Dead On Arrival

Fifteen

Lilla, dressed in my white lab coat with my stethoscope draped over her shoulder, and I eyed each other and then our empty Caesar salad dishes. For some reason, I knew, just knew we were thinking the same thing.

“So, how do we get in to see her?” I said.

Looking very much like a doctor and sporting my old hospital employee ID-which my friend Sara in Human Resources arranged for me to keep as a souvenir from Saint Greg’s Hospital, where I’d worked-Lilla winked at me and we stood and took our trays to the conveyor belt. My heart started to race.

We could get a huge break in my case-and I’d be doing it without Jagger!

That alone was reason enough to be there.

Although, to be honest with myself, I knew Jagger was keeping up behind the scenes with Sergeant Shatley about the stabbings and as much as he could find out about the fraud.

I “borrowed” Miles’s ID badge and wore it backwards as if it’d turned around on its own. Although Lilla didn’t look like my picture-unfortunately, that is-I figured no one would be looking that closely at the ID badge. As evidenced by all the males in the cafeteria, they’d all be looking at Lilla’s face and other more important parts and not checking her ID. Besides, she acted so nonchalant, no one seemed suspicious.

A few people recognized me though, so I claimed I was there doing part-time float-pool work, so they couldn’t connect me with any unit. Each time I acted as if I were in a hurry so there’d be little chitchat with old coworkers. Damn. I was getting better and better at this stuff.

I said a silent prayer that we could get in to see Pansy and she would be out of her coma enough to give us some information. Well, I wished she’d be out permanently for her own good.

Lilla and I made our way toward the Central Supply department, as that was the least traveled route. We could have gone straight up to Pansy’s floor on the elevator, but I noticed a few docs that I’d worked with near the elevators and needed to avoid them. This area was like walking in the basement of the hospital: Very few people came through here.

“You look very good, Lilla. Very real.”

She smiled. “Thanks you, chéri.”

I winked and decided not to correct her English. She was turning out to be a real asset to my case. “I’m trying to think of a reason for us to use to get into the room. Past the guard. With one being attacked already, they might be more careful. Not that they weren’t before.”

I stopped talking and pushed the elevator button. When nervous, I tended to ramble, and right now I felt a whopper of a ramble coming on.

“Can we say we are going in to exam her?” Lilla asked as we stepped into the empty elevator.

“Examine? Yeah, and hopefully, the guard won’t ask questions. So much staff goes in and out of patients’ rooms on a daily basis that I’m banking on the hopes that fake outfits and IDs will do the trick. Not to mention the fact that we need Pansy to wake up for us.”

I watched the floor numbers inside the elevator light up as we passed each one. Good. No one else got on.

Suddenly it slowed, stopped and the door opened to the OR floor. Damn it. Staff was bustling about inside the OR doors. Good thing Miles was off duty for the next two days. Someone might recognize me and see his ID if it turned slightly. I looked down to make sure it hadn’t flipped around.

The doors started to shut. Just as I started to take a breath in relief a hand reached out and grabbed the door.

“Damn elevator,” a male voice said.

I slunk to the back of the small elevator cab and pushed Lilla to the side to kind of cover me.

The orderly pushed a stretcher in. Johnny Wakefield. Miles had dated him! The patient had on a mask. Must have been in isolation so she wouldn’t be spreading germs into the air.

Germs.

Air.

Masks!

I looked at Lilla and winked. She stepped more in front of me and Johnny started rapping some song that sounded like every other rap song I’d ever heard. Well, at least he didn’t turn around and see me.

The elevator opened on Pansy’s floor, and Johnny didn’t move. Darn it.

Lilla had the good sense to say, “Excuse us, please.” Her female pheromones were wasted on Johnny, but she didn’t know, and I didn’t care. He moved to the side and let us out without a word as I bent my head forward enough so that my hair pretty much covered my face.

I did, however, trip out of the elevator and landed smack into old Dr. Carrington, whom I think looked like he could have starred in Father Knows Best, he was that old.

“Excuse me, nurse,” he said to me.

Great. I passed the incognito over-eighty-medical-staff test. Now, on to the real thing.

Lilla followed me toward the nurses’ station and around the corner. I paused and looked over the receptionist’s shoulder to see the room numbers of the patients on the charts in front of her.

No luck. Too far away.

Lilla murmured, “Won’t her room be the one with a guard outside the door?”

I wanted to grab her and hug her. “Good going.”

We walked around the unit with no one noticing while we chatted and acted as if we belonged there. I noticed a guard sitting on a straight chair outside the room at the end of the hallway. I would have thought they’d have her closer to the desk, but maybe that was all that was available. When we got closer to the guard, I paused and grabbed Lilla’s arm.

“Today is our lucky day,” I whispered.

We walked right up to the guard, said hello and took out masks, rubber gloves and Johnny coats from the supply stand near the door.

