“Right as rain,” she said. “I’ll get you an allergy pill added to your orders.”
“What was wrong?” I asked. “You looked spooked. Should I be worried?”
“Not a bit, dear. We always have to watch for any signs of post-op infections. You’ve got no fever, so it’s all good.”
“You thought cold symptoms might be a post-op infection?” I was confused.
“Sometimes what new mothers think is just the sniffles is actually the beginning of pneumonia. I’m always super cautious. It’s because of the anesthesia,” she said.
“Oh, okay,” I said.
“But you’re fine. All that rain and mold spores really do get to people.”
After that, she breezed out of the room and returned about twenty minutes later with an allergy pill and a small can of grape soda. I took the pill and then gave Laney the bottle the nurse had helped me prepare.
She was just about done with it when Thorn got back from the cafeteria. “The breakfast casserole they had on special looked amazing, so I got you some,” he said. “Bacon for the cat in a little to-go container he can eat from.”
“You’re the best,” I said. “Maybe you should take Meri with you when you go home to shower. It can’t be good for him to be cooped up in this room.”
“Not a chance,” Meri groused. “I’m fine here.”
“You’re projecting,” Thorn said with a chuckle. “You’re sending me away and trying to send the cat away because you want to get out of here. Right?”
“Maybe,” I said and realized he was probably right. “The nurse who was just here said that I might get to go home tomorrow. She turned off my morphine pump too.”
“Bummer,” Thorn said. “But wouldn’t it be nice to go home tomorrow?”
“It would be. How long do you think you’ll be gone?” I asked.
“Kinsley, I don’t have to go,” Thorn said.
“No, it’s okay, really. I was just curious.”
“I’ll make it quick,” Thorn replied.
Thorn was only gone for a little over an hour, but as soon as he got back, he got a call he had to step out into the hall to take.
“I have to go downstairs,” Thorn said.
He’d just popped his head back in the door instead of coming all the way into the room.
“To the cafeteria?” I asked.
“To the morgue,” he replied gravely.
“What?” I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. “Is everything okay?”
“The medical examiner just finished his autopsy of Stewart Randell. He said he needs to go over his results, and he’s about to rule on cause of death. I’m already in the hospital, so I thought it would be okay if I met with him. Is that all right? I can tell him no and get Jeremy over here,” Thorn said.
“No, go, please. But you have to fill me in on what you find out,” I said.
“We’ll see,” Thorn said and began to shut the door.
“Don’t make me come down there,” I said, but it was an idle threat. I wouldn’t leave Laney even if the curiosity was about to kill me.
Thorn
I hated leaving Kinsley and Laney to work, but the medical examiner said that he had something important to tell me. He’d said it couldn’t wait, so I rode the hospital elevator down to the basement and waited for the morgue attendant to buzz me in.
The hallway was overly bright and smelled of chemicals and cleaners. It was the first time I realized how tired I was, and I rubbed my eyes hoping to wake myself up.
Laney had slept most of the night, but she had woken up a couple of times. It wasn’t just the sleep deprivation that was getting to me, though. I’d missed my morning run, and that exercise gave me energy. I needed the boost like I needed oxygen.
Something else was amiss too. There was a weird energy in the hospital, and it had my anxiety on alert. I hoped the doctor would send Kinsley home the next day because I wanted to get her and Laney away from whatever unspecified negative energy I’d felt.
I told myself it was just because it was a hospital. There’d been a lot of sickness and death there. Parts of the building were new and modern, like the morgue, but there were old parts too. Even the new morgue was just the old one remodeled. The energy under the surface was a hundred years old. Whatever old ghosts were there were probably just more confused by it all.
A shiver ran down my spine, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. The medical examiner stepped out into the hall from the autopsy area and greeted me.
“You’re in the hospital because your wife gave birth?” he asked after we’d said our hellos and shook hands.
“Yes, a baby girl,” I responded. “Mother and child are healthy and doing amazing.”
“Congratulations,” the ME said. “When does she get discharged?”
“Hopefully tomorrow,” I said.
“That will be good,” he said and cleared his throat. “I’m sure she’d love to get out of that room.”
“I think so too,” I said. “So, what brings me down here?”
He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, but I’d met with that particular ME before. He could be a bit flaky.
“Right!” He said and he seemed to focus. “So, Stewart Randell wasn’t murdered.”
“What?” I nearly couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You know that John Parker went to your station yesterday and confessed to your deputy that he’d thought about killing the deceased, but he said he ultimately backed out. They rode out the storm at the diner, and then went home,” the ME said.
“That sounds like quite the story if I’ve ever heard one,” I responded. “But no, Jeremy didn’t tell me. Probably because of my wife having a baby.”
“I thought that might be the case. Anyway, given the circumstances, I wanted to get the autopsy done as soon as possible. My findings back up what Mr. Parker said. No one murdered the deceased.”
“What? How?” I asked.
