He blew out his breath as he walked to the back where the pharmacy and Robert’s office were located. Knocking on the doorframe, he found Robert sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. As he entered, Robert’s head snapped up, his eyes still wide.
“This is crazy, Detective. I don’t understand any of this.”
“Do you have any idea why Kate would’ve told someone that she was concerned about meds being switched?”
Air rushed from Robert’s lungs as he leaned heavily back in his chair. “Meds were being switched?” His mouth dropped open as he shook his head. “I… I don’t even know what that means.”
“If someone was going to switch medications here at the pharmacy, how would that work?”
Robert nearly leapt from his chair. “That doesn’t happen! It can’t! There’s no way!”
Keeping his voice calm, Carter asked, “Then explain the process. Tell me how drugs cannot be switched here.”
Slumping again, Robert said, “It’s not just me that works here. I have a staff of two other pharmaceutical technicians that work on a rotating schedule. If one person was going to try to switch something, someone else would catch them. Plus, by law, we have to maintain a Controlled Drug Register, with running balances. Everything is computerized. Drugs dispensed. Drugs ordered. I don’t even know what kind of meds could be switched. It doesn’t make sense, Detective.”
Robert reached to the side and grabbed a wad of tissues, dabbing his brow before scrunching them in his hand. “None of this makes sense.”
Leaving the clinic, Carter felt the same, but that only served to make him angry.
29
Tara sat at her parents’ kitchen table sipping a steaming mug of tea laced with honey. Her father had offered to dose it with whiskey, but she laughingly declined. After a harrowing day, she was desperate for normalcy, and when her mom invited her and Colleen over for dinner, she jumped at the opportunity.
She glanced toward the sliding glass door that led to her childhood backyard and smiled. How many hours did we look at the stars with Dad as he showed us the constellations? She had never asked her dad when his interest in astronomy began, but it was a shared hobby between him and Chauncey King. So much of a hobby that all eleven kids spent many hours staring through their telescopes as the dads pointed out stars, constellations, and even the stories behind the constellations. Now, her dad was doing the same with Colleen.
“I’m so sorry about your friend, sweetheart.”
Turning her attention from the dark backyard to her mother sitting across the table from her, she nodded. “Her memorial is tomorrow morning. The clinic is going to close for the whole day, but I’ll be at the shelter in the afternoon.” She sighed heavily. “Kate and I were not close friends by any stretch of the imagination. But she was someone I saw a couple of times a week, always smiling, always pleasant. And so young.”
Her mom lifted an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side. “Oh, Tara, she couldn’t have been much younger than you.”
Thinking for a moment, she chuckled. “I guess you’re right. Kate had been a nurse for several years, so she was at least in her mid-20s, probably only three or four years younger than me. Lordy, sometimes I feel old.”
Inclining her head toward the backyard, her mom said, “You’re not old, but being a mom can make you feel that way. Children have so much energy, and yet they still suck most of ours away.”
Silent for a moment, Tara sipped her tea. Glancing up, she found her mother staring at her. “What is it?”
“I was just wondering about Carter,” her mom said. “The two of you seem so… good together.” She shook her head while rolling her eyes. “I guess what I meant to say is that seeing the way he was with you and Colleen made me feel really good. I’ve always been so proud of your strength. But it was nice to see someone who wanted to be a partner.”
She closed her eyes and thought of Carter. His character. His strength. The way he wanted to step in and help with Colleen. Opening her eyes, she saw her mom smiling widely. “I really like him, Mom. And yet, that’s a little scary. In the past few weeks, we’ve gotten closer. In fact, he’s stayed over several nights. We’re very careful around Colleen, and she doesn’t know about that. But she loves having him around. Part of me was terrified to let him get close to Colleen in case something went wrong. I’ve never wanted her to have the feeling that there was a revolving door of dads.”
Her mom scoffed. “Tara, you never had her around another man other than family.” Reaching over, she closed her fingers around Tara’s hand. “I’ve never thought you needed a man to be a complete person. And you’re certainly raising Colleen beautifully. But I’ve always worried about you being lonely, and since Carter’s been in your life, you seem happy.”
Squeezing her mom’s hand in return, she smiled. “I am.”
The back door opened, and Colleen came flying in. Bundled in her coat, scarf, and hat, her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes were bright. “Grandpa showed me the North Star! I finally saw it! I used to look and look and look and never saw it, but I did tonight!”
While Tara wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling her in for a hug, Sharon moved to the counter to retrieve a mug of now-cooling hot chocolate. Tara glanced over Colleen’s head, smiling as her dad came into the room, stamping his feet and rubbing his hands together.
“It was a perfect night to watch the stars,” Colm exclaimed, bending to kiss Colleen’s head. He
