Carolyn Jourdan - Nurse Phoebe 02 - The School for Mysteries (7 page)

Chapter  14

“You must be starving,” Charlie said. “I’ll go get some food and bring it to you. Be right back.”

She heard the door scrape gently and he was gone.

He returned with a couple of bulging paper bags. He set them on the counter and methodically emptied them, revealing three bagels, half a dozen small containers of cream cheese, a couple of bananas, two individual boxes of Raisin Bran, a half pint of milk, three bottles of water, two paper bowls, and a handful of plastic knives and spoons.

He woke Nick and offered him something to eat, “No, thanks,” he slurred.

“Have you urinated yet, since the fall?” Charlie asked.

Nick shook his head.

“Then we need for you to drink this,” Charlie said, and held Nick’s head with one hand and a bottle of water with the other. He helped Nick drink a decent amount of it. “It’s important that you stay hydrated,” he said, then gently lowered Nick’s head to the pillow.

Charlie pulled two stools out from under the dusty counter and he and Phoebe sat in the red twilight companionably. He was perfectly at ease, she realized. Sitting in the dark, or near darkness, with all hell breaking loose around him was normal for him.

It made her smile.

His calm companionship was a healing balm. It was already working miracles on Nick. A couple of painkillers and knowing that he wasn’t obviously injured had really comforted him. He suffered from the impact with the rope platform, but the damage didn’t seem to be anything beyond a sprained wrist, bruised ribs, some abrasions, and a blooming black eye. He was one lucky guy.

“So,” said Charlie, “what’s next?”

“I’m not sure,” said Phoebe, as she gobbled some Raisin Bran and then tilted the bowl so she could drink the milk. “I haven’t had time to think that far ahead. I guess I need to find somewhere more comfortable to hide him until he can figure out a longer-term solution. Can we go to your office? I need to use your phone.”

Phoebe dialed her good friend and former co-worker Waneeta—a name that was pronounced like
Juanita
, but given to her by a mother who was a terrible speller. Phoebe brought her friend up to speed as quickly as possible.

Waneeta had been Phoebe’s dispatcher at the rural home health care agency where they’d used to work, so she listened calmly without interrupting, then offered practical advice, saving the histrionics for later.

Neither of the women was unduly worried about Leon and Ivy because they were two of the most wilderness savvy people imaginable and they were on their home turf. Waneeta promised to check on them as soon as she hung up and relay Phoebe’s update.

Phoebe told Waneeta about the new job and they discussed what to do with her patient while she went to work. Phoebe was beginning to feel that the mystery man was now safe enough and stable enough to consider what her further involvement should be, if any. She wondered if she should bail now. She thought maybe she should.

Before giving any advice on this, in typical fashion, Waneeta asked if he was good looking, if he was married, and his age. Phoebe noticed she didn’t ask if he was a criminal. Waneeta’s priorities were skewed very much to the romantic, which was one of the reasons she was currently on her fourth marriage. Phoebe thought Waneeta’s new guy was a gonna be a keeper, though. Fourth time was a charm in this case.

In light of the time constraints they decided Phoebe should leave Nick sleeping where he was at least until the end of her first shift. Phoebe promised to get back in touch at the first opportunity and Waneeta wished her good luck.

As soon as she hung up the phone, Waneeta prayed for Phoebe’s safety, then dialed Leon’s number and left a message on his answering machine. Then she dialed Ivy’s where he was likely to be staying if he wasn’t at his own house.

After they left Charlie’s office, he and Phoebe made a detour on the way back to the darkroom to pick up some medicine and supplies for Nick, then Charlie veered off unexpectedly and opened a glass door and held it open for Phoebe. It gave onto a small loading dock in a narrow dark alley. Buildings loomed on either side. There was a bench bolted down onto the small square of concrete.

Phoebe sat down and Charlie sat beside her, draping a pale blue hospital blanket around them both. He realized she was shaking, so he moved closer and put his arm around her. That helped.

He stared up at the stars as Phoebe had often seen him do when they came out of the hospital at night. Phoebe supposed it was an automatic gesture for him whenever confronted with a black field sprinkled with pale white. He was reading the night sky, just as he read radiographs.

