AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Beau Cooper, twenty-one, stabbed with a broken bottle, significant wound to his face, minor cuts on both arms.’ Sally turned to the young woman who’d accompanied him. ‘Gina, here, is Beau’s girlfriend. She brought him in.’
‘Hi, Beau. I’m Molly, one of the nurses who’s going to look after you.’ She turned to Nathan. ‘This is Dr Lupton.’
Nathan moved up to examine the young man’s face. ‘Beau, tell me what happened when you were attacked. Did you fall to the ground, bang your head? Any details are important.’
‘I’m not sure. Two guys attacked me when I asked for my girlfriend’s bag back. They smashed a beer bottle and got me in the head, the arms and my leg. I stayed upright, didn’t hit my head on anything. That’s all I can tell you.’
‘How’s your breathing? Are you having any difficulty with that?’
‘Seems all right.’
Then the glass hadn’t cut through anything vital in his throat. Holding her hand up, Molly moved it from left to right. ‘Follow my hand.’
Beau’s eyes slid sideways, focused on her movements.
‘Good, your vision checks out.’
The curtains flicked wide and Hank joined them. ‘Nathan, you’re wanted in three urgently.’
‘On my way.’ Nathan turned to her. ‘I’ll be back when you’ve cleaned him up.’
After a quick rundown on what had happened, Hank said, ‘I’ll remove his jeans so we can check his legs for abrasions.’
Molly nodded. ‘Might as well. Though from the small amount of blood I don’t think there’s anything too serious in that region, but he needs to get out of the messy clothes anyway.’ The wound in Beau’s neck and face was deep, his neck had damaged muscles that would require surgery that couldn’t happen until the morning. She began swabbing the area, careful not to cause him any more distress.
Hank got Beau to lift his hips while he tugged the jeans off.
Their patient groaned but did as asked.
‘I’ll get you some penicillin next,’ Hank told him. ‘Who knows what was on that bottle?’
‘Get something to numb the pain too.’ Molly had finished cleaning the man’s neck and face, and dropped the swabs into a hazardous waste bin at the head of the bed. ‘I’m going to talk to Dr Lupton, Beau.’
Nathan was entering notes on a patient file on the screen. ‘How’s your man?’
‘I’ll be interested to hear what you say after you take a look at the neck and face wound. I think he needs surgery.’
Nathan’s chair rolled back from the desk and those long legs pushed him upward. ‘Any other serious injuries?’
‘Not really. Hank’s getting some drugs. The guy’s in a lot of pain and trying not to show it.’
‘The tough type.’
‘That’s because he’s a boxer,’ Beau’s girlfriend told them minutes later. ‘They’re expected to take the knocks without complaining.’
‘Why did those men have your handbag?’ Molly asked Gina as she handed Hank the painkiller drug and checked the dates with him.
‘Thought they were being clever,’ Beau snarled. ‘They reckoned they were better than me and could help themselves to my girlfriend.’
‘Don’t let them get to you. You’ll only upset yourself and I’d prefer you stay calm and get on with recovering.’ Nathan was at the side of the bed. ‘I need to look at your wound. That all right with you?’
‘Yeah.’ Beau nodded, then grimaced and swore.
‘Tip your head sideways. That’s it.’
After a thorough examination Nathan told his patient, ‘You’re lucky. There’s no serious damage, but a plastic surgeon will have to put it back together so you’re not left with an ugly scar. In the meantime I’ll put in a few temporary stitches to keep the wound closed, and the bleeding to a minimum.’
‘Thanks,’ Beau muttered, reaching out for his girlfriend’s hand, looking scared.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Molly said. ‘I’ll get the gear.’
Nathan told his patient, ‘This means you’ll stay in overnight.’
When Molly returned, Nathan was scrubbing his hands at the sink before pulling on gloves. She placed the suture kit on the small table next to him.
Behind her Gina was saying, ‘I’ll phone your mum, tell her what’s happened.’ Out of the corner of her eye Molly saw the girlfriend tighten her grip on Beau’s hand. ‘Love you,’ she added as his face screwed up.
‘Don’t call the olds.’
‘They need to know where you are. What if the police ring them?’
‘I suppose.’
‘Right.’ Nathan stepped up to the bed. ‘Let’s get this out of the way.’
Molly saw Gina’s face whiten. ‘Why don’t you go out to the waiting room to make that call? You can come back any time you like, just tell them who you’re with and they’ll open the security door.’
‘Thanks.’ Gina’s relief was obvious in her speed to get away before Nathan started stitching the wound.
‘Have you spoken to the police yet?’ Nathan asked Beau in an attempt to distract him from the tugging and snipping as he placed stitches along the edges of the wound.
‘Gina did. They’re going to press charges, so I suppose they’ll turn up here.’
As soon as Nathan had finished, Molly went to tell Gina it was all right to come back, and then she went to see a ninety-three-year-old who’d been found wandering in the rain in the gardens of the rest home where she lived. ‘How are you feeling, Mrs Grooby?’
The old lady opened her eyes and focused on Molly. Nothing wrong there. ‘I’m good.’
‘What about the last couple of days? Everything all right?’ She was gaunt and looked very pale. According to the rest-home staff she’d become quite vague lately, yet right now she was alert and beginning to watch everything going on out in the department.
‘I think so.’
The notes said Mrs Grooby had been disorientated when she’d arrived two hours ago. A medical event, or lonely and seeking attention? ‘I’m going to ask you silly questions. Can you answer them for me?’
‘Yes, dear.’
‘What’s our national animal?’
‘A kangaroo.’
‘What do people get from a library?’
‘Books, of course.’
‘Count backwards from ten for me.’
As the old lady muttered numbers in the correct order, Molly tidied up her bed cover and watched her patient. ‘No problem. You slayed the test.’
‘I heard all that. Nothing wrong with your mind, Mrs Grooby,’ Nathan announced as he strolled into the cubicle.
Was he following her around? He couldn’t be. Since it was a quiet night he could be trying to keep busy too. ‘She’s lonely,’ Molly said quietly as she passed him.
He nodded. ‘We see that often with the oldies.’
‘You two talking about me?’ Mrs Grooby’s eyes lit up.
Molly chuckled. ‘You’re too sharp for your own good. Would you like a cup of tea?’
‘Yes, please. And a biscuit?’
‘Of course.’ Molly headed down to the kitchen and sneaked a biscuit for herself while she waited for the tea bag to brew. Only an hour in and already she was hungry. It had to be a result of running around the basketball court Saturday and Sunday.
Mick stuck his head in the door. ‘There are two ambulances on the way in with an elderly couple who were in a multiple car pile-up. Nothing serious, mostly cuts and bruises, and shock. You and Hank take them when they get here.’
‘Onto it.’
The couple was shaken but alert as they were wheeled into adjacent cubicles and transferred from the stretchers to beds. The curtain between was pulled back and when Mrs Andrews tried to reach her husband’s hand, Hank and Molly moved the beds closer. ‘There you go.’
‘Some date this turned out to be,’ Colin Andrews winked at his wife. ‘Should’ve stayed home and watched the tele.’
‘I don’t know. It’s quite exciting in here,’ his wife returned.
‘Where were you off to?’ There was a storm raging over the city, and it was bitterly cold out. Molly had worn her puffer jacket into work.
‘It’s our fifty-third wedding anniversary, and we always visit the church we were married in on the day. We didn’t have time earlier what with all the family dropping in and out like we run the best diner in town.’
