Crime Writer Margot Kinberg

Theresa McKinney opened one eye. ‘Hi, Mom,’ a voice said. She moved her head a little. There was Staci, sitting on a chair beside the bed.
‘Staci,’ Theresa croaked. ‘You OK, baby?’
‘You’re the one who had the appendectomy, Mom. I’m fine.’
Theresa struggled to sit up but was soon a little more vertical. ‘Have you been here long?’
‘No,’ Staci told her. ‘Only half an hour.’
‘You’re going to be late for school.’
‘It’s Christmas break, remember? I’m off until after New Year’s.’
‘Oh, yeah, forgot. These drugs…’
‘It’s OK.’

Staci poured her mother a cup of water. For the next few minutes, they talked about what was going on at home (laundry done; yes, she’d eaten; no, no disasters; yes, she drove carefully). Then, the surgeon stopped in. She checked Theresa’s dressings and looked at her vital signs. ‘Everything looks great,’ she said. ‘If we don’t run into any problems, you can go home tomorrow afternoon. Sound good?’ Staci liked the sound of that better than she wanted to admit.
‘Yeah.’ Theresa smiled. ‘That sounds real good.’
Once the surgeon had gone, Staci said, ‘I’m going to get some hot chocolate if you’re OK. There’s a vending machine down the hall and around the corner.’
‘I’ll be fine.’
Staci gave her mother a quick pat on the shoulder and headed out into the hallway.

Staci couldn’t help wanting to peek into the rooms with open doors as she went by. A couple of people were sleeping. One was talking to his wife, and a few had their husbands and kids visiting. Then she saw a restroom. Maybe she’d make one other stop before getting her hot chocolate. She detoured into the ladies’ room, and then went the rest of the way to the vending machine.

The machine was tucked into an alcove, so at first, Staci didn’t notice there was someone there. It was the guy she’d seen talking to his wife. She waited while he finished getting his drink. Then, she got her own. She turned to go back to her mother’s room, but at the last minute, she glanced over her shoulder. The man was putting something into the drink. It didn’t look like a packet of sugar, either. He glanced up at Staci, but by that time, she was moving away. It made her feel a little creepy, though.

Staci’s footsteps echoed in the hall as she went along. All of the halls looked alike: beige walls with blue trim, highly polished beige linoleum, the rooms marked with blue numbers. At one point, she missed a turn, but she was soon back in the right place. The people in the rooms she passed looked familiar. Wait – that was the guy she’d seen at the vending machine. Whatever he’d bought, he was giving it to his wife. Staci’s stomach lurched, but then she got annoyed with herself for being paranoid.

Just as Staci was passing the door, the guy turned a little and looked right at her. It wasn’t a friendly expression, either. Staci started to walk more quickly. She heard someone behind her. She moved faster. So did whoever it was. Then she heard a voice behind her. ‘Hey, you. Stop a second.’ She kept moving faster. So did the guy behind her. There was the nurses’ station. Nobody was there, though.

A minute later, she heard the guy’s voice again, this time right behind her. Then a hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. ‘Listen, you little bitch,’ he hissed. ‘I know you saw me.’
‘I didn’t see anything.’
‘Don’t play stupid. You and I are going to have a talk.’ He grabbed her left arm and started marching her back the way they’d come. Staci swung her right arm out and threw the hot chocolate right at his face, splashing some of it on herself. He yelped and loosened his grip just enough for Staci to run.

As she dashed down the hall, Staci glanced into the room where the guy’s wife was. Something didn’t look right. The woman was gasping, and it sounded like she might choke. Staci ran into the room, where the woman was struggling to breathe. The woman pointed at the emergency button on her bed. Staci nodded and pushed it. Just then, the guy who’d been chasing her came in. He strode towards Staci, his arms reaching out to grab her.

A second later, an orderly and two nurses rushed into the room. Staci sagged into one of the chairs in the room while the nurses got to work on their patient. The man glared at her as they did their jobs. When the crisis was over, Staci stood up. One of the nurses asked her, ‘Are you Mrs. Evans’ daughter?’
‘No, I was walking by. She didn’t look right. I – didn’t know what to do.’
‘You did exactly the right thing. You saved her life.’ Then the nurse turned towards the man. ‘Mr. Evans, are you OK? It looks like you spilled something on yourself.’
‘I’m OK,’ he said. ‘I’d just like to thank this young lady personally. Come on, let’s go outside so I can.’
Staci swallowed hard. She turned to the orderly. ‘Can you walk me to the nurses’ station?’ she asked. ‘There’s something I need to report. Something I saw.’

An hour later, Staci was once again sitting in her mother’s room. The police officer who’d interviewed her was gone, and now it was just Staci and Mom. ‘You did good,’ Mom said.
‘I was so scared,’ Staci admitted.
‘The police got the guy. You don’t have to worry.’
Stacy brightened up a bit. ‘They told me that lady – Mrs. Evans – is going to be OK. I wonder why he was trying to kill her.’
Theresa shook her head. ‘You never know,’ was her answer.
‘You think they’d let me stay here overnight? I kind of don’t want to be home alone.’
‘Right now, I think they’ll give you anything you ask for.’