The Road to Round Mountain: The Betrayal by Read Online Free PDF Page B

two officers offered no insight of their own, as  they tried to catch up to Hargrove. Around the corner in the  waiting room there sat Billy Speer, alone in his wheelchair,  surrounded by the smell of a loaded diaper, and burnt hair,  none of which was his.
    The look on Nurse Mattie’s face said it all, as she scanned the waiting room, noticing bits of melted phone, leftover smoke that had not yet dissipated, then to me. She gave me a look like I was a puppy that just wet the carpet. “Are you ok Billy Speer”? A bit of relief came over me as I was sure  I was going to get yelled at. “I’m fine, but I can’t say the same for our rude guests that left without saying good bye”.  She held a hand up to her mouth in an attempt to stifle the laugh, which came out anyway. “What happened to make them leave”, trying to restore a sense of normalcy. “After you told them about the gloves, backing away from me, and all, I overheard the two cops say that their watches had quit work-ing. Then Detective Hargrove, ignored your request, put the gloves on the table, and sat right next to me to I guess get me to confess to the murder of Dr. Bangor. After I didn’t, he went for my throat, and all hell broke loose”. Mattie reached
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    into her smock pulled out a pair of rubber gloves, snapped  them into place, and proceeded to check my neck. Turning  my head back and forth, checking my eyes, and my pulse, she  seemed satisfied with whatever she was looking for.
    “It’s amazing that you don’t have any marks on you at all,  did you notice if any of them had any marks, burns after you  were touched”? “Not that I remember, just that god awful  smell”. “I’ll agree with you there, it does smell like a bucket  full of dirty diapers, among other things”. “So my friend, let’s  get you some new digs, and if you’re careful, we might maneuver a little TV viewing”. I was starting to feel better already, Mattie wasted no time wheeling me to my new room,  and hopefully this one doesn’t have a window.

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    the new room   was as boring as the other one, except that the window was intact. Nurse Mattie helped get me  situated in bed, put a fresh dressing on my foot, and a pain  pill for my foot, it was throbbing a bit. I had asked if I could  get something to eat, why I felt hungry escapes me, but I  was. Mattie cheerfully wrote down my request. “I don’t know  about 2 cheeseburgers and fries, but I’ll see what I can come  up with, and when I get back, we’ll have us a good long chat.  Don’t you worry it’s nothing bad dear, I’m here to help”. I was  glad of that, I’m going to need all the help I can get.
    It was a Hospital Cheeseburger, and only one at that, but  it tasted so good. Perhaps the fact that I haven’t had anything to eat for two days made it taste that much better. Only  a theory of course, but I had nothing else to go on. Nurse  Mattie returned to my new room shortly after the delivery  of my burger, pulled a chair up close to the bed, and waited  for me to finish. She looked like she had a lot on her mind.
    Maybe after our talk, I could persuade her into another cheeseburger, strangely enough I was still hungry. I pushed my tray off to the side, of the bedside table and awaited our talk. I was concerned at first, as she was looking off towards the window, finally she turned back to me.
    “First thing we need to agree on is that our conversation stays between us, no one else, you understand Billy Speer”? I nodded in agreement as she continued. Mattie got up from
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    her chair to go close the door, even locking it, this can’t be  good. I was confused about a lot of things right now, and this  wasn’t helping. “I’ve noticed that you’ve spent a lot of time  with me, so what about you’re other patients”? I must have  hit a nerve, as indicated by the scowl she gave me. “Let’s just  say that, you are my only patient”. Okay that