Maddy's Floor by Dale Mayer Page A

the gleaming stainless steel room. The joys of a private hospital – they got the best of everything. At the far end of the room, an assistant washed down an autopsy table, the hose forcing the bloody water down the gleaming drain.
     
    "Over here." The strident voice came from behind him, to the left. He spun around. The tiny dynamo in green scrubs strode toward him, her close-cut peppered hair snug against her skull. A frown marred her face. "You didn't gown up," she snapped and led the way through to the offices. "I don't like people in my rooms."
     
    Chastised, and with good reason, Drew remembered her rules too late. "Sorry, I couldn't find you and thought—"
     
    "And thought I might be working and so you'd take a quick glance around. Like that changes anything." She pushed her thick-rimmed, black glasses up her nose and narrowed her gaze at him. "Do I know you?"
     
    Drew hastily shoved his hand forward. "Detective Drew McNeil."
     
    "McNeil? John McNeil's nephew?" She ignored his hand.
     
    Drew tucked his hand back into his pocket. "Yes, that's correct."
     
    "Right. He's a tough man. It must have been hard growing up with him. You don't have to be like him, you know."
     
    Surprised at the personal comment, Drew stalled with a response, finally saying, "He's a good man."
     
    "I didn't say he wasn't. What are you doing here?"
     
    "You called me about a possible connection to an old case?"
     
    Her face instantly sobered. "Right, no way to forget that nightmare." She took a deep breath before reciting, "I was new in the profession back then. That case is one I've never forgotten. Six children, all with no apparent cause of death. A small bruise was found at the base of their spines. No other marks, no DNA, no sign of violence – no proof of anything one way or another."
     
    "What? You know the case?" Excitement jolted his gut. Did she have something helpful to offer? He'd love to make headway on this case. "It's one of our most mysterious cold cases."
     
    Finely etched pain lined her face, and she nodded. "Those poor children. It was a terrible time back then – for all of us. I'd only been out of school a couple years and had seen nothing like it. I'm not sure if what I called you about today helps or hinders, or if it is even related to that investigation." Dr. Miko stared down at the floor, her brow creased in concentration.
     
    When she raised her eyes she stared directly at him. "One of the recently deceased residents from Dr. Maddy's floor has a weird bruise at the base of his spine similar to those of the children who died years ago." Her gaze went to the double doors leading to the drawers holding the deceased. "I don't have any measurements to compare," she muttered in a soft voice to herself.
     
    "Similar? How?"
     
    "It's small, about the size of a quarter at the base of the spine. The bruising is different in appearance. I'm working from memory here. But from my recollection, it's not as tight or as neat a circle, and it's darker, I think. Maybe you can find the pictures so we can compare."
     
    She showed him the photos she'd taken of Jansen Svaar's body, pointing to the second one. "See here. The edges are not clearly defined. The surface was not raised either. There was no rippling in the skin, as if a weapon had been forced against the skin. In fact, the bruising is light colored and soft, not harsh or deep. It doesn't penetrate the muscle layer below."
     
    "Anything else?" Hope and fear kept his voice tight, controlled.
     
    "Just that although he was sick, he was in remission. He just up and died. That's very common for his age and health group. This man was seventy-eight years old."
     
    Drew sat back as she fired the facts at him. He sifted through what she'd said and what she hadn't. "I'm presuming you never found what caused the bruise?"
     
    "No, I'm sorry. This may not be related at all since there's nothing else that's similar about them. If I remember correctly, those children were