by Perry Prete
Dr. Hernandez poked Will with a needle, he grimaced. She injected more anesthetic into the wound and told Will it would be another few moments before the medication took effect. Without looking up, she used the needle driver to point back and forth to the Will and Carl, "Patient, meet lab guy. Lab guy, patient."
The two men head bobbed to one another then ignored each other. The doctor used the needle held firmly in the jaw of the driver to poke at the wound. Will didn't react, so she went back to repairing the damage she thought was caused by a dog.
"Forceps please," Dr. Hernandez asked Carl.
He looked at the tray of instruments, confused at what he was looking at. This was the first time he had seen most of these tools in real life.
She pointed, "The ones with the gold ends."
He picked up the forceps, dragged another tool along with it, sending it crashing to the floor. It made a hollow metallic sound as it bounced off the floor.
Will laughed, Dr. Hernandez grimaced.
*****
Paul and Dan exited the elevator, looked right then left down the hall and noticed the officers sitting outside the room. They both turned right and walked silently down the hall. In the hospital room where Kerry lay sleeping, they stopped, introduced themselves, were asked by the officers to show identification before they were permitted into the room.
Kerry lay sleeping, a nasal cannula provided oxygen, the bruising around her neck evidence of the attack. Paul looked at the monitor, unsure what he was looking at, pulled out his notepad and jotted down her vitals in case it was relevant. He was shocked at how young she looked, "a baby" he thought, barely old enough to be in high school. Paul had a difficult time pulling his eyes away from the young girl, feeling sorry she had to endure this horrific event.
He quickly turned on his heels, his running shoes squeaking on the polished hospital floor, exited the room, Dan followed then asked the two officers who remained seated where the initial investigating detectives were. Paul and Dan were told their fellow detectives were in the cafeteria waiting for them.
They made their way once again to the elevators, went down to the main floor where the cafeteria was located. Paul scanned the room and found the two people he was looking for. Both Paul and Dan grabbed a coffee, paid for it and joined the other two officers.
"Thanks for the referral," Paul was sarcastic. "Now you want me to do your work too?"
Detective Cummings was not impressed with Paul's comments, "You want us to do your work too? You've been working on your case for what, half a year and I hear your amazing investigative skills have gotten you exactly nowhere. Maybe you should go back to wearing a uniform if you can ever fit into one again."
Paul shifted in his chair, Dan took hold of Paul's arm and held him back. Paul was about to speak, but Dan interrupted him, "Funny Liz, coming from someone who's been stuck in the same job for the last seven years investigating petty crime and the what, one sexual assault we get every ten years. Maybe one day, you can join our team and find out what real police work is all about, so you can speak from experience." Dan raised his eyebrows and cast Liz a look, "Lose the attitude. Girl or not, I'll fucking punch you in the throat if you ever talk down to us again."
Liz bolted upright knocking over her cup sending coffee across the table. She wanted to say something, but she feared that Dan might follow through on his threat. Instead, she looked at her notepad, then tossed it into Paul's chest. She left her spilled coffee and walked away, partner in tow.
Quietly, Paul leaned closer to Dan and whispered "Thanks." He used a napkin on the table to clean up the spill.
"Actually, if I didn't think I would get fired or charged, I'd fucking kick her arrogant ass. Christ, she bugs the living shit outta me. She's nothing but a fucking loud mouth."
Paul laughed, "I've felt the same way."
He laid the notebook that was tossed at him with such disdain down on the table and began to leaf through her notes. He found the notes Liz had taken at the scene, in the ER and at her room. He scanned the pages one by one, looking for anything that might stand out. There wasn't anything in her notes that indicated her team had found any evidence on scene other than a small piece of skin that the victim had off from her attacker. Her notes stated the evidence had been taken the police station for blood testing and DNA. Paul knew from previous DNA sampling that the results wouldn't be back for months.
