“I think she’s hungry,” I said over the cacophony.
“Looks that way,” Thorn said. “Let me get a bottle together really quick. You’ll let me feed her this time?”
“Of course,” I said.
I sang, or at least tried to sing, to Laney while Thorn got a bottle ready. When he had it done, I handed her over to him. She took the bottle right away, and I relaxed as he walked around the room feeding her and swaying softly. Thorn was a natural, and I could tell that Laney was going to be his little princess. It made my heart skip a beat to see them together.
When she finished her bottle, Thorn grabbed a cloth and sat down in the chair. He threw the cloth over his shoulder and burped her gently while I drank my Coke and fantasized about a cheeseburger.
“Is the cafeteria open at night here?” I whispered once she was asleep.
“I will get you a cheeseburger… and fries, but you have to promise to let the murder go,” he said.
“Deal,” I responded. “I really don’t care about anything but our family. I swear.”
“I know that,” he said. “I just don’t want you stressing yourself out over it. We’ll be taking Laney home in a couple of days, and we need to rest and relax as much as we can while we’re here. We won’t have the nurses at home to help us.”
“Oh, but we’ll have my whole family,” I said. “We’ll have plenty of help, but I promise I won’t stress over Stewart’s death. Now, go get me a cheeseburger, manservant.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Thorn stood up and handed Laney over to me. I must have drifted off a minute after he left, but I was awoken by a nurse gently taking Laney out of my arms.
“I’m just going to put her in the crib,” she said and placed my baby in that clear plastic aquarium thing they called a crib. We both held our breath, but Laney didn’t stir. “There now. You can get some rest. I saw your husband heading down the elevators a few minutes ago and figured I’d come check on you. Is he coming back tonight?”
“Yeah, he was just running down to the cafeteria to get… to get himself something to eat,” I said and hoped she couldn’t see I was fibbing.
“If you’ve farted, you can eat,” she said and smiled at me.
It made me bust out laughing, but then I quickly covered my mouth. Fortunately, Laney was sleeping like a baby, and I didn’t wake her.
“Sorry,” the nurse said. “Someone should have told you that once you pass gas, you can eat. Means the surgeon didn’t rearrange things in your gut, and it’s safe.”
“Right,” I said. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem. Let me know if you need anything.”
She patted me on the shoulder, adjusted my blankets, and the left the room.
Thorn returned a short while later with two bags from the cafeteria. One had burgers and the other had some fresh, hot fries.
“I think I got it past them,” he said as he plunked the bags down on my bed table.
“They said I could eat,” I told him, but I left the other part out. Marriage required a bit of mystery. At least, I thought it did.
We ate our food, and I felt sleep pulling at me. Thorn told me to get some rest. “I can handle Laney if she wakes up. You need to heal.”
It didn’t take much prodding on his part. With my belly full of heavy food and a squirt from the morphine pump, I was out.
When I woke up, Thorn was rocking Laney by the window. The sun was well on the way to being up, and it sounded like he was softly whispering a story.
“You let me sleep all night?” I asked as I stretched and adjusted the bed to upright. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind,” he said and kissed Laney’s head. “Miss Laney and I did just fine.”
“I’m feeling better,” I said. “I feel stronger today. I think I might be coming down with a cold, though. I’ve got a bit of a tickle in the back of my throat. I can’t remember the last time I was sick. Maybe never.”
“It’s probably allergies. When it warms up like this, the allergens don’t know it’s not really spring. Or, it could be a mold allergy from all the rain. Now that you’re not as magical, you might have to deal with them just like the rest of us.”
“I’ll ask the nurse for an allergy pill, then. What are you guys looking at?” I asked when I noticed that Thorn was still looking out the window.
“The warmer weather has a lot of people out. Lots of early morning walkers,” he said as he turned back to me. “I should probably let you hold her for a while.”
“That would be lovely,” I said and stuck my arms out. “You can go home and shower if you want. I’m going to send Viv a text and see how Tangerine is doing. I’ve got to arrange them coming to visit too. Is the hospital really only allowing you and two others to visit? I can’t sneak a couple more in?”
“I thought about it, but they’re serious. The maternity ward is full, too. They had to call security yesterday when someone’s feisty grandma refused to leave,” Thorn said.
“Really? Okay, well, I don’t want to be like that. I’ll just have them come on rotation if they want. If they even all want to come here. Maybe they don’t want to visit me in the hospital. Some people don’t like it,” I mused.
