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“Alright.”
“When you get to the hospital, I need you to get something from my office. It’s a patient’s file.”
I don’t ask him what is so important that he’d want me to bringonepatient’s file over. Instead, I listen as he gives me more instructions, nodding my head intermittently.
I notice the door to Doctor Owen’s office is open a few steps before I get there. It's just a couple of inches that would have gone unnoticed by someone else.
But for me, after years of helping people watch their backs, I can tell. Cautiously, as I have the keys in my hand and it’s supposed to be locked, I approach the door.
I put my finger to my lips as a nurse passes before she can call my name. Despite her confusion, she doesn’t speak and nods briefly before walking away.
Quietly, I put my hand on the door handle, careful not to alert the intruder.
If there is,because his office isn’t that secluded, nobody would have seen someone enter and stop them. Counting to three, I open the door quickly and step in, just as someone wearing a white coat straightens up so fast he hits his head on the edge of the desk.
I frown. “Doctor Michael?”
“Logan,” he says in a guarded tone. “I didn’t think you’d be visiting the hospital today.”
“Doctor Owen asked to make sure everything was running smoothly. But—” My eyebrows furrow. “It looks like you’ve assumed the position of authority in his absence.”
He laughs, but I sense the insincerity in it.
“Me? I’m just an average doctor whose expertise pales when you compare it with some of the other doctors around here. Nurses even. I’d hardly be the right person to take over,” he says, holding out a folder with his right hand.
“I forgot a patient’s folder here when I came to see the doctor yesterday, and I needed to get it. That’s all.”
How?
As I try to read him, my eyes dart to his left hand, and I see the fast motion of him tucking something into his pocket.
What is that?Why did he hide it?
“Just a patient’s folder?” I ask.
He nods. “Yup. I had a lot of patients to attend to yesterday, and I forgot about a patient who was coming in today.”
“Oh.” I nod. “Okay. But does Doctor Owen keep a set of spare keys somewhere? Because” I raise the keys, “he gave me this. Said the office would be locked, but when I got here, it wasn’t, and you were inside.”
I watch his eyes dart to the door for a couple of seconds before returning to me.
It’s a sure sign that he’s up to something. My frown deepens.
“What could it be?”
“What?”
I realize I’ve spoken out loud and shake my head.
“Nothing. I was thinking about something. I guess the old man forgot that he didn’t lock the door,” I say and add a chuckle to lighten the mood.
The relief on Michael’s face doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Alright,” he says. “I’ll be on my way now. It’s good to have an extra hand here. Perhaps you could check on a few patients before you leave? I’m sure your presence would be comforting for them.”
A little too patronizing, I note down—another reason to be suspicious of his presence here.
I walk up to him close enough that we almost bump shoulders. “I’ll be right out. I need to get something for the doctor.”