Pansy Sterling was in isolation!

That patient on the elevator must have been a sign from up above that it’d work out.

Everyone who entered Pansy’s room had to dress disguised in these outfits so that they wouldn’t spread germs to her. I felt badly that she must have developed some complications to warrant the isolation, yet I winked upward at Saint Theresa. Good going, I thought. Thanks.

I looked at Lilla. “Doctor, do you want me to assist?” I asked, hoping the guard had no medical knowledge at all.

He kept looking at a magazine in his hands and Lilla played along brilliantly with, “Of course, nurse. I’ll need you the entire time.” She even spoke with an American accent!

I looked at the guard. “Have a nice day, sir.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Thank goodness hospitals were filled with bustling staff during the day shift. If I’d come last night with Jagger, we’d be very noticeable. I mean I was talking, Jagger-in a building of predominantly female staff.

Lilla stood to the side, so I pushed at the handle on the door. It swung open-and I gasped.

Two nursing assistants were in the room with Pansy. Oh…my…gosh. For some reason, I expected an empty room except for the patient. They chatted in broken English, switching back and forth into Polish, since Hope Valley had a very large population of that nationality.

Both seemed to care less about Lilla and I. They finished fluffing Pansy’s pillows, tucking one folded in half behind her back and resting her leg on another one.

Pansy didn’t move.

Damn it.

When one of the assistants lifted her hand to rest it on a pillow, she got the IV tubing caught on the railing.

And Pansy moaned.

“Need any help?” I offered, but they both looked at Pansy and declined.

“She’s set for now. We turn her in two hours,” the nursing assistant near the window said as she walked toward the door, starting to take her gloves off already.

Thank goodness for busy medical staff. Neither woman paid us any attention, as did the guard. We were home free. I just hoped Pansy would do more than moan.

Once Lilla and I were left in the room, I adjusted the IV tubing (hey, once a nurse, always a nurse) to make sure it wouldn’t get caught again if Pansy moved. It really hurt to have an IV yanked on.

Lilla and I stood there for a few seconds.

Pansy remained like a corpse. Her color was pretty much the same as prior to her surgery, but I assumed she’d had a few units of blood, which did probably help to make her lips a less lovely shade of cyanotic blue. Then again, she was fair skinned anyway.

“I hate to disturb her,” I said, “and I’m not even sure we’ll get anything out of her.”

Lilla nodded. “Won’t hurt to try though, chéri.”

Pansy stirred.

Did she hear us? Hearing was the last sense to go-not that Pansy was going anywhere right now-so I assumed she could still hear.

I touched her hand.

She pulled back.

“Good,” I said. “Pansy, this is Pauline. From work. TLC. The nurse.”

Her hand remained still.

“Damn it. She isn’t responding.” It was a long shot trying to get information from her, but when murder was involved, I had to take a chance. I took the penlight that was next to the bed, held her eyelids open and watched her pupils dilate. “Good.” I repeated it on the other side and looked at Lilla again. “Both of her eyes are equal and reactive to light, which is a good sign. They might have her heavily sedated to remain still.”

I walked to the other side of the bed to check out some of the equipment. Chest tubes. A plastic container hung from the side of her bed. Evidently when stabbed, her lung must have been punctured and the chest tubes inserted to re-expand it.

The buzzing and clicking of monitors and other equipment filled the small room, and I wondered why every hospital had that same scent. Hospital scent.

I watched Pansy’s monitor for a few minutes, pleased at what I saw, and then walked to the other side of the bed, where she faced.

Lilla and I tried asking Pansy question after question. A few times her hand would clench, and Lilla and I would look at each other and nod. We kept it up for several more minutes, not wanting to affect Pansy’s recovery in any negative way though.

I cleared my throat and leaned close to her, thinking the noise of some of the equipment might be making it difficult for Pansy to hear me. “Pansy. Pansy, do you remember that you own TLC Land and Air?” I took her hand. “If you do, squeeze my hand.”

Her hand tightened on mine.

“Good,” I said, about ready to jump around for joy. But that was a far cry from getting her to respond, and I knew that it could have been more of a reflex than her being coherent.

“Do you remember ER Dano, and Buzz…Jeremy, and the rest of the staff?” I asked, hoping that would bring her memory forward.

Her hand remained limp in mine.

“Shoot.”

Suddenly there were voices outside the door.

I dropped Pansy’s hand and looked at Lilla.

“Maybe the guards are changing shifts?” she said.

“Let’s go with that. If we get caught, we get caught. We can say we are here as friends checking up on her even though visitors are restricted.”

I turned back to Pansy and decided our time here was short, so I might as well go for broke. I figured she might suddenly wake up and respond. At least, that’s what I hoped. “Pansy. I saw the room in your house that looks like a jungle. Neat. It is neat and love, love, love that chair.”

Her eyelids fluttered.

