“Ah, thank you, Seth.” He took it and cast a sideways glance at Hanna, his lip curling at the corner as if validating his story. Seth looked at Hanna and then went out and closed the door behind him.
“As you can see, Ms. Cross,” Chapman said, “there is a lot for you to learn here. Forget everything you learned at the ER. It will do you no good here. This place is a lot more fluid. Which means you need to be flexible and learn to flow with the changes and believe me, they happen every day.” Chapman opened a drawer and put the bag inside before closing and locking it. “Winchester already has a history of meth use. We expected this.”
“But he hasn’t had a visitor.”
“What?”
“I looked at the chart for patients earlier this morning. There is no history of him having any visitors so how did he come into possession of that?”
Chapman’s confident smile faded. He was back on the stand having to give an account. Hanna was curious to see how he would respond.
“You’ve never worked in a forensic hospital, have you, Ms. Cross?”
“No.”
“Then you wouldn’t be familiar with the kind of security we have or the methods used by patients in sneaking in contraband. And why is that?”
“Because my job doesn’t require me to know.”
“Exactly. Your job is to manage, assess and supervise. Our security are the ones that prevent contraband from coming in. They do a very good job of it but like anything, nothing is bulletproof. Perhaps he swallowed it before arrival, but more than likely it was sold to him by someone else in the hospital who has a system of getting it in through a visitor. What matters to me is that you focus on your job. You go putting on a detective hat, trying to figure out how, what, and when, and your job will suffer and I can’t have that. Am I clear?”
“Yes.”
“Well I’m glad we had that conversation. Any other questions?”
She hesitated for a second, a number of questions came to mind but asking them would only get a rise out of him. The fact was, under the noise of the siren and the distraction of the unit search, it would have been very possible for anyone to have strapped Winchester to that bed, but not anyone could have had access to the floor since all the patients were outside and accounted for. That left her wondering about the staff. “None that I can think of right now,” she said.
“Good. Then it’s best you return to your duties.”
She gave a nod and headed for the door. Hanna paused with her hand on the handle. “Dr. Chapman, how did Nurse Harvey end up in the day room alone with Sutton that day?”
“Sorry?” he asked looking up from his paperwork.
She turned. “Well one of the rules was that no staff member can be alone with a patient. Two staff members must be with them at all times. I can’t imagine Nurse Harvey, someone who had worked here for many years, breaking that rule. I was just curious as to how she might have ended up in the day room without a second nurse or psych tech?”
Chapman set his pen down and stared right at her. “People make mistakes, Ms. Cross. Just be sure you don’t make the same one.” And with that he returned to his work.
6
Arriving that evening, Dalton had been concerned he would run into Kelly Armstrong. After landing at Adirondack Regional Airport, he caught a taxi to his lodgings. There wasn’t a wide choice of motels in the small town of Ray Brook, four to be specific. He opted for Moreno’s Cottages just off Route 86 to avoid bumping into the reporter. They were surprisingly clean and affordable.
Pastor Mark Boone had asked Dalton to meet at a local diner for lunch the next day, so he was up at the crack of dawn seeking guidance from God.
It would have been a lie to say that he wasn’t apprehensive about visiting Jack. It wasn’t as much the direct threat that came from making contact as it was the connection that could bring danger to his family. In the hours since he left, Karen had texted multiple times to say what she hadn’t in person. She was completely opposed to him going and asked him multiple times why he needed to get involved. He’d asked himself the same question. Jack hadn’t exactly made his life easy. Still, whether it was God, his association with Eddie or pity, he felt compelled to help him.
Tail O’ The Pup was a roadside eatery offering BBQ chicken and ribs. When an Uber dropped Dalton off outside, he thought the place was closed as there were only two vehicles in the parking lot. Sure, the town had less than two thousand people but he expected it to be busier than this for a week day.
Spotting him was easy enough. He was the only black man in the place. An older couple sat at the far back chomping on chicken wings while a disinterested waitress glanced at him as he entered. She looked as if she was about to say something before Pastor Boone raised a hand. Dalton smiled and threaded his way around a dozen tables to a booth on the far side. Boone was a large and imposing man, not in height but width. He extended a meaty paw and greeted him with a smile. “Glad you made it. How was your flight?”
“Good.”
He gestured for him to take a seat.
Dalton glanced out the window and saw a flock of birds break away from a cluster of oaks that framed the parking lot. “Can I get you a drink?” a waitress said as she came over and handed him a menu.
“Water with lemon is fine.”
She
