Maddy's Floor by Dale Mayer Page B

in their prime and healthy – very healthy." She leaned back, studying his face. "But that bruise…each had one…I just don't know."
     
    Drew nodded, adding, "They all had families and were well-loved, all were found alone and there was no visible trauma to their bodies."
     
    She stood up, giving her head a shake. "Until Dr. Maddy called, I hadn't thought about those kids for years. Then I found the one odd mark and she asked me to check for the second one – a matching, fainter bruise at the top of his head. It's hard to see because of the patient's full head of hair. However, it's there, nonetheless."
     
    Drew didn't remember seeing anything about two bruises on these kids in the report. "And these kids, did they have the same bruising at the top of the head?" He held his breath. Waited for the answer.
     
    "I don't know," she admitted softly. "If they did, I didn't see them. The bruise on this patient's spine is darker and more pronounced. The one on his head is softer and much harder to see. I wouldn't have noticed if Dr. Maddy hadn't asked me to search for it. The bruises on the kids' spines were already pale. If they had lighter, matching ones on the crowns of their heads, they would have been difficult, if not impossible to see."
     
    "So it's possible that they did. Why did Dr. Maddy ask you about the second bruise?"
     
    "I don't know." Dr. Miko's brow knitted in concentration. "She wasn't happy with my answer, either." She glanced at her phone. "Maybe she should come down so we can ask her."
     

***
    Maddy strode down the hallway toward Dr. Lenning. He lay huddled under his blankets. Maddy approached warily. He'd had two bad nights in a row. If he'd managed to go to sleep, she didn't want to wake him. The reno workers had been in and out but only to finish the little things. The area wasn't done, per se, however, it was coming along nicely.
     
    Still, Dr. Lenning's area seemed lonely, lost in the bigger room without more patients to fill it with bustle and cheer. He was only fifteen-odd feet from the next patient, yet because of the open bareness, it appeared to be much farther.
     
    As she approached his bed, he snuffled slightly. Maddy paused and shifted position to see if his eyes were open. No. He slept.
     
    She frowned. He looked like hell. His color matched the white sheet he lay on; worse was the flaccidity of his face, as if he'd aged a decade overnight. Bad nights often made people appear older. Only in this case, he looked ancient. She'd have to check his file to see if Dr. Cunningham had changed his medications, but she'd didn't think he had. She decided to come back and visit with him later, when he was awake. See what, if anything, had changed in his life.
     
    As much as she hadn't wanted it, he was here, and he needed care. It was her job to make him as comfortable as possible.
     
    Checking her watch, she walked toward her next patient. Her cell phone went off. Dr. Miko.
     
    Answering it, Maddy changed direction back to the privacy of her office.
     
    "Hi, what's up?"
     
    "Can you pop down for a moment?" Dr. Miko's voice, while always serious, had a stern overtone.
     
    Maddy frowned. "I'll be there in a few minutes." Maddy walked back to the nurses' station, told them where she was heading then walked over to the stairwell. That's exactly what she needed – a run.
     
    The stairwell was empty as usual. Maddy stood at the top and looked down, considering. Making a quick decision, Maddy slipped off her blue heels. As her bare feet hit the cement, chills of anticipation raced up her legs.
     
    Grinning, and her heels hanging on two fingers, Maddy broke into a flat-out sprint and raced down the stairwell. The second floor landing, the first floor landing, all the way to the first of the lower levels. Hitting the brakes at the bottom, Maddy paused to gather her breath.
     
    Exhilaration pulsed in her blood. Her shoulder-length bob swayed with her heaving breaths. It took another long moment