“There’s Venus,” he said pointing. “And see the three stars in a row? That’s Orion’s belt. You can see the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, in your peripheral vision, they’re too faint tonight to be seen by looking directly at them.”

Phoebe tried to do what he said and it worked.
Hmmm
, peripheral vision was more light-sensitive than direct vision. She thought about the fact that certain things were seen best by not looking at them directly. Some were too faint to be seen head on—like stars. Others were too bright—like solar eclipses. Gradually she stopped shaking.

“What do you want to do with this guy next?” Charlie asked. “The Radiology Department will start to get busy soon. He can stay in the darkroom. It’s never used. In fact, most of us have forgotten about it. The young people—residents, techs, and nurses—don’t even realize it’s there. They wouldn’t know what it was for. But if you do that, neither of you can go in or out until it gets really quiet again.”

“My new job starts in a few hours,” Phoebe said. “I can’t stay here. I need that job, so I
have
to go. I guess I could leave him and come back tonight and get him. That’ll give me time to figure out what to do with him.”

Charlie nodded. “What’s the job?”

“Private duty nurse. That’s all I know. It’s at some place in the back of beyond just over the state line in North Carolina. A ritzy-sounding English lady called to hire me.”

“There are a lot of extremely wealthy people congregating over near Asheville these days. The world has discovered the Smokies. That’ll be a long commute for you, though, won’t it? I hope the job is something you’ll enjoy.”

“I like to work. And I like being a nurse. I don’t even mind the cranky patients who drive everybody else crazy.”

“Obviously, because you pick them up everywhere you go, like cockleburs,” Charlie laughed and hugged her from the side. She lay her head over on his broad shoulder and thanked God for friends.

They sat quietly for a few more minutes, then Charlie said, “We’d better get going if you’re gonna be on time for your new job.”

Phoebe stood up and folded their blanket. Charlie took in her appearance and said, “I’ll get you some clean scrubs and a lab coat. That way you won’t have to go home and change.

Phoebe smiled her thanks.

“Let’s go break the news to your patient.”

Chapter  15

When he heard the plan to leave him in the darkroom all day, Nick panicked. “Don’t leave me,” he said, with more sincere emotion than she’d seen from him thus far. He grabbed her wrist in a death grip.

“I’ve got to go to work,” Phoebe explained. “I’ll come back for you tonight. I promise.”

“Please,” he begged, “take me with you!”

“This is my first day in a new place and with a new patient. I have no idea what the setup will be there. If I took you, you’d have to stay in the truck for eight hours until my shift is over.”

“No problem.”

“I can try to bring you food and water and check on you during my breaks, but you’ll have to stay put. If anyone sees you, I could lose my job. And I
need
that job. Can I trust you to behave?”

“
Yes
,” Nick swore emphatically.

She didn’t believe him for a minute, but she felt sorry for him, so she agreed.

“If they were watching the entrances, they’re undoubtedly watching the exits and maybe even the garages,” Charlie said. “You can take my car. I’ll go get it for you.”

Phoebe loved cars more than almost anything and Charlie was offering her his Porsche Cayenne SUV. But she had a phobia about damaging other people’s property, so she reluctantly turned down the generous offer.

“At least let me go get your car and bring it around for you.”

Phoebe agreed to that and explained where she’d left Leon’s truck. Charlie brought the wheelchair and she bundled Nick up like a real patient, which he was. Then she filled his lap with pillaged supplies, including two more pairs of scrubs. Then she covered it all with a blanket.

As Charlie rolled him down the hall, Phoebe noticed the woozy longing backwards glance Nick gave the little darkroom. She knew they’d both miss their peaceful little hidey-hole.

Charlie pushed Nick toward the same loading dock where he’d taken Phoebe earlier and told then both to wait inside until be brought Leon’s truck around. He didn’t go straight to the garage, but instead wound through the hospital trying to see if he was picking up a tail. He made a few stops on the way, saw nothing suspicious, then went to the parking area.

First he brought his own car out and parked it in the alley. Then he went underground to where Phoebe had left Leon’s vehicle. He approached the little truck cautiously, looking for anyone who might be lurking in the area.

