璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第129章

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‘Yeah。‘
‘He‘s　ing　out；　but　it‘ll　be　a　while。‘　She　handed　over　the　chart　which　showed　his　current　vitals。　‘Looking　good；　doctor。‘
Professor　Rosen　nodded　and　explained　further　to　the　resident；　‘Great　physical　shape。　The　firemen　did　a　nice　job　holding　up　his　BP。　He　did　almost　bleed　out；　but　the　wounds　looked　worse　than　they　really　were。　Sandy？‘
She　turned　back。　‘Yes；　doctor？‘
‘This　one　is　a　friend　of　mine。　Would　you　mind　terribly　if　I　asked　you　to　take　…‘
‘A　special　interest？‘
‘You‘re　our　best；　Sandy。‘
‘Anything　I　need　to　know？‘　she　asked；　appreciating　the　pliment。
‘He‘s　a　good　man。　Sandy。‘　Sam　said　it　in　a　way　that　carried　real　meaning。　‘Sarah　likes　him；　too。‘
‘Then　he　must　be　all　right。‘　She　headed　back　into　recovery；　wondering　if　the　professor　was　playing　matchmaker　again。
‘What　do　I　tell　the　police？‘
‘Four　hours；　minimum。　I　want　to　be　there。‘　Rosen　looked　over　at　the　coffeepot　and　decided　against　it。　Any　more　and　his　stomach　might　rupture　from　all　the　acid。
‘So　who　is　he？‘
‘I　don‘t　know　all　that　much；　but　I　ran　into　trouble　on　the　Bay　in　my　boat　and　he　helped　me　out。　We　ended　up　staying　at　his　place　for　the　weekend。‘　Sam　didn‘t　go　any　further。　He　didn‘t　really　know　that　much；　but　he　had　inferred　a　lot；　and　that　scared　him　very　much　indeed。　He‘d　done　his　part。　While　he　hadn‘t　saved　Kelly‘s　life　…　luck　and　the　firemen　had　probably　done　that　…　he　had　performed　an　exceedingly　skillful　procedure；　though　he　had　also　annoyed　the　resident；　Dr　Ann　Pretlow；　by　not　allowing　her　to　do　much　of　anything　except　watch。　‘I　need　a　little　sleep。　I　don‘t　have　much　scheduled　for　today。　Can　you　do　the　follow…up　on　Mrs　Baker？‘
‘Certainly。‘
‘Have　someone　wake　me　up　in　three　hours；‘　Rosen　said　on　the　way　to　his　office；　where　a　nice　fortable　couch　awaited。
‘Nice　tan；‘　Billy　observed　with　a　smirk。　‘I　wonder　where　she　got　it。‘　There　was　general　amusement。　‘What　do　we　do　with　her？‘
He　thought　about　that。　He‘d　just　discovered　a　fine　way　to　deal　with　bodies；　much　cleaner；　in　its　way；　and　far　safer　than　what　they‘d　been　doing。　But　it　also　involved　a　lengthy　boat　trip；　and　he　just　didn‘t　have　the　time　to　be　bothered。　He　also　didn‘t　want　to　have　anyone　else　use　that　particular　method。　It　was　too　good　to　share　with　anyone。　He　knew　that　one　of　them　would　talk。　That　was　one　of　his　problems。
‘Find　a　spot；‘　he　said　after　a　moment‘s　consideration。　‘If　she‘s　found；　it　doesn‘t　matter　much。‘　Then　he　looked　around　the　room；　cataloging　the　expressions　he　saw。　The　lesson　had　been　learned。　Nobody　else　would　try　this　again；　not　anytime　soon。　He　didn‘t　even　have　to　say　anything。
‘Tonight？　Better　at　night。‘
‘That‘s　fine。　No　hurry。‘　Everyone　else　could　learn　even　more　from　looking　at　her　for　the　rest　of　the　day；　lying　there　in　the　middle　of　the　floor。　He　took　only　a　little　pleasure　from　it；　and　people　had　to　learn　their　lessons；　and　even　when　it　was　too　late　for　one　of　them；　others　could　learn　from　that　one‘s　mistakes。　Especially　when　the　lessons　were　clear　and　hard。　Even　the　drugs　wouldn‘t　block　this　one　out。
