The Secret Patient

by Vaughan W. Smith

  “Sure, I happen to have it here,” Elizabeth said, digging the paper from her bag. Albert looked it over, and then left.

  Elizabeth waited for his footsteps to fade from earshot and then stood up. She paced around the room, looking for something of interest. The books were all too dense for her, and too specialised. She walked around to the front of his desk, and looked more closely. There was a computer and monitor, notepads, a stylish metallic pen holder and a few photo frames. Elizabeth looked over the photos, curious to see who might be of importance to this odd man. The first two photos were a man and a woman that she did not recognise. But the third photo made her jaw drop.

  It was a photo of a woman and a small boy, standing together in a park. She recognised both faces. The boy was Sean, the kid that helped her tail Robin and the newspaper. The woman was Susan Montgomery, the woman she had stumbled upon when she was exploring Dean’s ward.

  “Albert is connected to Susan. He must be her father, and Sean must be her son. This just got interesting,” Elizabeth thought to herself. She heard footsteps approaching so she quickly rushed back to her seat. She didn’t want him to catch her snooping around.

  “Here’s a photocopy of the tip. Thank you for your cooperation,” Albert said. He handed the paper to Elizabeth and sat down behind his desk.

  “I’m glad we could come to an arrangement. However I will need to at least gather a few facts before I go today.”

  “If you must.”

  “When exactly did the robbery occur?”

  “Last Tuesday. We don’t have an exact time, but suspect it was during the evening.”

  “What was stolen?”

  “It was a relatively small statue of the god Osiris.”

  “Have the police been involved?”

  “No, we don’t believe they have the expertise to be of any use,” Albert said, tones of frustration becoming apparent in his voice. Elizabeth picked up on the cues and decided to finish the interview.

  “Ok well that’s enough of a background for me to brief my editor. I’ll hold the story until you can verify more details. I hope you get something useful from that tip, I’d rather report on the recovery of the piece.”

  “We will keep you informed. Now I must be going, I need to follow up on this.”

  “Thanks Albert. Talk soon,” Elizabeth said. He nodded at her and then rose from his seat. He walked her back to the main foyer, and then disappeared through a locked door. Elizabeth walked out to her car, opened the door and just sat inside. She needed a moment to sort out what had just happened.

  “Albert is very suspicious, both in his behaviour and also his approach to the theft. I’m also intrigued by his connection to the hospital. Is it a coincidence that he has a relative in the same ward as Dean?” Elizabeth thought. In her experience there weren’t really coincidences. She just had to puzzle out the connection at a later point. At least she had progressed the story, although George wouldn’t be happy that she had handed over the original story tip.

  Elizabeth turned on the car and headed towards the hospital. Her next job for the day was to figure out how to get herself access to Nathan’s room. So far she had noticed that both the nurses and food staff had a key. Perhaps some doctors did too, but she ignored them. Her best bet was targeting the food staff. They were less involved, and would not treat the key as carefully as other staff.

  She parked the car and walked through until she reached the right corridor. It was approaching lunch time so she just had to wait until the food delivery came around. After a little while she heard the wheels of the cart rattling along the ground. She looked over and didn’t recognise the man delivering the food.

  “That’s a good sign,” she thought. Having different people alternating suggested either multiple keys, or having the keys left in a common location. That gave her more opportunities. As the cart approached she paid close attention. She watched the man bring the cart to a stop, and then reach for the keys. She stepped closer, and walked along the corridor, trying to see which one he picked. She was in luck. He selected a gold key with a round cap. It was an older, traditional style key. The rest of the keys on the ring were more modern keys, with a U shaped set of prongs with jagged teeth.

  “Easy to pick out of the rest, but also easily missed,” Elizabeth thought. But at least she knew which key to target. She walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. She pulled out a copy of the newspaper and started reading. It was time to wait.

  Within a few minutes the man and his cart returned, and Elizabeth waited for him to pass her and get some distance between them. Then she stood and put her newspaper away. She started following him, hoping to find out where he went. With any luck he would be towards the end of his lunch route. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the cart was fairly empty.

  He continued down the corridor and then turned right. Elizabeth sped up, not wanting to lose sight of him completely. As she turned the corner she saw him disappear through a set of double doors. Elizabeth kept up her pursuit, and pushed the doors open. Past the doors was a ramp going down, and also going up. She had to choose.

  “I’d say kitchen is downstairs,” Elizabeth thought to herself and headed down. After following the ramp down one level she had another decision to make. She could keep going, or try the level she had arrived on.

  “Let’s double down,” she whispered and continued down the ramp. As she completed the circuit she saw a set of double doors, instead of a normal door. She turned to look at the ramp and it ended in a wall. She had reached the bottom. She took a deep breath, then pushed through the doors to see what was behind them.

  To her right stretched an enormous kitchen, which looked like one big continuous piece of steel. Along its edge was a serving area. To her left she spotted a spare food cart, without any trays in it. Further down the corridor were rooms, which had potential.

  “Hopefully one of those is a change room. I’m more likely to find keys there,” she thought.

