It was not a well-accepted belief, but those who had vivid memories of the horrors of the original hospital knew that Dr. Frederick Malone roamed the corridors and clinics of the new Westmore Memorial Hospital. The splinter rumors among the older residents of Westmore were that Malone haunted the place, still looking to claim the lives of unsuspecting patients. According to these believers, Malone was still plagued by his compulsion…even after death…
Welcome to Westmore Memorial Hospital, Jamie…
Brownington College/ Westmore Memorial Hospital
Westmore, NH
April 20, 2017
12 PM
The East Brownington School of the 1950’s, like much of the area, had undergone a transformation. The former regional school had long ago been razed as the surrounding towns evolved far beyond what had once been and treasured by the locals. Westmore and its neighbors had expanded along with the rest of the country, and the proximity to Canada and the harsh winter climate no longer seemed an impediment to new arrivals. The former regional school was now Brownington College, a private school, not well known outside of New Hampshire. Jamie Ramirez was one of the typical students who had moved from private prep schools throughout New England to the private college. Though she did not see herself as particularly privileged, Jamie was in fact just that when compared to the general population of kids her age at Brownington.
Despite her upbringing and all the perks, she had been blessed with growing up, Jamie was one of those kids who never flaunted her background. She never talked about it and to be around her, you never would have known about it. Jamie fit in well with everyone around her and as far as anyone but her very close friends knew, she was just one of the crowd trying to get a college degree. In her freshman year, Jamie had met Bert Edwards who was a senior. True to form, Bert had no idea about Jamie until they were a serious couple. He was taken aback, in fact, when he found out, having assumed what most people around Jamie had. Once they found each other, it was rare to have seen Jamie and Bert apart. Fortunately, Bert was able to secure an internship at a local consulting firm in nearby Barton that allowed them to still see each other daily while Jamie continued on at Brownington.
In fact, Jamie was what had brought Bert back to the Brownington campus that day. A Saturday to be exact. One of the specific things that helped bond Jamie to her fellow classmates was athletics. She was one of those anomalies in life, the natural athlete, that most men would have given up a testicle to be. Not a woman, if that is what you supposed, but that one in a million of people that has a wide range of natural, world-class athletic ability, without ever really working at it. Not that Jamie did not train and work to hone her gifts…far from it. But the innate skills and abilities…those she was simply born with. It was in fact what had caught Bert’s eye when he had dropped by casually one afternoon the year before to watch the women’s soccer team host a tournament.
Jamie had been participating in a variety of sports since just a young girl back in Manchester, but soccer was her real and deepest love. That avocation had stuck with her through her adolescence and now she was a standout on the Brownington team. Bert sat about midway up in the bleachers as the sun warmed his shoulders, a pleasant reversal from how the weather the previous two weeks had been. Jamie had spied Bert as he arrived and winked at him from the sidelines of the pitch. He waved back casually and sat back to enjoy watching Jamie do her thing. The first half was still a deadlock with neither team having scored, though there had been several opportunities on each side. However, after a bad pass, Jamie streaked from her midfield slot and intercepted the ball and began to race for the goal. Bert stood with the crowd as Jamie neared the net and prepared to take a shot.
The goalie, though, perhaps sensing the situation, or perhaps knowing of Jamie by reputation seemed to feel an aggressive move might be called for, rather than trying to block a kick from the speeding Jamie. The girl left her net unguarded and came at Jamie full bore. She slid, trying to chip the ball away, but mistimed her slide and caught Jamie high on the ankle. Jamie fell in a heap, immediately reaching for her leg and crying out in pain. The goalie, without hesitation, ran to Jamie’s slumped body and began gesturing wildly toward the Brownington bench for help. Bert dashed from the stands to try and get to her, but he was collared by the coach as soon as he reached the sideline, telling him to let the medical staff take care of it.
Bert waited impatiently as Jamie was stretchered off the field while an ambulance could be heard approaching in the distance. Bert finally wormed his way in to hold her hand.
