by Mary Abshire
“Call me if you need anything,” he said.
“I will, and I hope you do the same if you need me. I mean it.” He’d helped her countless times while they were growing up. She would return the favor anytime. All he had to do was ask.
“Take care of yourself, Em.” He sounded more chipper.
“You’re the best,” she said.
“Amen, sister.”
She held the phone in front of her and saw his number disappear from the screen. Their conversation had her a little on edge. He’d claimed Andrew loved her and then asked if she were fucking him. Why would he think Andrew was in love with her? Emily knew the angel cared about her, definitely lusted for her, but he didn’t love her. Troy obviously didn’t know Andrew’s history with women very well. Whatever relationship she had with Andrew was none of Troy’s business.
Another matter left her unsettled. She had to ask him several times about New York and if he needed help. Although he claimed he had everything under control, she suspected something was troubling him. Having grown up together, they were close friends and trusted each other. She hoped he believed he could count on her if he truly needed assistance. She decided she would wait a few days before she’d check back with him.
She chuckled to herself as rain hammered the roof. Troy believed Andrew was trouble. In truth, all men were trouble.
Chapter Thirteen
“Spencer Reynolds meet Kurt Copeland,” Cathy said.
The three of them stood in one of the neonatal care nursing stations. Andrew offered to shake Kurt’s hand and Kurt accepted. “Nice to meet you,” Andrew said.
“Likewise.” Kurt stood a few inches shorter than Andrew and had a chocolate-colored skin. His dark hair had been trimmed so short it barely looked like he had any. A thin line above his upper lip looked as if he’d drawn the mustache on his face. He wore blue scrubs and his identification hung from a clip attached to his chest pocket.
“Kurt will show you around and introduce you to other staff. For the next few days, watch and learn. And if you want to jump in, by all means, do so,” Cathy said.
“Sounds good,” Andrew said.
“Great.” Cathy looked at Kurt. “I’ll leave you to it.” She left the station and continued down the hall with her shoes clacking on the floor.
Kurt gave him a once over. “I guess she showed you the locker room already.”
Andrew presumed he was referring to the matching scrubs he wore. He kept his long-sleeved gray shirt on underneath the blue top. “She gave me the clothes and took me to the locker room, but she didn’t go inside. I’m a married man,” he held up his ring for display. “I might have had to file a report if she’d followed me.”
Kurt chuckled. “I hear you.”
“She took me to the break room on this floor and the one near HR.”
The last four hours had been long and boring for Andrew. He’d spent one hour going over paperwork and another two and a half watching orientation videos and learning about the computer system. It took about a half hour to change clothes, get photographed and his badge laminated, and for Cathy to show him a few common areas for employees. First days were always the worst.
“Did she mention there were other break rooms on each floor?” Kurt asked.
“She did.” Andrew gave a single nod.
“Ok. Have you been on your break yet?”
“No, and I don’t mind waiting. I can go whenever you want to.”
“I like to go around 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning, depending on what’s going on around here.”
“That’s fine with me. I’m on your schedule.” Andrew slid his hands into his pockets.
“Have you worked in a hospital before?”
“I worked in Cook County in Chicago for a couple of years.”
“What area?”
“Neonatal care.”
“Oh, so you’re not a newbie to all this then?”
“Not exactly.”
“That’s good. Hopefully my job won’t be so hard then.”
“I’ll try to make it easy for you.” Andrew smiled.
“Okay, I’ll take you around and introduce you to the staff that’s here. What time is your shift over?” Kurt began walking out of the nursing station.
“Five in the morning,” Andrew said as he followed Kurt.
“Do you work tomorrow night?”
“She had me down for the next two nights.”
Kurt walked with a bit of a swagger. He moved his arms a lot too. “You’ll be working with me then. I mostly work nights. It’s easier for my wife since she works during the day and we have a three-month-old to take care of now.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks. Have you got any kids?”
“Not yet.”
Kurt stopped at a door. The top half had a window that looked into the room with rows of babies inside. He tugged his badge down and over the card reader near the door. Once it beeped, he pushed on the handle.
Andrew stayed behind Kurt into the room. Three employees were working inside. They all wore blue bottoms but had different colored tops. One woman with wavy brown hair held a crying infant with a pink hat on her tiny head. Another woman with blonde locks tied in a ponytail had her back toward them and appeared to be changing the baby’s diaper. The third lady with brunette hair was writing on a clipboard as she stood over one of the infants in an incubator. Andrew noticed how everyone in the room had a soft white glow except for one person. He didn’t need to see the face of the one with the black aura to know who she was. Kurt headed for the gal holding the crying babe.
“Hey Kurt,” the brown-haired lady said. “Who’s the new guy?”
Kurt stopped and gestured toward Andrew. “This is Spencer. Today’s his first day in the NICU.”
“Welcome. I’m Debbie. I’d shake your hand, but as you can see…” She lowered her gaze to the crying baby in her arms.
“Is she okay?” Andrew asked.
“I think she’s a little gassy. Susan just fed her a little while ago.”
