Read Online Elaine Orr - Jolie Gentil 03 - When the Carny Comes to Town by Elaine Orr - Free Book Online

Reluctantly, because I didn’t want to irritate her, I pulled out my mobile phone to call Sgt. Morehouse.
    When he picked up, I began.  “Penny just left.  She probably shouldn’t be driving…”
    He cut me off.  “I hear you.”  He hung up.
    I looked at the phone for a second, wondering if Penny had done more than drive under the influence in the past.
    “Is she gone or with Scoobie?”  Ramona looked around the room as she walked in.
    “Gone, and never saw him.”
    “In all this time?”
    “She went out for a “‘ cigarette break ’ .” I did an air caption of the last words.  “And now she’s gone to the B&B to sleep.”
    “At four o’clock?”  Ramona asked?
    “Yep.”
    The word was barely out of my mouth when Dr. Cahill walked into the waiting area.  I knew it was she because her white coat said so, and tried to hide my irritation that she had not come before, despite a couple notes I’d left with the nurses.
    “You must be Jolie and Ramona,” she held out her hand to shake both of ours. 
    We acknowledged her leap of wisdom and she continued, “The nurses and the hospital administrator have made it clear that you and Madge Richards are the three I should talk to.”  She sat and we sat across from her.
    “His mother…” I began.
    “I’ve heard.  Sgt. Morehouse also called to be sure I knew something about her history with Adam.”  She ignored our raised eyebrows and continued.  “The neurologist and I have agreed to reduce his sedation, starting tomorrow, so you should be able to talk to him not long after that.  You will want to be encouraging, but don’t encourage him to do more than what Dr. Nobles and I want him to do.”
    I found her tone annoying.  “Can you give us some guidance there?”  I asked. 
    “He’ll wear a pretty stiff cervical collar whenever he is not in bed, and a softer one when he’s in bed.  Most people don’t like that, but it’s really important to keep his neck fully supported so the cervical vertebra can heal.  He’ll have a back brace to steady the thoracic vertebra, but most people don’t find those nearly as annoying.”
    She stood and began to walk out.  “You can leave another note with the nurses, with specific questions.”
     
    RAMONA AND I LET GEORGE join us for a brief dinner in the hospital cafeteria.  “Let” is an exaggeration, as he was coming with us whether we liked it or not.  I had to be nice, he had brought me a printed photo of the High Striker guy, and it was clear he wasn’t going to show it to us unless I talked to him.
    “That’s him,” Ramona said, holding the page of photos. 
    George said the High Striker guy was the only one who came close to fitting the description I gave him, though he had a couple other photos, “In case you were high or something when you described him.”
    “Very funny.”  I stared at the photo, wishing there was a way to know if Scoobie actually knew him.  “Oh.  Sgt. Morehouse thinks his name is Turk.”
    Ramona ate another bite of her salad as her eyes traveled from George to me.
    “Shit.  He didn’t tell me that.”  George pushed the remains of his hamburger halfway across the table.
    “That’s not my fault,” I snapped.  I looked back at the photo, trying to think if I’d seen the man anywhere else.
    “What are you thinking?  Don’t hold back on me, Jolie.”
    “I’m not.”  My reply was testy, but I’d had about as much sleep as I guessed Morehouse had.  I looked up from the photo.  “There’s nothing to tell.  The nurses let us see Scoobie for just a few minutes every hour and then we’re back to the ICU waiting area.”
    “You think they’d let me in?”
    “In your dreams,” Ramona said, as I shook my head.
    George flipped his notebook shut.  “You can’t think of anything else at all?”
    “You mean…” Ramona threw in. 
    “Well…” I began.
    “Cut the crap, you two.”
    I remembered George said he had known Scoobie a long