“You got it. I’ll be down there in about an hour.”
“Thanks.”
At the nurses’ station Lainie noted that there was a shift change. She watched as two of them entered Benton’s cubicle and reviewed her vitals. She saw this happen earlier in the day. The outgoing group would apprise the incoming group of every patient’s status.
“Any change?” Lainie asked when they exited.
“She’s holding her own. She’s a fighter.”
Ava and Cherie said goodbye. April and John were the new nurses, and they resumed their duties.
Lainie yawned and rubbed the back of her neck. Staying here overnight would be harder than during the day. The Critical Care Unit was quiet during the day; overnight she bet that it was more like the morgue. With that thought she cast a glance at Benton, praying that she’d wake up and be angry enough with Vine for what he did to her to turn state’s evidence.
She remembered Stan claiming that he had just spoken to Benton. Obviously, it wasn’t Benton, and who else would call Stan? Someone who wanted Stan to run and look guilty.
The door to the CCU whooshed open and a male dressed in scrubs and wearing a surgical mask strode through, past the nurses’ station and toward Benton’s space.
“Excuse me, can I help you?” April was at the station while John was in another cubicle with another patient.
She got no response. The man continued straight toward Benton’s cubicle as if April had said nothing, and April started after him. Lainie followed. Over April’s shoulder, Lainie saw the man pull a syringe out of his pocket and reach for Benton’s IV.
“Hey, what are you doing?” April cried.
In one smooth motion, the masked man turned and backhanded her, sending her flailing into the machine recording Benton’s heart rate, her feet tangled in cords, and she went down.
“Stop what you’re doing.” Lainie leapt forward toward the man as he appeared ready to inject something into the IV.
She grabbed his arm and yanked it as hard as she could. The syringe went flying. The man grunted and turned, fist in the air. Lainie dodged the fist and stepped back, her foot landing on and smashing the syringe then slipping on the liquid that squirted out. She lost her balance and fell backward, into the wall.
The man started toward her; all she could see was the anger in his eyes.
Then John entered the room. He was a big guy. “What is going on here? I’ll call security.”
The masked man cursed and turned toward him. John stood in a square, well-balanced stance. “Who are you? Do you even work here?”
“Don’t let him leave.” Lainie pushed herself up from the floor, her left palm stung like fire, and she realized that she’d put it down in whatever fluid had been in the syringe. It was caustic and her palm reddened as if burned. “What was in that shot?”
The masked man turned toward Lainie, then back to John, smacking him with a quick right hand, knocking him back into the doorframe and then grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him at Lainie.
He lurched out of the room, breaking into a run while John fell into Lainie, and they both fought to stay on their feet.
“Ah.” John brought a hand to his jaw. “Who was that?”
Lainie wanted to run after the man. But April was still down, obviously disoriented after being thrown to the floor, and she was entangled with John.
“Are you okay?” John steadied Lainie before moving toward April to help her get up from a tangle of cords.
“I think so,” April said.
Lainie, still stunned, helped John get April up. The burning in her hand increased. She needed to get it under cold water. Holding her hand up, she hurried to the bathroom where she put the appendage under running water. It was already cherry red, as if she’d burned it on the stove.
“Be careful of the liquid on the floor; it’s acid or something,” she called out while keeping the water on her hand.
John poked his head into the restroom. “Did you get hurt?”
“My hand. I want to know what was in that syringe. Can you be sure that none of it got into Benton?”
“I’ll check.”