  “Let’s hear it,” a man said to her, his voice gruff and impatient.

  “Excuse me?” Elizabeth said, turning to face the man. He was bald and scowled at her like she was trouble.

  “Your complaint. Let’s hear it. I haven’t heard enough complaints today, and I’d hate to miss my quota.”

  “Oh, well actually I was after your chicken soup recipe. It smelled so delicious, I feel like I can still taste it,” Elizabeth said. She carefully studied his reaction, to see if her quip had achieved the intended effect.

  “Oh, you’re after my secrets eh?” the chef said, a look of suspicion on his face. She could work with that.

  “Well, I wouldn’t need your secrets necessarily. Maybe you could give me a hint or a pointer?”

  “Spices.”

  “Secret spices? C’mon that’s no help to anyone. That is the oldest trick in the book.”

  “Sweetness. That’s all I’ll say,” the chef said. There was a hint of a smile in his expression, although Elizabeth couldn’t be sure.

  “I see. That gives me a few ideas. I’m inspired, I’m going to try tonight,” Elizabeth said. The chef nodded and went back into the kitchen. Elizabeth turned to leave, but stopped on the spot. Provided the chef wasn’t too inquisitive, this was the best time for her to explore the room. So instead of leaving, she crept further into the room.

  The first two doors she encountered were bathrooms. The next two were change rooms, one male and one female. The lunch server had been male, and the thought of that reminded her that she had tailed him to this location. He was probably still there somewhere. As if in response she heard a toilet flush from the male bathroom.

  Elizabeth had a moment of panic, frozen in inaction. However she recovered herself and decided to head into the female change room. Along one side was a bench with coat hooks above it. Across the other side was a series of lockers. A few were closed and appeared locked, but many were open or just pulled close. Elizabeth walked along the length of the room carefully testing
each locker.

  The first two were tightly locked. The next one was empty. The one after that was empty save for a stack of metal coat hangers. However the next locker seemed to be full of stuff. That was promising.

  So Elizabeth carefully dug through the locker to see what was there. She found a pair of black shoes, a makeup bag, deodorant, coat hangers and small jars that appeared to be different types of hand creams and moisturisers. She almost closed it when she noticed a small pouch nestled in the back corner of the locker. She reached in and took it out, slowly unzipping the pouch. Inside was a key ring, just like the one she had spotted before. And it had the same odd key.

  “This has to be for the secure area, where Nathan is,” Elizabeth thought with wonder. She had found a key. A whole world of opportunities just opened up. She quickly took the key off the key ring and returned it back into the corner. If she didn’t find a way to replace the key in time it would be missed, but at least it might not be considered as urgent if the rest of the keys were intact. At least that was her reasoning.

  She slipped the key into her pocket, and made an effort to return the locker to how she had found it. Then she walked over to the door and listened out for any activity. It was all quiet.

  Elizabeth crept through the door and then slowly walked through the room. She was trying be quiet without appearing suspicious. It was in her best interests to avoid seeing the chef again. She heard a loud bang from the kitchen and quickened her step. It probably meant she had more time, but the key felt like it was burning a hole in her pocket so she wanted to keep moving.

  The first thing she had to do was test if the key worked. As it was around lunchtime she thought that she had a decent window of doing that. The next step would be to then get herself a copy of the key and return the original. Then it would be the perfect crime, and nobody would know that she had access.

  16

  A Key Play

  Elizabeth walked swiftly up the stairs with purpose, trying to maximise her speed without running. She kept a hand in her pocket, feeling the key and reassuring herself that she had it. Despite her speed, the trek back up felt like it took forever. But she remained focused on her task. She continued down the corridor in a business-like fashion, as if she belonged there. As she approached the door, she quickly checked behind her to see if anyone was walking by that she needed to be wary of. She only saw a few people who looked like visitors. Elizabeth took the key from her pocket and inserted it into the door. She carefully turned the key and it moved. The latch clicked open and she shoved the door open, taking care to close it behind her.

  Elizabeth quickly strode down the hallway, trying to get to Nathan’s as soon as possible. She felt like she had time on her side, but could not be caught at such a crucial stage. She quietened her walk, and kept an ear out for any activity, but heard none. Once she came to the door labelled CM she carefully pushed it open.

  Nathan looked up, first surprise and then a smile on his face.

  “You returned,” he said.

  “I did, I found myself a key.”

  “Great work, that feels like a breakthrough. I’m really glad to see you.”

  “Thanks, yeah it’s a big step forward. But I’m not done yet, and I need to keep moving. If you don’t mind I have a few quick questions then I need to leave.”

  “Sure, fire away.”

  “First, what is the safest time to visit you?”

  “Definitely in the evening. The night shift are overworked, and don’t pop in very regularly. After dinner is taken away is the best time.”

  “Ok thanks that should be easy enough. Works well with my normal routine. Second, just letting you know that I met with your mother. I didn’t reveal anything yet, but just that I was investigating your disappearance.”

  “Ok, how is she?”

  “Worried and upset, but seems to be coping alright. She gave me a key to your apartment.”

  “Ok that’s good.”

  “Is there anything useful there that you can tell me about?”

