Lori Avocato - Dead On Arrival

Germs.

Air.

Masks!

I looked at Lilla and winked. She stepped more in front of me and Johnny started rapping some song that sounded like every other rap song I’d ever heard. Well, at least he didn’t turn around and see me.

The elevator opened on Pansy’s floor, and Johnny didn’t move. Darn it.

Lilla had the good sense to say, “Excuse us, please.” Her female pheromones were wasted on Johnny, but she didn’t know, and I didn’t care. He moved to the side and let us out without a word as I bent my head forward enough so that my hair pretty much covered my face.

I did, however, trip out of the elevator and landed smack into old Dr. Carrington, whom I think looked like he could have starred in Father Knows Best, he was that old.

“Excuse me, nurse,” he said to me.

Great. I passed the incognito over-eighty-medical-staff test. Now, on to the real thing.

Lilla followed me toward the nurses’ station and around the corner. I paused and looked over the receptionist’s shoulder to see the room numbers of the patients on the charts in front of her.

No luck. Too far away.

Lilla murmured, “Won’t her room be the one with a guard outside the door?”

I wanted to grab her and hug her. “Good going.”

We walked around the unit with no one noticing while we chatted and acted as if we belonged there. I noticed a guard sitting on a straight chair outside the room at the end of the hallway. I would have thought they’d have her closer to the desk, but maybe that was all that was available. When we got closer to the guard, I paused and grabbed Lilla’s arm.

“Today is our lucky day,” I whispered.

We walked right up to the guard, said hello and took out masks, rubber gloves and Johnny coats from the supply stand near the door.

Pansy Sterling was in isolation!

That patient on the elevator must have been a sign from up above that it’d work out.

Everyone who entered Pansy’s room had to dress disguised in these outfits so that they wouldn’t spread germs to her. I felt badly that she must have developed some complications to warrant the isolation, yet I winked upward at Saint Theresa. Good going, I thought. Thanks.

I looked at Lilla. “Doctor, do you want me to assist?” I asked, hoping the guard had no medical knowledge at all.

He kept looking at a magazine in his hands and Lilla played along brilliantly with, “Of course, nurse. I’ll need you the entire time.” She even spoke with an American accent!

I looked at the guard. “Have a nice day, sir.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Thank goodness hospitals were filled with bustling staff during the day shift. If I’d come last night with Jagger, we’d be very noticeable. I mean I was talking, Jagger-in a building of predominantly female staff.

Lilla stood to the side, so I pushed at the handle on the door. It swung open-and I gasped.

Two nursing assistants were in the room with Pansy. Oh…my…gosh. For some reason, I expected an empty room except for the patient. They chatted in broken English, switching back and forth into Polish, since Hope Valley had a very large population of that nationality.

Both seemed to care less about Lilla and I. They finished fluffing Pansy’s pillows, tucking one folded in half behind her back and resting her leg on another one.

Pansy didn’t move.

Damn it.

When one of the assistants lifted her hand to rest it on a pillow, she got the IV tubing caught on the railing.

And Pansy moaned.

“Need any help?” I offered, but they both looked at Pansy and declined.

“She’s set for now. We turn her in two hours,” the nursing assistant near the window said as she walked toward the door, starting to take her gloves off already.

Thank goodness for busy medical staff. Neither woman paid us any attention, as did the guard. We were home free. I just hoped Pansy would do more than moan.

Once Lilla and I were left in the room, I adjusted the IV tubing (hey, once a nurse, always a nurse) to make sure it wouldn’t get caught again if Pansy moved. It really hurt to have an IV yanked on.

Lilla and I stood there for a few seconds.

Pansy remained like a corpse. Her color was pretty much the same as prior to her surgery, but I assumed she’d had a few units of blood, which did probably help to make her lips a less lovely shade of cyanotic blue. Then again, she was fair skinned anyway.

“I hate to disturb her,” I said, “and I’m not even sure we’ll get anything out of her.”

Lilla nodded. “Won’t hurt to try though, chéri.”

Pansy stirred.

Did she hear us? Hearing was the last sense to go-not that Pansy was going anywhere right now-so I assumed she could still hear.

I touched her hand.

She pulled back.

“Good,” I said. “Pansy, this is Pauline. From work. TLC. The nurse.”

Her hand remained still.

“Damn it. She isn’t responding.” It was a long shot trying to get information from her, but when murder was involved, I had to take a chance. I took the penlight that was next to the bed, held her eyelids open and watched her pupils dilate. “Good.” I repeated it on the other side and looked at Lilla again. “Both of her eyes are equal and reactive to light, which is a good sign. They might have her heavily sedated to remain still.”

I walked to the other side of the bed to check out some of the equipment. Chest tubes. A plastic container hung from the side of her bed. Evidently when stabbed, her lung must have been punctured and the chest tubes inserted to re-expand it.

The buzzing and clicking of monitors and other equipment filled the small room, and I wondered why every hospital had that same scent. Hospital scent.

I watched Pansy’s monitor for a few minutes, pleased at what I saw, and then walked to the other side of the bed, where she faced.

Lilla and I tried asking Pansy question after question. A few times her hand would clench, and Lilla and I would look at each other and nod. We kept it up for several more minutes, not wanting to affect Pansy’s recovery in any negative way though.

I cleared my throat and leaned close to her, thinking the noise of some of the equipment might be making it difficult for Pansy to hear me. “Pansy. Pansy, do you remember that you own TLC Land and Air?” I took her hand. “If you do, squeeze my hand.”

Her hand tightened on mine.

“Good,” I said, about ready to jump around for joy. But that was a far cry from getting her to respond, and I knew that it could have been more of a reflex than her being coherent.

“Do you remember ER Dano, and Buzz…Jeremy, and the rest of the staff?” I asked, hoping that would bring her memory forward.

Her hand remained limp in mine.

“Shoot.”

Suddenly there were voices outside the door.

I dropped Pansy’s hand and looked at Lilla.

“Maybe the guards are changing shifts?” she said.

“Let’s go with that. If we get caught, we get caught. We can say we are here as friends checking up on her even though visitors are restricted.”

I turned back to Pansy and decided our time here was short, so I might as well go for broke. I figured she might suddenly wake up and respond. At least, that’s what I hoped. “Pansy. I saw the room in your house that looks like a jungle. Neat. It is neat and love, love, love that chair.”

Her eyelids fluttered.

I sucked in some air and, feeling horrible, continued, “You must have some great times there. That chair looks perfect for…well, you know.” I forced a chuckle. “Who’s your special guy?” Maybe if I found out Pansy’s lover that would tie into the case. Jilted lovers often made it onto the suspect list in cases, as did disgruntled employees. Maybe there was a connection with her ex and Payne too.