Graveyard Shift

by Michelle Dorey

  Her gaze darted to the call buzzer at the side of Carmel’s bed. It was so tempting to call for Courtney’s help. But what could she tell her without sounding totally bonkers? Some shadow person attacked Carmel? If she hadn’t seen it for herself—twice!—she’d question her own sanity with a story like that.

  Still, she couldn’t just ignore this like it hadn’t happened. She had to talk to Dr. Stone and get Carmel out of there. She was at risk. But in the meantime there had to be some way…

  “Carmel. I’m going to do some tests on you. Dr. Stone will need this information. When I’m done, I am going to see to it that you’re not alone while we wait for your doctor to arrange another residence for you.” Amanda couldn’t help her gaze from wandering over to that spot on the wall where the shadow had disappeared. She grabbed the cart and brought it alongside the bed.

  Carmel’s eyes showed signs of interest as she popped the oxymeter onto her fingertip. She actually even sounded less despondent when she asked, “How are you going to do that Amanda? You’re busy. You can’t be with me your whole shift. And what about when you leave for the day?”

  Amanda reached for the blood pressure cuff and set it in place. “You may not like this because I know you like your privacy, but I’m putting you in a wheelchair close to the nursing station.” She pumped up the cuff and then recorded the reading on the patient record sheet.

  “But what if Dr. Stone doesn’t agree? What if I’m stuck here? You know—”

  Amanda cut her off, “He will agree. He has to. You told me you’re friends with him.” Some friend he turned out to be! She hooked the stethoscope tips into her ears and warmed the chestpiece on her palm for a moment. All the while she tried to keep her voice light and confident, her gut was less sure that Stone would agree with her.

  “Deep breath, Carmel.” She pressed the chest piece high on Carmel’s back to check her lungs. Of course the passageways were clear now even though she believed Carmel about being almost strangled earlier. She had to make sure that could never happen again.

  As she continued checking different sections of the lungs, questions rose like air bubbles in her mind. Why was Carmel a target of attack and not any other resident at the home? And why had the shadow thing also appeared to me? Were they the only two people in the nursing home who could see them?

  She finished the chest exam and plucked the ear tips from her ears. “Now to get a sample of your blood—”

  “No! I hate needles. You’re not sticking me.” Carmel jerked away to the other side of the bed. “You’ll have to do some other test because that’s not happening, Amanda.”

  “Carmel. I’m pretty good at drawing blood. You won’t feel a thing. I promise. We need to do this.” Amanda tossed and stethoscope on the cart, her hand already to grab the rubber tourniquet. But there was nothing but the pressure cuff, urine specimen bottles and gauze. She was sure she’d placed tubes, needles and the tourniquet there.

  “I don’t care how good you are at that. I’m not letting you take my blood. That’s final.” Carmel rolled off the mattress and stood up. Her hand shot out to grasp the headboard to steady herself.

  Amanda grabbed the urine sample bottle and hurried over to help Carmel. “We’ll talk about the blood sample later then. How about I help you to the bathroom so we can collect urine. That’d be okay, right?”

  Carmel nodded and started shuffling slowly alongside the bed. “Stay with me while I do this, okay?”

  “Certainly.” Amanda’s arm circled Carmel’s waist as she walked beside her. Once more she glanced at the other side of the room, checking. Her mouth fell open seeing the needles and tubes for the blood test resting on Jane’s bed. What the hell? How did they get there? She barely breathed as she helped Carmel into the small room.

  When Carmel was done, she handed Amanda the urine sample, “Would you stay here while I take a shower? I keep thinking of that shadow creature sitting on my chest and choking me. It makes my skin crawl. I need to get its stink off me.”

  Even though she wanted nothing more than to get both of them out of room eleven, Amanda nodded. “Sure. It will probably make you feel better.” She stepped over to the tub and turned on the spray adjusting the temperature. When she turned to help the old lady, Carmel was naked, her hand out reaching for assistance to the tub.

