He waited for the food staff to come and take away his breakfast tray and then he did some more exercises. Stretching mostly, but also a little bit of strengthening his arms. He could do that in the bed without causing any alarms. He couldn’t ignore his legs, but it would be wiser to wait until the evening when there was less chance of disruptions.
Lunch came and went without any sign of Elizabeth.
“Well, I shouldn’t expect her here all the time. She must be coming later today,” he thought. He was a little disappointed, but it made perfect sense. They had to play the long game, and make sure that they made the most of their current advantage. As long as the hospital didn’t know that Elizabeth had access to him, the better. It kept their options open.
He did a few more exercises in the afternoon, and watched the television. The same old shows, which was tiring.
“How is watching television tiring, I don’t even do anything,” he wondered. It was a funny thought. It should be relaxing, but was the opposite.
“Maybe for someone who doesn’t do much it’s a lot of effort. Or maybe I’m just so over it my brain can’t take any more,” he thought. It had been months of the same routine, and he was already over it a long time ago. But Elizabeth’s intervention had given him hope. Hope to be free, and walk on his own once more.
Dinner arrived, and it was lasagne, with rice pudding and orange juice.
“Now this is a decent meal, smells good,” Nathan said to himself. He unwrapped his cutlery and begin to dig in when one of his machines started beeping.
“Seriously? Can’t you see I’m trying to eat?” he said, looking at the machine. It only beeped at him in response. Nathan pressed the nurse call button and started eating. The lasagne was hot and cheesy, which hit the spot. However after only a few mouthfuls the door opened. He saw Annabelle rushing in.
“Just my machine,” Nathan said.
“Ok, that should be fine,” she said. Annabelle walked over to the machine and checked the indicator.
“Needs a refill I’ll be back.”
“Sure,” Nathan said and returned to his food. He forgot about the machine and started enjoying the food. The machine beeped again.
“Again? Whatever,” Nathan said. His annoyance was rising, but he pushed it aside with thoughts of freedom. He needed to eat, to build his strength. Then he could get out of here, and be free of all the machines and prodding and blood sampling.
Annabelle returned within a few minutes, and started attaching a new package to the drip.
“Here we go, this should do the trick,” she said and reset the machine. She waited a minute until she was satisfied it was working correctly, then turned to leave.
“Annabelle, Dr Malberg said you would tell me when my blood test would be rescheduled?”
“Oh yes, probably tomorrow,” she said.
“Ok thanks, see you later.”
“Bye Nathaniel,” she said and left. Nathan thought over their encounter, it was pretty normal.
“I think she’s warming to me a bit, she doesn’t seem as surly,” he thought. Although he was a bit surprised that she had come when he buzzed, she usually only came to take blood. Not that it mattered. His stay would be over soon. He finished his dinner and set the tray aside. He left the television on, but didn’t really watch it. There was nothing to watch. After his dinner tray was taken Nathan waited patiently for Elizabeth to show. He didn’t have much to share with her, but was keen to see what updates she had for him.
Hours passed, and Elizabeth did not show.
“What’s keeping her?” Nathan thought. He had been putting off his exercise until after she came, but decided to push ahead anyway. He leaned over to the side of the bed and with an effort swung his legs over the edge. It was time to test his strength a little.
He lowered his left foot to the floor and tried putting some weight on it. It felt alright, but it was hard to tell. He tried the same with the other foot, still sitting on the bed but letting some weight be borne by his right foot too. It was a similar sensation, but after his previous expedition he felt nervous. He didn’t feel like trying again so just sat there for a few minutes, flexing his legs and trying to remember what it felt like to walk properly.
Nathan started to feel very tired, so he swung himself back into the bed and made himself more comfortable. Sleep found him soon after.
He awoke to a stinging sensation. He opened his eyes quickly and looked around. The room was still dark, but there was a shape standing over him. As his eyes adjusted he saw it was a nurse, probably Annabelle. They were taking blood from him.
“What?” he managed to say.
“Relax, we are just finishing the blood sample.”
“While I’m asleep?”
“After the last episode it seemed like the best option,” Annabelle said. Nathan slumped back into the bed, he didn’t have the energy to argue any further. He felt Annabelle finishing up, and wrapping a bandage around the entry point.
“There we go, all done. Back to sleep,” she said, her voice attempting to be sweet. Nathan wanted to laugh at that but felt too tired. He even wanted to stay awake to rebel. But he couldn’t.
Nathan awoke feeling terribly weak. It was a struggle to sit up properly. He remembered his night-time visit, and looked over at his arm. The bandage was still there, and it felt sore.
“Great,” he said. Elizabeth had not visited him last night, and the blood they had taken had taken its toll on him. He moved his arms, trying to see if some exercise could shake off his fatigue. But it was no trick, his body was genuinely tired and sore. He felt like he had gone backwards, after all his progress.
“It’s alright, Elizabeth will come through,” he thought. He held onto that thought, clung to it like nothing else. He needed to be rescued, he couldn’t save himself.
