St. Augustine's hospital was a lot different from the more mundane community hospitals Paul and Carter were used to going in. Even the parking lot was freshly paved and the handicap markers painted in the handicap spots were not the least bit distorted.
Paul parked the Navigator under a shady maple tree surrounded with fresh mulch. St. Augustine's was a privately owned hospital inhabited with only the opulent people who yen the very best of treatment.
Carter was surprised when they set foot in the hospital and there was not that familiar pungent smell of dying old people which was common in other hospitals. The employees milling around were natty to the tee and looked like they could cast on the “ER” television show.
Carter took the lead and approached the receptionist who was chatting on the phone while carefully inspecting each and everyone of her fingernails. A long curly strand of silky brown hair dangled between her lurid brown eyes and tickled the bottom of her nose. When she looked up and saw Carter she gave him a big Hollywood smile and lifted a finger suggesting to wait a second for her to get off the phone.
Carter waited patiently tapping his hand on the desk in perfect cadence. The receptionist delicately hung up the phone as if slamming it down would smash the phone to pieces. She ducked her head down then quickly whipped her head back causing the strand of hair to elude her face.
“ What can I do for you guys?” She said with a smile.
Carter cleared his throat, leaned on the desk, and stood on his tippy-toes as if trying to make himself taller.” We're here to see Tina Anderson,” He said leaning back a little so she wouldn't think he was trying to look down her shirt.
Carter noticed a bronze colored name tag neatly pinned to her green silk button down shirt that said “Lisa”. The chair she was sitting in looked more comfortable than the one he used at the office. Lisa picked up the phone and pushed a button then static crackled over the intercom and he could hear her voice. She paged one of the nurses to the front desk then lightly put the phone down just as she did the last time.
Within less than a minute a short voluptuous woman with short blond hair dressed in white scrubs came out to greet them. She was holding a clipboard and had a sullen look on her face. Before Carter or Paul had a chance to talk she looked them over both quickly, let out a sigh, and said “ Just follow me.” She turned around quickly without doing a double take and walked towards the elevator.
When they got in the elevator she pushed the #4 button then gazed over the clipboard intently.” I don't know how much use Tina is going to be to you guys.”
The elevator door closed shut and they gracefully ascended to the 4th floor. Carter shuffled his feet a little bit while admiring the glossy finish on the floor then looked up with a sincere face.” What do you mean?” He asked twitching his eyes from left to right.
“ She has an extremely bad case of amnesia. As it stands right now she has the mentality of a 5 year old child.” She said still staring at the clipboard to make sure she got it right.
Carter clenched both of his fists so hard that his fingernails dug into his palms. This was not good. They had gone through great lengths to solve this case and people had died. Now their only solid link to solving the puzzle might not be able to remember a thing.
“ How is her condition right now?” Asked Paul.
The nurse flipped one of the pages over the clipboard and slowly slid her finger halfway down the page.” She's very traumatized. She seemed to have developed some form of paranoia. Tina's scared of almost every television channel except for the Christian channel which she insists we keep on all day. Today she ate her cake with a spoon because she's afraid of her fork.”
Paul jotted some of that down on his legal pad.” How is she going to respond to us?” Asked Paul.
The nurse tucked the clipboard under her arm and pushed up on her wire-rimmed glasses.” I would go in one at a time and talk in a very calm, subtle voice. If she sees you both go barging in there making noise she's liable to get scared.”
The elevator made a ding sound and the freshly varnished stainless steel doors opened quietly. The nurse lowered her voice to a whisper as she stepped out of the car.
“ Follow me.” She said waving her fanny as she walked.
There were beautiful paintings hanging on the walls of the hallway and the ambiance was ethereal as if walking towards the pearly gates of heaven. Everything about the hospital just seemed so new and pleasing to the eyes. Carter's nerves were shot. The very thought of Tina might not being able to remember anything clawed on his cranium like an eagle's claw. He leaned over and whispered into Paul's ear.” You go in and talk to her. I'll wait outside the door.”
The voluptuous nurse thought they were commenting on her so she flaunted her body even more. She stopped at room 405 and quickly peeped in the door to check on Tina. “ Looks like she's still awake. Have fun guys.” She pressed the clipboard to her chest and walked away waving her fanny in every direction.
Carter pulled his Blackberry from his vest pocket and fooled around with it while Paul quietly slipped inside. The first thing Paul noticed was pictures of crosses drawn in crayon. There were also pictures of rainbows and angels. Paul liked angels, he had a fetish for them.