“First breakaway of the season, and I blew it….” Jamie whispered up at Bert, as she smiled through her pain.
“Just relax, Jamie….” he replied.
Bert knew her well enough to know this was her typical reaction to getting hurt: jokes. And though he was no EMT or a doctor of any ilk, he was pretty sure this was not just some simple twist or sprain. The paramedics loaded Jamie into the ambulance and began to close the doors as Bert approached.
“Sorry, dude….” the one EMT said, “this ain’t a taxi.”
Jamie lifted her head.
“Either he’s in or I’m out, guys…”
The EMT held up his hands in surrender and Bert hopped into the back of the ambulance. They took off for the hospital and Bert grasped her hand again. Jamie rested her head again and Bert could see she was in more pain than she would ever have admitted. The ride was short and Bert stepped smartly out of the way as Jamie was hustled into the ER. He waited anxiously among a myriad of other patients as they all endured the wait in triage to get evaluated. After what seemed like an eternity, a young, bearded man with a stethoscope around his neck stepped into the waiting area.
“Mr. Edwards? Bert Edwards?”
Bert stood and signaled to the doctor that he was there.
“Come on back, sir.”
Bert found himself a bit scared, wondering if Jamie’s injury was more serious than he supposed. And by the way, he said to himself, just when did I become a sir? This guy could not be more than a few years from my age…He followed the lab coat clad doctor through a hallway and a curtained room where Jamie was on a bed, her leg elevated in a temporary air cast. Jamie waggled her fingers at Bert and he knew immediately she was OK. Or at least as OK as anyone can be sitting in an ER exam room in an air cast.
“What’s the verdict, Doc?” Bert asked as the man whipped the curtain closed behind them.
“Complete break, I am afraid based on the x-rays.”
“Fuck!” Jamie spit out. “There goes my season.”
Bert went to her side and held her hand again. He knew this was a major blow to her. Soccer was certainly not her life at Brownington, but all the same he knew how important the game was to her.
“Sorry about that, Jamie,” the doctor added. “We’ll need to reset the joint and then put you in a permanent cast.”
“Need me to stay overnight?” she asked.
“At least,” he replied. “The break is nasty and we’d like to keep you until we are sure everything is stabilized.”
Jamie just nodded, but Bert could sense the frustration and depression in her face.
“I’ll get you checked in while the orthopedic guys do their thing. Try and stay as relaxed as you can, Jamie. I know this sucks.”
“You play, Doc?” Jamie asked.
“In my younger days. Clemson. Until I blew out a knee.”
This caught Jamie’s attention and she smiled grimly. She had no idea if the doctor had actually played or not. Even if he was blowing smoke, she appreciated his bedside manner.
“OK. Thanks, Doc.”
“I’ll check in on you during rounds tomorrow.”
Bert shook the man’s hand and waited with Jamie until the next round of medical staff arrived to get her ankle set and casted.
“I’ll see where they are putting you and see you in a few minutes, OK? I can make a run to get you some things from your apartment or anything else you need.�
��
“Sure…sure…Bert. Thanks.”
Bert was about to leave to check on her room, when he looked back to see her crying. He spun in his heels and went back.
“You OK, Jamie? Pain?”
She wiped away the stray tears with the back of her hand and smiled weakly.
“No, not that….”
Bert waited on her to elaborate.
“I just…I guess it’s all just hitting me now. End of the season and all. I’m OK. Thanks for being here, Bert.”
He reached over and kissed her lightly.
“No problem. See you in a few.”
Doctor Who?
Westmore Memorial Hospital
Westmore, NH
April 20, 2017
3 PM
At the information desk, Bert got all of Jamie’s info including the name of her doctor and the floor nurse, Lucy Tanner, who would be the hands-on person for her care until she was released.
“Feel free to wait up in her room if you want, sir,” the woman at the desk said. “For now, she’ll have it to herself.”
