Chapter 9 - The Photograph That Changed Everything
The police questioned me for six hours.
They asked about Adrian's organization, his relationship with Thomas Bell, and why I had entered the hospital basement.
I told them the truth.
They didn't believe me.
Captain Shaw sat across from me in a windowless interview room, turning my staff identification badge between his fingers.
"Let's make this easy, Nurse Reed. Adrian Vale is a dangerous man. You don't want to be associated with him."
"I barely know him."
"Then why were you helping him steal confidential hospital records?"
"I was investigating a dead patient's final words."
Shaw smiled.
"You're a nurse. Not a detective."
"So I've been told."
His smile vanished.
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Adrian standing over Thomas Bell's body in a warehouse.
Blood stained the concrete.
A gun lay beside Adrian's shoe.
"This is the man you chose to trust," Shaw said. "We have witnesses who place him at the scene."
I stared at the picture.
The image looked convincing.
Too convincing.
Adrian's suit was clean despite the blood. Thomas's watch was visible on his wrist, but the photograph showed the wrong time for the death recorded in the hospital report.
I leaned closer.
"Where did you get this?"
"That's not relevant."
"His watch says 8:14. Thomas was admitted at 10:52."
Shaw's jaw tightened.
"Perhaps the watch stopped."
"Then why is the minute hand different in the reflection on the floor?"
I watched him carefully.
For the first time, he appeared uncertain.
It lasted only a second.
Then he collected the photograph.
"You think you're clever."
"No. I think somebody wants me to believe something that doesn't make sense."
He leaned across the table.
"Here's what's going to happen. You'll tell us Adrian threatened you. You'll say he forced you to retrieve the files. You'll confirm that he confessed to killing Thomas Bell."
"I won't lie."
"Then you'll be charged as an accomplice."
I stood.
"Am I free to leave?"
Shaw's smile returned.
"Not yet."
The door opened behind him.
A junior officer entered and whispered something into Shaw's ear.
The captain went pale.
He stood abruptly and walked out.
The junior officer remained.
I studied his face.
"What's happening?"
He hesitated.
Then he quietly placed a folded piece of paper beside my hand.
"Your friend asked me to give you this."
"Maya?"
He nodded.
I opened it beneath the table.
Grace didn't die in the hospital. Her body was never recovered.
I stopped breathing.
The note continued.
I found the original transfer log. Room 614. Check the name entered forty-eight hours after her reported death.
I looked up.
"Who gave you this?"
He didn't answer.
A distant commotion erupted in the hallway.
The officer glanced at the door.
"You're going to have to leave now."
"Am I free?"
"No," he whispered. "But if you stay, you won't be."
He opened the door.
I walked out into the corridor, passed two arguing detectives, and entered the stairwell.
My hands trembled as I called Maya.
She answered on the first ring.
"Emma?"
"Where are you?"
"Home."
"Did you find Grace's transfer log?"
Silence.
Then Maya whispered, "I found something worse."
"What?"
"Grace's name appears in a private patient registry. The last update was made this morning."
I gripped the railing.
"That doesn't make sense. She died three years ago."
"I know."
"Who is the patient?"
Maya swallowed.
"Emma, the registry lists her as alive."
Before I could respond, I heard a crash on Maya's end.
Then a man's voice.
"Put the phone down."
May you like
Maya screamed.
The call ended.
