Page 63 of Whispers Left Behind

Both Kinsley and Alex began to run toward the entrance, but Louise had already raced back inside. She disappeared around the corner toward the elevator bank. Kinsley quickened her pace, and Alex matched her strides.

“Go,” Alex ordered as he began to veer off toward the information desk. “I’ll bring up security.”

“I’ll meet you in the ICU.” Kinsley reached out and pressed the top button on the elevator. “Come on. Come on.”

The short ride to the eighth floor was anything but, and she finally made her way to the waiting room moments later. A sleeping couple, huddled together in the far corner, were the only ones present.

Kinsley made her way to the window, but no one appeared to be on duty. Pressing the call button, she waited impatiently for someone to appear. She began to jab the button again and again.

“May I help you?”

The agitated nurse wasn’t someone Kinsley had met before, so she shifted the right side of her sweater to display her badge.

“Buzz me in, please. I’m here to speak with Gage Baird. It can’t wait until morning.”

“I’m sorry, but Mr. Baird has been transferred from ICU to the sixth floor.”

“When did this take place?” Kinsley asked, tamping down her frustration. She let her sweater fall back in place. “And why wasn’t the station notified?”

“I wasn’t on duty when the transfer took place, ma’am. I can contact the administrator if you—.”

“No, that’s fine,” Kinsley replied as she stepped away from the window. There would be time to examine mistakes and inconsistencies later. “Thank you.”

Kinsley closed the distance to the elevator, reaching for her phone. She called Alex after pressing the up arrow on the panel. It took a moment for him to answer.

“Baird has been moved to the sixth floor.”

“What? When did that happen?”

“I guess a few hours ago,” Kinsley responded as the elevator doors slid open. She quickly entered the lift and pushed the button for the correct floor. “I’ll meet you there.”

Upon arriving on the sixth floor, she paused only to study the signs secured on the wall. Since most hospitals were the same, she disregarded the information and jogged down one of the hallways in search of the nurses’ station. A large open area with elongated countertops had been constructed in the middle of the floor with two separate hallways lined with patients’ rooms.

“Excuse me.” Kinsley kept her voice low as she unclipped her badge. Her boots had squeaked with each step, echoing off the walls, so it wasn’t as if the nurse hadn’t heard her approach. “I’m looking for Gaige Baird’s room.”

“Room 618.” The nurse’s nametag read Heather. She stopped whatever it was she was doing on the computer and signed out, glancing at Kinsley with curiosity. She stood from the chair and motioned for Kinsley to follow her through the shortcut alongside the nurses’ station. “Is everything alright? If you’ll follow me, his room is on the other side, and I can—”

“If you could wait a moment, my partner is walking down the hall right now.” Kinsley nodded in Alex’s direction. Only one security guard was with him. She resecured her badge while waiting for them. “Heather, did you see Gage’s mother return a few minutes ago?”

“Yes,” Heather replied cautiously. “Regular visiting hours are over, but we’re not too strict with them. And seeing as Mr. Baird was settled into his room a few hours ago, his mother asked that we extend them for her. Is there something wrong?”

“I called for backup, and security is locking down the hospital,” Alex alerted Kinsley as he came to stand beside her, keeping the topic rather general in front of Heather. She had yet to move toward Baird’s room. “What about Glynn?”

“Heather? Is Douglas Glynn in the room, as well?”

“I believe so, but—”

Kinsley shared Gage’s room number with Alex before they headed in that direction. Alex instructed the security guard to remain in the hallway with Heather following close on their heels. Given that the soles of their shoes had probably made enough noise to alert Louise and Gage that someone was approaching, Kinsley didn’t hesitate to cross the threshold.

Douglas Glynn sat in a chair next to an empty bed.

Kinsley slowed her pace and eventually came to a stop while staring at the closed door of the bathroom. Louise was only delaying the inevitable.

“Mr. Glynn, I’m going to need you to step out of the room,” Alex instructed before Heather came to a stop just inside the doorway. “We would like to—”

“Does Mr. Baird need assistance?” Heather asked as she attempted to cross the room. “Detectives, I understand that you have jobs to do, but Mr. Baird is my respon—”

“Step out of the room, Heather,” Kinsley directed when Douglas made no move to follow Alex’s directive.

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