“Oh, no, they definitely do. Your mother and Lilith have already worked out a rotation. They will come back. Jeremy and Reggie are coming over together. Your dad and Viv are paired up. Dorian and Isaac are chomping at the bit to get here. It’s all worked out, Kinsley. They are just waiting for you to give the go ahead and for visiting hours to start.”
“Wow, so that sounds like a lot,” I said, feeling suddenly overwhelmed.
“We can tell them no,” Thorn said. “I will tell them no for you.”
“No, that’s okay, but I don’t think I can handle more than that today. And maybe let them know short visits are better for now? We can all spend time together when I’m home.”
“You’re the boss,” he said.
“You could go home and take a shower if you want,” I offered.
“Do I smell?”
“No,” I said with a chuckle. “But I didn’t expect you to stay here for three days without leaving. I got to take a shower, but I don’t think they’ll let you use the one in here.”
“You sure you don’t mind? I’ll stay right here with you the whole time,” Thorn said.
“No, it’s okay, but could you go down to the cafeteria first? Please get Meri some bacon,” and at that, Meri’s ears perked up.
“I can get something for you too,” Thorn said.
“Another Coke, please. I can probably just eat whatever breakfast they bring me,” I said.
“I’ll see what they have down there,” Thorn replied.
“Hey, Thorn,” I said as I thought of something.
“What is it, babe?”
“What about the other Aunties? You didn’t mention Amelda. I thought she’d want to come visit,” I said.
“They’re all throwing you a huge, over-the-top baby shower and welcome home party when you get out of here. Amelda was going to come up and visit with Remy, but she does have a cold. She figured it was better to just wait,” Thorn said. “No sick people around Laney until she’s had her vaccines.”
“But what about me?” I asked.
“You’ve just got allergies,” Thorn said. “But I’m going to head down to the cafeteria and get the cat bacon. I’ll be back in a few.”
“Thank you.”
A couple of minutes after Thorn left, a nurse came in to check on us. She helped me change Laney’s diaper and get a bottle ready.
“I think it’s time for you to come off the pump,” she said. “We’ll switch you over to oral pain management now. Doctor’s orders.”
“I guess it couldn’t last forever,” I said.
“The upside is that it will be easier for you get up and move around. You can’t really go anywhere, but at least you’ll have your sea legs for when we do discharge you.”
; “You always hear those horror stories about women being discharged from the hospital hours after giving birth. Am I really going to be here for another two days?”
“The doctor might spring you tomorrow if things are looking good, but you’re here at least tonight. I hate sending women home too early, but the ones that get sent home hours after didn’t have a surgical birth. You get the deluxe treatment,” she said.
“Thorn’s got excellent insurance through his job too,” I said.
“That definitely helps,” she said. “Can I get you anything else.”
“I’ve got a bit of a tickle in my throat. Can I get an allergy pill maybe?”
“Let me grab your vitals,” she said. “I’m going to go get my thermometer.”
She left and returned a minute later. Her thermometer was one she pressed against my forehead, but she did it three times. I could have sworn she’d gone a little pale but looked totally relieved after taking the reading.
“Right as rain,” she said. “I’ll get you an allergy pill added to your orders.”
“What was wrong?” I asked. “You looked spooked. Should I be worried?”
“Not a bit, dear. We always have to watch for any signs of post-op infections. You’ve got no fever, so it’s all good.”
“You thought cold symptoms might be a post-op infection?” I was confused.
“Sometimes what new mothers think is just the sniffles is actually the beginning of pneumonia. I’m always super cautious. It’s because of the anesthesia,” she said.
“Oh, okay,” I said.
“But you’re fine. All that rain and mold spores really do get to people.”
After that, she breezed out of the room and returned about twenty minutes later with an allergy pill and a small can of grape soda. I took the pill and then gave Laney the bottle the nurse had helped me prepare.
She was just about done with it when Thorn got back from the cafeteria. “The breakfast casserole they had on special looked amazing, so I got you some,” he said. “Bacon for the cat in a little to-go container he can eat from.”
“You’re the best,” I said. “Maybe you should take Meri with you when you go home to shower. It can’t be good for him to be cooped up in this room.”
“Not a chance,” Meri groused. “I’m fine here.”
“You’re projecting,” Thorn said with a chuckle. “You’re sending me away and trying to send the cat away because you want to get out of here. Right?”
“Maybe,” I said and realized he was probably right. “The nurse who was just here said that I might get to go home tomorrow. She turned off my morphine pump too.”
“Bummer,” Thorn said. “But wouldn’t it be nice to go home tomorrow?”
“It would be. How long do you think you’ll be gone?” I asked.
“Kinsley, I don’t have to go,” Thorn said.
“No, it’s okay, really. I was just curious.”
