“You Lucas?”
She refrained from actually saying, “Who else would I be?” Instead, she replied, “Yes, I’m Kathryn Lucas.”
“I’m Turner. Follow me.”
When they got past the first door, she unlocked another, which took them to a small work area. A short hallway led to an empty nurse’s station on the left and what appeared to be a ward on the right. A dozen beds were lined up on one side, with a long curtain that separated them from cubicles with windows that faced a hallway. Almost like small viewing rooms. Kathryn noticed less than half the beds were empty. With the exception of two people in wheelchairs, the others were hooked up to machines. It was like a scene from a horror or dystopian movie.
Turner stopped in front of the desk. “You’ll sit here for your shift. You’re to give meals according to the roster. Change out bedpans and check fluid lines.”
Kathryn knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to interrupt the woman, but she had to ask, “Check the lines?”
“Just make sure they’re not clogged,” she sneered.
It was getting creepier by the minute. “And the two in the wheelchairs?”
“I’ll give them their meds,” she replied.
Kathryn craned her neck to get a better look at the woman in the wheelchair. The one with the ring. The woman’s eyes were closed, and her head was slumped to one side. Kathryn wanted to say something but decided against it. She’d wait until she was alone with the patients.
Turner brought Kathryn into the supply room. “Based on your qualifications, I assume you know what everything is and how to use it. Your shift runs until four. I’ll be back in two hours to check on you.” She handed Kathryn a key card. “This will get you in and out these two doors. Bathroom is over there.” She jerked her head toward the far wall, turned, and walked past the patients to the far end to another secure door. That one had a red light above it, and a sign that said:
DONOTENTER. ALARMWILLSOUND.
Kathryn watched the woman buzz herself through the ominous doors. She suspected they led to the lower level. The level that Kathryn had to figure out a way to get to. She pulled out what looked like a cell phone. It was a bug or surveillance detector. She didn’t look up when the device signaled there were two cameras in the room.
She decided to walk down the aisle where the patients were lined up. It was just a matter of time for most of them, with the exception of the woman in the wheelchair and the gentleman in the other. He, too, looked like he could fall over. She smiled at any face that could look back at her.
“Hello. I’m Kathryn.”
She jumped when the woman in the wheelchair feebly clutched Kathryn’s pant leg. Kathryn bent over to hear what the woman was trying to tell her. The woman’s voice was less than a whisper. Kathryn thought the woman said, “Make them stop.” When she asked her to repeat it, the rear, secret door flew open.
“What are you doing?” Turner demanded.
Kathryn bolted upright. “Nothing. I mean, I was just checking the patients. Their lines, like you asked.”
“Does that woman look like she is attached to anything?”
“No, but …” Kathryn was immediately cut off.
“Do what you’re told. I don’t know why they felt the need to hire someone,” she muttered, turned, and went back to the clandestine door.
Kathryn realized Turner had been watching her.Careful, she told herself. At least she got a good look at the ring. It matched Theresa’s photo. This womanhadto be Aunt Dottie. At the moment, there was little she could do. But it wouldn’t be long.
Chapter Fifteen
“We’ve Got a Problem”
Pinewood
Charles and Fergus were growing increasingly frustrated at the walls they were hitting as they tried to track the money. One of the few, yet important, things they managed to discover was the two long-term care facilities were not properly licensed. Fergus suggested they have an anonymous whistle-blower contact Robert Hannah, informing him of unlicensed facilities. He and Charles were certain it would bring the rats out from the woodwork. Panic usually does such things. The question was, who would be the first one to fold?
Washington, D.C.
Maxwell Hawthorne was being hounded by his buddy, Senator Spencer Gerber. “You’ve got to introduce that bill to the committee, get it voted on so the Senate can pass it.”
Gerber was referring to a funding bill that would put millions into human resources.Hishuman resources. It would allocate more money to state-funded long-term care facilities. With the matching funds from the individual states, Sunnydale could be in for the boost they needed. Gerber refused to accept that his vision of his lavish lifestyle was more difficult than he planned. As the saying goes, “it looked good on paper.”
There was a lot of pressure from both sides to cut spending, but elder care was almost off-limits. What people didn’t know was that some of those funds were being siphoned off with clever business logistics.
