“The funeral is tomorrow,” the administrator said before she left the office.
“I saw this on the news, you know, about the murders. Dr. Fritz told me not to come in unnecessarily. He did not want me to be in danger too,” she told her subordinate, Nurse Marx. “Marlene, you must ask for a transfer. I cannot stand worrying about you every time I’m off duty.”
“Don’t worry about me, Sister Barken,” Marlene Marx smiled, passing her one of the cups of instant soup she’d prepared. “I think whoever did this must have had a specific reason, you know? Like a target that was already here.”
“You don’t think…?” Sister Barken gawked at Nurse Marx.
“Dr. Gould,” Nurse Marx affirmed the Sister’s fears. “I think it was someone who wanted to kidnap her and now that they have taken her,” she shrugged, “the danger to staff and patients is gone. I mean, I bet the poor people who died only met their end because they got in the killer’s way, you know? They probably tried to stop him.”
“I understand that theory, sweetheart, but why then is the ‘Sam’ patient also missing?” asked Sister Barken. By the look on Marlene’s face she could see that the young nurse had not yet thought of that. In silence she sipped her soup.
“So sad that he took Dr. Gould, though,” Marlene lamented. “She had been very ill and her eyes were only getting worse, poor woman. On another note, my mother was furious when she heard about Dr. Gould’s abduction. She was angry that all this time was right here in my care I didn’t tell her.”
“Oh boy,” Sister Barken empathized with her. “She must have given you hell. I’ve seen that woman upset and she scares even me.”
The two dared to have a giggle in this bleak situation. Dr. Fritz entered the Third Floor nurse’s office with a folder under his arm. His face was serious, halting their meager joviality instantly. Something that resembled sorrow or disappointment shown in his eyes as he made himself a cup of coffee.
“Guten Morgen, Dr. Fritz,” the young nurse said to break the awkward silence.
He didn’t answer her. Sister Barken was surprised at his rudeness and used her authoritarian voice to shake the man to a measure of decency with the same greeting, only a few decibels louder. Dr. Fritz jumped around, jolted from his comatose state of thought.
“Oh, I’m sorry, ladies,” he gasped. “Good morning. Good morning,” he nodded to each, wiping his sweaty palm on his coat before stirring his coffee.
It was very unlike Dr. Fritz to act this way. To most women who encountered him, he was Germany’s medical field’s answer to George Clooney. His confident charm was his power, only trumped by his medical prowess. Yet here he stood in the humble Third Floor office with sweaty palms and an apologetic disposition that baffled both ladies.
Sister Barken and Nurse Marx quietly exchanged frowns before the robust veteran stood up to wash her cup. “Dr. Fritz, what has upset you? Nurse Marx and I volunteer to find whoever upset you and treat them to a free barium enema with some of my special Chai tea…straight from the pot!”
Nurse Marx could not help but choke on her soup from unexpected laughter, although she was not sure how the doctor would react. Her wide eyes stared stiffly at her superior’s in an imperceptible reprimand as her jaw hung open in amusement. Sister Barken was unperturbed. She was very comfortable using humor to elicit information, even personal and highly emotional information.
Dr. Fritz smiled and shook his head. He enjoyed the approach, although what he was harboring was by no means worthy of a jest.
“Much as I appreciate the valiant gesture, Sister Barken, my distress is not caused by a person as much as by a person’s fate,” he said in his most civilized tone.
“May I inquire of whom?” Sister Barken pried.
“Actually, I insist,” he replied. “Both of you treated Dr. Gould, so it would be more than appropriate for you to know the results of Nina’s tests.”
Both of Marlene’s hands lifted silently to her face, covering her mouth and nose in a gesture of anticipation. Sister Barken understood Nurse Marx’s reaction, as she herself did not feel too positive about the news. Besides, if it had Dr. Fritz in a bubble of quiet ignorance to the world it had to be hefty.
“It is a setback, especially after she had been healing so rapidly at first,” he started, tightening his grip on the file. “The tests show a significant deterioration in her blood work. Cellular damage was too severe for the time it took for her to be admitted for treatment.”