Debbie twisted toward the blonde with the ponytail. The demon straightened before she turned to face them. Anger and disgust filled Andrew instantly. He’d never felt so much revulsion toward a person.
“Susan, this is Spencer. He’s going to be working in the NICU with us,” Kurt said.
“Welcome to Mercy,” Susan said.
“Thanks,” he said.
“And that lady over there is Carol,” Kurt said as he pointed.
The woman with brunette hair looked up and waved.
The baby in Debbie’s arms continued to fuss. Debbie shifted the infant to her chest and patted her back gently. She made soft shushing sounds to try and soothe the little one. Andrew wondered if the cause of the baby’s distress had come from Susan since she’d fed her recently.
“What have you got him doing?” Susan asked Kurt.
“I was showing him around and introducing him,” Kurt said.
“If you need any help, I’m here,” Andrew said.
Susan looked at him and then Kurt. “We could use some help changing diapers and feeding. We’re a little behind since three new ones came in.”
“Show me what you want me to do,” Andrew said.
Susan gestured for him to follow her. “This way.”
She led him to the back of the room where a door led to a large supply closet. Inside the room, shelves were stocked with diapers, baby formula, bottles, clothes, blankets, and a variety of other supplies. He followed her into the closet.
“I hope you don’t mind changing diapers,” she said as she came to a halt near an opened case. She took a handful of diapers from the box. “If you change them, then I can feed them.”
He pressed his lips together as he took the diapers from her. He hoped his offer to help hadn’t been a mistake. She could be poisoning the babies when she fed them. Maybe he was paranoid, but he didn’t trust her. At least he would be working in the same room with her so he could watc
h her movements.
“Sure, show me which ones need changed,” Andrew said.
“Follow me.”
Carrying the diapers, he strode behind her out of the closet and back to the area with the babies. She picked up a small container before they passed Debbie and Kurt and continued to the middle row. She checked the cards on the tubs as she walked down the aisle. She stopped at the fourth tub containing a boy. The babe had his eyes open as he stared into space and his arms up with his tiny fingers pressed to his palms. His small lips formed an O.
“Do you know how to change a diaper?” she asked as she set the container near the tub.
“Yes, but I know some people have their own technique. Why don’t you show me yours?”
“Okay, set those on the side of the tray,” she said, and he obeyed. “With boys, you want to keep the penis covered while you remove the old one and scoot the new one underneath.”
Andrew watched her clean the baby and change his diaper. Her movements were fast, but he followed along and felt confident he could manage on his own. After securing the new diaper on the babe, she rolled the old one up and set it on the lower shelf of the baby’s cart.
“I recommend changing them all first, and then come back around and toss the soiled diapers,” she said.
“Which ones do you want me to change?”
She lifted her arm. “All the ones in this row.”
Many of the little tykes were sleeping. He hated to disturb them. “What if they’re clean?”
“Don’t change them.”
Carol approached Susan. “I marked all the times on the chart. I’m going to take my break.” She handed the clipboard to Susan.
“Thanks,” Susan said.
Carol smiled at Andrew. “Good luck.” She walked away, heading toward the exit.
Susan let out a heavy sigh and faced Andrew. Since he didn’t need any further instructions, he moved to the next baby with the stack of diapers and the wipes.
“Is this your first time working in a hospital?” Susan asked as she scanned the paper on the board in her hands.
“No. I recently moved here with my wife from Chicago. I worked at Cook County Hospital as a nurse for a few years.”
“What area did you work in?”
He set the items near the infant’s bucket. “Neonatal care.”
The sleeping babe had a pink cap over her head and a white blanket over half her body. Her eyes, her nose, and her lips—everything seemed so tiny and adorable. He smiled as he gazed at the infant. And for some odd reason, he thought about Emily. She’d been as small once.
“You probably know your way around with babies then if you worked in a NICU before,” Susan said.
“You could say that,” he said as he gingerly removed the tape from the diaper. He glanced up at the demon. “Have you worked here long?”
“About five years.”
“You must be really good with the babies.”
“I love children. They’re so delicate.” Her gaze lowered to the little one in front of him. “Do you have any?”
“Not yet. My wife and I haven’t been married long. She wants to wait a few years.” He tried not to wake the sleeping angel as he removed her diaper.
“So you moved here from Chicago?”
“Yep.”
“What side of town do you live on?”
“Uh, not sure. We just started renting a house on Mulberry Lane.” He slipped a new diaper underneath the infant.
“Did you say Mulberry Lane?”
“Yeah. Why?” He acted as if he knew nothing about her to keep her talking.
“I live on Mulberry Court. As far as I now, there aren’t any other streets named Mulberry in Springfield. What does your house look like?”
“It’s a ranch with red brick.” He gave her a curious look. “What does your house look like?”
“This is too strange. I think you live in the house behind me. Mine is a two story with bluish-gray vinyl. There’s a playground set up in the back yard and we have a mini barn that matches the same color as the house.”
He widened his eyes to reveal his surprise, though he really wasn’t. “The property behind the home my wife and I are renting has a playground. And the siding on the house and barn is exactly as you described. How crazy is this? I think we’re neighbors.”
