"I didn't ask you how you feel. I don't give a rat's ass how you feel. I asked you who authorized the removal of two security guards from Ehbo's room?" Frank Lagery was about to lose his cool.
"If you'd been listening to me instead of trying to throw your weight around here you would have realized by now that in our profession judgement calls are made all the time on an as needed basis. As I already mentioned, at 3:30 in the morning a belligerent alcoholic entered the emergency room and staff requested additional security because the last time this individual came to our facility, which he often does, there was some property damage. For one thing, on the previous occasion a brand new IBM Selectric typewriter was knocked off it's stand and badly damaged. Mr. Ehbo, as you refer to him, had not damaged any property and you yourself said he was no longer considered a risk to himself or others. He wasn't going to hurt anyone and furthermore, at that hour he was sound asleep. We assigned a nurse who was more than qualified to babysit, she was in fact overqualified..." the administrator showed no sign of letting up.
"Shut the fuck up! Scotty, take his fingerprints. I'm going down to the ER and see if I can get the name of the person who ordered the changing of the guard," Agent Lagery was almost out the door when the administrator mouthed off again.
"You most certainly are not taking my fingerprints. That request will have to be submitted to the board of directors at the meeting next month for consideration and you will be advised in writing of their decision," the administrator said dryly.
Lagerly exploded and hurled towards the man like a guided missile, sliding across the administrator's desk and grabbing him by his tie. He pulled the tie until they were nose to nose.
"You ignorant, arrogant, asshole. Those guards were assigned protect that boy. He's dead because of you and your people. You're lucky he doesn't appear to have any family. If he did, they would sue your ass off. By the way, when you get home, if that serial killer is sitting on your living room couch, don't call the police and don't call us, call your babysitter," Lagerly let go of the man's tie and left the room.
"Good cop, bad cop. You are obviously the good cop, eh?" the hospital administrator started in on Agent Scotty Uzer.
"Not tonight. We don't have time for this shit. Mr. Robert Dockery, you have the right to remain silent...." Agent Uzer read him his rights and had him carted away.
Agent Mavis Taylor took the fingerprints of the cleaning lady. Lilly-May Parker was sobbing uncontrollably. She was the last person who saw Ehbo alive other than the person who killed him.
"Miss Parker, I want you to tell me everything you remember about tonight, even if it doesn't seem important at all. Just tell me everything you remember while it is still fresh on your mind," Mavis said in a soothing tone of voice.
"I was in his room off and on all night. I changed his bedding many times. He had accidents. He would have done better if his nurse had time to teach him. He seemed to like the attention when people showed him new things. His nurse was too busy and she kept saying she was supposed to be home, that this was overtime. So I just kept changing the bedding."
"Miss Parker, where did you put the soiled linen?" Mavis asked.
"There is bin in the room. It's still there. I haven't had time to empty it yet," Lily-Mae confessed.
"That's a good thing. We need those linens. You have no idea how much you are helping us." Mavis stuck her head into the room where Agent Dill Murphy was guarding the body.
"Dill, we're gonna need that laundry basket as well as the bedding the boy is currently at rest upon. They may contain evidence of poison or lethal medications." Mavis said to him and then returned her attention to Lily-Mae.
"Please continue. What else do you remember. Did the guards say anything that sticks in your memory, Lily-Mae?" Mavis put her hand on Lily-Mae's hand to comfort her.
"I thought it was awful the way they laughed at him. In a way I was glad when they left. They were making jokes at his expense. They made fun of the way he spoke. I didn't think it was funny. I didn't say anything to them about it but I did tell the boy not to listen to them." Lily-Mae looked ashamed.
"What kind of jokes did they make? What did they say?" Mavis coaxed Lily-Mae.
"One of them said to the other, 'Why are we here? The only thing that boy is a danger to is a sandwich!' That is the type of thing they kept saying. They wanted to go. They didn't want to watch him. They became rude and said they are not baby sitters. The nurse who replaced them was also very upset. She wanted to go home. Her shift was over. She didn't want to watch the boy. She stayed, but she kept finding other things to do that she said she might as well do since she was stuck here. That is when she asked me to watch the boy. I think she was trying to find someone to transfer him to the psychiatric ward. I was happy to watch him. He was a sweet boy, so grateful for any little thing you gave him. I had a candy in my apron. I gave it to him and he rested his face on my hand like I am his best friend."
"You said he passed away while you were in the restroom attached to his room. Did you hear anything, anything at all, Lily-Mae, while you were in that bathroom?" Mavis squeezed her hand softly.
"God have mercy on my soul! It's my fault that boy is dead," Lily-Mae lowered her head and closed her eyes tight.
"What did you hear? Tell me what you heard, Miss Parker." Mavis knew in her gut that this woman knew something.
Miss Parker had seen Dr. Walter Bramley coming towards the room. She saw his distorted reflection in the curved hallway safety mirror. She didn't like him. He was only kind to wealthy people who could afford his fancy marathons at his lodge. He was horrible to people like her. He could ruin your life if he was in a bad mood and you caught his eye.
Lily-Mae didn't leave Ehbo because she had to use the restroom. She ran to hide in the restroom. She didn't have time to close the bathroom door because he would have heard it click. She hid in the darkness behind the door. He could not see her but she saw him kill Ehbo.
"Miss Parker? Miss Parker? What did you hear when you were in that bathroom?" Mavis urged her to answer.
"I heard footsteps. When I came out of the bathroom no one was there. Whoever it was had gone away." Parker finally answered. She prayed she made the right decision. She decided that it wouldn't bring Ehbo back and it would put her and her family at risk. She made up her mind to lie.
Mavis dismissed Miss Parker for the time being and joined Agent Dill Murphy in the room guarding Ehbo's body. She walked round and round the room, in and out of the bathroom, turning the lights off and on. She stood by the bed and looked out into the hallway at the curved mirror.
"You don't beg God to have mercy on your soul because you had to go to the bathroom and something bad happened that wasn't your fault while you were gone." Agent Mavis Taylor said to Agent Dill Murphy.
~ To Be Continued ~
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