Again with the sir, Bert thought…He thanked her and took the elevator to the fourth floor to see if he could find this Lucy Tanner. Bert came off the elevator and looked both ways until finally spotting what seemed like a nurse’s station to the far left. He headed in that direction and stopped while the lone nurse on duty was finishing up some files. Tanner it said on her tag…
“Oh, sorry…I did not see you,” the nurse said as she finally spotted Bert at her desk. “Can I help you?”
“Nurse Tanner, I presume?” Bert asked.
“In the flesh.”
“Bert Edwards. My girlfriend, Jamie Ramirez is getting her broken ankle reset and casted and they have her here at least overnight to make sure it is stable. Just wanted to wait for her to get up here and see what she might need during her stay. I hear you will be taking care of her, and I thought I would introduce myself.”
“Oh, yes…they just sent her paperwork up. Feel free to wait in the room or in the waiting area. Whatever is more comfortable for you. It may be about an hour or so before they are done downstairs.”
“Sure. Thanks. Think I will hang out in the waiting room. Can you come and get me when she’s here?”
“You bet. Nice to meet you, Bert.”
“You, too, Lucy.”
Bert went back down the hallway to sit in the waiting area between corridors, feeling the stress and activity of the afternoon finally catching up with him at last. At least Nurse Tanner did not call me sir…
………..
Bert awoke with a start as he looked up and saw Lucy Tanner touching him gently on the shoulder.
“She’s out of orthopedics and in her room, Bert.”
“Oh, jeez…. thanks…guess the day wore me down.”
“Understandable. Go ahead and head down and let me know if you need anything.”
Bert nodded, collected his coat and headed for Jamie’s room, 434. He tapped lightly on the door.
“Entrez vous, Bertrand…” came the voice from inside.
Bert stuck his head inside the door to make sure he had the correct place, as the voice coming from inside sure did not sound exactly like Jamie. But sure enough, there was Jamie propped up in the bed with her leg strung up with a complicate-looking pulley system. He walked slowly to her bedside.
“Entrez vous, Bertrand?” he asked as he pulled a chair closer and sat.
“Sure…why not?” Jamie replied as she snickered and sputtered.
“Got you on pain meds I see…” Bert said as he smiled.
“You bet your sweet ass, Bertie!”
“They tell you anything more?”
The sudden influx of laughter and frivolity left her face and she turned away to look out the window at a heavy bank of clouds that had momentarily blocked out the sun.
“I am sure they thought I did not hear them, but I am pretty sure the consensus is I may not play again,” Jamie replied as she put her hand to her face and sighed heavily.
Bert knew from prior experience that the hard-core pain meds hospitals often used could cause a wide range of emotional reactions as well as hallucinations, both auditory and visual. He slid his chair closer and took Jamie’s hands in his.
“Jamie…look at me,” he said quietly.
She tilted her head to face him.
“Don’t get all wigged out here, OK? Doctors don’t know everything. Let’s take this one step at a time. Lots of people have been told things by physicians that ended up being hooey, right?”
Jamie nodded as fresh tears spilled from her eyes. Bert reached up and wiped them away.
“The meds?” he continued, “they may cause your emotions to go all over the board. Just try and take it easy. Remember my brother when he broke his leg last year?”
Jamie thought back and like an easily forgotten picture, she recalled that scene. As she mulled it over, it occurred to her that this was just like that. She nodded her acknowledgement.
“OK. How about some juice or a soda? Something I can get you from the cafeteria that won’t complicate your pain meds…” Bert asked.
“Soda would be great.”
“Be right back.”
Jamie settled back on the bed once Bert had left, thankful for his calming hand in all of this. Between him and Lucy Tanner, whom she had just met and felt immediately comfortable with, Jamie realized she would survive it all. In just a few seconds, there was another tap at her door and a new doctor appeared. She knew this was nor Dr. Abrams from the ER, and she did not recall him from the orthopedic suite either, but just assumed he was the Doc on call making his rounds.
