Page 35 of Silent Prey

"Worried?" Sheila quickly noted it down, looking back at him with keen interest.

"Yes." He nodded, his brows furrowing. "I mentioned it to her once and she brushed it off, said it was nothing but some personal matters she had to deal with."

"Did she tell you anything about these 'personal matters'?"

“Nothing—I got the impression she didn’t want to talk about it.” He hesitated.

“What is it?” Sheila asked.

“I shouldn’t bring it up—it’s just something I heard two of the nurses talking about.”

“If it can help bring Diana’s killer to justice…”

Dr. Hale glanced at the door and sighed. “They were saying something about a fellow who came in here looking for Diana. By the sound of it, she wanted nothing to do with him. But he was insistent, and when he couldn't find her, he caused quite a scene—said something about how she might be able to run like an antelope, but he could run like a cheetah."

Sheila’s mouth went dry. “He used those words?”

The doctor shrugged. “That’s what I overheard.”

“Did you catch the man’s name?”

Dr. Hale shook his head. “Afraid not.”

“Can you tell me who these two nurses were?”

The doctor pressed his lips together regretfully. “There’s a lot of turnover with the nurses, so I don’t get to know many of them—Diana being an obvious exception. I’m afraid I have no idea who it was.”

Sheila sat back, disappointed. “Well, thank you for your help,” she said, rising. She was turning toward the door, prepared to go through the hospital staff and question them one by one, when she noticed a small camera perched in the corner of the room.

She pointed at it. “You wouldn’t know how to access the security cameras in this hospital, would you?”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The small office was tucked away behind a steel door in the basement, armed with surveillance monitors and an array of fast food wrappers. The officer in charge, a large man with a bristly mustache and a name tag that read "Ed," looked up from his desk as Sheila entered.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his voice gruff and slightly annoyed.

“Officer Stone with the Coldwater County Sheriff’s Department,” she said. “I’m investigating the death of Diana Morales and need to look at footage from a recent incident. I’m trying to locate someone.”

Ed raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "Is that right?" he said, leaning back in his chair and popping a cheese puff into his mouth. He chewed slowly on his cheese puff, studying Sheila with interest. He wiped his fingers on his uniform before reaching for a keyboard. "I reckon I can pull up the last couple weeks' worth of security footage," he said, his thick fingers dancing over the keys. "But you understand, this hospital is a busy place. Lots of folks coming and going."

"I was hoping to narrow it down a bit," Sheila said. "According to Dr. Hale, an unknown man came looking for Diana Morales and made quite a scene."

"Ah," Ed said, nodding knowingly as he adjusted the settings on his computer. "That incident. Yeah, that caused quite a ruckus."

The security officer's fingers flew over the keyboard once again, pulling up a selection of video clips timestamped with the approximate date and time of the incident. The grainy footage showed a man in a hooded sweatshirt and cap pacing back and forth in the hospital lobby. His face was hidden from view, his mannerisms agitated.

"There he is," Ed said, pointing to the screen. "Kept asking for Ms. Morales but wouldn't give his name."

Sheila leaned closer to the monitor, eyes narrowing as she studied the man's figure. She could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands balled into fists as he argued with the receptionist. He was a tall man, lanky, but the way he moved suggested a wiry strength. His clothes were nondescript and his face was hidden by the brim of his hat.

"Watch," Ed said, leaning forward to click on another video clip.

Now the camera showed the man outside the hospital, his posture still tense, his fist hitting a wall in frustration before he turned and disappeared into the night.

"Of course, at the time, we didn't think much of it," Ed continued, leaning back in his chair. "I mean, you get all types in a hospital, you know? But after what happened to Miss Morales..." He trailed off, shaking his head sadly.

Sheila watched the screen intently, taking in every detail of the man's appearance and mannerisms.

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