“Oh sweet Jesus,” Marlene whined in her hands. Tears filled her eyes, but Sister Barken’s face remained in the expression she was trained to receive bad news.
Blank.
“What kind of level are we looking at?” Sister Barken asked.
“Well, her intestines and lungs seem to be bearing the brunt of the developing cancer, but there is also clear indication that she had suffered some minute neurological damage that is probably the cause of her deteriorating eye sight, Sister Barken. She was only tested, so I will not be able to make a definite diagnosis until I get to examine her again.”
In the background, Nurse Marx was whimpering softly at the news, but she tried her best to compose herself and not allow a patient to influence her so personally. She knew it was not professional to cry over a patient, but this was not just any patient. It was Dr. Nina Gould, her inspiration and an acquaintance she had a very soft spot for.
“I just hope we can find her soon, so that we can bring her back in before it gets any worse than it has to be. We simply cannot just discard hope like this, even though,” he said as he looked down at the young, crying nurse, “it’s pretty hard to stay positive.”
“Dr. Fritz, the German Air Force Commander is sending a man to interview you sometime today,” Dr. Fritz’s assistant announced from the doorway. She did not have time to ask why Nurse Marx was in tears, as she was in a hurry to return to the small office of Dr. Fritz that she was in charge of.
“Who?” he asked, confidence returned.
“He says his name is Werner. Dieter Werner from the public office of the German Air Force. It’s regarding the burn victim that disappeared from the hospital. I checked – he has military authority to be here on behalf of Lieutenant-General Harold Meier.” She practically recite all of this in one single breath.
“I don’t know what to tell these people anymore,” Dr. Fritz complained. “They cannot clean up their own mess and now they come and waste my time with…” and off he went muttering furiously. His assistant gave the two nurses one more glance before rushing after her boss.
“What is that about?” Sister Barken sighed. “I’m glad I’m not in the poor doctor’s shoes. Come on, Nurse Marx. Time for our rounds.” She resumed her normal austere form of command just to establish that work time had begun. And with her usual stern annoyance she added, “And wipe your eyes, for Pete’s sake, Marlene, before patients think you are as high as they are!”
Several hours later Nurse Marx took a breather. She had just emerged from the Maternity Ward, where she had been donating her shift time for two hours each day. Two of the regular maternity nurses had put in compassionate leave after the recent murders, so the ward was a bit short staffed. In the nurses’ office she took the weight off her sore feet and she listened to the promising rumble of the kettle.
While she waited, a few rays of gilded light illuminated the table and chairs in front of the small fridge and led her gaze along the precise lines of the furniture. In her state of fatigue it brought to mind the sad news of earlier. Right there on the smooth surface of the off-white table she could still see the folder of Dr. Nina Gould, lying there like any other chart she might read. Only this one had a smell to it. A rotten smell of decay permeated from it, choking Nurse Marx until she jumped from the horrid dream with a sudden flail of her hand. She almost sent her teacup flying to the hard floor, but caught it just in time, employing those adrenaline-fuelled reflexes of a sudden start.
“Oh my goodness!” she whispered in a
puff of panic, holding the porcelain cup tightly. Her eyes fell on the barren top of the table where there was no file in sight. To her relief it had just been an ugly mirage of a recent shock, but she wished sorely that that was the case with the actual news contained therein. Why could that, too, not just have been a bad dream? Poor Nina!
Marlene Marx felt her eyes moisten again, but this time it was not for Nina’s condition. It was because she had no idea whether the beautiful, dark-haired historian was even alive, let alone where she’d been taken by the stonehearted villain.
16
Merry Meet/ Un-Merry Part
“Just got a call from an old colleague of mine at the Edinburgh Post, Margaret Crosby,” Sam shared, still staring at his phone a little nostalgically just after he got into the rental car with Purdue. “She’s on her way here to offer me a co-authorship on the investigation concerning the German Air Force’s involvement in some sort of scandal.”