  Amanda couldn’t help but notice the tattoo on Carmel’s sagging tummy. She was used to seeing young people with them but it was rare to see one on an elderly woman. “What’s your tattoo mean Carmel? It looks like a cross sitting on an infinity symbol.”

  Carmel’s eyes widened for a moment and then she shook her head. “I got caught up in religion at one time. I became almost a zealot even getting that silly tattoo. I marked my body with the cross for all time—infinity—as you can see.”

  “That’s the thing with tats, although yours is kind of cool looking.” Amanda held Carmel’s hand to steady her as she got into the tub. She watched the old woman bathe, ready to reach for her if Carmel became unsteady.

  As she helped the woman shower, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. She hurried the shower and had her clothes back on as fast as she could. As she escorted Carmel from the bathroom the hair at the back of her neck spiked high.

  ‘Someone’s here!’ The thought shot through her mind and she looked around wildly only to see the empty room. It didn’t matter, they were getting the hell out of there right now!

  “Let’s go, Carmel,” she said.

  “You feel them too, don’t you?”

  Amanda didn’t reply, just guided them both out of the room. She’d ask Courtney or one of the aides to retrieve the cart and equipment from the room. There was no way she wanted to go in there again.

  SEVENTEEN

  AFTER SEEING THAT CARMEL HAD A LIGHT BREAKFAST and a juice box in hand, Amanda settled the old woman in a wheelchair close to the nursing station. Leaving her, Amanda walked over to where Courtney sat. “Any luck contacting Dr. Stone?”

  Courtney shook her head. “His answering service said they’d pass on the message for him to call us.” She glanced at the light blinking and stood up. “It looks like I’m needed. Anne Lightner in room six.” As she walked away she added, “I sent Carmel’s urine sample off for testing.”

  She paused and her face looked puzzled when she turned to Amanda, “Why didn’t you take a blood sample? You know he’ll want that. And you left the syringe and tourniquet on Jane’s bed?”

  Amanda’s cheeks became warmer under Courtney’s gaze. She clicked the mouse, inputting her notes on Carmel. “The patient refused to do the blood test.” Glancing at Courtney it was clear that her friend was still baffled. But there was no way she could tell her the whole story—not how the shadow person had vanished into a wall or why the blood sample kit was on Jane’s bed.

  “I’m going to call Stone. I want him here, today. He’s got to see Carmel Turner now.” Amanda picked up the telephone and punched in the number to reach Dr. Stone. Courtney had continued on to answer Anne Lightner’s call, which was a good thing. She really hated holding this back from Courtney but she could barely believe it herself, let alone convince her friend.

  Hearing Ryan Stone’s voice answering made her sit straighter in the chair. “Dr. Stone, it’s Amanda Ennis at Serenity Lodge calling regarding Carmel Turner. She’s taken a turn for the worse the last few nights. What time are you available to see her today?” She could picture the irritation in his face at her telling him he would see Carmel pronto. A mere nurse telling a doctor what to do? Unheard of. But at that point she really couldn’t care less about Dr. Stone’s ego.

  “I was going to follow-up on the new meds on Friday. They’ve barely had a chance to work.” His tone was bored, purposely dismissive.

  “No. Carmel can’t wait until then. She was bordering on collapse when I came to work this morning. I will be noting this call and my urgent recommendation that you see her. If something happens—”

  “Are you t
hreatening me, nurse?” Dr. Stone was now confrontational countering with his own unspoken threat.

  “It’s hardly a threat. I’m merely stating the facts. I have Carmel close to the nursing station so I can monitor her until you arrive.” She looked over at Carmel whose head had dipped to her chest, snoring softly. At least she was calm and able to sleep for a bit.

  “Look, I can possibly see her mid-afternoon. But I will also be making a note if you’ve called me for no good reason. I understand you’ve submitted your resume for the Supervisor position.”

  Amanda’s neck muscles clenched even tighter. “Now who’s being threatening, Doctor Stone?” Hearing the click of a hang up on his end, Amanda slammed her phone onto the cradle Carmel jerked awake and looked over at her. Even the two residents strolling the hallway behind their walkers paused and looked at her.

