“I know. It’s terrible. The staff is still in shock. She was so good with the patients. A real nice and sweet woman who loved her job.”
“I think everyone loved her,” Patty said as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
“Pretty much.” He held out his hand with a cup of water.
“Who didn’t?” Goldie asked.
Startled, Dan shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Then why did you say it?”
“I meant sometimes we have run-ins with the doctors because we may not agree with some of their advice. It can be like that sometimes because we spend a lot more time with the patients than the doctors or the administrators do.”
“Which doctor are we talking about here?” Goldie narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t like talking about the staff.”
“I’m not gonna tell anyone what you say. I don’t work that way.”
Dan stood for several seconds in the middle of the room as if trying to decide whether or not to say anything. Glancing at the door, he lowered his voice. “It’s really all of the doctors. They don’t like it when we ask questions. I know Nadine had a run-in with Dr. Rudman a couple of times, and Dr. Tyrell and Dr. Daniels can be bad about sharing information with physical therapy. Nadine and Thelma, the woman who works in the laundry who got raped, had run-ins with some of the CNAs, especially Kingsley, Hendricks, and Kevin. Nadine even wrote them up a few times. She found Hendricks smoking pot in one of the patient’s bathroom. He tried to disguise the smell with some strong pine air freshener, but it only made it worse.”
“Hendricks and Kingsley are usually my grandma’s CNAs. Did Hendricks ever smoke in her room?”
Dan chuckled. “No way. Everyone’s a bit afraid of you. They know you’re a member of the Night Rebels. They don’t want any problems.”
Goldie stood up. “You tell me if any shit goes down with my grandma. If I find out someone did something and you didn’t tell me, I’m gonna make sure you end up as a patient here.” He loomed over Dan, who quickly walked to the doorway.
“Enjoy the rest of your visit,” he mumbled, then scampered away.
“You love doing that shit, don’t you?” Hailey asked.
“What?”
“Scaring the hell out of people.” She grazed his fingers with hers.
“Scaring means to frighten someone into doing something or make them worry. I just tell people how it’s going to go down. When I say something, it happens.” His jaw muscles twitched.
“You always were direct, Garth,” Patty said.
Goldie stayed for a while longer in Patty’s room, then went down to his grandma’s room and sat on the chair watching her as she slept in the bed. An hour later, Hailey came down and said she was taking off. He kissed his grandmother on her soft hair, then walked out with Hailey.
Intertwining his fingers with hers, he breathed the night air in deeply. It’d been so hot for the past week that the coolness of the breeze was a welcomed relief. Above, a carpet of stars glittered against the dark blue background. A sudden chill inched up his spine and he drew Hailey close to him, cocooning her in his arms. Lowering his head, he kissed her silky hair, the tropical scent filling his nostrils.
“You need to take care of yourself. There’s a real crazy fuck out there hurting women. I hate that you don’t have a garage.”
“I’m not going to lie to you and say I’m cool, because I hate that I don’t have a garage either. I have the feeling I’m being watched, or at least was being watched. It started when that guy came out of the bushes over a month ago. Then my window was unlocked. Remember?”
“Yeah. Have you seen anyone since we fixed all the locks?”
She nodded. “Last week a guy was watching me from across the street. I’m pretty sure he was the same one from before based on his height and build, but I couldn’t make out his face or any other identifying features. I called the cops and they patrolled the neighborhood for a while. I haven’t seen him since, and I haven’t had the vibe he’s watching me.”
“You didn’t tell me about the second incidence. Why didn’t you call me?”
“We weren’t talking.”
“Fuck, Hailey. That shit doesn’t matter when something like that happens.”
“I know. Anyway, it’s over and done, and we’re good, so all is fine.”
