Faye Kellerman - Decker 06 - Grievous Sin

by Grievous Sin(lit)

  Like the old dance marathons, it was an endurance test. Cindy stayed awake out of sheer stubbornness. Though queasy and off-balance, she knew she'd make it through the night. She'd had lots of prior experience from cramming for finals.

  A little past one and all was well. Up for hours upon hours. As she flipped through her memory file, she seemed to recall her father doing consecutive shifts at work for two, even three days in a row... her mother complaining about it, some of her annoyance stemming from worry. How did Dad operate on so little sleep? But Dad was always driven.

  Cindy contemplated a catnap - Hannah had just fallen asleep and wasn't due to be fed for two more hours - but she had decided against it after talking to Dad about Marie... and about Darlene, also. Hannah was just too important for her to be asleep at the wheel.

  At this point, Cindy didn't really trust anyone on duty. So many weirdos coming in and out of the nursery, all of them hidden under surgical masks. Not that Cindy really knew they were weirdos. It was the time of night. Everyone looked fun-house distorted.

  Just make it through the next six hours and Hannah would no longer be her responsibility. Rina would be going home in the morning, the baby with her. Dad had even hired a baby-nurse named Nora. Even though Cindy had told him that she'd take care of Hannah until Rina

  was well enough. But that was Dad. Worried that she wasn't having enough fun. And then when she tried to have some fun, he'd worry for her safety.

  It was an occupational hazard of his job, always seeing the world as a battlefield. That's why she'd decided to study criminal science from an academic viewpoint. Still, it must be thrilling to be tossed in the thick of it. A rush that did strange things to your head.

  Like right now. She thought of herself as kind of an undercover cop, analyzing Marie and Darlene while trying to appear casual. Silly, but it helped pass the time. One fifteen a.m.

  All the babies from Nursery J had been wheeled back home, an earful of noise coming from the other room. Cries in counterpoint harmony. Symphonie aux Be'be's! From all the fussing and yelling, it was a sure bet that Marie was doing check-ups. Not that Marie was particularly heavy-handed, although Cindy thought Darlene was better, but the babies didn't like the procedures. They didn't like the weighings because the nurse had to unwrap them, and the cold air on their tummies made them cry. They didn't like the measuring because they were on their backs, their little leggies all stretched out. All the probing and poking. And then there were the blood tests taken from their teeny heels. That was always good for a yelp or two.

  The stuff you pick up hanging around a hospital.

  The crying seemed a little louder tonight. Maybe it was just her. Sound magnifies when one is sleep-deprived. Something she'd learned in one of her psych. courses.

  Cindy glanced at the clock again. The big hand had moved two minutes.

  Too tired to read, she scanned Scientific American and looked at the pictures. Multicolored graphs and schematics that looked like stacked tinkertoys. They were

  supposed to represent the cellular makeup of a rare tree lichen. She closed the magazine and placed it on her lap. Then she stood and put the magazine on the chair and peered inside the layette.

  Hannah was snoozing like the proverbial baby.

  Cindy didn't want to bug the nurses, but she was so damn bored staying up with no one to talk to. Maybe she could help Darlene. Darlene was always willing to give her something to do. Part of it was propaganda: showing her the wonders of nursing. Every time Cindy would do something, Darlene would praise her to high heaven and tell her what a wonderful nurse she'd make, how the profession needed smart, dedicated people like herself. Cindy took the compliment but tuned out the message. Though she'd learned that nursing was a lot more than changing bedpans, she'd also sensed that the profession was a lot of hard work and responsibility for the compensation. Always under the doctor's orders...

  Not that power and money were important to her. But passion was. She didn't feel passionate about nursing, not like she did about criminal sciences.

  Cindy blinked several times, then stared out the window to the nursery. Lightly, she massaged her temples, trying to rub away the small throbs of an upcoming headache. Headaches just like dad's, only sometimes hers turned to migraines. Dad said he had them in his younger days. The wonders of genetics. It was all the noise. The babies going at it without coming up for air - so loud.

  Carefully, she tiptoed to the main section of the nursery, her eyes falling on the layettes aligned in teeth-comb order. No one was around - not Marie, not Darlene, not any of the other nurses. Distressed infant cries echoed off the walls.

  Cindy felt strange and suddenly cold.

  She called out a hello, projecting so she could be heard over the squeaks and wails.

  No answer.

  Wrapping her arms around her chest, she walked over to the layettes. Baby Girl Jackson's diapers had leaked on to the blanket. Spencer Dole had become completely untucked, the blanket loosely covering the infant's face. My God, even Baby Boy Yamata was crying. He had spit up on his blanket, black hair wet and sticky.

  Cindy pulled the coverlet off Spencer's face and placed the red-faced little baby boy on his stomach after reswaddling his body. Comfortable and cozy, the infant immediately fell asleep as he sucked on his fingers. She found a sterile blanket and wiped Baby Boy Yamata's face, rewrapping him and placing him on his back. That was his position of choice. He closed dark eyes and drifted off to baby slumberland.