A different doctor did the rounds, but Nathan didn’t bother asking any questions. He knew the answers, and wanted to save his energy. When the newspaper arrived he eagerly flipped through, hoping to see a message from Elizabeth. There was nothing obvious, so he had a go at the word jumble. It occupied him for a while, but there was no hidden message. He threw the newspaper down in disgust.
“It’s only been one day, everything’s fine,” he told himself. It was the voice of reason, but he had trouble believing it. He looked at the facts and things weren’t that bad. One bad night and a crummy morning, and he felt like he had been abandoned. It didn’t make sense. But he couldn’t shake the feeling. Something was not right.
Lunch came and it was chicken noodle soup. He ate it reluctantly, but didn’t enjoy it. He kept looking up at the door, half expecting Elizabeth to sneak through at any moment. But nobody came, except to retrieve his lunch tray.
Nathan dozed throughout the afternoon. The television was on, but he couldn’t concentrate. His spark and energy were gone, and he didn’t know how to get them back. So he just tried to rest, allowing his body to do what it wanted. As the afternoon became evening, and dinner was served, Nathan was starting to really worry. It wasn’t just his intuition, it had been too long. Elizabeth had a key and could visit him anytime. But she hadn’t even sent a message. He had to resign himself to the possibility that she had given up. The overwhelming routine of the hospital was getting to him, and as much as he hated it he was starting to accept it.
“Is this my life now?” he thought. He knew that he was being irrational, but he couldn’t shake the belief. He lifted the lid and his dinner looked like slices of roast pork with vegetables. He replaced the lid and left it there for a time, while he thought about his predicament.
26
The Showdown
After a long night of talking and planning, Frank escorted Elizabeth back to her car. She had delighted in finally sharing all the details of her investigation with someone, and Frank was very interested in all of it.
“So are you comfortable with this?” Elizabeth said.
“Yes, don’t worry about me. I’m more worried about
you.”
“I can handle it.”
“I’m a believer. Drive safe and call me later to let me know how you are tracking.”
“Will do. No matter how this ends, I just want to say thanks. I didn’t realise how much help I needed.”
“No thanks required, just stick to the plan,” Frank said, before waving at Elizabeth and disappearing back into the night.
She drove home slowly, knowing that her mind was not completely focused on the road. It was the first time she had brought someone into her investigation before it was done, and it was a new feeling. But it was positive, and she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
“Someone else is part of this now, I don’t have to deal with the burden alone,” she thought. And she hadn’t realised until now what a burden it had been. She felt foolish for giving up so easily when George betrayed her, but luckily Dean had put the boot in and turned her around. She couldn’t let him down either.
She was anxious to get the plan in motion, but it was too soon. She would ruin things if she rushed. So she purposefully took her time getting home, and then took a long shower. She dressed and prepared for bed, having an early night. It was the best thing she could do for now.
Surprisingly she slept easily. Her worries and concerns drifted away and were silenced by her desire to rest. She awoke the next morning refreshed, and ready to go. As she did her morning routine she almost left to go to work, then remembered she had left.
“Some habits die hard,” she thought with a laugh. The distance of sleep had given her a bit more perspective on the previous day. She still felt hurt by George, but it was less biting and less personal. She could understand him, and his fears. He saw her story as a risk, one that he couldn’t protect the paper from. He chose to put his head in the sand and take the easy option. And that was perfectly understandable. He didn’t have to look Nathan or Dean in the eye. But she did, and she would have to live with herself. She would do anything to get the right outcome, story be damned. And that’s where they were different.
She went out for coffee, walking to her local cafe. The owner greeted her with surprise, as Elizabeth hadn’t visited on a weekday in years.
“Day off,” Elizabeth said and didn’t offer any more information. She drank her cappuccino slowly and deliberately, drawing out the experience. She knew herself well, and she had to pace herself. The plan required precise timing.
Elizabeth finished her meal, paid and walked home. She looked at her watch as she entered her apartment and decided that it was time to get to work. She opened her phone and dialled the Research department at Royal Monterey Hospital.
“Hello, you’ve reached the Research department,” a woman said over the phone. Elizabeth didn’t recognise the voice.
“Hello, I came in earlier to see Dr Malberg. I need to speak with him urgently.”
“I’m sorry Dr Malberg is currently unavailable. Can I take a message?”
“Yes, please tell him that I’m calling about Nathan and we need to meet. He will know what I mean. Here’s my number,” Elizabeth said and then related her number over the phone.
“Of course, I’ll pass on the message as soon as possible,” the woman said and hung up. Elizabeth put down the phone and waited.
“Now, I wonder if that will get his attention?” Elizabeth thought. It was a purposefully vague message, but surely dropping in Nathan’s name would get the right reaction from him.
Within ten minutes her phone rang, this time an unlisted number.
“Bingo,” Elizabeth whispered before answering.
“Hello,” Elizabeth said into the phone.
“Hello, this is Dr Malberg returning your call. You are?”
“My name is Elizabeth and thanks for so promptly responding. I would like to meet you in person and discuss a few things.”