I sucked in some air and, feeling horrible, continued, “You must have some great times there. That chair looks perfect for…well, you know.” I forced a chuckle. “Who’s your special guy?” Maybe if I found out Pansy’s lover that would tie into the case. Jilted lovers often made it onto the suspect list in cases, as did disgruntled employees. Maybe there was a connection with her ex and Payne too.

Pansy’s hand started to clench and unclench on its own.

Hoping it wasn’t more reflexive action, I took a deep breath and asked, “Who are you involved with? Or were involved with. What is his name?”

The door started to open.

Lilla’s eyes looked as horrified as mine felt.

I grabbed her arm and headed for the door before it opened all the way. Suddenly it shut. We looked at each other and let out a collective sigh.

Then the door started to open again.

I grabbed Lilla and pushed her into the bathroom with me. We shut the door just as the other one opened all at once. Apparently whoever was coming in had been talking to the guard. Maybe getting the okay to come see Pansy.

I caught the door before it clicked shut. A tiny opening remained. Not big enough for anyone to see us, but definitely big enough for us to see them. I looked, blinked, and sighed.

Buzz Lightyear.

My body relaxed. Obviously he’d come to see his employer. I looked at Lilla and winked. She held her finger to her lips to shush me, but then she winked back.

“Hey, Pansy…uh…it’s me. Jeremy.” He stammered a bit and tapped his fingers on the bedrail.

I almost asked “who?” and realized the kid was a nervous wreck.

Jeremy stood on the side of the bed that Pansy faced. He looked almost as white as she was, so I figured that for a young guy it was tough coming to the hospital to see someone he worked for so sick. Then I thought his mother would be proud. Kudos to Jeremy Buttman.

He stood there staring at Pansy as if waiting for her to yawn, open her eyes and say hi. But she remained still and Jeremy remained even stiller.

He finally must have pulled his thoughts together. “I hope they find who did this to you, ma’am. I really hope they do,” he said as he touched her shoulder and then nonchalantly fiddled with the IV tubing.

I agreed in my head, then listened to Jeremy proceed to tell Pansy, in great boring detail, how things were going at work. He seemed much more at ease now; he even pulled up a chair and sat there talking.

He stood up and stared at the monitor beeping over Pansy’s head, and then the door opened and in walked a few more isolation-clothed people. Kim Gonzalez, the RN from the ER; the receptionist, Nancy; and Jennifer Shelton, one of the EMT girls. They all said hi to Buzz and then a few words to Pansy. Nice that they realized that she could probably still hear them.

Soon Nancy said, “We should go,” and the group said goodbye to Pansy and started toward the door.

But Jeremy turned back. “I have to use the john.”

Lilla and I looked at each other and the only thing I could wonder was, did I look as beautiful as she did with a horrified look on my face?

This time, Lilla grabbed my arm and yanked me into the shower stall and pulled the curtain to the side. Now all I could wonder was, could someone see a shadow through a white plastic hospital curtain?

While a quick prayer flitted through my brain, I heard the door open, shut and another sound, which had Lilla and I raising our eyebrows, our only movement.

The john flushed.

The water ran in the sink.

And the door opened again.

Lilla and I let out a breath.

“Who’s there?” Jeremy asked.

And I think my entire world went black.

Not even Lilla or my eyebrows moved. We remained like statues while Buzz asked nervously, “Is someone there?”

“Jeremy, come on. I have to get to duty,” Kim called out.

“I thought I heard someone,” he said.

Kim must have walked closer, because her voice was louder now. “With all the noise these machines make, of course you’re hearing things. Let’s go. Unless you think this place is haunted?”

All three women laughed, and I pictured Jeremy blushing. He’d have to leave without another word in order to save face.

Thank goodness for the male ego.

Lilla and I waited until we heard the shuffling of footsteps grow fainter, the door to the hospital room open and then shut with a click.

She started to touch the shower curtain, but I held her hand and whispered. “Not yet. They’ll still be outside the door taking off their isolation garb.”

She nodded.

After what seemed like a safe passing of time, we stepped out, looked cautiously around and then went to Pansy’s bedside.

“I wonder if she heard all of that. Or any of that.”

Pansy’s eyelids fluttered. Her hands seemed clenched tighter than before-almost as if she were angry.

“She looks different,” Lilla said.

I nodded. “Um. I wonder if that was too much confusing stimuli for her.”

“Ah, yes. True.”

“We should go,” I said, and took one look at Pansy. Her lips started to twitch. Suddenly I wondered if she were about to seize. A grand mal seizure would bring a gang of staff in if her heart rate soared on the monitor. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” We locked arms as if that would make us invisible. When I said goodbye to Pansy, reminding her who we were, Lilla added, “Too damn bad we didn’t find out whom she used that chair with. Her lover chair.”

I opened the door, Lilla walked out first with me directly behind and still holding it open.

And Pansy mumbled, “Sky.”