“Miss Ramirez?” the man asked in a soft, but gravelly voice.
“Yes?” Jamie replied.
“Good afternoon. I’m Dr. Malone. Just checking around on all the new arrivals on my wing and wanted to introduce myself.”
Jamie could not exactly put her finger on it, but there was something about this Dr. Malone that made her skin prickle. He looked friendly enough and seemed cordial, but it was like there was a vibe about him that was giving her the creeps. Probably just the meds, she assumed…the man came closer.
“Just need you to slip on this oxygen mask,” Malone said, as he brought out the contraption as if from thin air.
Jamie was not real sure why this would be necessary. Her breathing was fine. But at the same time, in her medicated condition she was in no shape to be making any intellectual decisions about why the oxygen mask might be needed. And this was a physician. Certainly, he knew better than she. Without another thought, Jamie reached out her hands to take the mask from Malone. However, just as she was about to touch the mask, Bert reappeared from the cafeteria with her soda. His return distracted her from Malone and the mask and as she looked back over to where the doctor had been waiting, she saw that Malone had vanished.
As Jamie took the soda from Bert, she tried to understand what had just happened. She was still a bit foggy from the drugs. The room was large and a billowy curtain was hanging across the center of the room that would separate her from a roommate if she in fact had one at the moment. Perhaps Dr. Malone had slipped out that way. The only part baffling her on that point was that the curtain seemed to be perfectly still and did not appear to have been disturbed in the least. Jamie sipped at her soda, furrowing her brow at the entire episode.
“Everything OK, Jamie? You look confused…” Bert asked.
“I guess….” Jamie replied.
Bert sat again and Jamie went through the whole experience for him. Bert had to agree that wanting her to slip on an oxygen mask she obviously did not need seemed odd. They both agreed that her medication must have been responsible, as no other explanation seemed reasonable. Jamie shrugged and let it go as she and Bert sat and chatted about lots of other things going on, both for them as a couple as well as her school year and his internship. During a lull in the conversation, they looked up to see that Lucy had come back aroun
d to check in on her.
“You need anything, Jamie?” Lucy asked.
“I’m good for now, Lucy, but thanks.”
“If that changes or you are having too much pain or anything, just zap that buzzer there by your head and I can be here in a second or two.”
Jamie nodded and smiled and Lucy headed for the door.
“Oh, Lucy….” Jamie said suddenly, “quick question…”
Lucy turned and came back.
“A Dr. Malone just dropped by to see me a few minutes ago. He disappeared suddenly and I was wondering where he might have gone.”
“Malone? Are you sure?”
“That’s what he said…”
“To the best of my knowledge, we do not have a doctor on staff by the name of Malone. Not even a nurse or tech, either…you sure about the name?”
Jamie insisted, but was now feeling even more confused than before. She described the man in as much detail as she could recall.
“Sorry, Jamie. Doesn’t ring a bell….”
Jamie nodded and Lucy took off for her station.
“Think it was your meds, Jamie?”
“I guess so….it just seemed so real, though….”
Jamie Can You See Us?
Westmore Memorial Hospital
Westmore, NH
April 20, 2017
6 PM
Bert made a quick run to Jamie’s place to gather up the few things she had requested for an overnight stay at the hospital. They sat around and talked more as Bert tried to steer the conversation away from Jamie’s insistence that a Dr. Malone had dropped in on her earlier. He was concerned that perhaps her story was indicating something more serious than just a side effect of the medication that they put her on. Sure, his brother had experienced a similar thing, hearing AND seeing things that were not there as well, but Jamie was way more well-adjusted than Richie. He was sure that Jamie would be more able to discern these types of things. Visiting hours were long over, but with the room being otherwise unoccupied and Lucy running interference for him, Bert was allowed to hang around.
Haunted House Tales Page 48
