Page 9 of Love Bank
Move my clinic to another location? But I’d spent so much money and time remodeling this building into exactly what I’d envisioned.
Petition the mayor to move the prison? Highly unlikely as they’d spent months building the thing and it wasn’t exactly portable.
Take my sign down and go incognito? No, I wasn’t big enough yet to get away with that under-the-radar, knock-the-secret-code-on-the-back-door, Hollywood swanky business.
Coming up with nothing even remotely feasible to solve the problem, I threw my hands out to the side in exasperation.
“I don’t exactly know, Keva, but I’m going to start by talking to the warden next door. He or she has to be a reasonable human being. I doubt they want their newly released inmates to be polluting the town’s semen with DNA designed to produce questionable judgement. Not to say all criminals are bad people, but if the orange jumpsuit fits, you know?”
Keva’s wide eyes didn’t even blink as she bobbled her head up and down, agreeing with everything I said. Poor girl looked spooked. I couldn’t have her quitting on me, which she was liable to do if we got any more visitors like Suspender Man.
I nodded once with confidence and spun on my high heel to hightail it over to the prison. The warden and I had a meeting, and come hell or high water, I’d be leaving with a promise to keep his inmates where they belonged.
“Oh, Miss Eureka? Did you need the information on sample #264?”
I froze in my tracks, wondering just how Keva knew of my obsession when I hadn’t breathed a word to anyone about yesterday’s unfortunate—or fortunate, depending on how you looked at it, and boy did I look at it—episode. Risking a glance over my shoulder, I saw her squinting at the computer screen and then back up at me, waiting for me to give her instructions.
Oh yeah, I’d been about to break patient confidentiality and look up his name and address for stalking purposes. I guess I could thank Mr. Suspenders for saving me from that mistake.
“No, thanks, Keva. Just close on out of that and call me immediately if there’s an issue with our afternoon appointment. Not sure how long I’ll be gone.”
Hopefully she didn’t pick up on how hot my cheeks were.
While I picked my way across the sidewalk in the warm mid-day sun, I realized I should have called around to find out who the new warden was before stomping in and demanding an audience. That’s what I got for letting my temper get away from me. I was entering the enemy’s territory ill-prepared and emotionally charged.
Surprisingly, I just walked right up to the building and through a glass door without a guard or a single person asking for identification. I guess they figured someone wouldn’t voluntarily enter the prison unless they were innocent. The guilty tended to stay away from places like this unless they were in custody and had no choice in the matter. I couldn’t help but sniff a bit at the sterile environment of concrete and harsh overhead lights as I stepped into the lobby. The place could really use a woman’s touch.
“May I help you, miss?”
I swung my gaze away from the stark gray walls and found a bored front desk person sitting behind a wall of solid glass. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place his name. More my mom’s age than mine. I really needed to pay more attention to people’s names in an effort to be more social. It was a wonder I’d even heard him, given how thick that glass appeared. Stepping closer, I finally saw the holes, no bigger than a dime, right at his face level. Apparently, we weren’t allowed to share the same oxygen. Sterile, indeed.
I leaned forward and spoke directly through the closest hole, careful to keep my lips from brushing the glass. Who knew who’d been here before me.
“Uh, yes. I’m here to speak to the warden.”
The glass fogged up and I pulled back sharply. The man snickered. I narrowed my eyes at him. Smartly, he hushed up quick and answered me.
“Do you have an appointment?”
Time for my winning smile. “No, sir. But you see, I’m the owner of the fertility clinic next door and I wanted to swing by to introduce myself to the warden. Just being neighborly.”
He eyed me up and down before swinging to his computer and clacking away at the keys like they’d personally offended him. I stood there, hoping I’d passed inspection. Thank God for Keva. She was a breath of fresh air compared to this Neanderthal. I’d have to bring him up to the warden. He or she really should hire a more friendly front desk person. It was only neighborly to exchange business advice.
A loud buzzer echoed in the empty lobby, making me jump and nearly wipe out. I grabbed the glass and hung on for dear life. These heels were slick on the concrete floor. A door on the far side of the room swung open.
“Head on in,” the guy barked, ignoring my wobble. “Up the stairs and make a left.”
I steadied myself, seeing the handprints I’d made on the glass and wishing for Windex. Instead, I took a deep breath to calm my fluttering heart and walked calmly through the door, feeling like I was entering something I knew nothing about and would eventually regret. The door closed with an echoing slam and then an ominous sliding click, like a huge deadbolt had slid into place, keeping me as locked in as any prisoner. The lighting was a little less harsh here, just enough to illuminate several doors down a hallway, which I guessed were locked tight, and a set of stairs. I took those, one at a time, careful not to twist an ankle or touch anything. I shuddered at the germs that must float around this place. Suspender Man had been here, after all.
At the top of the stairs, I made a left, marveling at the lack of decor. Not one thing was on the wall. Just floor-to-ceiling concrete painted a dull gray. A flash of red caught my eye, because hey, it was finally a new color. Looking way up, I could see a tiny black dot and then that flash of red again. Ah, cameras. They must have been catching my every step and near wipeout in the lobby, which was a little intimidating, let me tell you. My facility was camera-free, which I liked just fine, thank you very much.
At the end of the hall, I turned left again, the only way you could go, and saw a woman sitting at a desk, diligently tapping away at her computer. She was a bit young, which caught me off guard at first. Then pride filled my chest as I realized Auburn Hill had hired a young woman to run the prison, as if they’d finally entered the twenty-first century and understood a woman could do the job just as well as a man.
It was with this thought in my head that I approached her desk, a welcoming smile on my face. She glanced up and then jumped to her feet. Enthusiastically, I thrust my hand out between us.
“Hello, Warden. So lovely to meet my neighbor!”
She stared at my hand, then back to my face, her eyes blinking repeatedly. My smile faltered, sliding from my face the longer my hand held its awkward position without acknowledgment.