Paul opened his notebook and began copying anything of relevance. He didn't find much. Paul passed Liz's pad to Dan and had him review the notes to see if he had missed anything. He used the opportunity to excuse himself and use the washroom.
Paul felt his phone vibrate in his jacket pocket as he stood in front of the urinal. He quickly finished, zipped up, pulled his phone from his pocket, smiled when he saw the caller and answered.
"Hi. This is a nice surprise. What's up?"
Nicole was sitting at her desk at work, leaning back in her chair, "It's a slow day. I asked the manager if I could leave early and she gave me the OK. Are you busy?"
Paul shrugged his shoulder holding the phone against his cheek as he washed his hands. "I'm at the hospital. There's a young girl here who was attacked last night. At first, it was thought it was a rape until they dug a little deeper. Turns out, it may be related to our case."
"Do you have pictures?" Nicole asked with excitement. "Yeah. They're at the station. Why? You wanna do a read?"
Nicole sat upright, "It's almost lunch. If you buy, I'll do my shtick." Paul laughed loudly, his voice echoing in the industrial washroom, "I'll buy. But it's hospital food."
"Deal."
"I'll have the photos brought here. How long before you get here?"
"If I rush, I can be there in fifteen. But you pay my traffic tickets."
Paul guessed that would give an officer enough time to bring the photos to him, "I'm great at fixing tickets. Meet me in the cafeteria."
Nicole disconnected, stuffed the phone in her purse, pulled the jacket from the back of her chair and bolted from her office. She ran to her car and drove to the hospital.
Paul had ordered three identical lunches and waited for Nicole to arrive. Not long after, Nicole walked into the cafeteria, took a chair and placed it close to Paul's, their legs touching. A large manila envelope lay on the table before them, unopened. The three of them picked at their salad as the envelope lay untouched. Halfway through her meal, Nicole reached for the envelope and with a single finger, slid it towards the edge of the table. She pushed her lunch to the side and turned the envelope over to open the flap. Paul placed his hand over the envelope, "It's not as bad as some of the other stuff you've seen, but I want to make sure this is something you want to do."
"I offered to come down, didn't I? Besides, do you have any leads that I haven't provided?"
Paul hung his head in embarrassment, "No."
Dan interjected, "Nicole, you've been kind, but I don't think that either one of us expects you to put yourself through anything traumatic for the department."
Nicole smiled softly, "I'm not doing this for the department or you Dan." She placed her hand on top of Paul's and squeezed gently. "It's self-explanatory, isn't it?"
*****
After the procedure was completed, Carl noticed a few drops of blood on his shirt. He found a lab coat on a hook in the treatment room and donned it as he yanked the curtain to the side and stepped out of the room. He was thanked by Dr. Hernandez for his assistance suturing up Will's hand wound. He just nodded, not wanting to open his mouth. Carl had never done anything like that before, and although he felt like vomiting several times, he kept his stomach quiet, and its contents down.
Dr. Hernandez went back to her patient, swapped the area around the wound clean, checked the sutures and turned Will's hand over several times to appreciate her handy work. "It's not perfect, but it's the best I could do under the circumstances. How's your thumb? Do you feel the restricted movement?"
Will looked down at his hand, the tin
y pieces of black plastic suture sticking out from the skin. He ran his finger along the sutures; the edges felt sharp and the tickle under his skin. He felt he had done a better job on the sutures in his cold room. He tried to move his thumb, feeling the tension in the skin, he stopped when he saw the skin stretch tight.
"Does it hurt?" she inquired.
"Tight." Will turned his hand over, "Nice job suturing. Will these be in long or dissolve?"
"Not long at all. A week to ten days. These won't dissolve. Your skin will eventually stretch out, but you'll have a scar. Nasty scar I'm afraid. You lost a chunk of skin that plastic could've done a better job of repairing."
"I don't have insurance, and besides, it's not that bad of a scar." He brought his thumb up tight against his hand, "See, you won't even be able to see the scar when I do this." Will put his hand in front of the doctor.
