By three a.m. Landon had made his way to the hospital. At that point the waiting area had cleared out. He stepped up to the empty check in desk and noticed the instructions next to the phone. He dialed the number shown and waited. His call was answered by Mel, the no-nonsense nurse on overnight shift. “Post-op,” she said briskly.
“Elizabeth Zimmerman, please.”
“Visiting hours ended at ten p.m., sir.”
“I’m sorry. I just... I came from Texas, I got here as quickly as I could...”
“One moment.” A pause, and then he heard the double doors click. “Come on back. Five minutes, no more. I shouldn’t be doing this at all.”
He proceeded through the doors and met Mel at the nurse’s station. “ID please,” she requested, hand out. He handed her his driver’s license, which she checked against the comp