  “I’m sorry. It slipped out of my hand.”

  The door to the outside hallway opened and an orderly wheeled Jane Drogan through. Following close behind was Jane’s brother, Mike. Oh God. When it rains it pours.

  Amanda rose and rounded the nursing station to greet them. “Jane! How are you doing? I didn’t realize that you were being released from the hospital today.”

  But Jane’s focus was on Carmel sitting in the wheelchair. Her chin had lowered and her eyes were hard like an eagle’s spying a field mouse.”That’s her, Mike. That’s the one who pushed me out of bed.” Her hand rose to point at Carmel.

  “I never pushed you, you old cow.”

  Amanda stepped between the two women. Great. Not here even two minutes and the war between the old women had resumed. The hospital couldn’t have kept Jane just one more day?

  “Jane, you’ll be in room two, at least for a little while until your mobility is back to normal.” Amanda took over from the orderly pushing the old woman into the nearest room. When Jane’s brother, Mike, failed to appear she looked out at the hallway to see him staring hard at Carmel.

  Courtney’s voice sounded from down the hallway, “Jane’s back? She wasn’t due until four.”

  Amanda left Jane and stepped through the door opening. “Courtney will take you to the waiting room, Mike. I’ll just be five minutes getting Jane settled in. Then you can visit with her.” She had to get him out of there before another spat started, this time between Carmel and Mike.

  For a short day, it was one of the hardest she’d had so far.

  EIGHTEEN

  RYAN STONE’S PLANS to work in his lab all day were shot to hell by that nurse phoning him. Who the hell did she think she was practically ordering him to see that old crone? He was perfectly aware that Carmel was worsening. It was all going so well until that little bitch had to stick her nose in.

  He still had a couple hours though to see how well the hormonal additive in the serum was performing. Entering the lab, his gaze was immediately drawn to the cage where the test rat was. The white rodent rose up on its hind legs watching his every step as he approached. Ryan didn’t want to get his hopes up, but the rat displayed more movement and interest in his surroundings than it had the previous day. But the measurable improvement would manifest in the rotarod activity.

  Ryan opened the cage and picked the rat up, cooing to it as he walked to the test cage. There, equipment measuring the rotations and speed of the treadmill would be recorded electronically. He set the subject on top of the belt and turned the counter switch on. His eyes opened wider and he leaned closer watching the rat run, picking up speed till the wheel was a blur. For an old rat, it was performing the task with the strength and agility of a much younger one. A glance at the counter showed a marked improvement over previous performance for this subject.

  For several minutes he continued observing the rat’s race against time, transfixed in excitement and wonder at what he was witnessing. This was amazing, even better than he could have ever hoped for! It was a far leap to transfer this finding to a person but that was where the nursing home came in. A few more trials with different aged rats and he’d be willing to put money on the fact that this would work even better on the human subjects. And when it did...well he could shave a few years off his own aging process.

  When the telephone buzzed once more he picked it up from the desk where he’d set it. The muscle in his jaw tightened seeing Serenity Lodge display on the screen. For a moment he deliberated on just letting the call go through to his service but then his ire got the better of him. That damned nurse, again!

  “Dr. Stone, here. What is it you want now?”

  “Dr. Stone? It’s Margaret Abrams from Serenity Lodge. It’s about your patient, Delores Winters. I thought you should know. She experienced a Cerebrovascular accident this morning. She’s been admitted to Sinai.”

  For a moment his mind scrambled. Who the hell was Delores Winters? And then it hit him. His prize lab rat at Serenity. Shit! A stroke?

  Barely keeping the tremor out of his voice, he spoke softly, “I’m sorry to hear that. She was doing so well. How bad was it?” But before she could answer he added, “Never mind. I’ll check with them to see how she is. I will be at Serenity at three this afternoon. I’ll speak with you then.”

  He set the phone down and cupped his cheek with his hand thinking hard. Was it the drugs he’d given her? Had it been too much? Too fast? The old crone was bound to have blood work done at the hospital. They might find traces of what he’d given her. He’d better get over to Sinai and make sure his ass was covered.