‘What　about　the　guy？‘　he　asked　Billy。
Billy　smirked　again。　It　was　his　favorite　expression。　‘Blew　him　away。　Both　barrels；　ten　feet。　We　won‘t　be　seeing　him　no　more。‘
‘Okay。‘　He　left。　There　was　work　to　be　done　and　money　to　collect。　This　little　problem　was　behind　him。　It　was　a　pity；　he　thought　on　the　way　to　his　car；　that　they　couldn‘t　all　be　solved　this　easily。
The　body　remained　in　place。　Doris　and　the　others　sat　in　the　same　room；　unable　to　look　away　from　what　had　once　been　a　friend；　learning　their　lesson　as　Henry　wished。
Kelly　vaguely　noted　that　he　was　being　moved。　The　floor　moved　under　him。　He　watched　the　lines　between　the　floor　tiles　travel　like　movie　credits　until　they　backed　him　into　another　room；　a　small　one。　This　time　he　tried　to　raise　his　head；　and　indeed　it　moved　a　few　inches；　enough　to　see　the　legs　of　a　woman。　The　green　surgical　slacks　ended　above　her　ankles；　and　they　were　definitely　a　woman‘s。　There　was　a　whirring　sound；　and　his　horizon　moved　downwards。　After　a　moment　he　realized　that　he　was　on　a　powered　bed；　hanging　between　two　hoops　of　stainless　steel。　His　body　was　attached　to　the　bed　somehow；　and　as　the　platform　rotated　he　could　feel　the　pressure　of　the　restraints　that　held　him　in　place；　not　unfortable；　but　there。　Presently　he　saw　a　woman。　His　age；　perhaps　a　year　or　two　younger；　with　brown　hair　stuffed　under　a　green　cap　and　light　eyes　that　sparkled　in　a　friendly　way。
‘Hello；‘　she　said　from　behind　her　mask。　‘I‘m　your　nurse。‘
‘Where　am　I？‘　Kelly　asked　in　a　raspy　voice。
‘Johns　Hopkins　Hospital。‘
‘What　…　‘
‘Somebody　shot　you。‘　She　reached　out　to　touch　his　hand。
The　softness　of　her　hand　ignited　something　in　his　drug…suppressed　consciousness。　For　a　minute　or　so；　Kelly　couldn‘t　figure　out　what　it　was。　Like　a　cloud　of　smoke；　it　shifted　and　revolved；　forming　a　picture　before　his　eyes。　The　missing　pieces　began　to　e　together；　and　even　though　he　understood　it　was　horror　that　awaited　him；　his　mind　struggled　to　hurry　them　along。　In　the　end　it　was　the　nurse　who　did　it　for　him。
Sandy　O‘Toole　had　left　her　mask　on　for　a　reason。　An　attractive　woman；　like　many　nurses　she　felt　that　male　patients　responded　well　to　the　idea　of　someone　like　her　taking　a　personal　interest　in　them。　Now　that　Patient　Kelly；　John；　was　more　or　less　alert；　she　reached　up　and　untied　the　mask　to　give　him　her　beaming　feminine　smile；　the　first　good　thing　of　the　day　for　him。　Men　liked　Sandra　O‘Toole；　from　her　tall；　athletic　frame　to　the　gap　between　her　front　teeth。　She　had　no　idea　why　they　considered　the　gap　sexy　…　food　got　caught　there；　after　all　…　but　as　long　as　it　worked；　it　was　one　more　tool　for　her　business　of　helping　to　make　sick　people　well。　And　so　she　smiled　at　him；　just　for　business。　The　result　was　like　no　other　she　had　encountered。