“Such as?”
“I think you know what. I won’t do this over the phone. Can you meet tonight?”
“Yes, I am available. Where should I meet you?”
“Come at eight,” Elizabeth said before relaying the address to him. It was an abandoned office space that Frank knew about.
“Ok I have the address, I’ll see you tonight.”
“Come alone,” Elizabeth said.
“As you wish,” Dr Malberg said before hanging up. She sighed and put her phone down. The call had gone exactly as she had planned. He had taken the bait and agreed to meet her. He would definitely call Don, so she had to get moving before they came looking for her. If they couldn’t bring her in they would have to meet her on her terms.
Elizabeth left the apartment and rushed over to her car. She started it and started driving. She didn’t have a destination in mind, just focused on places to avoid. Nod would be looking for her soon, if not already. She had to make sure that she wasn’t easy to find.
She drove through the Black Jungle first. It was relatively safe to drive through during the day, if you stuck to the main roads. And wouldn’t be expected. She continued through some industrial areas until she was in the suburbs. She had never really visited the area before, so she felt like it was safe. The streets were wide, and lined with trees. There was a peaceful atmosphere. She parked the car outside a park and retrieved her phone. She sent a message to Frank to confirm the meeting was set for eight.
Elizabeth put down the phone and then left the car. She walked over to the park and sat down at a bench. It was nice to take a moment, and also a necessity. She had to wait it out, until their meeting tonight. There was no other preparation she could do. All the places she would want to go were out of bounds. She couldn’t visit Nathan for fear of tipping them off. The longer they were in the dark about how much she knew, the better. She had purposefully only thrown his name around to let their imaginations run wild.
It was still a gamble, they could do a lot to hamper her efforts. But she had Dr Malberg and Don figured out. They were confident and arrogant. Once they compared notes and worked out who she was, they would dismiss her as being able to be handled. But she would show them.
Elizabeth’s blood started to boil at the thought of Don and Dr Malberg, so she tried to think about other things. But her mind kept going back to the plan and those two, so she gave up and returned to the car. She turned on the engine, and just started driving.
She whiled away the afternoon that way, only stopping occasionally to get some food. And finally it was time to get moving, this time with purpose. She drove to the meeting place, parked her car around the corner and then started to walk up. They had picked an abandoned office space in a dodgy neighbourhood. There was less chance of any surveillance and less chance of interruptions. But it was still a risk.
On the third floor of the condemned building, there were two apartments. One was the designated meeting spot, however Elizabeth was waiting in the other. She was two hours early, but didn’t want to be surprised Dr Malberg or Don pulling a trick. The wait was agonising, and she nearly jumped at any sound, but she kept her cool. At five minutes to eight she heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and a knock on the apartment next door. There was another knock, and a pause, and finally she heard the door open. She only heard one set of footsteps so she felt like it was safe.
Before she emerged, she walked over to the balcony and stepped outside. The balcony door was open in the other apartment, so she tried to listen in to hear anything useful. She heard Dr Malberg talking.
“I’m here, no sign of her yet. Stay back, if she spots you she’ll get spooked. I’ll let you know when I have what we need,” he said. There was no reply, so Elizabeth assumed he was on the phone. She had heard enough, so walked back through the apartment, opened the door quietly and then entered the other apartment. She saw Dr Malberg standing in the middle of the room with a phone to his head.
“I better go, talk soon,” he said and immediately closed his phone.
“Dr Malberg, thanks for coming,” Elizabeth said. She put on her game face and exuded confidence.
This was it.
“Ah, we meet again. I know your name was fake, but did you really have a celebrity patient with cancer?”
“No, I was just testing you.”
“Interesting. Did I pass?”
“You could say that.”
“So, why am I here?”
“Well, I’ve been doing an investigation. And I’m going to blow this thing wide open, but I wanted to give you an opportunity to get in front of it, and explain yourself. Maybe we can limit the damage to your reputation and career,” Elizabeth said. Dr Malberg laughed, a dark shrieking sound that was very off-putting.
“Oh that’s marvellous. Is that a threat? And how are you going to blow this thing wide open, when you are no longer a reporter?”
“There’s more than one way to go about this.”
“Yet your most effective avenue is closed. So what exactly are you blowing wide open?”
“I know you have been holding Nathan Stenson against his will in the hospital for over three months.”
“Why would I be doing that? And where’s your proof of that?”
“He’s part of your research program,” Elizabeth said, watching Dr Malberg’s reaction. His smirk had disappeared but he still appeared confident.
“There’s no proof of that, and even if you could prove he was in fact at the hospital for the time you are claiming, how could you demonstrate it wasn’t for a just cause?”
“Well, testimony from Nathan is a pretty strong piece of evidence, and he’s got lots of stories to share.”
“Oh so you’ve met Nathan then?” Dr Malberg said. Elizabeth knew she was getting somewhere, although she was concerned with Dr Malberg’s change in tone.
“Yes, he’s fully cooperative with my investigation and will give testimony that will damn you all.”
The Secret Patient Page 20