He didn’t see anyone, but just as he pulled out of the garage and drove up onto the road that would lead him to the back of the main building, they saw each other. A black SUV with blacked out windows sat parked in a
No Parking
zone with the engine running.

Charlie took out his cell phone and made a call to hospital security. He reported a suspicious vehicle and asked them to check it out immediately. He drove away slowly until he saw a police car with flashing lights pull up and block the SUV against the curb.

When Phoebe opened the door to Leon’s truck she saw that Charlie had put extra food in the passenger’s footwell. He must’ve pillaged the Doctor’s Lounge again.

“And there’s a cup of hot chocolate from Starbucks in the cup holder, with extra whipped cream,” he said. He knew Phoebe didn’t drink coffee or alcohol.

He handed her an envelope full of cash, winked, and said, “There’s an ATM in the lobby, next to the Starbucks.”

“And here’s a disposable cell phone. They sell these in the gift shop now. What a world! It’s in my name, so nobody can use it to trace you, as far as I know. Then he told her about the SUV and the hospital security and said they needed to hurry. When Phoebe turned to Nick to see how he’d taken the news, he was asleep. She spoke to him and lightly slapped his face, but got only an incomprehensible slur in response. She looked at Charlie in panic.

He looked like a guilty, but proud, little boy.

“What did you give him?”

“Something strong. I don’t trust him, and I didn’t want him to jeopardize your job, or you life, so I put him down for awhile. And I gave you a few more, in case you need them later.” He pointed toward the pile of stuff in the floor of the truck.

“Well thanks, I think,” she said, “Now you’ll have to help me get him loaded.” She realized her accidental pun and looked up at Charlie to see if he’d noticed it. He had.

In his current condition, there was no way Nick could ride in the front, so Charlie helped Phoebe lay him out in the back of the pickup. They tucked a couple of blankets around him as best they could, then looked at each other, thinking the same thing. The wind would blow them off him when she reached highway speeds.

Just behind the cab there was a tangle of bungee cords and tie-downs resting in an untidy heap. They reached for them at the same time.

When they had the blankets bungeed around Nick and had him strapped and ratcheted snugly into the bed of the little truck, Charlie opened the door and held it for Phoebe. “Get in and go, and don’t look back. Don’t stop for
anything
.”

Then he outlined his plan for getting her away from the hospital minus her tail.

Phoebe started the truck and waited for Charlie to get into his Porsche. He followed her closely as she drove toward the tiny guardhouse and gates that everyone had to pass through before leaving the hospital grounds.

Phoebe waited in line in the Visitors’ lane, then paid her dollar, and the little red plank raised to let her pass. She waved at Charlie and took off for North Carolina.

When Charlie’s turn came, he spoke to the lady in the booth. He knew her well. They’d both worked at the hospital for decades. He asked her for a favor and she was only too happy to grant it. Things were pretty dull on the 11-7 shift and she looked forward to a chance for some excitement.

He told her he needed her to delay the SUV that would be coming behind him. He described the color and the blacked out windows. He asked her to put up the tire shredders if necessary to make sure the vehicle didn’t get out. She winked and said she’d take care of it.

She raised the gate for Charlie and he drove a short way down the exit road, pulled off to the side, and waited with his lights off.

The friendly guard did as he’d asked and after a couple of tense moments, the SUV ended up with shredded tires. It wouldn’t be going anywhere. But Charlie was patient and thorough, so he continued to wait, just to be sure.

Half a minute later, a second SUV came tearing around the corner from the garage and, seeing the hoopla going on around the tire shredder, the driver swerved toward the Employees’ exit lane, which was totally automated and therefore unattended. He crashed through the plank barrier and floored it.

Charlie moved around the curve of the exit road and pulled his car sideways across the narrowest section where it ran under an overpass before spiraling up onto the main road. He was totally blocking the only route to the main road. He threw his door open, leaped out, and scrambled up the steep grassy bank to make his way back to the hospital.

The second SUV came racing around the curve and the driver saw the obstruction too late. He slammed on the brakes, but still t-boned the Porsche so hard he knocked it over onto its side.

Charlie was smart. Nobody would be giving chase for a good long while. She’d be able to get away safely now. He glanced up at the stars again before going back inside, then he returned to his office and called his insurance agent.