by Linnea Hall
“A German philosopher once said ‘To desire immortality is to desire the eternal perpetuation of a great mistake’. I tend to agree with him.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot that you’re the eternal pessimist.” Ashley snorted in disgust.
“Anyway, I still don’t see why he would want a sample of Collin’s DNA.”
“Yeah, weird.”
“Well, I know I need some sleep if I’m going to be able to work tonight and so will you. Pick you up at five?”
“Yup, sounds good. See ya.” Ashley closed the door behind Jewell.
*
When Ashley and Jewell walked up to the door to the hospital at five thirty, Collin was waiting for them in the darkness beside it. Jewell thought about how creepy it was the way he could just appear and disappear in the shadows.
“Hey Honeysuckle,” he said grabbing her around the waist. “Hi Ashley. How are you tonight?”
“Good Collin. Thanks for noticing me. I’m surprised you actually know my name.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Of course I know your name. Other than me, you’re all Jewell talks about.” He smiled as he put one hand on Ashley’s shoulder. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for Jewell and I’m sorry I’ve been too occupied to speak to you before now.”
Ashley grunted. “Whatever. Apology accepted I guess.” Her tone was joking, she really liked Collin and it hadn’t bothered her that Collin had ignored her on all of their previous encounters.
Collin took both girls by the hand and led them into the shadows of the parking garage so that they wouldn’t draw attention. “So, what did you figure out?”
“Not much,” Jewell said dejectedly.
Ashley wasn’t so negative. “Not much?” She turned to look at Collin. “We only found out that there is some mass conspiracy at the hospital involving you, Dr. Babineaux and your uncle, and that some people have taken great pains to cover it up!”
“Give me a break Ash. Sandstrom could have just been a coincidence, and just because Babineaux took some of Collin’s DNA for research doesn’t mean there’s a conspiracy.”
“Wait.” Collin interjected. “He took what? A sample of my DNA? Why would he do that?”
“Just research,” said Jewell. “Apparently there’s this enzyme called Telomerase that he thinks is the secret to immortality.”
“So what does that have to do with me? And how is my uncle involved?”
“We don’t know.” Jewell said, shrugging her shoulders. “What we do know is that information has been removed from your file, and that some of the information has been changed.”
“Well, you did your best.” He bent over and gave Jewell a kiss on the forehead. “I appreciate your efforts.” He turned to include Ashley in his gratitude. “You ladies need to go to work. I’ll see you,” he turned to Jewell, “in the morning.” He picked up her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. She shuddered. Ashley smiled. After he had turned to leave, Ashley held out her hand. “You might as well just give me your keys now. It’ll save you time when we leave.”
Jewell laughed and dropped her car keys into Ashley’s upturned hand.
Collin was waiting at Jewell’s car when she and Ashley left in the morning. He took her hand and started walking toward where he was parked. Jewell smiled and waved at Ashley with her other hand as she walked away. Over breakfast at Café du Monde, they discussed the file in more depth.
“So, what were you saying yesterday, about information being changed?” Collin asked, brushing powdered sugar from the front of his shirt.
“Well, here’s what’s interesting. The name of the attending doctor has been changed and has relocated to Baltimore.”
“That doesn’t seem like much. What else was changed?”
“Well,” Jewell said, sipping on her coffee, “they had called your time of death. That should have been in the file. It’s happened before, where a doctor makes a mistake and calls it, but it turns out that the patient actually survives. The fact that it was called always stays in the file; along with details of the resuscitation. Those details are extremely important if there are complications later, which, unlike with you, there usually are.”
“So what does it say about the whole thing?”
“It just says that you were in cardiac arrest when you arrived, CPR was being administered by emergency personnel, and that they were able to restore a sinus rhythm after five minutes of continued CPR and oxygen.”
“What’s a sinus rhythm?” He pointed to himself, “history major, remember.”
“Oh yeah. That just means that your heart started beating normally again.”
“So then, there’s nothing in there about me…well, dying?”
“Nope. Not a word. According to this, there was nothing abnormal at all. You were brought in, your injuries were documented – it looks like those are all accurate, all procedures performed during surgery and your follow up care until you were transferred to a private facility. Where did you go anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I checked out Jaffa Continued Care Facility. It didn’t check out.”
“You were spying on me?”
Jewell blushed. “Well, um…I was following up on your transfer?”
“Yeah right. From the time I left the ER I was no business of yours. You were looking for me because you missed me.” He grinned and poked her in the side.
“Oh, and this coming from the guy stalking me at my job every night!” Jewell countered.
“Okay, you got me. What can I say? I am totally, completely, and irrevocably in love with you.”
Jewell pushed up from the table. “You’d probably better get me home. I have to work again tonight and I’m beat.”
Collin got up and followed her as she walked towards his car. “What did I say?”
“Nothing. I’m just tired.” She crossed her arms over her chest as Collin reached for her hand. He put his arm around her shoulders instead. She stiffened, but didn’t protest.
