by Kelly Holm
If something happens to me, please protect Mila, I don’t think she knows the type of people she is dealing with, and bring the evidence I collected to the police.
Forever yours,
Krystal
Miles waited until Leo was finished reading and said,
“Please tell me it wasn’t bad news.”
“I wish I could, Miles. Look, I have to go take care of something, was there anything else with this letter?”
“Just the baking dish…”
“Thank you for bringing this to me. I really appreciate it.
Are you going to be around later? I might need to talk to you.”
“Absolutely, just give me a call.”
Miles left, and Leo immediately got on his bike and rode over to the hospital. When he got there, he went directly to Krystal’s office. Leo tried the door, but it was locked. As he was
trying to figure out a way to get in, a tall, but very slim, male orderly tapped him on the shoulder.
“Is there something I can help you with sir? This is Nurse Barron’s office. You aren’t supposed to be in this area.”
Leo turned towards the man and smiled as he said,
“I was hoping to get into Krystal’s office, well her old office, to pick up her personal items,” Leo lied.
“Ah yes, Krystal passed away last week. I’m very sorry for your loss, but you can’t be in this area. Her personal items would be with the HR department, do you know where that is?”
“Ya sure, that makes sense, thanks,” Leo said, as he casually started walking towards the nurses’ station.
As he was pondering his next move, he wondered if Maggie Pachool, Krystal’s friend, was working today. Luckily for him, when he turned the corner, Maggie was standing at the nurses’ station looking over a file.
When Maggie spotted Leo, she quickly put down the file and walked over to talk with him.
“Leo, wow, it sure is good to see you. How are you holding up?” Maggie asked as she gave him a big hug.
Maggie Pachool was of medium height, with a slim build, and short, spiky, brownish red hair. She was very outgoing and smart, but also knew her place. She and Krystal were best friends, having gone through nursing school together and working together most of their careers. They trusted each other implicitly.
“I’m doing as well as can be expected. I sure miss her. How are you doing?”
“I’m ok, but I miss her too. My new boss, Nurse Barron, is a bitch and not nearly as fun to work with as Krystal, but things are starting to go back towards normal. What brings you in today?”
“I was hoping to get something out of Krystal’s office, but the door is locked. Is there any way you might be able to let me in?”
“That might be tricky. Nurse Barron has already moved in, and she can be quite difficult, but I might be able to run interference for you if you have a cup of coffee with me.”
“Deal.”
They walked down to the cafeteria, got some coffee, and sat down at a table in the back.
“Did Krystal ever mention a Dr. Blackmore to you?” Leo asked when they were seated.
Maggie’s eyes got large as she leaned in towards Leo.
“How do you know about Dr. Blackmore?” Maggie asked quietly like she didn’t want anyone to hear.
“Krystal left me this disturbing letter saying that she was very concerned that Mila might be involved with him in some way; apparently, according to Krystal, he’s pretty bad news. That’s why I was trying to get into her office. She said she was investigating him, and found some incriminating things, and was compiling it all into a file she kept in her office drawer. To be honest, I’m not really sure what I’m looking for, or what I’m going to do with it once I find it.”
“I am. I was helping her,” Maggie said, as she looked around to make sure no one could hear what they were talking about. She noticed Nurse Barron over by the coffee bar and hoped that she didn’t see her talking to Leo.
“You were? That’s fantastic. Tell me everything, you know.” Finally, he thought, someone with some answers.
“I will, but I think you should know that I think…”
Maggie suddenly stopped talking and gave Leo a look to do the same. She looked extremely nervous, almost terrified. Leo noticed Maggie’s eyes get larger as she watched a large woman
wearing a nursing uniform, with her hair pulled back so tightly that it almost stretched her face, and a scowl on her mouth that even made Leo uncomfortable, approaching the table.
“Nurse Barron, I was just taking a short break. This is Krystal’s boyfriend, Leo. He came to pick up her personal belongings.” Leo noticed that Maggie was incredibly uncomfortable around this nurse.
“It’s nice to meet you, and I’m very sorry for your loss.” The words were comforting, but the tone of her voice was monotone and borderlining on creepy.
“Thank you.”
“I need you back upstairs, pronto,” Nurse Barron said to Maggie in a very stern voice.
“Leo, I have to go. I’ll stop by the tattoo shop tonight after my shift. We’ll talk then,” she said, as she quickly got up and followed Nurse Barron upstairs.
Leo could tell that Maggie was nervous about something, and she was clearly uncomfortable with her new boss. He waited about ten minutes after she left, and then he walked back up to the maternity ward where Krystal’s old office was.
He was careful not to call attention to himself as he walked thru the maternity ward, blending in as much as possible. He noticed Maggie was standing on the other side of the nurses’ station in conversation with Nurse Barron about a patients file. He tried to establish eye contact, and just when he was about to give up, Nurse Barron turned, and Maggie quickly signaled him to go.
He quickly walked around the corner towards the offices. When he got to the door, he tried the knob, and to his surprise, it wasn’t locked anymore. He looked around to see if anyone had seen him and then quickly went inside the office and closed the door behind him. He went immediately to the desk and found the drawer with the combination lock.