  She looked around. Alone and anxious, she changed Baby Girl Jackson's diaper, hoping no one would walk in and think she was molesting the infants. She knew she had no business touching the babies but no one was in sight.

  Something was wrong.

  She looked inside the glass window of the nurses' station for Nursery J.

  Empty.

  Where the heck were Marie and Darlene?

  Cindy looked at the clock, looked at the window, looked at the babies, her mind dizzy with indecision. She started toward the yellow line, but realized she was suited up. If she crossed the border, would she have to regown in order to get back to Hannah? She didn't even know where the nurses kept the gowns.

  Then she saw the wall phone and a directory posted to the phone's immediate right. She dialed the exchange for the Front Desk. The phone rang and rang and no one

  answered. Then she tried the hospital operator, who answered after ten rings. Cindy explained the situation to the operator and was then connected back to the front desk. Again, no one answered.

  Darlene had said there had been some major cutbacks at the hospital, but this was ridiculous. Suppose Cindy was a sick person who needed help? Or suppose she was calling for one of the babies who needed help? What a disaster that would be. Her mind was suddenly besieged with worst-case playouts.

  The clock read 1:45.

  All of a sudden, time was moving quickly.

  Two experienced nurses supposedly on shift, and there wasn't a soul in sight.

  What to do, what to do?

  Give it another five minutes.

  And then what would she do?

  At two, she tried the Front Desk again.

  No one.

  Where was everyone? A baby could be choking or something.

  Now she was thinking like Dad.

  Dad

  Good old Dad!

  She could call him, but she didn't want to wake up Rina. Nor did she want Rina to know about the lax care at the nursery. Daddy was right. Darlene was weird to leave the babies alone. And Marie was weird, too. But at this moment,, she would have given a lot to see either of. their faces.

  What on earth was going on?

  As soon as the clock clicked 2:10, Cindy put her foot tentatively over the yellow line. Walking swiftly, encountering no one in the halls, she went directly to Rina's room and knocked softly on the door. When no

  one answered, she opened it and stepped inside.

  Dad was sleeping in a cot next to Rina's hospital
bed. She went over and gently shook his shoulders. His arousal was so fast that he startled her. Then she remembered he was used to waking up on a moment's notice. He was wearing gray sweats and had on tennis shoes that looked as big as boats. His bleary eyes scanned her face. A glance and he knew something was wrong. He put his arm around her shoulder and led her into the hallway.

  'What is it?'

  'Hannah's fine, Daddy.'

  Decker took a deep swallow and brought his hand to his chest.

  'I scared you,' Cindy said. 'I'm sorry. I just didn't know what to do—'

  'Do about what?'

  'There's no one in the nursery.'

  'What?'

  'For about forty-five minutes,' Cindy said. 'I tried calling the operator and the Front Desk, but no one ans—'

  'Who's with the babies now, Cindy?'

  'No one—'

  'Good God!' Decker started jogging. 'You left Hannah alone?'

  'I'm sorry, but I just didn't know—'

  'Why didn't you call me?'

  'I didn't want to wake up Rina.'

  'Cindy, for God's sake, use some common sense! It's better to call and wake Rina up than to leave Hannah alone.'

  'I'm sorry—'

  'Jesus!'

  'Daddy, you're going the wrong way.' She tugged on his arm and steered him to the left. 'This way.'

  Quickly they ran down the common nursery hallway,

  nearly bumping into Darlene. The plump nurse looked at them wide-eyed, then started marching toward Nursery J.

  'What's wrong?'

  'Where were you?' Cindy asked.

  'Nursery B,' Darlene said defensively. 'If you needed something, why didn't you ask Marie?'

  'Because I can't find Marie.'

  'What?' Darlene exclaimed. 'Then who's with the babies?'

  'Good question!' Decker snarled.

  'No one in there for the last hour maybe,' Cindy said.

  'That's crazy!' Darlene said. 'I passed Marie a long while back. She said she was on her way back to Nursery J.'

  'Then she didn't show up,' Decker said.

  When they arrived at the nursery, Darlene stopped and said, 'Detective, you're going to have to wait here, because you're not suited.'

  'Cindy, go in and tell me Hannah's okay.'

  'Right away.'

  Darlene faced Decker. 'I'm very sorry. I don't know how this hap—'

  'It happened because you were careless,' Decker snapped.

  'I don't appreciate your rudeness, Detective.'

  'And I don't appreciate hospital negligence.'

  Darlene folded her arms around her chest. 'I don't think there's any sense in pursuing this conversation.'

  'I agree,' Decker said. 'So why don't you forget about my manners and just get back to work.'

