The Devil's Right Hand - J. D. Rhoades [65]
“Fuck off, lady,” Crystal said.
“That’s enough, Crystal,” Berry said in a voice that sounded like it should have been coming from a burning bush on Mount Sinai. Crystal looked chastened. “Doctor,” she said in a small voice, “I just wanted to talk to Mister Keller for a minute. I wanted to thank him.”
“We don’t allow visitors the first two weeks--” the receptionist started, but Berry silenced her with an upraised hand. “Five minutes,” he told Keller. “On the porch. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Keller walked out onto the porch with Crystal in tow, both ignoring the murderous look from the frustrated receptionist. They sat down in the rockers.
“You were right,” she said. “I owe you one. So here I am.”
“So we’re square then,” Keller said.
“Don’t bullshit me, Mister Keller,” she said. “Everything has a price, and it’s always more than you thought you’d pay. No one knows that better than a whore.” She sighed and looked away. “I ain’t heard from DeWayne. If I do, I’ll let you know. But you have to promise you won’t hurt him. He’s a fuckup, and he’s half-crazy most the time, but he’s all I got left.”
“I don’t want to hurt him, Crystal,” Keller said. “But I’m not going to let him kill me.” The sentence hung in the air between them. Finally, Crystal nodded. “Okay,” she said. “That’s fair, I guess.” She put her head in her hands. “I can’t believe he would kill nobody,” she said. “He was always wild, but he weren’t never mean.” She sat in silence for a few minutes. “And Leonard,” she said finally. A tear ran down her cheek. “He was always so gentle. I really can’t believe Leonard hurt somebody.”
Keller shrugged. “From what I hear, they tried to hold somebody up. Armed robbery’s a killing waiting to happen. They should’ve stuck with the small stuff.” He stood up. “You better get back inside,” he said. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
She nodded and stood up. “Thanks,” she said. “For getting me in here, I mean. I been all messed up for a long time. I need to get my mind right.”
That makes two of us, Keller thought. “Good luck,” was what he said.
She started back into the house. She stopped for a moment and looked back. “You think I got a chance?” she asked.
Keller nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “You checked yourself in. Most people aren’t here by choice. They get sent here by the courts. So you’re ahead of the odds already.”
She thought about that for a moment. Then she smiled. “First time that’s ever happened,” she said. She went back inside.
“You know Crystal’s Social Security number?” Debbie asked. She was standing in the kitchen of her tiny apartment. She had the phone wedged between her shoulder and her ear. DeWayne started to answer, but she held up a hand to stop him as someone came on the line. “Good afternoon,” she said, “this is Mrs. Gunderson from Consolidated insurance. Can you connect me with patient accounts?” In the brief pause, DeWayne shook his head no. Debbie nodded understanding.
“Hello,” she said after a moment. “This is Mrs Gunderson from Consolidated Insurance. We’re trying to follow up on some paperwork for one of your patients. The name is Puryear. Crystal Puryear. Yes, I can hold.”
“You sure they’ll tell you anything? Ain’t it supposed to be, you know, confidential?”
She covered the mouthpiece with one hand. “Oh, yeah. Medical Records won’t tell you squat. You want to know what’s going on, talk to the billing people. I know, I used to work in a hospital. Confidential goes right out the window when they’re tryin’ to get paid. Watch. Yes, I’m still here,” she said into the phone. “We’re having some trouble processing this claim form. No, I don’t have her Social Security number, that’s part of the problem, I can’t read how it’s written here. Is that a five or a three...maybe you just better read the whole thing off for me.” She grabbed a pencil from the counter and jotted the number on a pad. “Thanks so much,” she said in a bubbly voice. “Now, what was the name of the place where she was moved--good, got it. No, I’m not sure when the claim will be paid, I have to send it upstairs. Have