He put in the first two numbers of the combination before he heard talking outside the door. He quickly looked to see if anyone was turning the doorknob, then he looked for somewhere to hide.
He couldn’t make out what was being said on the other side of the door, but he could tell it was a man talking to Nurse Barron. When he noticed the knob turning, he quickly bolted up and hid in the closet. He hoped she wouldn’t need to get into it.
When Nurse Barron walked into the office, Leo wasn’t sure who the man with her was. He tried to see through the levers on the door, but they were too close together for him to see anything except the floor below. He stayed hidden and listened.
“I need more subjects, I can’t continue my work without them,” the man’s voice said very sternly.
“I understand Dr. Blackmore, but I don’t know what you expect me to do, this is the maternity ward. I don’t think you’ll find anyone here. I would have to look in a different department, and I don’t have time to do that with all my duties here.”
“I don’t appreciate your attitude, Nurse Barron. I brought you in to help with the process, not stall it out. Have you heard any more about the candidate that Mila Thorton suggested?”
“No sir, I wasn’t aware she suggested anyone. Will the candidate work?”
Leo wondered how Mila was involved; she wasn’t a medical doctor or a nurse. He continued to listen when suddenly; something fell off the top shelf and made a loud noise. He quickly moved to the back of the closet, hoping he wouldn’t be seen if Nurse Barron were to open the door.
“What was that?” Dr. Blackmore asked.
“I’m not sure. It sounded like it came from the closet,” Nurse Barron said as she walked over and grabbed the handle to open the door. As she turned the handle and started opening the door, Dr. Blackmore spoke, and she stopped.
“I don’t have time for this. I need you to find three more candi
dates by the end of the week, or don’t bother coming back to work next week.”
“You’re being unreasonable Doctor. I…”
“No more excuses, Nurse Barron. All the others have been bringing in candidates, why aren’t you? I can’t continue this if I don’t have support here. I have orders to fill. Here’s a list of what I need.”
“You have my full support, Doctor. I will find three candidates by the end of the week,” she said meekly, as she looked at the list of criteria.
“Good, because, like I said, the orders are coming in faster than I can keep up with. I have to leave and get back down to Los Angeles; I have a procedure scheduled for tomorrow. Text me if you have any other problems,” he said, as he abruptly left Nurse Barron standing with her mouth hanging open.
Leo hoped that she would leave too, but she didn’t. Instead, she sat down at her desk and cried. After a few minutes, she pulled herself together and left, locking the door on her way out.
Leo waited a minute before he opened the closet door, to make sure Nurse Barron actually left and didn’t just lock herself inside. Once alone in the office, he went directly to the file cabinet, put the combination in, and unlocked the cabinet drawer. Leo pulled the drawer open, and to his surprise, it was empty! It looked like someone just grabbed everything all at once. There weren’t any file folders or anything left inside, just a couple of scraps of paper on the bottom of the drawer.
Shit. What am I going to do now? The proof is gone.
He thought for a minute about what Dr. Blackmore said, something about candidates for his work. Leo wondered what kind of doctor he really was, especially since Mila was involved.
What have you gotten yourself into Mila? He asked himself.
Leo did his best to put everything back in its place so no one would know he had been there. He purposely left the box that fell in the closet on the floor, in case Nurse Barron checked later. He walked over to the door and slowly opened it enough that he could peek outside to see if anyone was coming. When he saw that the hallway was clear, he quickly left the office and headed for the hospital's main entrance.
Once he got to the safety of his bike, he could finally exhale. Unfortunately, he suddenly realized, that not only did he forget to swing into HR to get Krystal’s personal items, he also forgot to lock Nurse Barron’s office door. He wondered if she would notice and become suspicious. He thought about going back in, but decided against it; instead, he got on his bike and rode to the tattoo shop where he would meet up with Maggie soon.
Leo waited, for what felt like hours, for her to show up. After a few hours, he tried calling her, but it just went to voice mail. He wondered what was going on and hoped that she was ok. Things were getting weird. He waited until 10:00 p.m. that night, and when Maggie didn’t show up, Leo hoped that she either forgot or got detained. He knew that she would contact him soon and fill him in on what was going on.
When he still hadn’t heard back from Maggie the following day, he got worried. She seemed so nervous at the hospital, I sure hope everything is ok, he thought. I wonder if maybe Nurse Barron figured out that I was in her office and
accused Maggie of helping me. I sure hope she didn’t get into trouble.
Leo knew he should be cautious contacting Maggie; he wasn’t sure why she offered to help and then just vanished. When he called the hospital, they said she took a leave of absence, and wouldn’t be back for a couple weeks. Leo asked for more details, but they refused to give any. He was confused, what the hell was going on, and how was Mila involved?
Oh, my love, what have you gotten me into now?
He figured his only option was to “drop in” on Mila in Los Angeles. Maybe he could get some answers. It was a long shot, and he knew it, but it was all he had to go on. He talked to Ringo, explaining as much as he could before stopping at home to pack a bag, drop off his bike and switch to his Dodge Charger for the drive.
