Innkeeping with Murder - Tim Myers [32]
A stern-looking young nurse glanced up from the chart in front of her and asked, “Are you a relative of the patient?”
Alex said, “No, but I’m the closest thing to a friend she’s got around here.”
The nurse’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry. No one can go in but immediate family.”
Alex asked, “Can you at least tell me how’s she doing?”
“Wait here. I’ll check.”
In five minutes, the nurse came back. “Come with me. You can peek through the Intensive Care window, but that’s as close as you can get.”
Alex thanked the nurse and followed her into the hospital’s restricted area. The smell of chemical cleaner permeated the air. Alex wondered for the thousandth time if the odious scent had any other function but to disguise the smells of death and dying.
They arrived at the Intensive Care Unit, and Alex peered through window at Emma Sturbridge. He had to take the staff at their word that it really was Emma. The hale and hearty woman Alex had met the night before was now enshrouded in hoses, cords and monitoring equipment. There was barely enough of her showing to make a proper identification.
A pretty young nurse working inside spotted Alex and came out. “Hi. I understand you were asking about Mrs. Sturbridge. Do you know her very well?”
Alex shook his head. “She’s staying at my inn, Hatteras West.”
The nurse smiled softly. “I’m Theresa DeAngelis. I just moved to Elkton Falls, but I’ve already heard all about your place. It sounds charming.”
“Thanks.” Alex gestured toward Emma. “How’s she doing?”
Theresa stopped to consider the question. “Between us, it’s too soon to tell. The doctor can probably tell you more, but he’s on rounds right now.”
Alex asked, “Did she manage to say anything when they brought her in?”
Theresa shook her head. “She hasn’t so much as quivered a finger since she’s been here. I don’t know if anyone’s told you, but she’s in a coma.”
Alex asked, “If she comes out of it, even for just a moment, would you have someone call me at the inn?”
Theresa’s smile was filled with compassion. “I’ll make sure somebody lets you know, even if she wakes up on a different shift.”
Alex said, “I’d really appreciate that.”
The nurse nodded, and Alex added his good-bye and left without turning back. The sights and smells of the hospital were making him nauseous. Suddenly, the only thing Alex needed was fresh air. He stumbled out a nearby exit into the bright, autumn day and leaned against the coarse stone of the building’s exterior wall. The stone was warm on the back of his neck from the sunlight, and the smell of marigolds in a nearby flowerbed helped him forget the noxious odor of that corridor. It was hard for Alex to believe that the robust woman he had joked with the night before was fighting for her life on the other side of the wall.
Chapter 10
Since Alex was already in town, he decided to pay a visit to Mor or Les’s fix-it shop. He had a few questions for his old friend. Mor Pendleton was perched on his stool behind a long wooden workbench. The top was currently covered with the inner workings of an ancient cash register. The walls of the shop were filled with shelves, housing everything from a discarded vacuum cleaner chassis to a dismantled hand pump that Alex recognized as being the same kind that was used at the inn when he was growing up. There were magazines everywhere, from Soldier of Fortune to This Old House. Alex knew Mor’s partner, Les, was a junkie for a particular form of the printed word, and he subscribed to just about every magazine he could get his hands on. School-kids doing fundraisers absolutely loved the crusty old man.
Mor was so deep in thought, tinkering with the register’s bulky pieces, that he failed to hear Alex came in.
Alex picked up a piece of the register and said, “Looks like this one’s down for the count.”
Mor grinned at Alex. “These old printwheels are the dickens to fix, and to top it off, I can’t get parts anymore. I’ve been robbing old machines to keep a few of them running, but there aren’t that many left to vandalize.”
“Why don’t you tell