Page 58 of Her Last Whisper
As McGaven enteredthe hospital main entrance and made his way to the elevator, he realized that this was his first official assignment as a detective. He was proud that the sheriff thought enough of his abilities to assign him to the Payton homicide case with Katie.
The elevator doors closed and it climbed to the next floor. When the doors opened an orderly wheeled a gurney inside with a semi-conscious man on it. Usually people gave him a once-over due to his height, but so many things happen at a hospital that no one cared that there was an armed six-foot-six plain-clothes cop standing next them.
The doors opened again and the gurney was wheeled out and they disappeared down the hallway. McGaven stepped out and looked in both directions, not quite sure where to go, but he decided to take his time and walk down the hallway, bypassing the nurses’ station.
He wasn’t sure how he ended up in the maternity wing, but he found himself standing in the middle of it, nonetheless. The realization hit him hard and he felt a lump in his throat. Sadness overtook him. Seeing newborn babies, so innocent, so tiny, brought back stinging memories. He remembered when he was five years old and his mom had come home from the hospital with his new sister—Isabella. He had been so excited that he was going to be a big brother. He loved everything about being the older sibling—playing, feeding, and telling stories to his little sister. Less than a year later, Isabella became extremely ill and was in the hospital for a long time. She never came home. His parents told him that she was with God now and he would see her again someday. He had learned later that Isabella contracted a rare heart defect and that she was unable to survive the operation to try to correct it.
On patrol, whenever he was called to a family disturbance and there were infants involved, it would pull at his heart remembering his little sister. He would always make sure that they were safe first, before anything else. He often wondered what his sister would have become if she had grown up.
McGaven gathered his emotions and quickly moved on. There were different sections to the hospital and he wanted to stay within the main areas, where he would most likely find the nurses he’d identified on social media.
A tall brunette with her hair fixed in a ponytail hurried out of a patient’s room and then entered another one. She moved with ease as she kept a stethoscope looped around her neck. McGaven immediately recognized her as Abigail Sorensen. According to her personal page, she was recently engaged to her high school sweetheart, an avid runner, and had two small rescue dogs.
McGaven set himself in position, estimating that she was doing typical rounds, checking in on patients, and would soon jet out of another room in about three or four minutes.
He didn’t have to wait long as the nurse came out of the room and was headed for the next when McGaven stepped in front of her.
“Oh, excuse me,” he said and gave his best smile looking down at her.
She began to say something rude, when she gave him a double look. “I’m sorry. Are you lost?” she said.
“Hi, I was looking for Abigail Sorensen. Would you know where I could find her?”
“That’s me. What can I do for you?” She gave him a complete once-over this time and raised an eyebrow in interest.
“My name is Sean McGaven from the sheriff’s department,” he said carefully. “I’m part of the homicide investigation for Amanda Payton. Would you have a few minutes to answer some questions?”
“Homicide?” she said and looked confused.
“Yes, I’m sorry to say that Ms. Payton was found murdered a week ago. I’m here to just get some background information.” McGaven casually showed his badge.
Nurse Sorensen looked pale and she seemed honestly shocked at the news of Amanda’s death.
“Ms. Sorensen, you okay?” He watched her carefully.
“I… I… didn’t know.” She caught her breath. “When? How?”
“The case is currently under investigation. Do you have a moment?”
“Of course.”
“Can we go somewhere less public?” he said.
She nodded and made a gesture to follow her. They walked down the hallway, took a left and went into a lunchroom. There was only one other person inside drinking a soda and reading a paperback novel.
“Please call me Abigail,” she said and sat at a table.
“Of course. I’m sorry to give you the terrible news like that, but I figured everyone knew by now.”
“I don’t hang out with most nurses and I stay away from most media news.”
“Did you know Amanda?”
“Yes, of course. We both were hired at about the same time and trained together.”
“Did you know her well?”
“At work—yes. Plus a couple of casual evenings out mostly to blow off steam and complain about some of the doctors.” She looked down at her hands.
