Chapter Four: The Familiar Stranger
1174 Words
Ivy hadn’t had a good night’s rest in such a long time. This one was disrupted again. She tried over and over, but her pulse kept quickening and waking her up.
Before she realized, the morning lights started affecting her eyes. She looked on the bed and Ethan wasn’t there. She met him in the kitchen preparing coffee.
“You barely slept last night,” he said.
“I’m fine,”
He looked her in the eye with sadness, “You are lying to me.”
“I have work.”
“Ivy…” he said calmly. “Who sent that picture?”
She looked at him, but she didn’t answer. The truth was that she did not know.
Ethan looked like he wanted to persist or argue, but he did not.
Gift ran into the kitchen, “Mummy, I had a good dream this time.”
Ivy smiled. “That’s good baby, you’re feeling okay?”
Gift nodded, with her inhaler in her hand. “I just feel a little tired.”
“You’ll be fine, okay? I’ll be back before bed time.”
She gave Gift a quick kiss, grabbed her coat and left for the precinct.
By the time she reached her desk, the air seemed heavier than usual. The aura of the room felt like it was altered.
Davis greeted her from his own desk, she barely even noticed him.
“You look pale, Ivy.” He said as she sat. “You should go back home and rest.”
“Don’t worry, I’m okay.”
He sighed and handed her a file. “The toxicology report confirms that it’s the same neurotoxin across all victims. Whoever’s doing this knows exactly how to control dosage and timing.”
She glanced through the report as her pulse quickened repeatedly, and her eyes became blurry.
“Detective, are you okay?” Davis asked, studying her countenance.
“Yeah, I just feel a bit dizzy.”
She stood up to grab some coffee, but her vision went white, and then it went black. She fell to the ground.
When she woke up, she was confused. The ceiling was white and places were quiet. Then she turned and saw an IV drip running through her arm. That was when she realized that she was in the hospital.
A soft voice broke through the silence. “Hey, you’re awake.”
She turned her head towards the direction of the voice and looked. She saw a man, dressed in a white coat. His face was familiar in a way she could not tell.
“What am I doing here?” She asked weakly.
“You were brought here by detective Davis.” He said. “You fainted.”
“I fainted?”
Yes detective, you’re stressed and your blood pressure is dangerously high.”
Ivy frowned. “I’ve had worse, trust me.”
“Well, your body disagrees.” He said with a faint smile.
She tried to figure out where they met, but she couldn’t. Then she checked the name written on his chest pocket, Dr. Daniel H. Tim. She could swear that she’d heard that name somewhere. She just could not remember.
Dr. Daniel adjusted the IV drip. “You need rest.”
“I can’t rest,” She muttered. “Innocent people are dying.”
He smiled calmly again. “It wouldn’t be any better if you die too. You won’t be able to remedy the situation.”
“How long have I been here?” She asked.
“Two hours plus. Don’t worry about work for now. You just need to get better.”
“You look familiar,” she said finally.
His back was facing her, then he turned to her. “Funny I thought the same thing.”
They stared at each other for sometime, searching for a memory that refused to surface.
“Hey, how are you now? You scared me.” Davis said while entering the room. “Captain Jax told me to tell you that if you try coming precinct today, he will come and handcuff you personally.”
“She smiled while closing her eyes. “Tell him to bring real cuffs this time.”
“Okay fine,” Davis laughed. “I just wanted to check on you. Please get some rest Harper, a day off work won’t hurt.”
Davis left the ward and silence broke through again.
You’re very lucky he brought you in early. Your BP was very high”. Dr. Daniel said.
“Well, I guess I owe him one.” Ivy replied.
“Yes you do.” Dr. Daniel continued staring at her. “But… Where are you from, detective?”
“Born and bred in Georgia,” She said. “I moved here just last year. How about you?”
“Georgia too,” He said slowly. “I guess that explains it.”
“That’s right.” Ivy muttered in a low voice.
Her eyelids suddenly began closing again and she stopped talking. She was sleeping. Dr. Daniel quietly turned off the lights and shut the door of her room, then he left.
Dr. Daniel met someone in the corridor. She was dressed in the nurses’ uniform, and she had a face mask on. Something about her felt off, but he just didn’t want to overthink it.
He went to his office and found a note on his desk. “Who got into my office, and how? My keys were in my pocket.”
He picked up the note in curiosity and read it. “Smart Doc. Without your permission, I want us to play a game. You’ll know when I’m ready.”
What is the meaning of this?” He asked himself as his stomach lurched a bit.
Immediately, his phone buzzed: You’ll know with time.
This time, his heart skipped as though it wanted to come out of his chest.
As smart as he is, he knew that someone was monitoring him, possibly within the hospital vicinity.
Moments later, he remembered the strange nurse he met in the corridor and tried to figure out anything, but the data was not sufficient.
He later decided to conduct rounds in every ward. That was what he usually did every Friday, but that Wednesday, his instincts told him to do it.
He grabbed his stethoscope from the desk, wore his batch and left the office. This time, he made sure he closed it properly.
“Rounds on Wednesday, Doc?” A nurse asked casually.
“Yeah, I’m less busy. So I decided to know how the patients are doing.”
He checked through rooms A1 to A7. Detective Ivy was in room A8.
He knocked at the door, but she didn’t answer. Then he knocked again. No response still.
Miss Ivy, he called.
No one answered.
It felt wrong to open her door without her permission, but he did. He was worried. The bed was empty, but her belongings were still in place.
She was no longer there.
- Writer