Her　patient　went　ghostly　pale；　not　the　white　of　snow　or　fresh　linen；　but　the　mottled；　sickly　look　and　texture　of　Styrofoam。　Her　first　thought　was　that　something　had　gone　gravely　wrong；　a　massive　internal　bleed；　perhaps；　or　even　a　clot…driven　thrombosis。　He　might　have　screamed；　but　couldn‘t　catch　his　breath；　and　his　hands　fell　limp。　His　eyes　never　left　her；　and　after　a　moment　O‘Toole　realized　that　she　had　somehow　caused　whatever　it　was。　O‘Toole‘s　first　instinct　was　to　take　his　hand　and　say　that　everything　was　all　right；　but　she　knew　instantly　that　it　wasn‘t　true。
‘Oh；　God。。。　oh；　God。。。　Pam。‘　The　look　on　what　ought　to　have　been　a　ruggedly　handsome　face　was　one　of　black　despair。
‘She　was　with　me；‘　Kelly　told　Rosen　a　few　minutes　later。　‘Do　you　know　anything；　doc？‘
‘The　police　will　be　here　in　a　few　minutes；　John；　but；　no；　I　don‘t　know　anything。　Maybe　they　took　her　to　another　hospital。‘　He　tried　to　hope。　But　Sam　knew　that　it　was　a　lie；　and　he　hated　himself　for　lying。　He　made　a　show　of　taking　Kelly‘s　vital　signs；　something　Sandy　could　have　done　just　as　well；　before　examining　his　patient‘s　back。　‘You‘re　going　to　be　okay。　How‘s　the　shoulder？‘
‘Not　real　great；　Sam；‘　Kelly　replied；　still　groggy。　‘How　bad？‘
‘Shotgun　…　you　took　quite　a　bit；　but　…　was　the　window　on　the　car　rolled　up？‘
‘Yeah；‘　Kelly　said；　remembering　the　rain。
‘That‘s　one　of　the　things　that　saved　you。　The　shoulder　muscles　are　pretty　beaten　up；　and　you　damned　near　bled　to　death；　but　there　won‘t　be　any　permanent　damage　except　for　some　scarring。　I　did　the　job　myself。‘
Kelly　looked　up。　‘Thanks；　Sam。　Pain　isn‘t　so　bad　。。。　worse　the　last　time　I　…‘
‘Quiet　down；　John；‘　Rosen　ordered　gently；　giving　the　neck　a　close　look。　He　made　a　mental　note　to　order　a　plete　new　set　of　X　rays　just　to　make　sure　there　wasn‘t　something　he　had　missed；　maybe　close　to　the　spine。　‘The　pain　medication　will　kick　in　pretty　fast。　Save　the　heroics。　We　don‘t　award　points　for　that　here。　‘Kay？‘
‘Aye　aye。　Please　…　check　the　other　hospitals　for　Pam；　okay？‘　Kelly　asked；　hope　yet　in　his　voice　though　he　knew　better；　too。
Two　uniformed　officers　had　been　waiting　the　whole　time　for　Kelly　to　e　out　from　under。　Rosen　brought　in　the　older　of　the　two　a　few　minutes　later。　The　questioning　was　brief；　on　doctor‘s　orders。　After　confirming　his　identity；　they　asked　about　Pam；　they　already　had　a　physical　description　from　Rosen；　but　not　a　surname；　which　Kelly　had　to　provide。　The　officers　made　note　of　his　appointment　with　Lieutenant　Allen　and　left　after　a　few　minutes　as　the　victim　started　to　fade　out。　The　shock　of　the　shooting　and　surgery；　added　to　the　pain　medications；　would　diminish　the　value　of　what　he　said　anyway；　Rosen　pointed　out。
‘So　who‘s　the　girl？‘　the　senior　officer　asked。
‘I　didn‘t　even　know　her　last　name　until　a　couple　minutes　ago；‘　Rosen　said；　seated　in　his　office。　He　was　dopey　from　lack　of　sleep；　and　his　mentary　suffered　as　well。　‘She　was　addicted　to　barbiturates　when　we　met　them　…　she　and　Kelly　were　living　together；　I　suppose。　We　helped　her　clean　up。‘
‘Who‘s　"；we"；？‘
‘My　wife；　Sarah。　She‘s　a　pharmacologist　here。　You　can　talk　to　her　if　you　want。‘
‘We　will；‘　the　officer　assured　him。　‘What　about　Mr　Kelly？‘
‘Ex…Navy；　Vietnam　vet。‘
‘Do　you　have　any　reason　to　believe　that　he‘s　a　drug　user；　sir？‘
‘Not　a　chance；‘　Rosen　answered；　a　slight　edge　on　his　voice。　‘His　ph