Animal Behavior and Other Tales of Lycanthropy Read Online Free PDF Page A

might need a distraction, and finally the rolls of yellow tape. One should do it . He slammed the lid shut and walked back up the hospital’s stone steps. He looked upward toward the face of the building, then to the left and right. The brick seemed to go on forever, and with the light cast down from the roofline he could clearly see the Florida sun had stolen the brick’s vibrant red coloring. Wrought iron bars covered every window and he couldn’t help but wonder about the people locked behind them. As far as he knew they were always sedated to some degree; the need was lost on him.
    “Right this way,” the nurse said as he crossed the threshold. “Dr. Ebby was a pompous ass, but no one deserves to die the way he did. That awful gasping and gurgling sound as the blood spilled from his airway.” The woman’s shoulders twitched.
    Chase pulled out his notepad. “Where were you when the attack happened?”
    “Taking care of other patients. We have nearly three hundred here, you know.”
    “And what about the rest of the staff?”
    “I’m not going to pretend to know what everyone was doing. Are you treating me as a suspect?”
    “No, ma’am, these are just routine questions.”
    “Well, anyway, the hospital is understaffed and over budget, but it’s not like the patients are demanding. Most are catatonic in their psychosis.”
    “I see,” Chase said, jotting the info down. “The detective is going to need to speak with the entire staff when he gets here. Any precautions we need to take?”
    “Not if he does it on an individual basis. Dr. Thompson has been called. He’s on his way.”
    “Good to know.”
    “About time you showed up,” said an orderly, standing by a door.
    The man was dark-skinned and Chase stole a quick glance at the nurse by his side. Definitely lover boy , he thought, noticing the way she looked at him. Suppose there’s some truth to the old ‘once you go black’ adage.
    The orderly’s eyes fixated on him. Chase looked the man over. He figured the guy to be at least two inches taller than himself and with the same muscular build. His hands were balled into fists and he gnawed on a loose piece of skin on his lip. Chase had seen this kind of behavior many times from those who had something to hide.
    I could take him without the allotted protection of the badge . He stepped right up to the man, getting in his face. “Move aside.”
    The man stepped away from the door and Chase peered into the small window. A man lay curled in a ball on the padded floor, the straitjacket still secure. The man looked to the door, his chin and mouth stained crimson. He looked upon Chase with a distant gaze, then lowered his head.
    Good. The drugs are still working.
    “The doctor is in this room,” the orderly said.
    Chase turned away from the glass. “Who’s been in the room?”
    “Just Julia, me and Franklin. We pulled him off the doc and sedated him while Julia tried her best to save him.”
    “And you are?”
    “Name’s Lamont.”
    Julia jumped in, “There was nothing I could do. The wound was too deep and I couldn’t stop the bleeding.”
    There was guilt in the woman’s eyes and he doubted she believed she’d done everything she could have. That doesn’t make her a suspect , he thought. “Where’s Franklin now?”
    “Down the east wing. Francesca needed some help.”
    “With what?” Chase continued to write.
    “The doc’s screams disturbed a lot of the patients.”
    “What, did you guys forget to pass out meds before you dashed off to the broom closet?” As soon as he said it, he regretted it. Not because he was concerned with getting into a brawl, but because he betrayed his training.
    Julia looked away.
    “Hey, man!” Lamont stepped forward, stepping right up to Chase.
    Chase unsnapped the strap holding his gun in its holster. “Back off.”
    Lamont pursed his lips, obviously thinking over his next course of action.
    Julia grabbed his arm and pulled herself close to him.