Collin opened Jewell’s door and then walked around to the driver’s seat. He put the key in the ignition, but didn’t start the car. Instead, he looked at Jewell. She was looking out the window. “Jewell,” he whispered. “Jewell, what’s wrong?”
“Collin, this is just getting stranger. Instead of finding answers, I’m just coming up with more questions. Your uncle knows something, how do I know that you don’t know something you’re not telling me. I don’t know what to think.”
He reached across the seat and put his hand on her shoulder. “Jewell, look at me.” She turned and looked at him. “Look at my eyes. I’m not lying. I’m just as confused about this as you are. If I knew something else, I swear I would tell you. Can’t you see that I’m telling you the truth? I’m scared too, and confused. Imagine how this feels to me, to find out that not only are secrets being kept from me and by my family no less, but secrets about me are being kept from everyone.”
Jewell suddenly felt selfish. He was right. This wasn’t about her at all, this was about him. She could just walk away, at least in theory. He couldn’t walk away from his secrets. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just so overwhelming.”
“You know, I would understand if you didn’t want anything more to do with me. I wouldn’t try to stop you if you wanted to walk away.” He looked down, as if he thought that might be what she wanted.
Jewell reached out and took his face gently in both her hands. She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. “You know I can’t leave you. Not even if I wanted to.” She leaned back and laughed. “I mean really, I spent an entire day driving around Lake Charles looking for some imaginary place just so I could see you again. Where did your uncle take you anyway?”
“Honestly? Just back home. He is a doctor after all.”
“Speaking of home…I checked out your home address, too. It appears you live at a florist in Lacombe.”
“My, my; you sound a little obsessed. Are you stalking me?”
“Just a little.”
*
That night she dreamed of Collin. In the dream, Collin was standing in the sunlight. She could see him, but it looked like he was looking for her. She was engulfed in shadow. She tried calling to him, but when she called his name her voice made no sound. She tried to walk forward, but couldn’t move. It felt like she was tied down, her arms pinned to her sides. She kicked her legs, but could not escape her bindings. She started to panic. Her panic pulled her from sleep, breathing hard, her blankets twisted around her arms fixing them against her body.
Chapter 24
Ashley and Jewell walked together into the hospital. As they walked towards the hospital, they joined a crowd of other employees arriving for work. Collin had promised to help his uncle with some things tonight, so he didn’t meet Jewell as usual. Suddenly, something caught Jewell’s eye. She quickly moved to Ashley’s other side, and pulled Ashley to the outside of the crowd.
“What’s going on?” Ashley asked.
“Don’t turn your head, but look over by the wall, in the corner.”
“What, the guy?”
“Yes, does he look familiar to you?”
Ashley tried to look without looking as they moved towards the hospital doors. It was difficult to get a good look at him because he was in a shadow, and partially obscured by the wall. Also, the people in the crowd kept passing in front of her view. “No. Should he?”
“Ash, it’s the same guy from the Burger King in Lake Charles. The same guy from the emergency room I told you about, the idiot with the coffee. Now do you remember?”
“Yeah, I remember you telling me about him. Are you sure that’s him? How do you know?”
“Well, the brace on his leg for one thing. That guy broke his leg. Do you remember the guy in Lake Charles; he was having trouble getting out of his car because his leg was in a cast?”
“I don’t know I wasn’t paying attention.”
Jewell huffed in exasperation. “Besides, there’s something about him. Trust me, it’s the same guy. I think he’s following me.”
“You’re being paranoid. It’s probably not the same guy, or maybe he’s here for another reason or something.”
“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean the world isn’t out to get you.” Jewell quoted as she kept Ashley between her and the stranger while she passed through the doors into the hospital. The man was looking the opposite direction towards some other employees who were just arriving. Jewell shivered. “The hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end!” She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t know, maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m just being paranoid. I’m so tired I’m just not thinking straight.”
Jewell tried not to think any more about the man she saw outside the hospital until she was checking some information on a patient with Lea, who works at the front desk. “Hey, Jewell; some guy came by, I think he might have been looking for you.”
“Really?” Jewell’s suspicions flared to the surface. “What did he look like?”
“I don’t really remember I didn’t look at him much. He was asking for a blonde nurse that usually wears a pony tail. Since you’re the only blonde on night shift, I figured he was talking about you.”
“What…what did you tell him?”
“I told him that I couldn’t give out any information on employees of course.” She turned to look at Jewell. “You look really pale. Do you feel alright?”
“I’m not sure. Did this man…did he have a brace on his right leg?”
Lea thought for a minute. “Actually, now that you mention it, I think he did. He was walking with a cane. Do you know him? He didn’t seem to know your name.”
Jewell leaned against the counter. Lea got up and moved her chair behind Jewell prompting her to sit down. “What’s wrong? You do know him, don’t you?”
