Page 37 of Always Salty

Her walking alone at night in that seedy part of town worried even me, and I had nothing to do with her. I’d seen no less than five crackheads follow her movements the entire way home. I was sure that her boyfriend freaked out when he found out that she walked alone to work through those dangerous streets.

He had a reason to be worried, and if Dorie couldn’t see that, she was dumb. Inconsiderate and dumb.

After an hour playing on my phone and computer, I was able to access the cameras that were set up outside the apartment’s main doors.

Sure, it would’ve taken less time if I’d asked Lev to do it, but I had to be careful what I asked of him because he would certainly ask questions. And eventually, those questions would make their way back to my brother, who would in turn have more questions.

I watched for her to show up for what felt like forever, going from camera angle to camera angle, until finally I spotted her parking her car a couple blocks away from Dorie’s place.

I followed her movements until she made it to her friend’s place and disappeared inside.

Then the waiting game began, and I had to sit on my hands and wait to see her again.

Except…something was telling me that I should go there and observe in person…just in case.

An hour later I climbed up the fire escapes until I reached the one for Dorie and her boyfriend.

When I got there, I took a seat on the padded bench outside and looked in, making sure to keep myself in the shadows.

There she was, flesh and blood, laughing at a joke that another one of her friends—two that I hadn’t known would be there and didn’t know their names—had just told.

I shifted in my seat and Keely’s head snapped up to look out the sliding door.

I knew she couldn’t see me.

But she was staring at me like she knew that I was there.

Her eyes narrowed, as if she was trying to see through the darkness.

But she gave up when her friend touched her arm and started to talk to her about work.

The only reason that I heard half of what was being discussed was due to the kitchen window over the sink being open.

“Did you hear about Dr. McCinnish?”

I saw the moment that the friend had her full attention. “What about him?”

“Well, from what I understand, he had a heart attack at work the other day. How have you not heard that?” she asked.

“Kara,” Keely said, getting me her friend’s name. “Seriously. They never mentioned it once at work. Wouldn’t you think the other doctors would have?”

Kara shrugged. “He was unliked. He also lay there for hours until one of the patients woke up from their sleep study since he wasn’t there to wake them.”

“Are you saying it happened on the day that we left early, because he told us to, and no one told us?” Dorie asked in a slightly raised voice.

“I guess.” Kara snorted. “I say good riddance. That guy was a creep and an asshole. Two very awful combinations when it comes to personalities. I hated working with him.”

“You’re not lying.” Keely gave an exaggerated shiver. “There was this one time that I was in the middle of working with this kid, and I felt like he was super, duper asleep. To the point where it was unnatural. When I went in there to check to make sure his monitors were all connected correctly, he pretty much cornered me in the hall outside their room and told me to butt out. But the way he did it,” she sighed. “I’ve never been alone with him since.”

“There was this one time I caught him taking some pills that looked an awful lot like pain medication. I asked him if he was hurt, and he got this really weird look and said that he’d ‘sprained his ankle.’ But he definitely wasn’t limping,” Dorie said, then elbowed her boyfriend. “Hey, maybe we should cook those hot dogs.”

“I don’t really feel like cooking them on the grill,” he muttered. “How about I make them inside?”

“That’s fine, but they definitely taste better on the grill,” Dorie said, making her point known.

She wanted them grilled, and she wasn’t going to be happy with anything less.

I turned all the burners on high and didn’t bother to start it, listening as the gas escaped the propane tank.

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