Page 67 of Shadowing You

“What part of ‘don’t look’ didn’t you get?”

She whispered, “Sorry.”

He sighed, because obviously she also wasn’t supposed to talk to him.

She continued past the laundry room, which smelled of soap, and the records office, which smelled of dust. The scents were so familiar, bringing her right back to this place as if she’d never left.

She reached the break room and pushed inside. If it wasn’t empty, she would pretend she was in the wrong place, and then she would have to wait. Fortunately, nobody was there.

The area nearest the door was filled with metal tables surrounded by plastic chairs. There was a teakettle on the counter and an espresso machine that hadn’t been there before. A vending machine hummed against one wall. The room had no windows, just the overly bright fluorescent lights.

She stood in the doorway and rifled through her bag, listening for signs that somebody was in the area where the employees stored their things.

Only silence greeted her.

She slipped around the corner, moving fast, sweeping the row of jackets hanging from hooks. People used to leave their lanyards at the end of their shifts, but there were no lanyards here now.

Had they changed the security system, or just cracked down on the employees?

Lord, now what?

After searching again, hoping she’d missed one, she turned to the cubbies and started rifling. Gloves. Hand cream. A paperback novel. A half-eaten bag of candy. Clothes. Street shoes.

Come on, come on.

If she didn’t find what she was looking for, she’d have no way to get through the locked pathology door. She was almost to the last cubby when she touched something hard and flat.

She pulled it out. An ID badge with a photo of a woman Mei Lin didn’t recognize. The chip on the back should do the trick.

She was sliding it into her sleeve when the break room door opened.

Mei Lin froze.

“…the scene,” a woman was saying in Mandarin. “Did you see?”

A second voice, lower. “I can’t believe Dr. Tsui isn’t here to meet him.”

The first woman laughed. “You’re surprised he forgot? He’s so old, I think he got his medical license during the Ming Dynasty. I feel bad for the handsome American. Perhaps I should offer to distract him.”

“You? You would need a step stool to kiss him.”

Mei Lin’s husband was handsome in every culture. How many women had noticed him in the last six years? How many had offered to distract him?

Mei Lin shook off the disturbing thoughts. She was safe for now, unless the women came around the corner.

Tea poured, chairs scraped. They were settling in.

“I wonder why he’s here,” the first voice said. “To come all the way from America⁠—”

“Must be important. I wonder if Wang will be able to help him.”

Mei Lin’s heart was hammering. She couldn’t stand here all afternoon. What should she do?

There was a bathroom at the end of the cubby row. It was her only chance.

She moved on the balls of her feet, eased the door open and shut. She counted to ten, then flushed the toilet and ran the water.

She walked out of the bathroom and straight into the break room as if she had no idea the women were there. She froze when she saw them.