The detective glanced briefly between us. Dominic continued, calm and precise, “Someone who can see clearly what it is, and not get bogged down in symbols.”
He meant me. My left arm was immobilized against my chest in a rigid brace that ran from shoulder to wrist. The doctors had explained twice that morning that I was not supposed to be moving around yet. My shoulder felt like someone had driven a spike through the joint.
I shifted slightly in the bed. “I can sit,” I said.
Luca looked at the brace. Then he looked at me. “You can sit,” he agreed.
The detective cleared his throat. “If you’re coming, we should go soon.”
Dominic nodded. “Thank you.”
The detective stepped back into the corridor. “You’re not supposed to leave the bed,” Luca reminded me.
“That’s a recommendation,” I said.
“It’s an instruction from the surgeon.”
“I’ll sit.”
Luca studied me for a moment. Then he crossed the room and reached for the folded wheelchair that had been parked beside the wall since the previous evening.
Dominic watched the exchange without comment. The chair opened with a quiet metallic click.
“Let’s try not to tear anything important,” Luca said.
I swung my legs carefully over the side of the bed. The motion sent a bright spike of pain through my shoulder that took a moment to settle into something manageable.
“Slow,” Luca said.
“I can’t move fast like this.”
“Careful, too.”
Dominic stepped closer as I shifted my weight into the chair. “Tell me if you need to stop.”
“I will.”
That was the entire conversation. He did not ask whether I should do this. Neither did Luca.
The corridor outside the room was bright and busy, a hospital at midday. Nurses moved from room to room, carrying clipboards. A man in blue scrubs pushed a cart loaded with folded linens past the elevator.
Luca turned the chair with practiced ease and started down the hall. Dominic walked beside us. No one spoke for a while.
The brace held my arm in a fixed position that pulled uncomfortably across my shoulder and chest. The pain medication dulled the edges, but it didn’t erase them.
A nurse glanced at the chair as we passed. “Mr. Reyes,” she said, recognizing the name on the chart clipped to the back.
“I’ll be back,” I told her.
She looked at the brace and opened her mouth to say something. Dominic stared her down. “We have a clearance,” he said calmly.
The nurse hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded and stepped aside.
The elevator doors opened with a quiet chime. Luca backed the chair inside, and Dominic followed. The three of us gathered in the small metal box while the elevator began its descent.
“You’re going to enjoy explaining this to the doctor later,” Luca said.
“I doubt he will ask for details.”
