girl? Rosie?
Her injuries were painful but not life-threatening. They closed the cuts and set the bones, but when they heard she was pregnant they kept her at the hospital for observation. It looks like shell come through without losing the child. Shes awake and talking.
Thats something, I said. And Pell?
Still in ICU. Hes an old man, and his injuries were severe. They think hell be all right as long as there arent any complications. Hes groggy, but hes conscious.
ICU, I said. Any chance we could talk to him somewhere else?
Those doctors can be real funny about not wanting people in critical condition to nip out for a walk to the vending machines, she said.
I grunted. You might have to solo him, then. I dont dare go walking in there with all the medical equipment around.
Even if it was just for a few minutes? she asked.
I shrugged. I dont have any control over when things break down. I paused and said, Well, not exactly. I could blow out the whole floor in a few seconds, if I was trying to do it, but theres not much I can do to keep things from breaking down. Odds are good that if I was only in there for a few minutes, nothing bad would happen. But sometimes things go haywire the second I walk by them. I cant take any chances when there are people on life support.
Murphy arched a brow at me, and then nodded in understanding. Maybe we can get you on a speaker phone or something.
Or something. I rubbed at my eyes. I think this is gonna be a long day.
* * *
Chapter Sixteen
» ^ «
When you get right down to it, all hospitals tend to look pretty much the same, but Mercy Hospital, where the victims in the attack had been taken, somehow managed to avoid the worst of the sterile, disinfected, quietly desperate quality of many others. The oldest hospital in Chicago, the Sisters of Mercy had founded the place, and it remained a Catholic institution. Thought ridiculously large when it was first built, the famous Chicago fires of the late nineteenth century filled Mercy to capacity. Doctors were able to handle six or seven times as many patients as any other hospital during the emergency, and everyone stopped complaining about how uselessly big the place was.
There was a cop on guard in the hallway outside the victims rooms, in case the whacko costumed killer came after them again. He might also be there to discourage the press, whenever they inevitably smelled the blood in the water and showed up for the frenzy. It did not surprise me much at all to see that the cop on guard was Rawlins. He was unshaven and still had his SplatterCon!!! name tag on. One of his forearms was bound up in neatly taped white bandages, but other than that he looked surprisingly alert for someone who had been injured and then worked all through the night. Or maybe his weathered features just took such things in stride.
Dresden, Rawlins said from his seat. Hed dragged a chair to the halls intersection. He was dedicated, not insane. You look better. Cept for those bruises.
The best ones always show up the day after, I said.
Gods truth, he agreed.
Murphy looked back and forth between us. I guess youll work with anybody, Harry.
Shoot, Rawlins drawled, smiling. Is that little Karrie Murphy I hear down there? I didnt bring my opera glasses to work today.
She grinned back. What are you doing down here? Couldnt they find a real cop to watch the hall?
He snorted, stuck his legs out, and crossed his ankles. I noted that for all of his indolent posture, his holstered weapon was clear and near his right hand. He regarded Mouse with pursed lips and said, Dont think dogs are allowed in here.
Hes a police dog, I told him.
Rawlins casually offered Mouse the back of one hand. Mouse sniffed it politely and his tail thumped against my legs. Hmmm, Rawlins drawled. Dont think Ive seen him around the station.
The dogs with me, I said.
The wizards with me, Murphy said.
Makes him a police dog, all right, Rawlins agreed. He jerked his head down the hall. Miss Marcella is down that way. They got Pell and Miss Becton in ICU. The boy they brought in didnt make it.
Murphy grimaced. Thanks, Rawlins.
Youre welcome, little girl, Rawlins said, his deep voice grandfatherly.
Murphy gave him a brief glare, and we went down the hall to visit the first