“Steph,” I said, “have you met Tami Kennedy?” Tami reached for her hand and they shook.
“No, not officially. Hi, I’m Steph.”
“You got time to sit for a bit, Tam?” I asked, but she shook her head.
“No, sorry. Have to get back to work. You know how it is.” I nodded.
“Dinner tonight, then?” I asked confidently. Her face lit up, her perfect smile returning.
“Yes, of course. That would be lovely. Same time?”
“Sure,” I said. She waved us goodbye, then walked out, clutching her sandwich. I was about to ask Steph what she was ordering for lunch when I heard Mrs. McNorton’s voice in the background. It wasn’t so much that I heard her voice rather what she said.
“What can I get you today, Dr. Levinson?” My ears pricked instantly and I turned to see who she was talking to.
The man standing at the counter looked to be well dressed with impeccable grooming. His greyish peppery hair was neatly combed and parted on the political left. He had a full goatee beard, its near blackness almost contrasting his peppery hair. He was thin and I would guess, aged in his mid-fifties. Some people have happy faces, some have sad. Some look angry while others wear natural frowns. When I saw the face of Dr. Levinson, what I saw, was natural deceit. It was the look that I associated with the Encyclopedia Britannica salesmen that would knock on my door, the salesmen that wanted to sell me the latest magazine subscriptions. They would wear that look while telling you wild stories, always trying to convince you to buy their wares. To me, Levinson wore the face of one of those pesky door-to-door salesmen.
“That’s him,” Steph said over the rim of her glass of water. I nodded.
“Yup, there he is. Should we introduce ourselves?” I asked, but she shook her head. For a moment, I didn’t know why she wouldn’t want to meet him, considering he was our very next item on the agenda. Then I saw why.
“It looks like he already has a lunch date,” she said. Levinson had ordered two sandwiches and two coffees to go. He also ordered a slice of chocolate brownie and a lamington. When he finished paying, he took the paper bag Mrs. McNorton was holding out to him and headed outside. I glanced at Steph but she was already ahead of me, on her feet and headed for the door.
“See you a bit later, Mrs. McNorton,” I yelled and she waved at me as I passed her, already serving the next customer.
Levinson was getting into his car, something black and German looking, and started the engine. Steph and I headed to her car, climbed in and prepared to follow him. We watched as he reversed out, then headed down Main Street, in the direction of the prison. Steph backed out and followed him, staying back far enough not to draw suspicion.
“You don’t think he actually bought him lunch, do you?” I asked.
“Six hours a day, five days a week, he certainly bought someone lunch,” she replied.
We followed him all the way to the prison carpark, then waited while he picked his items out from the passenger seat and climbed the stairs to the front door. We waited a moment, then followed. He was still standing there waiting when we approached. He smiled at us as we stood there, seemingly unbothered by us. There was a rattle from inside the door, then it opened. The guard was surprised to see us standing there, but once he checked Steph’s credentials, allowed us inside.
“Who you here to see today, Steph?” he asked as he closed the door.
“Need to speak to the warden, Jack,” she said, her eyes following Levinson as he walked toward the main gate. “Jack, who’s that?”
“That’s the Doc that sees Lucifer. Spends a lot of time with him, he does.” In the distance, the gate began to creak on its rollers.
“Thanks, Jack,” she said, then walked toward the gate where the good doc had already squeezed through the opening and headed off toward one of the far buildings. The guards both inside and on the wall were paying very little attention to us. The two that were standing atop the wall were involved in some deep discussion, their voices carrying to us in a low murmur. I could make out several non-descript words, but when I heard one of them raise his voice a little and say ‘you really think the Cats?’, I knew the subject of their palaver. The two guards walking around separately beneath the wall were occupied with watching the other two guards, obviously wishing they could join in.
Steph and I watched as Levinson climbed the steps to the hospital building and walked inside, the old, thick timber door slowly creaking closed behind him. Steph hurried a little in front of me and managed to catch the door before it closed completely. Once inside, there was a front room that had a small counter, thankfully unattended. We caught the back of Levinson enter a room down one of the corridors and we headed in that direction, our footfalls echoing gently. There were voices coming from several directions, but none seemed interested in us. A male nurse came out from one of the rooms that lined the corridor, gave us the once over, muttered something that may have been ‘g’day’, then continued walking past us.
We reached the door Levinson had entered and waited. The door had a small window in its upper half, decorated with wire mesh for safety. Steph looked at the window, then me, and frowned. She was too short to peek through, the rolling of her eyes bringing a smile to my face. She flicked me the bird as I mimicked her going tiptoes, then let a small giggle out. She pushed past