She held his hand, admired her work again, "I'm glad you're happy." Dr. Hernandez covered the wound with a gauze pad then taped it in place. "I'm going to have you lay down for a few minutes. I worked on your hand a lot longer than I should have. I want you to put your head down, relax for half an hour or so and I'll come back and check on the sutures before I release you. Some of those sutures are a little tight, and too much movement can tear the skin."
Will didn't move. Dr. Hernandez tapped the pillow, "Down mister. That's an order." She gave her patient her best fake smile and was about to leave the room, "I'll be back shortly with the papers to release you and some instructions on how to care for your injury at home."
Will did as he was told, slowly lowered himself to the pillow, brought his hand up over his head and looked at the sutures. "Not bad," he thought. He could feel his eyes getting heavy quickly, his eyes closed, he opened them again, they closed again, and this time they stayed closed.
*****
Now looking the part, Carl walked down the halls of the emergency department figuring any patient of a rape case would have security guarding the room. All of the rooms were left unguarded, so he made his way to the main section of the hospital. There, he scanned the signs directing him to the elevators. Carl asked a middle-aged lady pushing a cleaning cart which floor the new patients would be admitted to. She laughed and asked if Carl was new. He apologized, claiming to be a new medical student.
She told him all patients are on floors two to five, but it depended on why they were in the hospital and all the other floors are administration. He thanked her and made his way to the stairwell to avoid as many people as possible.
Carl slowly walked up the stairs, pulled open the door to the second floor and casually walked down the hall towards the nurses' station, glancing into each room as he passed. Seeing nothing, he continued to the far end of the corridor and took the stairs to the next level. The second floor revealed nothing. He walked across to the stairs knowing the girl who was attacked was most likely there. Until now, he hadn't devised a story in case he got caught. He wondered what the penalty was if he got caught posing as a doctor.
If she was admitted, she had to be on this floor. The door opened slowly, Carl made his way onto the floor and immediately noticed the two uniformed officers outside a room, her room no doubt. He continued down the hall, avoiding making eye contact or even looking at the officers standing guard. A few rooms before the one he wanted to visit, Carl entered and stopped short. He pushed himself close to the edge of the door and peered across at his target destination.
*****
Nicole opened the envelope, tilted it and let the photos slide out onto the table. They landed on the table face down. She took in a deep breath, took hold of the first photo and was about to flip it over when images began to flash in her mind. Whatever Nicole was seeing was moving so quickly, she couldn't focus on a single image. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on anything but her mind was flooded with so much information at once, she couldn't process anything. Her mind began to spin wildly causing her stomach to turn.
Seeing Nicole sway in her seat, Paul placed his arm around her. In an instant, she looked as if she had aged ten years. She lurched forward, put her hands on the table's edge, turned her head and threw up on the floor.
Paul and Dan jumped from their seats and came to Nicole's side. She began to slump to the side, Paul took hold of her jacket and pulled her back. Her head snapped back, then forward as she vomited again. Paul was about to call for help when he heard footsteps come running from behind. A nurse grabbed hold of Nicole, leaning her forward in her chair then pulled the chair back all in a single move. The nurse held her head and calmly asked another hospital worker to get a wheelchair or a stretcher.
Nicole woke up momentarily, found Paul in the growing crowd, she whispered something inaudible. Paul leaned in closer; she whispered again, "He's here. He's here right now."
In shock, Paul stared at Nicole; she whispered again, "Go."
Paul looked at the medical crowd who had gathered around Nicole, knowing she was well cared for, he broke away and headed for the hospital's main lobby. Dan looked at Nicole, then Paul and broke into a run to catch up to his friend. Paul didn't let up, carrying his large girth, ducking and swerving between hospital staff and visitors until he reached the lobby.
*****
There were two security guards standing at the main entrance. Paul stopped quickly, almost knocking one of them over. He was already out of breath, sweat beading on his forehead. He fumbled for his police identification in his jacket, presented it then replaced it. Paul wanted to speak, but he found it difficult to catch his breath. He placed his hands on his knees, leaned forward and forced himself to breathe.