“He came in about two weeks ago. It was a single car MVA; he had spilled coffee in his lap. I remember seeing him as they pushed him past me in the hall. When he looked at me, it was just…I don’t know, creepy.” Jewell rested her head in her hands for a minute, trying to slow her heart rate and her breathing. “I was in Lake Charles a couple days later, I saw him there. I didn’t think too much about it at the time; I thought it was just a coincidence. He didn’t seem to notice me. But then, him being here tonight…I saw him standing outside. I thought it was weird, but now that you said he was asking for me…”
“He was here tonight?” Lea sounded worried.
“Yeah, outside waiting by the employee entrance, why?”
“Because he was asking for you last night.” Lea reached for the phone, quickly dialing the number for security. “I think we have a problem. There’s somebody here that may be stalking one of our nurses.” She waited for a minute, listening. “Jewell McKean. She’s right here with me. She can probably give you a better description than I can.” Lea handed the phone to Jewell.
“Hello?” Jewell described the man to security who told her that they would look into it. She turned to Lea, “Can you pull that file for me? I want to know who this guy is.”
“I’m really not supposed to…”
“Please, this guy is stalking me. I should at least know who he is. Maybe I can go to the police and get a restraining order or something.” She was on the verge of tears. The idea of this man following her was spine-chilling. She had heard of people being stalked before. All of the stories she read ended badly.
“Let me see what I can work out.”
“Thanks Lea. Do you know where Nurse Yohanan is?” Jewell asked standing and looking towards the treatment area.
“The last time I saw her she was walking towards exam 3.”
Jewell steadied herself. She felt extremely nauseous and a little dizzy. When she was certain that she could walk, she went to find Nurse Yohanan to ask if she could take a break. Even though she had just come on her shift, Nurse Yohanan was sympathetic and told her to take twenty minutes to compose herself. Jewell went straight upstairs to talk to Ashley.
Jewell and Ashley sat at the nurses’ station as Jewell explained that the man she had seen tonight and in Lake Charles had also asked about her yesterday. “What do you think he wants?” Ashley asked Jewell when she had finished explaining everything.
“I don’t know. That first night he was here though, the way he looked at me. I can’t describe it. He didn’t look at me like he thought I was attractive, or like he was just watching me because I was more interesting than the wall. I don’t know, it was just sinister, you know?”
“Did security say what they were going to do?”
“No. Officer Garrett said that he was going to send a couple of guys to see if he was still lurking somewhere. He said that one of his officers had reported a suspicious man loitering near the ER yesterday. He fit the description of the guy that was there tonight. I asked Lea to see if she could find his file so I could find out who he is, maybe where he lives or something. What should I do? Ashley, this is really scaring me! What does he want?”
Ashley reached over to give Jewell a hug. “I don’t know honey. I’ll make sure I ride with you so at least you won’t be coming and going alone. Our schedules are pretty much the same, but I’ll talk to my supervisor and see if she’ll work with me. You might want to talk to Nurse Yohanan too. Then, we should probably call security when we come in and leave. Tom is usually at the gate, I’m sure that if we let him know, he can radio security when we come in, and we can just call security when we get ready to leave. Plus, now that they know about this guy, they’ll be watching for him and I’m sure they won’t let him in the garage. It’ll be okay, you’ll see.”
“I hope so.” Jewell was feeling a bit better. Now that she had time to calm down a bit, and after everything Ashley had said, she felt reassured. She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll see you at lunch.”
When she went back downstairs, Lea was talking to Officer Garrett, the head of security. She
was handing him a patient file, she assumed it was the file for the man following her. When Lea saw her, she motioned to Jewell to come over. Jewell spoke to Officer Garrett for about an hour, explaining everything: the first time she saw him, the visit to Lake Charles, and coming in to work tonight. Officer Garrett told her that they didn’t catch him, but had a description from the previous night, along with a description of his car and his license plate number. He also promised to notify the New Orleans police.
“If you see anything suspicious, make sure you let us know. And we suggest that you don’t go in and out of the hospital alone. Call security for an escort if it makes you feel safer.”
Jewell smiled and thanked the officer.
She ate lunch with Ashley, saying little. She did tell Ashley about her conversation with Officer Garrett. They agreed to meet in the locker room after work to walk to Jewell’s car. When it was time to go, a security officer walked Ashley and Jewell to Jewell’s car. As usual, Collin was waiting for her. Still out of hearing distance, Ashley leaned over and asked, “What are you going to tell Collin?”
“Oh no, I hadn’t thought of that. What should I tell him?” The officer was walking behind the two girls and hadn’t heard their conversation; he was looking for signs of danger. Jewell turned back to the officer, “can you give me a minute? I’ll just be over there.” She pointed toward where Collin was standing.
The security guard looked toward Collin, “You know him?”
“He’s my boyfriend. I’ve got to go talk to him.”
“I’ll wait here.” The security guard stood in a professional at ease position, legs slightly spread, his hands clasped loosely in the small of his back. Jewell briefly wondered if this officer had a military background. She walked over to Collin who looked confused.
“What’s with the escort?” Collin asked.
“There’ve been some problems with some guy hanging around. It’s just to ensure the security of the nurses until they’re sure they have the situation under control.”