The Fire Within

Chapter 16 - Doubts and Wounds

"Excuse me, uh -", he looked at her name tag, "Mrs. Grundy. I'm looking for a woman named Sarah Brooks. Could you tell me where I can find her?"

The woman looked at him uninterested. "What's the name again?"

"Sarah Brooks. She actually came in here a few minutes ago."

The woman consulted a book lying open on the desk before her. "There's no Sarah Brooks in here."

Kevin was confused. If she was here either as a patient or a visitor, her name had to be listed in the hospital logs somewhere.

"Could you please check again if you don't mind? It's very important", he pressed.

A look of annoyance passed the woman's face. Reluctantly, she checked the book again and turned back to him.

"Nope. It isn't here."

Kevin stared at her. His mind was spinning and he had a hard time comprehending the situation he was in. Nothing seemed to make sense at the moment. If he thought he'd been surprised to see Sarah there, then no words could explain the bewildered state he was in right now.

She was here. He knew that.

"Did you happen to see a blonde woman with spectacles in a pencil skirt?" He tried. "I believe she has green eyes."

"Oh! Yes, of course." The woman's face lit up instantly. "You were talking about her? I'm afraid I let her go inside without logging in. You see, she was so eager that I couldn't make her wait any longer."

What was she talking about?

"What do you mean?" Kevin's ears perked up.

"Oh don't you know? I'm sorry, I assumed you were her friend."

"I am her friend", Kevin insisted. "In fact we are really close. But she's more of a... private person."

The woman nodded, but looked skeptically at him. "In that case, I don't think I'm the right person to tell you."

Crap! He couldn't let this slip away. Not when he was this close. He had to make up something right now in order to convince the woman.

"Mrs. Grundy, I'm not sure how to explain this..." He trailed off, his mind working rapidly to come up with a solid reason. "She isn't looking very well these days and she doesn't want to talk about it. The thing is... I really care about her well-being, and her behavior has given me enough reason to be worried." This wasn't entirely untrue as he was definitely worried now. "I just want to figure out what's happening to her. It's for her own good."

The woman was now frowning. Kevin could tell she was battling her choices. But when she looked up, uncertainty was still plastered on her face. Goddammit, wasn't the excuse good enough? Kevin sighed internally. He knew he needed something stronger. Dammit! Why are women so difficult?

At that moment, it hit him. He knew what he had to do. It always works like a charm on women. Why hadn't he thought of that before?

"Between you and me, Mrs. Grundy", he lowered his voice. "I – I think I'm in love with her." He stammered, trying his best to look convincing. "I can't live without her. I've been thinking about telling her but I don't know what's happening with her. Unless..." Kevin looked directly into her eyes. "You were to help me."

The woman stared at him. Her eyes held pity. After hesitating for just a moment, she'd made up her mind.

"Nothing's wrong with her. It's... her mother."

"What do you mean?" He asked for the second time that day.

The woman sighed. "Her mother's been in coma for eight years now."

Kevin stood frozen, dumbfounded by what he'd just heard. Sarah had a mother?

No. It couldn't be true. He clearly remembered her file. He'd specifically asked for it on the day she'd joined the company. He could've sworn the file said her parents were dead.

"She comes here as often as she can to visit her mother", the woman continued. "You see, they tried all kinds of medication on her but nothing worked until today." The woman gave a brief smile. "I was just told that there's been an improvement in her state. She's responding to the treatments. Hey, are you alright?" She looked at him closely. "You look pale."

"I'm fine", he said, but he was nowhere near it. His mind reeled with the recent revelation. She lied to us. She lied to my uncle. And she's probably stealing from us too. Oh God, she's been fooling my uncle the whole time. What else was she hiding?

He struggled to find his voice back. "What about her father?"

"I don't know anything about her father. She sometimes comes here with a lady."

"Do you know who she is? The lady?"

"I'm sorry, but I think I've told you enough." Mrs Grundy said firmly. "It's against our confidentiality rules to reveal a patient's personal information to strangers, and I've already broken the rules for you."

Kevin nodded his head in understanding. He knew he couldn't get anything else from her. He thanked her and headed back towards his car.

He now only had one thing on his mind. It had to be done.

He took his phone out from his pocket and made a call. The phone beeped for a few seconds and there was a click as the person at the other end received the call.

"Hey Kevin, my man. What's up?" said a cheerful voice.

"Josh, I need you to do me a favor."

"Of course man. You've no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that."

"I need you to find out everything about a woman called Sarah Brooks. I'll send a photograph of her and other details along with it. I need the information as soon as possible."