"Lock down the hospital," Dan spoke with authority to the security staff.
The two security guards looked at Dan with bewilderment. The older of the two guards, who appeared to be retired from an executive's job, stood and questioned the police order, "On who's authority?"
Paul, who finally caught his breath, stood upright and was as tall as the guard, "Mine. Problem?"
"Major problem. We can't lock down some twenty odd entrances and garage doors and shipping bays. We don't have the manpower and it's a fire hazard. We can't lock the entrances down in case of fire. People have to get out."
Frustrated, Dan spun around looking at the lobby and tried to comprise, "Can we post security guards at the entrances?"
"You can. But who are you going to get to guard the doors? We have a total of four guards on duty, us, one in the ER and one who walks the floors and grounds. That's it. Besides, do you even know who you're looking for?"
Other than a skinny male, Dan and Paul realized they had no complete description of the person they wanted stopped from leaving the building.
Dejected, Paul and Dan stood beside the security guards wondering what to do next.
"K. Can you let us know if you spot a young skinny Caucasian guy," Paul instructed. "That's all we got."
The two guards looked at each other, "Really? A young skinny guy." "Just let us know if you spot someone matching that description. If you do, try and detain him and call us. Got it?" Paul's voice was authoritative and direct.
Paul turned and began to run back into the hospital with Dan fast on his heels. Dan wasn't sure where Paul was headed but kept pace. Paul took in deep breaths as he made his way to the ER.
Paul turned to Dan and asked him to radio for additional officers to help with the search for the suspect.
*****
Carl watched the two officers from his perch. He wondered how he could get the officers distracted and leave their post. It would have to be a great ruse. Maybe, he thought, he could pretend to be a doctor or nurse and go in to exam the patient. He still had his lab coat, he had misled the doctor in the ER and helped suture a patient, why not go in and pretend to examine the patient?
As Carl was refining his plan, he heard the officers' portable radio squawk. He pressed his ear to the edge of the door and heard the person on the radio asking for more officers to respond to the emergency dep
artment to assist in the search of a murder suspect. Carl's plans just changed.
One of the two officers broke away from his assignment, leaving one officer to guard Kerry and made his way to the elevator. Carl casually exited the room and joined the officer as he waited for the elevator to arrive.
"Busy day?" Carl asked as he watched the LED numbers change on the display.
"Kinda." The officer also kept looking at the display.
The elevator dinged to indicate its arrival, the doors parted, and the two men entered. They each turned to face the door and remained silent. Carl reached forward, pushed the button for the main floor then stood back. The two men remained silent until the doors opened and the both exited. Carl let the officer lead, he decided to stay a few feet behind and follow the officer to the ER.
*****
Will bolted upright in bed. Confused, it took a few moments before he finally recognized his surroundings. His stomach growled at him; his mouth tasted sour and dry as if he had just vomited. Will looked around the hospital room, he couldn't find any vomit on the floor or in a basin. His head spun, images had filled his mind while he slept. Images that didn't make sense. Images that didn't belong to him. Will tossed the cover sheet to the floor and felt the sting of pain in his hand. He had forgotten about his injury; the sudden movement caused a few stitches to rip through the skin. He looked down; the wound began to ooze blood from the open section. Will froze as he watched tiny drops of blood fall to the bed sheet. Blood continued to slowly flow down his fingers then pool on the cot. The muddled events of the day began to fall into place until Will finally knew what was happening.
What didn't make sense were the images of people sitting around a table that he didn't recognize. He recalled two men, dressed in suits, looking directly at him. As the men stared at him with concern, the image panned down, seeing his legs but those legs were not his but those of a woman. Now, standing in the hospital room, looking down at his legs, he saw his own, not those of a woman. Not only didn't he know these two men, or seeing women's legs, he couldn't remember ever being in that situation.