Chapter 4 - Bed Twelve
Patrick never made it outside.
Sully and two of Emmett’s men stopped him.
But Emmett did not hurt him.
That surprised everyone.
Especially Patrick.
“You’re calling the police?” Patrick asked.
“No.”
Patrick smiled.
“I knew it.”
Emmett looked toward Faye.
“She is.”
Patrick’s smile disappeared.
Faye had spent hours organizing the records.
Copies went to a federal prosecutor, the state health department, and an investigative reporter.
“If I disappear,” she told Patrick, “everything becomes public automatically.”
Patrick stared at her.
“You think you're safe because you made copies?”
“No.”
“Then you’re stupid.”
Faye shook her head.
“I’m a nurse. We make backup plans.”
Sully laughed.
Emmett almost did.
Patrick was taken away.
But the problem was bigger than Patrick.
Dr. Vale remained at Ashgrove.
And when authorities arrived that afternoon, Vale was gone.
His office had been emptied.
His phone was disconnected.
Then Faye received a message.
COME TO BED 12 IF YOU WANT THE ORIGINAL LEDGER. ALONE.
She showed Emmett.
“No,” he said.
“I didn’t ask.”
“You’re not going.”
“I need the ledger.”
“You have enough evidence.”
“For your mother, maybe.”
Faye looked at him.
“But there are twenty-two other families.”
Emmett’s answer came immediately.
“No.”
Faye stood.
Pain crossed her face.
She ignored it.
“Those people deserve answers.”
“And getting yourself killed provides them?”
“If Vale destroys the original ledger, some cases may never be proven.”
“You were shot yesterday.”
“And I’m still here.”
“Barely.”
Her eyes hardened.
“You don’t get to decide what risks I take.”
“I do when someone is using you to get to me.”
“This isn’t about you.”
Emmett stepped closer.
“Everything about that message is about me.”
Faye didn’t move.
“Then come with me.”
He paused.
“You just said alone.”
“I said come with me. I didn't say let them see you.”
For the first time, Emmett smiled.
“Now you’re thinking like a criminal.”
“No.”
Faye picked up her coat.
“I’m thinking like an emergency nurse.”
At 11:40 that night, Faye entered Ashgrove Memorial.
Fourth floor.
West wing.
Bed twelve.
The room had been empty since renovations began.
She stepped inside.
“Nathan?”
A figure moved near the window.
Dr. Vale.
“You should have died on that road.”
Faye stopped.
“That seems to be a popular opinion.”
Vale held a folder.
“You ruined my life.”
“You murdered patients.”
“They were dying.”
“You don’t get to decide when.”
“They were suffering!”
“You altered charts.”
Vale’s voice rose.
“I helped them.”
“For money?”
Silence.
Faye looked at the folder.
“That’s the ledger?”
“Yes.”
“Give it to me.”
Vale laughed.
“You still don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Patrick didn’t hire me.”
Faye froze.
“He paid me.”
Vale stepped closer.
“But the order came from someone else.”
“Who?”
The door opened.
A familiar voice answered.
“Me.”
Sully stood in the doorway.
Faye’s face went blank.
“Sully?”
He looked older than he had twelve hours earlier.
Tired.
Defeated.
Faye whispered, “Why?”
Sully closed the door.
May you like
“Because Maeve asked me to.”
---
