An American Nurse in Paris by John F Andrews

Author:John F Andrews [Andrews, John F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798989383504
Publisher: 46 North Publications, llc

Chapter Thirty

Alice

Lieutenant Grant limps up behind Pickler and twists her claws open. “What’s the problem?”

Nurse Pickler’s red face pales. “Lieutenant, return to your bed. This is an internal disciplinary issue and none of your concern.”

I glance beyond Grant. Henri and Luc walk toward us as the orderlies roll Catlin away on a gurney. I use my right hand to massage the skin where fingernails left their marks. “I think we’re done here. Thank you for your concern, Lieutenant. Captain Jensen wants me in the treatment room.”

“You’re skating on thin ice, Simmons,” Pickler says. She sneers at Grant and points a long, thin, tremulous finger toward the ward. “Back. To. Bed. Lieutenant.” Nurse Pickler storms out of the room, her head high.

“You looked like you were about to unload on her,” Grant says. “I mean, physically. Seen that plenty. I thought . . .”

“Thanks. I can handle myself.”

“Not saying you can’t. God, no. What’s she have against you?”

“A bunch of things, I suppose. She’s from Boston and worked at Mass General—I’m just a country bumpkin to her. She’s a head nurse and I’m only an aide.”

“For the moment, right?”

“Yeah. The funny thing is, I’m the one who went to a university nursing school. Not her. There were none when she trained. But I went to Minnesota. She probably can’t find the state on a map.”

“Respect problem.”

“Both ways, I suppose. Look, thanks for the hand. I think you may have saved her a broken beak, but I’d better go.”

A grin creeps across Grant’s face. “Break many snouts?”

“One. Couple of weeks ago. A major. I damaged a captain, too. He’s missing a front tooth.”

Grant whistles. “If I do that? The stockade.” Grant narrows his eyes. “How’d they tee you off?”

I take a deep breath. I don’t want to deal with this now. What would he or the others think if they knew? Grant’s eyes lose their hardness, and he tips his head to the left. Maybe he’s a better cop than I imagined. “Attacked me. At night. In an alleyway.”

“Are you all right?” A frown builds on his face like a thunderhead.

“Physically, yes. They were easy targets. Drunker than lumberjacks on a Saturday night.”

“They under arrest?”

I sigh. “So, let’s suppose that two inebriated off-duty Chicago cops take advantage of a woman in a dark alleyway. There are no witnesses. What happens when she files a complaint?” My gut tightens as if a punch is coming. “It’s their word against mine—two officers of the law against a female journalist? They’re trying to get me on criminal charges. They accuse me of leading a gang of German spies that assaulted them. The French have threatened a firing squad.” The quivering finger on the pistol’s trigger flashes past my eyes.

“They raped you?” His face colors, eyes hard again.

That snaps me back. “No. They didn’t get that far. That was their obvious intent.”

“Who are these two jokers?” His neck muscles are ropes.

“Lieutenant, I appreciate the concern. I’d better go. Thanks for the help.”

I make my way to the treatment room in the next wing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.