The Cry Beyond the Door by M.A. Koontz

Author:M.A. Koontz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2019-11-14T17:01:14+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

The day after I’d met with Dr. Sanderson, I visited the children’s wing of Reed Memorial Hospital with Merlin, who was particularly patient with the children’s zealous hugs. I rewarded him promptly with a treat, still amazed at the progress he had made as a therapy dog. As promised, I planned to pay a visit to John Doe’s room on the third floor of the same hospital. When I arrived at room 323, I saw Mike just outside the room. He reminded me that they now referred to John Doe as Jack, the name he used at the Mission Shelter. Though Mike didn’t think it was his real name. Mike and I were about to enter the room when Dr. Han arrived.

Mike introduced me to Jack’s doctor, who’d agreed to our visit, then asked if I would excuse them while they spoke privately. I tried to hide my disappointment, but agreed, understanding patient confidentiality. Anxious to get back to The Contented Canine, I had hoped to make this visit a quick one. Instead, I moved Merlin aside, allowing the detective and doctor to enter the room.

Five minutes later, Dr. Han emerged, and Mike motioned for me to enter. Ushering Merlin into the room, I stopped at the bedside and gasped. In my mind, I had pictured a middle-aged man, but this guy couldn’t be much more than thirty, if that. Bruises in varying shades of purples, greens, and yellows covered his exposed areas, and massive bandages were wrapped around his skull.

“Are you okay?” Mike asked.

I nodded. “What did the doctor say? Is he going to be alright?”

“He had hoped Jack would be out of the coma by now, but he remains stable,” Mike said.

“Has there been any progress on learning his real name?” I asked.

“Not yet.” Mike sighed. “There’s something a little shady about the people connected to this guy.”

“How so?” I watched Merlin nuzzle Jack’s hand. “Oh, is it okay if Merlin does that? We’ve never visited a patient who wasn’t able to respond to him.”

“I don’t see what harm it can do. Maybe it will wake him up.”

“You were saying there’s something not right about the people connected to Jack?” I asked, returning to the topic.

“Yeah, for one thing, they all seem to either disappear or are trying to kill him,” Mike said.

“Mo told me about someone trying to kill him with a syringe full of a mysterious substance,” I said. “I’m so glad no one was hurt. I can’t believe Mo ran after him.”

“I can. But you’re right, Mo could have been hurt.” Mike’s eyebrows met in a frown. “The lab results showed that the syringe contained a deadly amount of ricin.”

“Ricin? I thought that was a powder that terrorists used,” I said.

“It’s primarily what you hear on the news, but ricin can also be made into a liquid form, which is why the FBI are trying to determine its source.”

Suddenly, Merlin’s whining caught our attention. We followed the dog’s focus to Jack’s hand. His fingers were moving rapidly while the rest of his body remained immobile.

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