Page 33 of Aching for His Discretion

Four C-sections, three natural births, and three hours of clinic. I was happy that I learned so much in so little time, but as the day comes to an end, I would much rather not be covered in specks of blood, amniotic fluid, and hand sanitizer.

Pulling on my plaid skirt and tan cardigan sweater, I remained in my thoughts as I brushed my hair out. Strangely enough, I saw Alec working on the floor, but he didn’t even spare me a glance... not that I minded. I didn’t really want to deal with him or his antics today, and I am simply grateful that he wasn’t going to bother me on such a busy day.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, and I got an alert for a potential showing and report of an autopsy in the basement. I thought about skipping out on it, but I did have more than thirty minutes until Levi came to pick me up. Besides, what better way to pass the time than looking at people who are dead...respectfully.

I made my way to the basement to see that only I and maybe another three medical students were interested in examining the cadavers. Upon entering the room, I saw four bodies laid out on different beds.

“Welcome, students. Glad you could join me on such short notice!” Dr. Gordon, one of the hospital’s forensic pathologists, said happily as he welcomed us into the lab.

We were allowed to do our own exploring of the corpses for a short while as their reports and cause of death were outlined beside them. As we dispersed, I first glanced over a woman who had suffered from an autoimmune disease or, rather, systemic lupus erythematosus, to be technical.

I would have looked more in-depth into her case; however, there was one cadaver that caught my eye… one of the men who I’d seen in the last few days of my Emergency Medicine rotation. The man with the missing arm.

I went over to his case report as Dr. Gordon walked over to me slowly. “I remember being in the room where he lay lifeless and bleeding out,” I muttered, and he nodded as he examined the case report with me.

“Anything... unusual that you see in his report?” he asked as I read, and my eyes went wide as I saw how many drugs were found in his system. Cocaine, marijuana, LSD—

“He was administeredlidocainefor the amputation? Obviously it wouldn’t be enough to numb him enough to the extent of cutting off his arm,” I whispered in utter disbelief.

Dr. Gordon nodded as he looked down at the man. “The toxicology screen shows it was used in unnecessary excess, causing severe damage to his nerve fibers, skin cells, and eventually his central nervous system through systemic toxicity. The presence of cerebral edema suggests he likely suffered from multiple seizures due to the overdose of medication, and then... we found him here. Whoever did this wanted him to suffer,to see himself bleed out. They were reckless, dangerous, and simply sadistic if you ask me,” he explained.

I nodded my head slowly, trying to process his words. This act was impulsive, cruel, and utterly inhumane. Any decent person would be absolutely mortified of the person capable of putting someone through this kind of torturous death.

Lidocaine... who would do such a thing?

“Many of the hospital staff rule it as some sort of gang violence, but we were not able to locate any information about the man,” he muttered, and I nodded, going to speak again when suddenly my heart skipped a beat as I thought back to the message I received from Levi a few weeks back.

Tell me, sweetheart, what was the name of that numbing medicine you gave me when you stitched me up?

Oh, it’s just calledlidocaine. It’s a local anesthetic, and it prevents pain by blocking the signals at the nerve endings in the skin.

Perfect. Thank you so much for the information, Tesoro. Such a smart girl.

Immediately, my hands began to feel clammy. It felt oddly coincidental that such an event would occur less than a day later of me telling informing Levi of the once innocent topical medication used to stitch him up.

Teegan. Do not overthink things. Don’t. He has nothing to do with any of this. It was a simple question and you replied with a simple answer. Done. Don’t make things complicated. Don’t overthink anything. Don’t.

Mitchel. Lidocaine. Trash bags. Blood. Killing.

Teegan!

“Teegan?” Dr. Gordon said, and I flinched as I looked over to him, slowly placing the file down.

“Sorry, Dr. Gordon. Just got a bit lost in my thoughts, is all,” I whispered, and he shook his head.

“That’s perfectly fine. It’s a very intense case, and it’s good that you seem calm about reading the facts.”

Mitchel. Lidocaine. Trash bags. Blood. Killing.

TEEGAN!!!

“The police are actually going to start their investigation soon. I’ve been trying to get all of the paperwork in order, so they aren’t running in and out of the hospital, so to speak.”

I nodded my head once again and felt a buzz in my pocket, letting me know my ride was here.

“Unfortunately, I-I have to go, Dr. Gordon. Thank you so much for this opportunity.”

“Of course, Teegan. I am actually planning on calling you down to view and discuss a bit more about this case and a few others, only when you are free. Would be nice to have another person in here… living that is,” he said jokingly, and I nodded as a smile came to my face.

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