Deadly Design - Emarsan Page 0,76
more than me.”
Jimmy eyes him. “Four,” he says. “Hate that fucking place.”
The man laughs. “Me too, buddy. They can keep their fucking desert. But we ain’t there no more. We’re home. Ain’t that right. It look like the desert around here to you?”
Jimmy shakes his head.
“You want to come with me. I know a nice quiet place we can go. You and me can talk about things. Things only you and I know. Like having to wash our own goddamned laundry because those assholes the government hired don’t know shit about doing laundry.”
2 2 6
Copyright © 2015 by Debra Dockter.
FOR REVIEWING PURPOSES ONLY--NOT FOR SALE
Jimmy smiles, and for a minute, I think he’s falling out of character. He lets the guy lead him down the hall.
“You hang out here,” the other one says to me. “We’ll get him settled, then I’ve got some paperwork and questions for you.”
I nod. “You bet.”
I sit down and watch as they turn a corner; then I stand and head for the elevator. According to Matt, the entire east wing of the hospital is restricted. It’s the wing where the majority of staff offices are and where the mentally ill patients are kept.
Once you get past a security door, you’re in. You can travel between floors and still be in.
I start to push the Up button on the elevator, but stop myself. There’s a good chance someone may be getting off on this floor, and they’ll wonder what I’m doing here. To the right is a door leading to the stairs. I climb to the second floor, then the third.
I stand there for a moment, listening. There’s a conversation going on between at least two people, both females, waiting for the elevator. One’s talking about her kid, how he just started pulling himself up and walking around the furniture.
The other woman oohs and ahs at how cute that stage is. I hear the elevator door ding and the voices grow distant, then silent.
I close my eyes, envisioning the map Matt showed me.
From the stairs, take a sharp left turn, then go straight to a hall labeled 3B. Turn right, go past the men’s restroom and a water fountain. Then there’s another hall but go straight. Dr.
Bartholomew’s office is on the left side of the hallway. There’s 2 2 7
Copyright © 2015 by Debra Dockter.
FOR REVIEWING PURPOSES ONLY--NOT FOR SALE
a chance her name won’t be on the door, due to the fact that it’s only used when she’s in town, so don’t forget that it’s the second door from the far end of the hall.
I glance at my phone. Matt’s appointment is in five minutes.
She has three other appointments scheduled before his, and another two after.
Cracking open the door from the stairwell, I listen for voices or footsteps. I don’t hear anyone, so I push the door open. There’s a man in a doctor’s coat at the end of the hall, but his back is turned, so I follow Matt’s directions until I get to the office that is not labeled. Every other door has a nameplate on it, but on this one there is only a faded rectangle where a name should be.
Her office isn’t locked. It’s evident that this is just a place for her to dictate information in private and make phone calls while she’s visiting patients at the VA. I can imagine that her office in Saint Louis is much larger and actually decorated and carpeted. This room is bare. The walls are beige, and the wood floor is covered by a fine layer of dust.
There is a bookshelf that stretches from the floor to the ceiling, but it’s mostly empty. And there is no filing cabinet. The desk is my only bet. Other than a cup of coffee and an outdated dial phone, there is nothing on the desk. I open the center drawer and see paperclips, a pen that’s sprung a leak, and what look like Oreo crumbs.
The top side drawer has a few envelopes with a silhouette of the hospital stamped in the corner, next to a notepad with the same silhouette. There are rubber bands, a fingernail file, 2 2 8
Copyright © 2015 by Debra Dockter.
FOR REVIEWING PURPOSES ONLY--NOT FOR SALE
and an abandoned pack of nicotine gum; someone must have started smoking again. The only other drawer is large and has a keyhole.
I hold my breath as I grip the top of the drawer and pull.
It doesn’t budge. I take the small tool set Jimmy gave me out