Lens Macabre, Part IV

The nurse jotted this information down.  Then she said apologetically, “I’m afraid you won’t be able to stay in the room.  Family only.”  She raised her hand to Nell’s expected retort.  “Yes, I know you just said she had no family.  But I can’t allow you to stay.”

She indicated a row of chairs in the hallway.  “You can wait for the doctor here.  I’m sure you’ll be able to be a lot of help to him.”  She gave Nell a kindly smile and walked back to her station.

Nell sat in the hallway, impatiently watching the bustle of a normal day shift in ER.  She held Jane’s purse and coat, and wondered again what had come over her friend.

A young doctor approached the room, accompanied by a man in somewhat rumpled business attire.  She stood and watched them hopefully.

“Nell?  Are you Nell Symons?”  The doctor held out his hand, and Nell took it, nodding and smiling in relief.  “Yes, I am.”

“I am Dr. Eduards.  I understand you were with Ms…”

“  ‘Miss’,” Nell interrupted.  “She’d have a bird if you referred to her as ‘Ms.’ ‘Not a proper title for a lady’, is what she’d say.”  Nell blinked back the hot tears that threatened to burst through and melt her carefully-built façade of calm.

Dr. Eduards put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  “Don’t worry, Ms. Symons.  We’ll do everything we can to help her.”

Nell nodded, a bit shakily.  “Thank you,” she whispered hoarsely.

The other man cleared his throat.  “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to ask some questions.”  He flipped a badge.  “Detective Gunnerson, ma’am.  I need to hear from you what happened this afternoon.”  He gestured to the chairs Nell had just vacated.  “Mind if we sit?”

Nell looked to the doctor, who said, “I’ll go have a look, and be right out.” He nodded to her and to the detective, and walked away.

The detective pulled out a notepad, and Nell related all that had happened.  He nodded and wrote it all down, clarifying some points and asking questions until he was satisfied.  Then he stood up and said, “That’s all for now, Ms. Symons.  Thank you for your cooperation.”  He held out a business card.  “In case you come up with anything else…”

With a nod, he strode toward the exit, leaving Nell to her own thoughts.

Her mind turned towards what Jane had told her about finding the spectacles in her purse.  It was so strange that the antique store in question had somehow disappeared.  Perhaps Jane had been mistaken, and had come by it on another street.  Nell had to know.

She pulled out her mini-computer and used the hospital’s free wi-fi to do a little research while she waited.  What she learned was both fascinating and horrifying.

She was so engrossed in the article she was reading that she jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  The doctor had come out, a perplexed look on his face.