“Sounds like a good story. You should do it, old chum. I smell an international conspiracy here, but I’m no news hound,” said Purdue as they made their way to Nina’s temporary sanctuary.
When Sam and Purdue pulled up in front of the house they were directed to, the place looked ghastly. Although the modest little house had been recently painted, the garden was wild. The contrast between the two made the house stand out. Bushes with thorns hugged the beige exterior walls under a black roof. The chimney’s pale, pink paint chips showed the decay from before the paint job. Smoke slithered upward from it like a lazy, grey dragon, blending in with the cold, monochrome clouds of the overcast day.
The house stood at the end of a small street near a lake, which only added to the desolate loneliness of the place. As the two men stepped out of the car, Sam could see a twitch in one of the windows as the curtains were being disturbed.
“We’ve been detected,” Sam announced to his companion. Purdue nodded, his tall body towering above the frame of the car door. His fair hair fluffed in the moderate wind as he watched the front door crack open. A podgy, kind face peered from behind the door.
“Frau Bauer?” asked Purdue from the other side of the vehicle.
“Herr Cleave?” she smiled.
Purdue pointed to Sam and smiled.
“Go, Sam. I don’t think Nina should see me right off the bat, you know?” Sam understood. His friend had a fair point. After all, he and Nina did not part on the best of terms on account of Purdue hunting her in the dark, threatening to kill her and all that.
When Sam skipped up the front steps to where the lady was holding the door open, he could not help but wish he could stay a while. The interior of the house smelled divine with the blended scent of flowers, coffee and a faint reminiscence of what could have been French toast a few hours ago.
“Thank you,” he told Frau Bauer.
“She is through here. She’s been sleeping since you and I spoke on the phone,” she informed Sam, shamelessly staring at his rugged good looks. It gave him an uncomfortable, prison-rape feeling, but Sam pinned his attention on Nina. Her small frame was curled up under a pile of blankets, some of which turned into cats when he pulled them away to see Nina’s face.
Sam did not show it, but he was shocked to see how bad she looked. Her lips were blue upon her pasty face, hair clinging to her temples as she breathed hoarsely.
“Is she a smoker?” Frau Bauer asked. “Her lungs sound terrible. She refused to let me call the hospital before you’d seen her. Should I call them now?”
“Not yet,” Sam said quickly. On the phone Frau Bauer had told him about the man who had accompanied Nina, and Sam reckoned it was the other missing person from the hospital. “Nina,” he said softly, running his fingertips along her crown and repeating her name a little louder each time. Eventually her eyes opened and she smiled, “Sam.”Jesus! What’s wrong with her eyes? he thought with a jolt of dread at the light sheet of cataracts that had made cobwebs all over her eyes.
“Hey beautiful,” he answered, kissing her forehead. “How did you know it was me?”
“Are you kidding me?” she said slowly. “Your voice is burned into my mind…just like your scent.”
“My scent?” he asked.
“Marlboro and attitude,” she jested. “Christ, I’d kill for a fag right now.”
Frau Bauer choked on her tea. Sam chuckled. Nina coughed.
“We were worried sick, love,” Sam said. “Let us take you to the hospital. Please.”
Nina’s damaged eyes bolted open. “No.”
“Things have calmed down there now.” He was trying to dupe her, but Nina would have none of it.
“I’m not stupid, Sam. I’ve been following the news from here. They haven’t caught that son of a bitch yet, and the last time we spoke he made it clear that I was playing on the wrong side of the fence,” she wheezed hastily.
“Alright, alright. Calm down a little and tell me exactly what that means, because to me it sounds as if you had direct contact with the killer,” Sam replied, trying to keep his voice void of the true terror he felt for what she was insinuating.
“Tea or coffee, Herr Cleave?” the kind hostess asked quickly.
“Doro makes a mean cinnamon tea, Sam. Try it,” Nina suggested wearily.
