Frustration and uncertainty moved across his face as she stared up at him. Her breath caught in her throat as she waited to see what he would do. A flash of Calvin flew through her mind, his accusations that she cared more about others than his feelings.
Carter’s gaze shifted from the man talking with Enrico back down to hers, and he offered a slight smile. Bending low so that only she would hear his voice, he said, “I know you’re good at what you do, Tara. But I can’t help but worry.” His lips barely touched her ear, but she felt the sensation shoot through her as though he had taken her lips in a searing kiss.
Her breath left her lungs in a rush as he walked through the door of the shelter, and she smiled, her heart lighter with his support. Quickly turning her attention back to her next client, she rushed over toward Enrico.
“We can go back to the workroom to finish the paperwork,” she said after introducing herself. Enrico followed along with the man, his silent support indicating that he was cautious for her safety. With almost a fourth of the homeless population having severe mental illness, Enrico always sat with or stayed nearby for the intakes of individuals.
Away from the crowded reception area, the man calmed. His medical history included prescription pain medicine, which had been downgraded to non-narcotic. He indicated his pain was manageable but still found sleep elusive. He had been in and out of VA hospitals for the past two years and unable to keep a job. He did not have a diagnosed mental illness, but that didn’t mean he was not suffering. He rarely looked at her, keeping his gaze fixed on his clenched hands resting on the edge of the table.
She finished explaining the living quarters and meals provided and gave him a moment to peruse the papers he was signing. “Do you have any questions for me at this time?”
He barely shook his head, then lifted his gaze quickly, meeting her eyes for just a few seconds. “No, Ma’am. Thank you.”
“Then welcome to Ever Hope. If you’ll follow Enrico, he’ll show you to your case manager who’ll get you to your room.”
Glancing at the clock, she could see why her stomach was growling. The bag lunch service should soon be ending, and she decided to check on them before having her own lunch. She walked through the empty dining hall and into the kitchen, stopping near the door that led outside. The tables set up had only a few bags on them, the volunteers already taking down the signs.
“Good crowd today, George?” she asked one of the men standing nearby.
“Oh, yes, Ma’am. I think the cold weather brings them out.”
She looked down the sidewalk and caught sight of Polly standing with a man. He was hunched over, wearing a large coat and dirty jeans. His knit cap was pulled down over his ears, and he stared at the ground more than he looked up at Polly.
Glancing further down the street, she saw a man sitting in an SUV. He was too far away to see clearly, but he reminded her of Carter. Smiling, she turned and walked back into the shelter. I must have it bad if I think I see him everywhere.
15
“What happened today?” It was now the end of the week, and Carter had spent part of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings sitting in his SUV down the street from the back of Ever Hope. He kept his eye on anyone Polly had talked to while Evan slowly started talking to the nurse, hoping to gain her acceptance. As soon as he finished, he hustled around to the front of the building to meet Tara for lunch. She knew nothing about his surveillance of Polly, and for the first time ever, he hated the subterfuge. Hell, if Polly isn’t giving out anything more than suckers and cough drops, it’s time to pull the plug on this.
Evan settled into Rachael’s chair and scrubbed his hand through his beard. “I started talking to some of the people in line. The ones that spent more time with Polly Starr. I was coughing, snorting, hacking up a lung, and one of them told me I needed to see her. I told him I didn’t like going to the doctor and they laughed, telling me that she could give me shit that would make me better.”
Leaning forward, Carter kept his gaze pinned on Evan. “I saw you had a chance to talk to her by yourself. Anything?”
“She’s still trying to get me to come into the clinic, but I refused. I think she’s getting close to offering me something. Each day this week I’ve seen her giving things out. She must warn everyone to keep quiet because when I asked the guy this morning what she could give me, he just said he wasn’t supposed to talk about it.”
Scrubbing his hand over his face, Carter leaned back in his chair. “Maybe I’m chasing down the wrong fuckin’ rabbit hole. If she’s just giving out cold medicine, then I’m wasting our resources by going after her.”
Evan shook his head in disagreement. “Look, maybe she’s not the one giving out the narcotics, that doesn’t mean what she’s doing is right if it’s prescription medicine. It sure as hell isn’t legal.”
He walked around his desk, leaning his ass against the edge as he stared at the board and the pictures of Carl, Jonathan, and Rocky. “All three had opioids in their systems, but there’s no trace of them having a prescription or visiting a doctor recently. The only thing the ME could confirm was that it was oxycodone, but we’ve got no clue what brand. We can’t find any link between the three
