‘Well Gloria, what happened yesterday?’ asked Rose. ‘Did the lady in 327-1 still give you problems?’
‘Oh boy, did she? She has her marbles and refused the idea of going into a nursing home. We are going to try again today and suggest she go to a short-term rehab place. We don’t make as much of a kickback from those places as we do with a nursing home but at least we’ll get something,’ replied Gloria as she gathered up the files on all her current patients.
‘I know. We can’t involve the doctors because what we do is unethical. Just about everyone else knows. We must keep the doctors in the dark about our little way to make extra money. How else can we afford a new car and trips to Mexico and Las Vegas. Physical Therapy has been giving bad reports all week on just about all the patients,’ said Rose laughing. ‘These stupid old people. We’ll get all of them yet.’
What did she know about being older? She was only twenty-seven living life to the fullest of the backs of the old people.
The report could have been worse because everyone said Mary was weak and frail. Even Dr. Rumsfeld asked her about placement after he naively believed the reports. It was because of those reports that Mary screamed holy hell and said she wants to be put on hospice in lieu of being sent to one of those places.
‘Mary is right about that. We stick people there for the kickback but, really, do you want to be in one of them?’ said Gloria.
‘No way. But for us, it’s a nice extra income and we need to warehouse as many people as we can. Being a social worker or case manager in the hospital doesn’t pay good money; private practice does, but that is more internship and more schooling,’ replied Rose. ‘Do you want to go back to school to do that?’
‘No way. This brings us the same pay if not more as private practice and it is easier to forge the paperwork plus you don’t have to pay tax on the money,’ said Gloria smiling.
‘Dr. Porter is for the patient, you know that, so he ordered Mary a shower and her IV discontinued. Boy, the nurses were pissed off about that. And they were ordered to help her use a walker so she can use the toilet on her own. Before that, she was totally helpless, staying in bed and using a bedpan. We had her right where we wanted her and BAM, here comes Dr. Porter. If he only knew what we were doing, he’d explode.’
‘I heard Mary called her psychologist and had a session with him in her room over the phone and he screamed for her to get the hell out of the bed. Things really moved after that.’
‘Well, there are other fish in the sea.’
‘I’m going to try again but I think it’s a lost cause.’
‘Be my guest.’
##
It was late in the day The nurses’ swing shift was 3-11. Night shift was 11-7. Day shift was 7-3. This was when the most action happened: the doctors did their rounds, food trays were delivered, nurses answered call bell and handed out medication. Mary decided to exact her revenge on the social workers who wanted to put her in a home but she had to be careful and time it just right. She casually asked one of the day nurses where the social workers sat. She was told they had offices down the hall and they worked from 8-5. All day, Mary planned how she was going to kill those two bitches. She decided the easiest way to kill each woman would be one at a time, the first one she would use a fork and shove it in the neck of the first bitch. Simple…but Mary had to make sure she didn’t get blood all over her. It must be done from behind…a quick stab and she must leave the fork behind. She planned this down to the last detail. She needed to grab a pair of rubber gloves so there would be no fingerprints on the fork and should some blood splatter, she would dump the gloves in the trash.
It was five to five. Mary picked the social worker closest to her room. She got up on her walker and strolled down the hall saying good afternoon to the various people she saw. She touched her robe pocket which carried the fork walking slowly and confidently with each closing step. Mary saw Rose in her office. She was on the phone, talking about the various people she had planned to warehouse; talking about how much money she was going to make; telling the person about her planned trip to Puerto Vallarta for a week of fun in the sun; paid for by the kickbacks from the nursing home.
As quietly as possible, Mary entered the room. She came up from behind Rose and stuck the fork in her neck. Rose grabbed her neck, choking…unable to breathe. Mary turned her walker around, dumped the bloody glove in the trash, walked outside into the hall casually strolling back into her room. She got into bed, turned her TV on low, and waited for the body to be found.
Mary didn’t have to wait long. A coworker found her and called a code blue to the office but she was dead…murdered. Mary heard the murmurs, ‘Who would do such a thing to such a nice lady?
Mary turned over on her side with her back to the door and silently laughed. Who would do such a thing to a nice lady? Seriously? How about one of the people that she tried to stick in a home? People were walking around in disbelief crying. You’ve gotta be kidding. You are a bunch of dumbasses. You can’t figure out who could have possibly done it. How about a patient too infirm to use the bathroom. Ha! Tomorrow I’ll go after the second social worker and then I’ll go after the big man himself, Bob Rousseau. One at a time until they are all dead…I will have my revenge.
##
‘Hey Joe, it’s almost 6,’ said Kelby. ‘Let’s sneak out a few minutes early. My wife and I are having a date night. We’re going to drop the kids off at the grandparents and then we’re off to a nice dinner at that Italian place on Vineland.’
‘Remember the last time we did that? We had to drive back because a murder case came in. Let’s just wait until quitting time,’ replied Miller.
‘Yeah. I remember. That was the pits.’
‘Hey boys,’ shouted Captain Reno. ‘You need to get over to Van Nuys Hospital a.s.a.p. There’s been a murder. The coroner is rolling and will meet you there. Same with Crime Scene Investigation. They just arrived and are in the process of roping off the area.’
‘You have any details?’ asked Miller
‘Only that a hospital employee was stabbed in the neck with a fork.’
‘A fork?...That’s nasty. We’re on our way, Captain,’ said Kelby.
Miller and Kelby got their jackets and headed for the elevator when Kelby said, ‘Why do you always have to be right?’
‘Huh?’ replied Miller.
‘Don’t leave early because there might be a murder. Gee wiz.’
‘Not my fault someone decided to be killed at dinnertime.’
##
‘So, what do we have here?’ said Miller to the coroner.
‘Exactly what you know, I know. Someone approached the victim from behind and stabbed her in the neck with a fork. I haven’t removed the utensil yet. I’ll do that at the ME’s office. It appears the fork went through the carotid artery and she bled out.’
‘How much force was needed to do this?’ asked Kelby.
‘To be honest, anyone could have done this from a kid to an old person. The killer appears to be right-handed as the victim was stabbed on the right side of the neck but that’s just a guess on my part.’
‘Can we look around the office?’ asked Miller.
‘Ask CSI. It’s okay by me.’
‘Hey Charlie, have you photographed the scene?’ asked Kelby,
‘Yeah, but we need to do some more processing of the desk area. Give us 10 minutes.’
‘Alright…Well Kelby, in the meantime, what do you want to do?’
‘Let’s start talking to some of the staff and get some information on the victim.’
##
Going over to one of the people in the hallway, Miller asked, ‘What’s her name?’
‘Rose…Rose Nyland.’ responded her co-worker, Gloria Tillis.
Miller and Kelby interviewed some of the staff and asked about the deceased. It quickly became apparent that they were going need to gather the files that the victim had been working on going back at least six months to find a motive for this brutal crime. Meanwhile unbeknownst to everyone, the murderer was only a couple rooms away enjoying a delicious supper.
##
Miller and Kelby worked into the early hours of the morning going over the files with a fine-tooth comb looking for something…anything that would cause this young woman to be murdered but they came up empty. At 4 a.m., they left the office to get some sleep all the while Mary was wide awake planning her next murder.
About the author
1.
Since becoming disabled in 2015, Maxine took up her passion for writing. She has been published several times in the Los Angeles Daily News, The Epoch Times, Nail Polish Stories, DarkWinterLit, BrightFlashLiteraryReview, OtherwiseEngagedLit, CafeLit, Maudlin House, and TheMetaworker.com.
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