midst of their passion, Cassy began to appreciate something else. Not only were they making love in a unique circumstance, but they were making love in an atypical way. Beau was touching her differently. She wasn’t able to explain it exactly, but it was marvelous, and she loved it. It had something to do with Beau being more gentle and sensitive than usual even in the midst of his overwhelming ardor.
REACHING HIS HANDS OVER HIS HEAD, PITT STRETCHED . He looked at the clock on the ER desk. It was almost seven-thirty and soon his marathon twenty-four-hour shift would be over. He was already fantasizing how good his bed was going to feel when he slid his tired body between the sheets. The idea of the exercise was to give him an idea of what it’s like being a resident, when shifts of thirty-six hours are commonplace.
“You should go down to the room where they found that poor guy from housekeeping,” Cheryl Watkins said. Cheryl was one of the day staff nurses who’d recently come on duty.
“How come?” Pitt asked. He remembered the patient very well. The patient had been rushed into the ER a little after midnight by someone from housekeeping. The ER doctors had started resuscitation, but had stopped after quickly realizing the patient’s body temperature was about the same as room temperature.
Deciding the man was dead had been easy. The hard part was deciding what had killed him other than the apparent seizures he’d had. There’d been a curious bloodless hole through his hand that one of the doctors thought might have been caused by electricity. Yet the history said he’d been found in a room without any access to a high voltage.
Another doctor noticed the patient had particularly, dense cataracts. That was strange because cataracts had not been noted on the man’s annual employment physical, and his co-workers denied he had any visual handicap. So that suggested the man had suffered suddencataracts, which the doctors dismissed. They’d never heard of such a thing even when a powerful jolt of electricity was involved.
Confusion about the proximate cause of death led to wild speculation and even some bets. The only thing that was certain was that no one knew for sure, and the body was sent to the medical examiner’s office for the final word.
“I’m not going to tell you why you should see the room,” Cheryl said. “Because if I did, you’d say I was pulling your leg. Suffice it to say that it’s weird.”
“Gimme a hint,” Pitt said. He was so tired that the idea of walking all the way over to the hospital proper did not engender a lot of enthusiasm unless it was for something truly unique.
“You have to see for yourself,” Cheryl insisted before she headed off to a meeting.
Pitt tapped a pencil against his forehead while he debated. The idea of the circumstance being weird intrigued him. Calling after Cheryl, he asked her where the room was located.
“In the student overnight ward,” Cheryl called back over her shoulder. “You can’t miss it because there’s a ton of people there trying to figure out what happened.”
Curiosity overcame Pitt’s fatigue. If there were a lot of people involved maybe he should make the effort. He heaved himself to his feet and dragged his tired body down the corridor. At least the student overnight ward was close. While he walked he vaguely thought that if it were truly weird maybe Cassy and Beau would like to hear about it, since they’d just been there the previous afternoon.
As he rounded the final corner that led to the student infirmary, Pitt could see a small crowd of people milling about. As he came up to the room his curiosity mounted because whatever the situation was, it involved the same room that Beau had occupied.
“What’s going on?” Pitt whispered to one of his classmates who also worked in the hospital on a work-study program. Her name was Carol Grossman.
“You tell me,” Carol said. “When I got a chance to see I suggested
REACHING HIS HANDS OVER HIS HEAD, PITT STRETCHED . He looked at the clock on the ER desk. It was almost seven-thirty and soon his marathon twenty-four-hour shift would be over. He was already fantasizing how good his bed was going to feel when he slid his tired body between the sheets. The idea of the exercise was to give him an idea of what it’s like being a resident, when shifts of thirty-six hours are commonplace.
“You should go down to the room where they found that poor guy from housekeeping,” Cheryl Watkins said. Cheryl was one of the day staff nurses who’d recently come on duty.
“How come?” Pitt asked. He remembered the patient very well. The patient had been rushed into the ER a little after midnight by someone from housekeeping. The ER doctors had started resuscitation, but had stopped after quickly realizing the patient’s body temperature was about the same as room temperature.
Deciding the man was dead had been easy. The hard part was deciding what had killed him other than the apparent seizures he’d had. There’d been a curious bloodless hole through his hand that one of the doctors thought might have been caused by electricity. Yet the history said he’d been found in a room without any access to a high voltage.
Another doctor noticed the patient had particularly, dense cataracts. That was strange because cataracts had not been noted on the man’s annual employment physical, and his co-workers denied he had any visual handicap. So that suggested the man had suffered suddencataracts, which the doctors dismissed. They’d never heard of such a thing even when a powerful jolt of electricity was involved.
Confusion about the proximate cause of death led to wild speculation and even some bets. The only thing that was certain was that no one knew for sure, and the body was sent to the medical examiner’s office for the final word.
“I’m not going to tell you why you should see the room,” Cheryl said. “Because if I did, you’d say I was pulling your leg. Suffice it to say that it’s weird.”
“Gimme a hint,” Pitt said. He was so tired that the idea of walking all the way over to the hospital proper did not engender a lot of enthusiasm unless it was for something truly unique.
“You have to see for yourself,” Cheryl insisted before she headed off to a meeting.
Pitt tapped a pencil against his forehead while he debated. The idea of the circumstance being weird intrigued him. Calling after Cheryl, he asked her where the room was located.
“In the student overnight ward,” Cheryl called back over her shoulder. “You can’t miss it because there’s a ton of people there trying to figure out what happened.”
Curiosity overcame Pitt’s fatigue. If there were a lot of people involved maybe he should make the effort. He heaved himself to his feet and dragged his tired body down the corridor. At least the student overnight ward was close. While he walked he vaguely thought that if it were truly weird maybe Cassy and Beau would like to hear about it, since they’d just been there the previous afternoon.
As he rounded the final corner that led to the student infirmary, Pitt could see a small crowd of people milling about. As he came up to the room his curiosity mounted because whatever the situation was, it involved the same room that Beau had occupied.
“What’s going on?” Pitt whispered to one of his classmates who also worked in the hospital on a work-study program. Her name was Carol Grossman.
“You tell me,” Carol said. “When I got a chance to see I suggested
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