  Flipping the roto machine off, he plucked the rat from the treadmill. That would have to wait. He’d do more tests when he returned.

  Damn it!

  NINETEEN

  MIKE DROGAN SETTLED INTO THE CHAIR next to his sister’s bed. Having had a good look at that Carmel woman in the wheelchair when he passed by, he had some serious doubts that the old lady could have ever pushed Jane from her bed. She didn’t look like she weighed much more than ninety pounds, and it didn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to see how frail the old woman was. He glanced at his sister. From the fiery glint in her eye she didn’t appreciate having that old crone sitting just outside her new room.

  “Can I get you anything, Jane? Juice, water—”

  “You can tell the nurse to get that old bat away from me!” Jane’s fingers thrummed on the bed before squeezing the sheet in her fist. “She’s always playing the pity card when in fact she’s just a manipulator.”

  Mike saw that there was no use arguing with Jane. It’d just make matters worse. “How about a chocolate bar? There’s a machine in the waiting room. I don’t know about you but I could use a snack.” He smiled when she looked over at him. Jane had a terrible sweet tooth which explained the extra weight she was carrying. But if it got her mind off that woman out there, it would be worth it.

  Her face softened after a few moments of silently looking back at him, “Nothing with nuts. They get caught under my dentures and hurt like hell.”

  “I remember you like caramel in your…” Her eyes flashed wide and too late he realized his mistake saying caramel, reminding her of the old lady outside. He got up, murmuring “Sorry” before he walked to the door.

  He was just about to step out when he heard a man’s heated words coming over from the nursing station. He paused and cocked his ear to take it in.

  “This could have waited until Friday. I don’t appreciate you interrupting my day off when it’s obviously not a medical emergency.”

  “What is it, Mike?” Jane tried to sit forward.

  He turned and signaled for Jane to be quiet so he could hear. There was something about that voice. He’d heard it before but from where? There was an accent like the guy was from Boston.

  He stepped back so as not to be noticed when he saw the man approach the old woman in the wheelchair. It was a tall man dressed in dark trousers and a white shirt.

  “Let’s get you to your room and I’ll examine you. Find out what all the fuss is about, Carmel.” The man stepped behind the chair and released the brake. He looked
over at Mike who had stepped outside his sister’s doorway.

  Mike stiffened when his gaze locked with the other man’s. It couldn’t be the same guy. But that scar on his forehead... How many men had a scar that looked like the letter ‘Y’ had been carved above their eyebrows?

  He barely breathed watching the man push the wheelchair down the hallway. He jumped when the young dark-haired nurse stepped over to him and asked, “Is everything okay? Jane…”

  She started to enter Jane’s room but Mike grabbed her arm, “Who is that man?” He indicated the guy walking behind the wheelchair.

  It might have been his imagination but a coldness seemed to flit over the young nurse’s face. “Dr. Ryan Stone. Why? Do you know him?”

  But her questions didn’t penetrate through the maelstrom that whirled in Mike’s brain. It couldn’t be the same guy he’d investigated almost forty years ago. That guy would be pushing ninety by now. It had to be Stone’s son! But that didn’t figure either. The man pushing the wheelchair was in his early fifties.

  That scar on his forehead…

  “Mike!”

  The sharp demand of his sister calling from her room yanked him back to reality. He murmured to the young nurse, “Excuse me.” and stepped back into Jane’s room, closing the door behind him. For a moment all he could do was stand there staring off into space.

  “What is it, Mike?” Jane pulled the covers back and tried to get up but Mike rushed forward signaling for her to stay put with his hand. But as usual his older sister had to get the final word in, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Mike. You’re white as a sheet.”

  He slumped down in the chair once more feeling all of his sixty-six years. “I think I have, Jane.” He looked at her with wide eyes, “A ghost. This makes no sense whatsoever.”

  “That was Dr. Stone, not a ghost.” Jane shook her head. “He’s the resident physician here, Mike. Has been for the last few months. How do you know him?”