Last count she was at number four, not too shabby for a 28 year old woman. Kitty smiled. She still had her teenage body, and her college sharp mind.

Kitty walked through the ER without stopping and moved to the elevator and pushed the 2 floor button which was the surgery suites. Her office lights were already on meaning that her Nurse slash secretary slash assistant slash best friend Hildy Grady was at her desk outside Kitty’s office. Morning Hildy! Kitty said as she walked by Hildy’s desk and grabbed the message pink slips that Hildy held out to Kitty. Anything urgent I need to know about? Kitty paused to glance at Hildy. Hildy was about 40 years old, or she could be anywhere from 35 to 60, the woman was attractive in a nondescript kind of way. She had a pleasant face and a great smile and Kitty didn’t know how she could ever survive and do her job without Hildy here doing hers.

Nope. Just the Reynolds mother calling about Timmy needing you to do surgery on Timmy to remove the baseball size tumor in his head. The mother thinks that you are the only one alive who could do the operation and after looking at Timmy’s X-rays I have to agree with Mrs. Reynolds. Hildy said. Then she said, Hey, what’s up with you? You look like death warmed over.

This brought a pause to Kitty. I didn’t sleep too well and apparently my husband is planning to murder me. Kitty laughed at her saying it out loud, but to Hildy’s startled look Kitty took out the post-it list and handed it to Hildy. I guess he was just jotting down notes for one of his novels. Don’t look so shocked Hildy. It’s his process. He jots down any and all ideas he has for books and then throws away ideas that don’t work for the book that he is currently looking for his ideas to come to fruition. Hildy spread out the post-it note and read it with her mouth open.

Hildy looked up at Kitty. Where did you find this Doctor? Hildy only called her Doctor when she was serious about something. Did Randy really write this? This is serious Kitty, this is a to do list for how to kill you.

Oh please Hildy. If Randall was going to kill me do you really think he would be so stupid as to leave his list of how to do it in his office for me or anyone else to find? Be serious Hildy, Randy writes books on crime for goodness sakes he would not leave such telling evidence behind. I’m sure my husband is not going to try to kill me. Now where are Timmy Reynolds X-rays. I want to go over them as I am meeting him and his mom at the Dream Inn at 2:00 p.m. today. Which brings me to my next question, how did Mrs. Reynolds get my home number? Kitty responds.

Well I certainly didn’t give Mrs. Reynolds any numbers for you. You know I would never give out any number to a patient let alone a total stranger like Mrs. Reynolds. Hildy said.

I wasn’t saying I suspected you gave out my number, but I would like you to investigate to see if someone else gave out my number accidently. Could you check into it for me? Kitty stated, knowing her friend would do everything in her power to find out how Mrs. Reynolds got her home number. Every nurse and nurse-practioner knew that doctor needed privacy at home above all other places for a reprieve from the stressors of the job. Neurosurgeons were especially looked upon and protected because they were considered the superstars of the medical profession and the bringers of the ‘big bucks’ surgeries. So whomever gave out Kitty’s number would be in big trouble and could even be fired this was such a big error in judgment or stupidity. Kitty knew of only one other time this type of oversight had ever happened at Dominican Hospital and it had been done by a very young and new nurse. The girl had burst into tears and was taken into the human resources department and the manager of that department suspended the nurse for 2 weeks without pay and if memory served her, Kitty believed that the girl left after about a month. Apparently the poor girl never got over the stigma of being a blabber mouth and using poor judgment to give out a head surgeon’s cell phone number. The caller had said she was his wife (the doctor was divorced and the poor new girl didn’t know any of the gossip of the hospital yet) so she gave the wife the number. Didn’t she know that a real wife would have the cell phone number or be able to get it from his secretary? Young and dumb Kitty supposed, but even a cell number given out would be better than a home number. Kitty put those thoughts away as she took Timmy Reynolds X-rays and medical history file into her office for review. She’d have time after this morning’s surgery.

Kitty put the file and X-rays on her desk and grabbed her hair net out of her upper right hand desk drawer. She didn’t lose stride but kept on heading the operating room one where her patient Robert Ruiz was prepped for surgery. Lucky for Mr. Ruiz it was standard brain surgery for the removal of a benign tumor that was very small but it was in the left quadrant of his brain which was where language and impulse control and it was about the size of a small jacks rubber ball. Kitty expected the operation to last 20 minutes from first cut to closing. Her anesthesiologist Mat Ryan scrubbed in next to her. Hey Kitty. All set? Mat smiled at her and his green eyes looked bright and shiny. Kitty smiled back nodding and thinking not for the first time thought that Dr. Ryan looked like he might try out some of his own meds. No she knew he just was a happy guy ‘high on life’ as they would say. Athletic, a runner and handball player. Nice body now that she looked at his tight bun as he walked away. Mentally shaking herself back to the here and now she thought about her upcoming surgery. Raymond Ruiz was a 53 year old man, owner of Tortilla Plains restaurants throughout California, Nevada and Texas. He had presented to his own GP with headaches and was initially treated for stress which did nothing to stop his pain. After he was referred to Kitty a full work up was done on Ruiz and after his MRI it was discovered that he had a very aggressive tumor on the top of his brain near his hypothalus area of his brain. His amygdata was being taken over by the tumor. This area of his brain was where basic emotions and memories are housed. Ruiz was overreacting at work and yelling and screaming at his wife along with his employees and children. Surgery was scheduled immediately after the MRI to determine if the tumor was benign or cancerous in nature. The benign result was welcomed, but the tumor continuing to grow had necessitated the operation happening this morning.

CHAPTER 2

How’s Mr. Ruiz doing Dr. Ryan? Are we on schedule for the first cut to start in 2 minutes? Kitty was known for being a stickler for keeping to her planned time schedule for her operations. Brain surgery was a very specific art