Killing Time In LA by Victor J. Banis

Author:Victor J. Banis [Banis, Victor J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery/suspense
ISBN: 978-1-64080-204-9
Publisher: DSP Publications
Published: 2018-05-08T00:00:00+00:00

OUR LADY of the Angels turned out to be a small hospital in the Silver Lake District near downtown Los Angeles, staffed mostly, it seemed, by Latinos. Which made sense. The neighborhood locals were either Latinos or gay, mostly lesbian, who rented or bought the old-fashioned houses that lined the twisting, hilly streets that wound up and past the man-made lake.

Elena had been so insistent on being taken there that Stanley had half expected to find it some kind of fortress, but in fact it looked and smelled like any other hospital, just smaller and scrupulously clean.

It did seem, however, that security was tight. He had no sooner entered through the lobby doors than he was stopped by a uniformed guard and directed to a reception desk, where he had to show identification and explain who he was visiting. After which a tough-looking nurse accompanied him to the door of her room and watched him go in, just in case he had any thoughts of visiting someone else.

Visiting hours ran from five until eight in the evening. Elena was awake and sitting up in her bed when Stanley came in. A heavily bandaged foot dangled from a cable and pulley over the bed, but otherwise she looked fine, and happy to see him.

“Stanley, what a pleasant surprise,” she said.

“Nicer, I hope, than the one you got last night. These are for you, obviously,” he said, presenting her with the yellow roses he had bought on the way there. “I trust you are not allergic.”

“To roses? I think that’s against the law here, isn’t it? The Rose Parade? That’s just down the freeway from here, if you didn’t know. But how sweet of you to bring me flowers.”

They fussed together over the best place to put the vase with the roses, deciding finally on the bedside table, which necessitated moving a lamp and a book she had been reading.

“I met earlier with your friend, Ralph,” Stanley told her after the flowers had been settled. “And yes, I gave him the lighter, but only after he had mentioned the frog’s legs.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I have been worried about that. It’s a relief to know that he got it safely.”

“I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me what this is all about? I’m thinking you are with the CIA, Homeland Security, something of that sort?”

She looked appropriately abashed. “Stanley, I would honestly just as soon not have gotten you into this situation at all. But last night….”

“Last night you did not have a lot of options, it seems to me. And what you are trying to say now is, the less I know, the better?”

“Exactly. But you are going to have to know some of it, I’m afraid. Just in case….” She hesitated.

“In case someone gets to you here?” Stanley finished for her.

“It could happen,” she said with a grimace. “That was why I sent the message to Ralph. And this hospital, well, let’s just say it is friendly to our cause.”

“I’ve visited prisons with less security.

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.