  “I’m not sure. Let me think about it. Do you have anything specific to ask about?”

  “I have a name for your old boss. Do you have his contact details written down somewhere?”

  “Maybe. I would normally use my phone for that, but they took it when I came in. Actually, there is one place that I can think of. The original contract and letter of offer I received for the job has his name and mobile number on it. Why do you need it?”

  “I’d like to get in touch and find out what happened. He has left the company and you are on extended leave and nobody knows why. Somebody is pulling strings here.”

  “Yeah, alright that’s weird. Charles was a good guy, hope they gave him a generous package. This thing is big huh?”

  “I’m starting to get that feeling. Each time I discover something new it is almost overwhelming. But I’m nutting this out, and sizing up the beast.”

  “Yeah, keep it up. You’re my only chance.”

  “Hopefully not your only chance, but I’m acting like it. I better go while I can, I need to get this key back.”

  “So they don’t realise you have it? Sure. Try visiting tonight, we can have a proper chat.”

  “Will do, don’t go anywhere,” Elizabeth said with a laugh.

  “Promise,” Nathan said and gave her a smile. Elizabeth quickly left the room and rushed back down the corridor. She couldn’t hear anyone approaching so wanted to get out while it was safe. She reached the door, opened it with care and then ducked out, walking down the hallway as per normal. She stopped by the vending machine and pretended to look at the options and sneaked a peek back. The hallway was fairly clear, but she heard the approach of a trolley in the distance.

  “If that’s the lunch guy again, I could have been in real trouble,” Elizabeth thought. But she had pulled it off. Now she had to focus her attention on getting a copy of that key.

  “Better do it now just in case. Can’t see Dean anyway,” she thought. So Elizabeth walked straight to the nearest exit and emerged at the street. She still felt strange, carrying the stolen key with her. But that would pass soon, as long as she could get her own copy made. The hospital was in a relatively quiet area without a lot of shops. So she hopped in her car and drove down the road to the nearest shopping strip.

  She wasn’t aware of a key cutting place here, but figured there should be one. While walking down the street looking at the various shops, she spotted a narrow arcade and turned into it immediately.

  “These always have a shoe repairer or key cutting service,” she said to herself. She passed a dry cleaner, and a tailor at the entrance.

  “This bodes well,” she thought. The next few shops were a butcher and a tiny convenience store. At the end she found what she was after, a key cutting shop. They also did various repairs and other handy things. But she only cared about the one thing.

  There was an old man with a white beard sitting down behind the counter. He was working on something out of sight.

  “Hello,” Elizabeth said.

  “Hi, Bill here. How can I help you today?” the man replied.

  “Well Bill, I’d like a key cut please.”

  “Sure, let me see it,” Bill said, putting down what he was working on and wiping his hands on his pants. His hands were large and calloused, and were used to hard work. They were giant as well. When she gave him the key and saw him holding it, the key looked like a child’s toy.

  “Ok, let me see here. Yeah I can do that, I’ve got a good template. This design is so classic, but not as popular these days.”

  “Yeah, but I love that it’s classic.”

  “Yeah, there’s a certain charm to it. Is this the original or a copy?”

  “I think it’s a copy.”

  “Alright. Just need to let you know that with each copy there’s some degradation of the quality and accuracy of the key. You’re probably fine, but just make sure you test it properly before you rely on it.”

&nb
sp; “Ok that sounds like good advice. Thank you.”

  “No problem, just like to let folks know,” Bill said. He took the key and the template he had selected and walked over to his grinder. He placed the two keys in and pulled the lever, the sound quickly filling the room. He paused and inspected the machine, and then started up again. Within a few minutes he had finished. He took the two keys over to the counter and presented them to Elizabeth.

  “This one is the original, this one is the copy,” he said. The copy he had given her was silver coloured instead of gold.

  “Looks good to me. What do I owe you?”

  “Two dollars.”

  “Here you go. Keep the change,” Elizabeth said, handing over five dollars.

  “Much appreciated. You have a good day.”

  “You too Bill,” Elizabeth said, pocketing both the keys. She walked off with a spring in her step. Bill’s warning about the keys stuck with her though. She knew it was probably a standard concern and warning, but she also knew that it had been a relatively easy job to get the key. And it might not be so easy again. So she resolved to test the copy before she returned the original.

  “With my luck, it will be a bad copy if I don’t test it,” she thought. There was some risk involved, since she would be visiting him in a period where she wasn’t sure of the nurses’ routine. But it was important. She couldn’t wait too long for fear of the key being missed. That was attention she didn’t want.

  Elizabeth hopped back in her car and drove back to the hospital. She parked as soon as possible, and practically ran back inside. She took the most direct route to Nathan’s room, and looked around quickly before pulling out the copied key.

  She turned the key nervously, but it didn’t move smoothly. In a panic she gave it a bit more force. The key moved all the way and she heard the click of the door unlocking. She opened the door just to double check, and then immediately closed it.

  Elizabeth turned and continued down the corridor as if nothing had happened. She glanced around as she walked but nobody was really paying any attention to her.