Tina was sitting up in the hospital bed but she looked like a mess. Her face was still covered in lacerations and patches of hair had been removed where they must have operated. She was eating chocolate chip ice cream with a wide silver spoon while watching Benny Hin on television trying to sell some miracle water. Paul watched in awe as Tina acted like a 5 year old child pretending her spoon was an airplane and her mouth was the airport. Most of the ice cream was melted because making the airplane land in the airport was taking so long. Most of the ice cream had fallen onto the wooden panel that hovered over her lap. She seemed to be infatuated with the spoon. Tina made humming sounds as she guided the spoonfuls of ice cream into her mouth.
Paul walked over to the side of her bed. He rested his perfectly manicured hands on the guardrail of the bed.” How ya doing kiddo?” He said softly trying to overlook her wretched state of condition.
Tina ignored him and seemed to be oblivious to him even being in the room at all. He waved a hand in front of her face to try to get her attention. Tina blinked a couple of times and then finally looked at him.” Daddy!” She said all wild eyed and crazy.
Paul looked at her with concern as any father would do although he was not her father.” No kiddo, I'm not your father but I need to ask you some questions okay?”
She nodded her head up and down vigorously like she was shaking out a tick. Paul clicked his pen and rested his legal pad on the guardrail.” Do you have any idea who did this to you?”
There was a pause of silence and then an outburst. “ Twees! Lots of twees! I run to da light!” Tina held both her hands out and spread her fingers apart as if to imitate the light.
Paul was bemused but wrote it down anyway.” What light? What light are you talking about?”
Tina put her hands down on her lap and looked at him like he should know what she's talking about.” He's gonna smash their wedding cakes and then steal the flowers from their graves.”
Paul suddenly remembered what the nurse had told him. Talk to her like you would a five year old child. ”Well that doesn't sound very nice.” He said jotting more notes.
Carter stood out in the doorway but could hear everything being said. One thing for sure it was going to be a very long day. He checked his Blackberry for messages. Katherine. The woman he was dating from the fitness club had left him a message. As he scrolled down through the message something conspicuous caught his eye. When he looked up he saw a man wearing a hoody and thick dark sunglasses that looked just like the UNAbomber. The hooded man quickly got scared and took off running.
“ He's here!” Shouted Carter and took off after him.
Paul dropped the pen and legal pad and followed Carter. The hooded man made a beeline for the stairs and Carter and Paul chased after him with Carter leading the way. Paul's burgundy wing-tipped shoes clanked like horse hooves as they raced down the stairs after the man in the hoody. The hooded man darted through a fire exit then ran through the parking lot.
Carter was gaining on him but Paul was lagging behind. Carter pumped his arms and legs as fast as they would go and sprinted across the parking lot. Just as the hooded man ran past a BMW Carter pounced him and wrestled him to the ground. A box of chocolates flew from the man's hands and rested behind the rear tire of a Hummer MV. Carter punched the hooded man in the face knocking off the sunglasses and nearly making the man unconscious.
“ Hold up, don't hit me!” Pleaded the man.
Carter cocked his fist back ready to hit him once more when Paul finally caught up. Carter eased up on him but kept him pinned to the ground.
“ Why did you run?” Asked Paul.
“ I dunno. I guess I got scared.” Replied the homeless man.
“ What are you doing here?” Asked Carter still thinking about hitting him once more.
The man coughed and tried to catch his breath. Some blood was trickling down the side of his lips.” Some guy paid me a hundred bucks to deliver a box of chocolates to some girl. I swear, I don't know anything.”
Paul walked over to observe the box of Russell Stovers lying on the ground.
“ Careful, it could be a bomb!” Warned Carter.
A dire thought suddenly entered Paul's mind and he shook his head in disbelief.” We've got to get back to Tina ASAP.” Said Paul, making his way towards Carter.
Carter still had the man pinned to the ground.” What's going on?” He asked more angrily.
“ Let him go.” Said Paul,” We've got to get back to Tina. This whole thing is a diversion.”
Carter reluctantly let the man go and followed after Paul who was already running back to the hospital. They felt relieved when they got back to Tina's room and saw her finishing the rest of her ice cream. Paul was still not convinced everything was hunky-dory. He quickly scoured the room and then got on his hands and knees and checked under the bed. Sure enough there was a big package with a blinking light.
“ We've got to get her out of here.” Said Paul standing up. Carter put his weight training to good use and cradled Tina in his massive arms while Paul held onto the IV bag. A nurse saw them leaving the room and came racing up to them.” What's going on? I'm going to call the police!”
Carter gave her a shut the heck up look and marched passed her.” Mam, we are the police! There's a bomb in there and you need to help evacuate the place.”
The nurse cupped her hands over her mouth and went running for help. Yes indeed, it was going to be a very long afternoon.