Once in Los Angeles, Leo realized he wasn’t sure where Mila lived, or where she worked. He quickly found a mom and pop motel, The Chester Inn, and pulled in. Luckily for him, they had an opening and Leo checked-in. He put his bags in his room before going back to the lobby to see about a computer he could use.
“Excuse me; do you have a computer room or office center here?” Leo asked the clerk at the front desk.
“No, I’m sorry we don’t. However, if you don’t mind a short walk, there is a public library just on the other side of the park across the street. You can take the walking path around the park to get there.” The clerk said as he pointed out the door.
“Oh, thanks, man.”
Leo walked out of the Chester Inn, and down to the crosswalk. It was a beautiful day out, and maybe a walk would be
a good idea. It only took a few minutes to get around the park, and then he saw the library. It was a very old building made entirely of brick, with a wide staircase in front leading to the double entry doors.
As Leo climbed the steps, he noticed the building was built in 1897, had double pillars around the staircase, and large windows with several panes. He wondered if this library was as old on the inside too. Leo readied himself for the musty smell he always remembered with libraries, but when he opened the door and entered, he was pleasantly surprised.
The inside of the library was completely modernized. To Leo’s right was a desk with several young ladies working, and to the left, were several rows of books. In the center of the library, were several rows of computers. As he went through the metal detector at the door, he realized it has been several years since he was in a library.
“Excuse me, sir; may I please see your library card?”
Leo turned and noticed a young woman, maybe in her early twenties, with long pink hair, dark eyes, and a bright white smile.
“I don’t have one. Could I get one here?”
“Do you live in L.A. County?”
“No, I’m just in town a couple of days. I need to use a computer, the Chester Inn, where I’m staying, doesn’t have one for guests.”
“Oh, I can help you with that, I’ll issue you a guest pass for the day.”
“What if I need it for more than one day?”
“That’s no problem; just ask for another guest pass.”
“Cool, that’s easy enough.”
The nice girl with long pink hair brought Leo over to the desk and issued him a guest pass, and then she walked him over to
the computer stations and got him started.
Leo first looked up Mila’s practice on the internet and found the address; he wanted to make sure he got that first and foremost. He planned to swing into her office late in the afternoon when she should be close to finishing up for the day. Leo didn’t want to cause any trouble or make her suspicious.
He then typed in Dr. Blackmore, Los Angeles, California, and pressed enter. Leo was shocked when he saw how many entries there were. Dr. Irving Blackmore was an older man in his mid-sixties, with short brown and grey slicked back hair that just grazed his shoulders. He also had a short grey beard and mustache.
Leo found out that Dr. Blackmore was a very well-known psychiatrist, based in Los Angeles. He had won several awards for his research work, and also several grants. Then Leo noticed something interesting, it said that Dr. Blackmore started out wanting to become a surgeon before he got into psychiatry. The article said that he never started the surgical residency program; he changed his course and went into psychiatry instead.
Leo thought for a moment; and suddenly remembered that when he was hiding in Nurse Barron’s office, Dr. Blackmore mentioned that he had a procedure scheduled for the following day. Leo wondered what type of procedure Dr. Blackmore would be performing. Things were starting to get interesting, confusing, but definitely interesting.
Leo realized he needed help; he couldn’t figure this out by himself. He wondered who he could ask, the only person that came to mind was Krystal, and obviously, that wasn’t possible. Leo really wanted to talk with Maggie, she said
she was helping Krystal, but he couldn’t get a hold of her. He had to wing it; maybe Mila could give him some answers.
He waited until 5:30 p.m. and then went over to Mila’s office. Leo saw her car in the parking lot, so he knew she was still
there. He thought about going in, and surprising Mila, but thought it would probably be best to wait, just in case she was with a patient.
About a half hour later, he saw Mila walk out of her office building with a man, and not just any man, she was walking with Dr. Blackmore. Leo watched as the two got into a black Mercedes. He quickly slouched down in the driver’s seat so that Mila didn’t see him when their car drove past. Leo waited for them to turn out of the parking lot, and then he followed them.
They drove to a warehouse area a few miles away, parked the car, and went inside one of the buildings. It didn’t look much like a medical building, but Leo assumed it must be. More and more doctors were opening offices in different places. He wondered what kind of medical office this was. Leo waited until he saw Mila and Dr. Blackmore come out and leave, before he got out of his car to do a little snooping around.
He walked up to the door of the building they were in, but the door was locked. He tried to see in, but from the sidewalk, it just looked like a medical waiting room. He would have to come back tomorrow when they were open to see what was going on.
Leo went back to the Chester Inn to figure out his next move. He felt completely lost. Leo wished that Maggie had shown up to fill him in. He tried calling her again, but like the last few times, it went directly to voice mail. This time he left a message.
“Hey Maggie, it’s Leo, just calling to see what happened to you the other night, hope everything is ok. Give me a call when you get this. Thanks.”
As he hung up the phone, he thought about calling Mila to see if she would like to meet for dinner or something, but decided against it. He thought it might be better to see her at her office first, although he knew that might be awkward too.