“I’ll make it quick,” Thorn replied.
Thorn was only gone for a little over an hour, but as soon as he got back, he got a call he had to step out into the hall to take.
“I have to go downstairs,” Thorn said.
He’d just popped his head back in the door instead of coming all the way into the room.
“To the cafeteria?” I asked.
“To the morgue,” he replied gravely.
“What?” I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. “Is everything okay?”
“The medical examiner just finished his autopsy of Stewart Randell. He said he needs to go over his results, and he’s about to rule on cause of death. I’m already in the hospital, so I thought it would be okay if I met with him. Is that all right? I can tell him no and get Jeremy over here,” Thorn said.
“No, go, please. But you have to fill me in on what you find out,” I said.
“We’ll see,” Thorn said and began to shut the door.
“Don’t make me come down there,” I said, but it was an idle threat. I wouldn’t leave Laney even if the curiosity was about to kill me.
Thorn
I hated leaving Kinsley and Laney to work, but the medical examiner said that he had something important to tell me. He’d said it couldn’t wait, so I rode the hospital elevator down to the basement and waited for the morgue attendant to buzz me in.
The hallway was overly bright and smelled of chemicals and cleaners. It was the first time I realized how tired I was, and I rubbed my eyes hoping to wake myself up.
Laney had slept most of the night, but she had woken up a couple of times. It wasn’t just the sleep deprivation that was getting to me, though. I’d missed my morning run, and that exercise gave me energy. I needed the boost like I needed oxygen.
Something else was amiss too. There was a weird energy in the hospital, and it had my anxiety on alert. I hoped the doctor would send Kinsley home the next day because I wanted to get her and Laney away from whatever unspecified negative energy I’d felt.
I told myself it was just because it was a hospital. There’d been a lot of sickness and death there. Parts of the building were new and modern, like the morgue, but there were old parts too. Even the new morgue was just the old one remodeled. The energy under the surface was a hundred years old. Whatever old ghosts were there were probably just more confused by it all.
A shiver ran down my spine, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. The medical examiner stepped out into the hall from the autopsy area and greeted me.
“You’re in the hospital because your wife gave birth?” he asked after we’d said our hellos and shook hands.
“Yes, a baby girl,” I responded. “Mother and child are healthy and doing amazing.”
“Congratulations,” the ME said. “When does she get discharged?”
“Hopefully tomorrow,” I said.
“That will be good,” he said and cleared his throat. “I’m sure she’d love to get out of that room.”
“I think so too,” I said. “So, what brings me down here?”
He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, but I’d met with that particular ME before. He could be a bit flaky.
“Right!” He said and he seemed to focus. “So, Stewart Randell wasn’t murdered.”
“What?” I nearly couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You know that John Parker went to your station yesterday and confessed to your deputy that he’d thought about killing the deceased, but he said he ultimately backed out. They rode out the storm at the diner, and then went home,” the ME said.
“That sounds like quite the story if I’ve ever heard one,” I responded. “But no, Jeremy didn’t tell me. Probably because of my wife having a baby.”
“I thought that might be the case. Anyway, given the circumstances, I wanted to get the autopsy done as soon as possible. My findings back up what Mr. Parker said. No one murdered the deceased.”
“What? How?” I asked. “He had a knife in his back.”
“He also had a contusion and a laceration on his temple that were consistent with the edge of his countertop. Your deputy confirmed there was blood there.”
“So, the killer bashed his head on the counter too,” I said and pinched the bridge of my nose.
“Your deputy, Jeremy, also found that someone, probably the deceased, had loaded his knives into the dishwasher with the blades up. Was the dishwasher open when you found the body?” The ME asked.
“It was,” I admitted. “I didn’t really think about it at the time because it didn’t seem relevant.”
“Well, it was. Based on my examination, I’m ruling the death accidental. He appears to have tripped, hit his head, and fallen on one of the knives that he loaded blade up in the dishwasher. If I had to guess, based on pictures of the scene, I’d say he rolled off the dishwasher door and tried to crawl to his phone.”
“But he was mostly paralyzed and bled out?” I asked.
“Exactly, and the contusion on his head didn’t help. I found some pretty significant swelling
on the brain. He must have been confused. In fact, if he hadn’t bled out, I imagine the concussion would have killed him anyway,” The ME concluded. “That’s my official cause of death, and I’ll be writing up the report ASAP.”
With the official cause of death being listed as accidental, there was nothing more for my department to investigate. I called Jeremy and gave him the head’s up before getting on the elevator and going back up to my wife and baby.
Stormy Sky Magic (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 9) Page 8