Copp in the Dark by Don Pendleton

Author:Don Pendleton [Pendleton, Don]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780061003479
Publisher: HarperPrism
Published: 1990-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

I went back east and circled south instead of north toward San Antonio Heights, wanted to run by Valley Central Hospital and try to look in on Susan Baker. That may sound crazy but I figured it was worth a soft probe anyway. I wasn't going to do anything crazy, just take a look and play the ear. Had no intention of spending the day at Judith's place in the hills either, though the idea was strong that I should go take a look there too and see what I could learn from the White family home. Didn't really know where else to start, and now with the added aggravation of trying to avoid cops it seemed a little silly to be running up and down the boulevards in Lahey country—but what the hell else could I do?

The hospital was on the way, sort of, and I wanted to see Susan Baker. Had absolutely no idea of what I would find there, if anything, but certainly Susan could be an important piece of the puzzle. If I could get to her, and if she could talk coherently to me... well I figured it was worth the risk. And I got lucky. A police car was standing empty outside the emergency entrance, but that's normal,

you can expect to see that any time—and I could not detect any hint of other police presence in the area.

I waltzed in the back way and went up to the psychological/psychiatric section and walked smack into Susan— right past her door anyway, saw her sitting in bed watching television. She didn't see me and I didn't see anyone else in the room, nor was there any evidence that she was under any kind of security watch.

I went on to the nurse's station and told the girl at the desk, "I'm Doctor Joseph."

She looked up from a report and said, "Yes?"

"I'm consulting on Susan Baker."

She was quick on the uptake. "Oh yes. She was just brought down from the security ward. This way, please."

That told me something right there. It meant both that Susan was not considered a difficult patient and that the cops were no longer standing over her.

The nurse was leading me to Susan's room. I followed her back down the hallway, asked her from a pace behind, "What is the regimen?"

She replied over her shoulder as we continued along, "Bedrest and TLC. She's doing fine."

"No medication?"

"Nothing's on the chart. She will probably be released tomorrow."

The nurse left me at the door and I went into the room alone, which of course was what I wanted once I had established the condition of the patient.

Susan turned her head to look at me, blinked twice then said, "Oh, it's you." The voice sounded a bit weak but she wasn't whispering.

"You got your voice back," I observed.

"Yeah, how "bout that."

I laid the thousand bucks on her bed tray and told her, "I didn't earn this."

She looked at the money for a moment before replying, "It's not all mine.

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