Abandoned. John Schlarbaum
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you,” Jess said, stepping toward the room. “I’ll see you next weekend.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Luke briefly stared at Helga’s scattered records and was tempted to take them.
Walk away. You got what you needed.
As he approached the hallway exit, Luke reached out to get a handful of sanitizer from a dispenser. Rubbing his hands together, he hit the large silver button on the wall with his elbow and exited the doors.
Yes, it is definitely better going through the doors this way, he thought.
***
“I read the article you sent,” Maryanne said as Luke approached the security desk. “It’s crazy, right?”
“Only if Helga didn’t die of natural causes,” Luke responded.
Maryanne could hear the genuine concern in Luke’s voice and it didn’t surprise her that he was calling the dead woman by her first name, as if she were a family member. Unlike her job as a guard, whose main responsibility was to give directions to visitors, and the occasional restraining of unruly patients to their bed, a transporter had to establish a friendly one-on-one relationship with an unfamiliar person from the get-go. She knew Luke preferred to use the patient’s first name when entering their room to break the ice; he became an old friend dropping in for a visit. He would also use the occasional ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’ with elderly patients as a sign of respect. From the way his peers spoke of him, Maryanne had heard how great Luke was before they’d started dating.
Luke filled Maryanne in on what he’d learned in I.C.U. “I’ll tell Jennifer in the morning.”
Maryanne heard a slight tone of resignation. “Is something wrong?”
“I worry that I’m making too much out of this,” Luke admitted. “I’ve transported hundreds of patients and when they’re safely back in bed I just go to my next call. Helga should be no different.”
“But she is and that’s okay,” Maryanne said reassuringly. “The odds are still high that Helga died of natural causes due to the stress of the surgery.”
“If that’s the case, I’m wasting Jennifer’s time.”
Maryanne disagreed. “As an investigative reporter that’s 90% of her job, Luke. She doesn’t have to look any further into Helga’s death, and if she does and finds nothing, she’ll be off on another story. I bet she’s trying to find the tramp who slept with that councilman. Now there’s a story to pursue.”
“I suppose. I bumped into Dr. Singh awhile ago and she said she’d given Jennifer new information about that John Doe in the morgue.”
“See, she’s already got a lot on her investigative plate,” Maryanne smiled widely, hoping one day she’d be doing the same thing. “You look tired, Luke. Go home and get some sleep.”
Maryanne got up and walked into a nearby hallway, discreetly followed by Luke. With no cameras present, Luke gave Maryanne a kiss.
“Meet me for a late breakfast?” Luke asked.
“You know it,” Maryanne replied.
Luke headed to the Admitting area to return his radio, as Maryanne sat back down in her desk chair.
A minute later, as Luke entered the lobby’s revolving doors, Maryanne waved and warned him, “Don’t watch any Forensic Files shows before bed!”
“I hear ya,” he said with a grin.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
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