  Red-faced and shaking, Darlene opened and closed her mouth. Then she turned and disappeared within the inner sanctum of the nursery. Decker looked down at his sides and saw his hands clenched into fists. Slowly, he uncoiled his fingers. Cindy came back a moment later. She was breathless.

  'She's fine, Daddy. Sleeping like...' Suddenly, Cindy broke into tears. 'I'm sorry.'

  Decker hugged his daughter tightly. 'No, I'm sorry, Cynthia. I shouldn't have belittled you like that. That was terrible.' He laughed nervously. 'A heap of thanks for all your help, huh?'

  'But you were right.' Cindy dried her tears on his sweats. 'I shouldn't have left Hannah. I should have just called you.'

  'As long as Hannah's okay.'

  Cindy pulled away and nodded. 'She's fine. I'll just go back—'

  Decker pulled her back into his arms and hugged her again. 'Cindy, thank you, thank you, thank youV

  She smiled. 'It's okay, Daddy.'

  Decker said, 'I'm checking Rina and Hannah out just as soon as Rina gets the final okay from her doctor. This place is a security nightmare. You better believe Rina's doctor as well as the administration are going to be hearing from me. Some heads are going to roll.'

  'Daddy, Darlene is a single parent—'

  'I don't care, Cynthia. If this is a typical example of her competence, it stinks!'

  'What about Marie?' Cindy said. 'Isn't she at fault, too?'

  'Cindy, as far as I'm concerned, the both of them aren't fit to run a chicken coop!'

  Cindy broke off and whispered, 'Daddy, you're shouting.'

  Decker stopped. 'Dad on the rampage, huh?'

  Calm down, Deck.

  'I'm all right, Cindy.' Decker gave her a forced smile.

  And remember to unclench your jaw.

  Sighing, Cindy hooked her arm through her father's 'I understand your feelings. I'd be upset, too. As a matter of

  fact, I am upset! I was panicked, seeing all those babies and not knowing what to do. Watching Hannah has really turned into an awesome responsibility.'

  Decker digested that. 'You're right. It's not what you're supposed to be doing. It was just that Rina needed me very badly. But now, you and Hannah need me more. You go on home. I'll stay with Hannah.'

  'Daddy, I didn't mean that.'

  'I know. I just want you to go home and get some sleep, okay?'

  Cindy looked down.

  'Princess, it has nothing to do with trust. You're as capable as I am, we both know that. We also both know that I'm not going to be able to sleep a wink until Hannah is out of here. You know how I am once I get a bug in my brain. So humor me, okay?'

  'I understand. Would you like me to look after Rina?'

  'No, I'd like you to go home and get some sleep.'

  'I can sleep on your cot, Daddy. If Rina needs something, I can get it for her. Besides, I've gotten to know Hannah. Maybe Rina would enjoy hearing all about her. How often she sleeps, how often she eats, how many ounces she drinks, how often she poops.'

  Decker laughed. 'That's really nice, Cindy. And yes, I think Rina would like to hear all about Hannah.'

  'It's her first daughter.'

  'Yeah.' Decker winked at her. 'Something special about those first daughters.'

  Cindy smiled.

  Decker said, 'Go bunk down in the cot. When Rina wakes up, tell her we switched places. Don't tell her what just happened. No sense scaring her.'

  'I'll just tell her you were giving me a sleep break.'

  'That's good.' Decker looked around. 'I need a gown, don't I?'

  'Yes. Oh, here's Darlene. Can you get my father a gown? He's going to spend some time with Hannah.'

  Darlene didn't answer. She looked dazed.

  'What is it, Darlene?' Decker said tensely. 'Is everything all right?'

  'It's...' Darlene put her hand to her mouth. 'I don't know where the devil Marie is. I've paged her and... this is... I...'

  Decker regarded the nurse's face - as white and blank as an empty canvas. Her voice was unnatural, her hands were shaking. He said, 'Sit down and tell us what's wrong.'

  She gazed helplessly at Cindy. 'I've called Security. They're going to want to talk to you.'

  'Me?' Cindy felt her chest tighten. 'Why do they want to talk to me?'

  'What's wrong?' Decker said louder.

  'It's crazy...' Darlene muttered. 'She came back at twelve oh five. She was here when I left to help out Nursery F.'

  ' Who was here?' Cindy said. 'Marie? Marie hasn't been here for the past hour.'

  'I can't seem to locate... It's simply not... and Marie's not answering her page. It's crazy. In all my years as a nurse, I've never... I mean, you read..." Again she faced Cindy. 'Somebody had to have been here, Cindy. Someone must have been in the nursery.'

  'Maybe somebody was here, Darlene,' Cindy said. 'I was with Hannah. I wasn't in the main nursery.'

  'So you must have seen someone. Who did you see?'

  'I didn't see anyone. I was busy with Hannah.'

  'Why are you interrogating my daughter?' Decker said.

  'I'm not interrogating. I'm just asking—'