That Girl is Poison - Milly Taiden
Chapter One
Dr. Mara Maxwell sat at the nurse’s station, updating a few of her patients’ charts on a busy night. Every month on the full moon, the hospital filled up with careless people who needed medical attention. It was like someone let all the crazies out for the night. The closer it got to Halloween, the more people showed up with injuries from falls while hanging decorations. Even being a smaller sister hospital to Gavin Memorial, they still had their fair share of patients.
Mara covered her mouth and let out a soft yawn. It’d been a long shift, and she still had a few hours to go. She’d worked a double since Dr. Phenix decided halfway through his shift that he had more important things to do. When the nurses couldn’t get him on the phone, they called her.
The loud blaring of a television sounded from the patient’s room next to the nurse’s station. A recap of the news played. Mara paused when the anchorman reported another shifter had gone missing. That was the fourth person this month. A woman disappeared last week.
It had touched a nerve when she saw the picture of a young woman flash across the screen the day after being reported missing. She still hadn’t been found. The squeal of a witch’s laugh snapped her out of her thoughts. For crying out loud! Her heart thudded a million miles per hour, and she cursed under her breath. The motion-activated Halloween decoration went off every time someone walked by.
“Dr. Maxwell,” Mara heard Sarah, one of the nurses call out. “You’re being called on by the patient in 304. He swears his leg’s going to fall off and insists that a doctor look at it.”
“I swear that man’s going to drive me crazy.” With a sigh, she closed the file she’d been working on. “I’ll grab some bandages and put his mind at ease.”
“You want some help?” Sarah offered, her smile sympathetic.
“No, I’ve got it,” she sighed. “You can finish your rounds. You know if you’re late with meds, 311 will be buzzing you non-stop.”
“You’re right,” Sarah rolled her eyes. “Needy people.”
When Sarah headed down the hall with her cart, Mara went to the supply room for bandages and wrapping; and maybe a painkiller to shut up patient 304’s whiny ass. She would have to give him a lesson on wasting resources. The supply room door slung open when she reached for the doorknob; Dr. Phenix nearly plowed her over on his way out.
“Whoa,” Mara caught herself on the door jamb before she went down. “Where have you been?”
“I had a meeting.”
“In the supply room?” she asked with a chuckle, finding what he said ridiculous.
“No. Of course not,” he said in a snippy, irritating tone. “There’s much more to running a hospital than tending to patients. That’s why I hired you, remember?”
She frowned at his continued attitude. “Yes, but you don’t just go missing halfway through your shift. If we’d known you had meetings, there would’ve been coverage for you.”
He narrowed his gaze at her. “It ran late,” he snapped and glanced at his watch. “I have to go.” He nudged past her and rushed down the hall as if he were late for another meeting. Like they had meetings day and night at that place. He must have been up to something and was using a meeting as an excuse.
Rolling her eyes, she walked into the supply room. One of the cabinet drawers was ajar like someone was in too much of a hurry to close it properly. She popped her head out the door and glanced down the hallway in time to see Dr. Phenix get into the elevator.
Curiosity got the best of her. She wanted to know where he kept disappearing to. After the elevator closed, she rushed down the hall to see where he took the supplies. She watched each number light up as the elevator descended. It didn’t stop until it reached the basement levels.
“Basement one? What the hell are you doing down there?” Mara spoke to herself, tempted to get in the elevator and follow him down. The basements were used for storage, mostly old beds and out of date machines. Was she seriously standing there debating following the doctor?
She grumbled about needing to stop her conspiracy theories. The doctor was probably taking naps down there. It was time to go back to work and stop wasting time. She turned back and continued the task she’d set out to do.
In the supply room,