Read Online Wicked Lies by Lisa Jackson, Nancy Bush - Free Book Online Page B

lighting, a chemical scent that hinted at procedures and pharmaceuticals that left a sense of disquiet in his gut. He didn’t have a clue whom to talk with, who might be in charge. Ocean Park wasn’t a huge hospital; it was only three floors, though its size could be deceptive as it ambled over several acres.
    Harrison abruptly turned on his heel and headed back the way he’d come as he realized he’d turned the wrong direction from the ER, which was bound to be where the hub of the action took place. He passed by reception once more, shot a quick glance through the sliding doors just in time to see Pauline moving to just outside, camera lights glaring as she started talking into the mic.
    In the ER he encountered a number of people waiting for help: a whimpering child with a slack arm, tight in his mother’s embrace; an older man who was almost tipping out of his wheelchair; a stoic woman who was holding her bleeding right hand in her left, a huge gash offering Harrison a quick glance down to the sinews and muscle that appeared to be barely holding onto her thumb.
    He caught up with a nurse who, after directing the woman with the thumb injury to another nurse, had lifted her head to look around. He grabbed her attention. “I’m Harrison Frost with the Seaside Breeze . Is there someone I can talk to about the victims brought from Halo Valley, Ms. Solano?” he asked, reading her name tag.
    She was about to tell him to get lost; he could tell. But then her dark eyes sized him up and down, and she seemed less ready to blow him off. “You’re not with Channel Seven?”
    He shook his head. “Is that good or bad?”
    “Good.” She smiled thinly. “They’re a pain in the gluteus maximus.”
    “I even know what that is.”
    “We’re kinda busy here,” she said, looking around.
    “I won’t be in the way.”
    “That’s probably a lie, but c’mon. And, please, whatever you write, keep my name out of it, okay?”
    “Sure.” He followed after her as she directed others in the waiting room to where they needed to go or, conversely, assured them they would be seen by a doctor soon. Then she crooked her finger toward Harrison as she moved to a spot just inside the emergency room doors. From this angle they could see the long drive the ambulances took from the highway to the ER.
    “What do you want to know? I can’t give out much.”
    “What time was it when the ambulance from Halo Valley arrived?”
    She hesitated.
    “It’ll be on the logs; the nine-one-one call.”
    “Okay. It was around eight. Eight thirty maybe?”
    “And there were two victims, the van driver and one of the doctors.”
    “The van driver was actually one of our security guards. He was assigned to go pick up a patient from Halo Valley and drive him here in the van.”
    “But he was attacked at Halo Valley.”
    “Yeah.” She seemed to consider that a moment.
    “What happened to the van?”
    “I don’t know. Probably still there. Conrad sure wasn’t driving it.”
    “Conrad?”
    “I told you, I can’t give you names,” she backtracked quickly, throwing him a pleading look.
    “I imagine Pauline Kirby’s got most of this already,” Harrison reminded. “Her team went to Halo Valley first. She’s bound to have interviewed hospital staff and the sheriff’s department.”
    “I guess.”
    “I just want to know some other details for my story,” he admitted. “I’m not trying to get you in trouble.”
    She shot him a look from under her lashes. “Okay . . .”
    “I’ve been told the victims were attacked by one of HV’s inmates. This is the same guy who went on a rampage in this area a couple of years ago, killed some people, some women, actually. Went after his own mother and—”
    “ Him? ” Her face lost all color.
    “You remember him?”
    “Who doesn’t? He terrorized everybody!” Visibly shaken, she added, “And you newspeople said at the time that he had a thing for the cult women!”
    “The cult women,”