He took a gamble telling her up front where he lived, but he figured she would find out eventually, so why delay sharing the news. If he’d hid the information and then she saw him mowing the yard, she might suspect something fishy. Part of his goal was to gain her trust and make her feel comfortable around him so he could get close to her to kill her. He hoped their conversation was a step toward his objectives.
“That is amazing,” she said.
“I’ll have to tell my wife. She’ll be stunned.”
“Did you drive to work?”
“No, we only have one car right now to save money. For now, she’s going to drop me off and pick me up.” An idea came to him as he rambled. Carpooling would be a good way to take her somewhere to kill her. “Did you drive?”
“Yes. My husband and I have own two cars since we have three kids. We work different shifts so we don’t have to pay for a babysitter.”
“I know we just met, but maybe in the future we could carpool.”
One of the babies near Debbie started crying. Susan shifted her attention to the infant. Kurt bent and checked on the babe.
“We can talk about it later,” she said. “I need to feed the babies.”
Susan strode to the back. She said something to Kurt before she proceeded to the sinks along the wall. After she set the clipboard on the counter, she grabbed an empty baby bottle from the one of the cabinets above and a can of formula sitting out. Kurt lifted the hungry infant and held it while Susan prepared the bottle. She moved fast, but as far as Andrew could see, she didn’t add anything to the formula. Once she secured the top of the bottle, she took the little one from Kurt’s arms.
Andrew set the old diaper on the shelf underneath the sleeping angel. He had six more diapers to change and only one baby appeared to be partially awake. He hoped they wouldn’t need new diapers because he’d hate to interrupt their rest.
He gathered his supplies and moved to the next infant. Kurt approached him with a smug expression.
“Hey, you don’t have to change their diapers if you don’t want to,” Kurt said.
“She seems to think they may need it.”
“Susan likes to boss people around and think she’s in charge. I’ve been here longer. She shouldn’t be telling you what to do on the first day.”
Andrew sensed tension between Kurt and Susan. He didn’t want to get on the bad side of either of them. “I don’t want to cause any trouble. It won’t take me long to check the rest. I can tell her I have to spend time with you after I’m done.”
“That’s fine. She’s nice and helpful, but she tends to order everyone around. We all have jobs to do and we know how to do them without her telling us.”
Andrew nodded in understanding. He found it interesting Susan acted like she had control over the staff. It seemed the demon had a dominating personality. All the ones he’d met so far had that trait. Maybe it made them feel powerful.
“I’ll finish up and tell her I have plans with you,” Andrew said.
Kurt took a step back and then another. “I’ll wait at the nursing station for you.”
“Sure thing. I’ll catch up with you soon.”
Kurt headed for the exit. He waved at the ladies before he left.
Andrew was starting to learn a lot at his new job even if he hadn’t done anything other than change diapers. He’d met several people who seemed nice and he’d spoken to the demon. With a little time, he hoped to acquire her trust. Then once he acquired access to a drug to kill her and found a spot to perform the act, he could lure her away and finish his task. And the little babes in the room would be safe from the demon looking to harm them.
Chapter Fourteen
Emily yawned as she waited in the car for Andrew. She’d arrived a few minutes early and had parked a few feet from the entrance. The sun hadn’t started rising yet and she doubted she’d see it anyway since drops of rain continued to hit her windshield. The storm that had come through the previous night had lasted into the early morning hour. The power had flashed off and on so much that she’d gone to bed and had slept through most of bad weather. Fortunately her cell had been charged well enough to wake her up an hour before she had to pick up Andrew. She’d taken a shower, thrown on some jeans and a t-shirt and fixed coffee before she left the house. The caffeine had perked her up some, but not enough.
She lifted the thermos from between the seats and took another drink. The warmth of the fluid, the darkness outside, and the silence in the Jeep did little to help keep her eyes open. After returning the tall container to the cup holder, she hit the dial for the radio. Static came through the speakers. She turned the knob to find a station. She found one with a man and a woman talking about a popular cable show. Not interested in their conversation, Emily scrolled to another local channel. Country music played. Since she wasn’t a fan of the genre, she searched through several other stations before she pushed the button to turn the radio off. Silence sounded better than boring chatter and horrible music.
Several minutes past five, Andrew walked out of the main entrance. Happy to see him, she straightened in her seat. He wore a set of blue scrubs with his gray shirt underneath. He carried a bag in one hand and had a grin on his face as he strode to the car. She couldn’t wait to hear all about his new job.
He opened the door and then climbed into his seat. “Hello, sweet wife. Did you miss me?” He set the bag on the floor near his feat.
“Of course I did. I missed you so much I had to hold a pillow tight to my chest so I wouldn’t feel so alone all night by myself.” She pouted her lips for an additional effect.
“I’m here now, so you can use me instead of the pillow to comfort you.”
“I can use you?” She arched a brow. “Aren’t you a little tired from working on your feet the last ten hours?”
“I’m never to worn out for you. Use me as you please, sweet wife of mine.”