Sam nodded amicably, sending the eager German woman into the kitchen. He was concerned about Purdue sitting in the car during the time it would take to get to the bottom of Nina’s current situation. Nina faded into semi-sleep again, lulled by the Bundesliga war on television. Concerned for her life in the midst of her juvenile tantrum, Sam sent Purdue a text.
She is stubborn, as we thought.
Deathly ill. Any ideas?
He sighed, waiting for any ideas of how to get Nina to a hospital before her obstinacy signed off on her mortality. Naturally, non-violent coercion was the only way with someone delirious and pissed at the world, but he feared that would alienate Nina further, especially from Purdue. His phone’s tone shattered the monotony of the commentator on TV, waking Nina. Sam looked down to where he was concealing his phone.
Offer a different hospital?
Otherwise knock her out with loaded sherry.
On the latter Sam knew Purdue was being facetious. The former, however, was an excellent thought. Immediately after the first message came the next.
Universitätsklinikum Mannheim.
Theresienkrankenhaus.
A deep scowl fell into Nina’s clammy forehead. “What the fuck is that constant ruckus?” she murmured through the spinning funhouse of her fever. “Make it stop! Geezusss…”
Sam muted his phone to appease the vexed woman he was trying to save. Frau Bauer came in with a tray. “I’m sorry, Frau Bauer,” Sam apologized very quietly. “We will be out of your hair in just a few minutes.”
“Don’t be crazy,” she rasped in her hefty accent. “Take your time. Just make sure Nina gets to the hospital soon. She looks bad to me.”
“Danke,” Sam replied. He took a sip of the tea, trying not to scald his mouth. Nina was right. The hot beverage was as close to ambrosia as he could imagine.
“Nina?” Sam dared again. “We have to get out of here. Your pal from the hospital deserted you, so I don’t exactly trust him. If he comes back with a few friends we’re in trouble.”
Nina opened her eyes. Sam felt a bolt of sorrow cripple him as she looked past his face into the space behind him. “I’m not going back.”
“No, no, you don’t have to,” he soothed. “We will take you to a local hospital here in Mannheim, love.”
“No, Sam!” she pleaded. Her chest was heaving alarmingly as her hands tried to find the hair on her face that bothered her. Nina’s thin fingers folded against her skull as she tried to remove the clingy tresses repeatedly, getting more annoyed every time she failed. Sam did it for her while she looked at what she thought was his face. “Why can’t I go back home? Why can’t I be treated in a hospital in Edinburgh?”
Nina suddenly gasped and held her breath, her nostrils
wagging slightly. Frau Bauer was standing at the door with a guest she had gone to fetch.
“You can.”
“Purdue!” Nina gagged, trying to swallow with her dry throat.
“You can be transported to the medical facility of your choice in Edinburgh, Nina. Just allow us to get you to an ER nearby to stabilize you. As soon as they do, Sam and I will fly you home immediately. I promise you,” said Purdue informed her.
He kept his voice soft and even, so as not to excite her nerves. His words were bathed in positive tones of resolution. Purdue knew he had to give her what she desired without any talk of Heidelberg as a whole.
“What do you say, love?” Sam smiled, stroking her hair. “You don’t want to die in Germany, do you?” He looked up apologetically to the German hostess, but she only smiled and waved it away.
“You tried to kill me!” Nina growled into somewhere all around her. She could hear where he was standing at first, but Purdue’s voice moved as he spoke, so she lashed out anyway.
“He was programmed, Nina, to follow the commands of that Black Sun twat. Come on, you know Purdue would never hurt you intentionally,” Sam tried, but she was panting wildly. They could not tell if Nina was furious or terrified, but her hands felt around madly until she found Sam’s arm. She clutched onto him as her milky eyes shot from side to side.
“Please, God, don’t let this be Purdue,” she said.
Sam shook his head in disappointment as Purdue walked out of the house. There was no doubt that Nina’s remark had hit him very hard this time. Frau Bauer looked sympathetic as she watched the tall, fair-haired man leave. Finally, Sam decided to get Nina up.
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