Blessed are the Merciful Read Online Free PDF Page B

ward and was attending Captain Burke is no longer with us.”
    “Mr. Glover,” Sidney said, “we’re grasping at straws here. Is it possible there might be some patients still in the hospital who were in the same ward with my brother?”
    Glover’s eyes lit up. “Of course! There are some soldiers in Ward B who have been with us for quite some time. Let me look into this.”
    With that, Glover was gone again.
    Elizabeth drew a shuddering breath and struggled to control her shaking hands. “Something’s wrong, Sidney. I just know it.”
    “Honey, don’t borrow trouble,” Darlene said. “Let’s wait and see if there’s someone who can tell us something that will lead us to him.”
    When Glover reappeared, he had a nurse with him. He introduced them to nurse Twila Duncan, and said, “Mrs. Duncan came on our nursing staff just after Captain Burke was released, but she tells me there are two soldiers in Ward B who were brought in three days before Captain Burke came here. Perhaps they will have something to tell you.”
    “Good,” Sidney said. “Could we talk to them now?”
    “Yes. Mrs. Duncan will take you there.”
    The trio followed Twila Duncan to a pair of double doors marked Ward B. She led them to a bed where a young man in his late twenties lay.
    “Sergeant,” Twila said, “these people would like to talk to you,but first I need to bring Corporal Byars over here so they can talk to both of you together.”
    The sergeant looked at the visitors and nodded. The Burkes stood in silence while the nurse went to a young man in a wheelchair. She said a few words to him, then pushed his chair up beside the bed.
    “Folks,” Twila said, “this man in the wheelchair is Corporal Art Byars. The man in the bed is Sergeant Neil Westbrook. I have to get back to my duties now, so I’ll let you explain who you are and what you need to know.”
    Sidney thanked her, then turned to the men. “Gentlemen, I understand you are acquainted with Captain Gordon Burke, who was here for almost a month.”
    “Yes, sir,” Westbrook said. “The captain was in this bed right next to me for the entire time he was here.” He gestured to an unoccupied cot. “I got to know him quite well.”
    “And I did too,” Byars said.
    “Good. I’m his brother, Sidney Burke.”
    Both men smiled and shook his hand.
    Sidney gestured toward Darlene. “And this is my wife, Darlene.”
    “Ma’am,” they said in unison, nodding at her.
    “And this lady is Gordon’s wife, Elizabeth.”
    There was an awkward silence as the two soldiers looked at each other. Then Westbrook said, “Ma’am, I’m—we’re sorry, but this comes to us as a complete surprise.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well … ah …” Westbrook looked at Sidney. “Mr. Burke, what we have to tell her is … well, is going to be a shock. Maybe we should tell you out of her presence and—”
    “Tell me!” Elizabeth demanded, her eyes flashing.
    The sergeant took a deep breath and said, “Ma’am, we had a nurse in this ward who was assigned to Captain Burke. Name was Lila Murray. Well … we watched a romance develop between them. Neither made any attempt to hide their feelings for each other.Everyone who knew him here in the hospital thought the captain was unmarried … as did Miss Murray.”
    A moan escaped Elizabeth’s lips, and she crossed her arms and gripped them tightly, trying to press the pain from her chest.
    “I’ll get a nurse,” Sidney said.
    “Ma’am,” Byars said, “we’re sorry to be the ones to tell you this.”
    Elizabeth stared at the floor, gasping for breath, as Darlene held her.
    Sidney returned with nurse Twila Duncan, who said to him, “Grab that chair over there by the other bed.”
    When Elizabeth was seated, Twila checked her pulse, then bent down and looked in Elizabeth’s eyes. Twila asked Sidney to help her get Elizabeth on the adjacent bed. Then she pulled the privacy curtains around the bed and hurried away. She