Page 42 of Her Final Hours
“Looks like our guy screwed up big time. However, we are going to have a hard time identifying him. Wearing that damn face mask. Do you know, they lifted the mandate in February but some people are still wearing them?” McKenzie said as the security guard fiddled with a controller and replayed a segment from the previous night.
“Some health systems still require it,” Callie said.
McKenzie grumbled and continued. “Anyways, we must send this off to the state crime lab and see if the crew can enhance it. And by enhance it, I mean blow it up into something that is even more blurry than this and release it to the public, expecting them to identify this guy. Geesh, we’d have more chance of finding Waldo than this laddie,” he joked.
Noah took a deep breath, mustering the last remnants of his energy, and glanced at the footage on the screens as they replayed the previous night. It showed the stranger entering the hospital, interacting briefly with McKenzie.
“What did you say to him?” Noah asked.
“He and a couple of other morons were traipsing mud and snow through the hospital. I called them out.”
“So it was a guy?”
“If it isn’t, we are dealing with Red Sonja from 1985.” McKenzie laughed nudging the security guard. “Seriously. Is it a guy?” He chuckled again. “Oh, Sutherland, you do crack me up. Of course, it was a guy.”
“Just asking. You’d be surprised at what passes for a man nowadays.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” he replied while skirting around the hot topic that filled the news waves as of late. “No, he just pointed to his badge and walked on,” McKenzie added.
As the video continued to play, the seemingly ordinary scene was disrupted as they watched the man disappear into a room and come out wearing a nurse’s uniform. They observed him rolling a tray toward the doorway, his hands gloved, making sure not to leave any prints behind. There was a moment of communication, a flash of the ID card at the officer before he entered the girl’s room. That’s when everything went sideways. He reappeared, and before Parker could react, the stranger sliced his throat. In an instant, he disappeared, then came back out, pushing out the bed and rolling it down the hallway.
Less than a minute after, McKenzie came into view, coffee in hand.
“I thought he was distracted with his phone.”
The video played out, McKenzie darting through the corridors in pursuit. That’s when they saw another interaction with the stranger as a doctor stopped him in the hall. The stranger assaulted her, stabbing her in the stomach. Others noticed and hurried toward him, causing him to ditch the girl and make a break for it. He could only guess what it was about without sound until McKenzie said, “She survived. The doctor. She’s in critical care but stable. It seems she knew the real Joseph Collins and was aware of the girl. She stopped to ask our guy where he was taking the girl, and that’s when she saw the ID card. We figure this assailant took it from our deceased guy, hoping to blow past security if questioned. Most wouldn’t have questioned him because there is no photo on the ID. Anyway, he took off when he caused a commotion.”
“And the girl? How’s she doing?”
“Fortunately, she was sedated. She had no idea.”
Noah nodded.
“So he goes to all that trouble to enter and then abandons her. Odd,” Callie remarked.
“And what’s even stranger is he didn’t harm the girl,” McKenzie said.
“What?” she asked.
Noah shifted his weight from one foot to the next. “Let’s say this is our abductor. And somehow, this girl got away from him. If you’re coming back, it’s probably to silence her. Now I’m assuming he saw the media post about a girl not knowing who she was or where she was from. He figured she hadn’t told anyone and returned to ensure she couldn’t if her memory returned. Except he didn’t touch her when he had the opportunity. He tried to wheel her straight out of the damn hospital. The question is, why? Why bother? If you’ve taken other girls in the past, you take another; you don’t return for this one. It was a risky move to attempt this.” Noah shook his head, took a sip of his coffee, and asked the security guard to play it again. He noted the suspect was wearing gloves on his way in. “You said that you found the card?”
“Yep. Bagged and tagged and entered into evidence.”
“We should run it for prints. While it seems he wore winter gloves on the way in and latex while here — it’s possible our guy didn’t when he stole it from Joseph.”
“I’m already ahead of you, cowboy,” McKenzie said, still analyzing the footage. The air crackled with a mix of anxiety and hope.
As Noah’s eyes narrowed, his mind focused on every detail captured by the cameras.
Callie chimed in, eager to prove her worth. “You think they targeted Joseph for his badge to get at her, or could he have been involved?”
The two of them glanced at her.
She quickly clarified before McKenzie tossed out one of his insulting jokes. “I mean. The girl’s body was flooded with drugs. Drugs that potentially could have been available here at the hospital. They had to have gotten them from somewhere. Could he have played a part?”
McKenzie tapped the air with his finger. “Nice point, Jessica Fletcher; however, why would they bump off one of their own?”
“Perhaps he dropped the ball,” Noah said, his eyes on the girl. “She did escape after all. Twenty-five women and only one reappears.”
