Page 90 of Dead & Breakfast
“This is ridiculous.” Young ran a hand through his hair. “My son is going to wake up soon. I know he will. And I’m going to be here for him when he does. But you better be long gone, or—”
“Or what?” Arthur raised one eyebrow. “Because from my point of view, I’m about to call security to come up here and verify you are really this patient’s father. I swore an oath to do no harm, you know, so I can’t let random people off the street skulk around in here.”
“Skulk? I’m going to have your medical license revoked!”
“No offense, sir, but I don’t think you really know how that works.”
“I’m a doctor myself!” Young snapped.
“Oh, that settles it, then.” Arthur smiled, though Young couldn’tsee it through the mask. “This boy’s father is a dentist, not a doctor, so you must be an impostor.”
“Dentists go to medical school!”
“Excuse me,” said a woman in the doorway. She wore plum scrubs and a scowl. “What is going on in here? You do know there are patients in this ward who are trying to sleep, right?”
“Apologies, ma’am,” Arthur said in his most polite British accent. “I was just telling this strange man he can’t be here.”
“This is Trip Young, Brody’s father,” the nurse said. “Wait. Who are you?”
“Dr.Weissman, of course. We haven’t been acquainted yet.” He stretched out a hand to the nurse. “I’m new here from across the pond.”
Arthur willed himself not to add any other extraneous details from his concocted backstory. This woman really didn’t need to know about Dr.Weissman’s impending divorce or the medical mystery that had brought him to the charming small town of Trident Falls. The romantic comedy practically wrote itself, though. He would have a meet-cute with a male nurse over a malfunctioning IV, then discover the nurse volunteered for a pet rescue. Yes, Dr.Weissman came to Trident Falls to find an escape from the big city and the surgical mistake that cost him the life he’d planned, but instead he’d find true love with a handsome nurse—perhaps named Terry or Bruce or Diarrhea Blastington.
“There you have it.” Young nodded curtly to the nurse in thanks, then turned on Arthur. “I can be here with my son. Now, could you please leave? It’s been a very tiring day, and I’d like to read to Brody.”
Arthur narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t bring a book.”
“I have an e-reader.” Young held up his phone.
“It’s not very good for your eyes to read off a screen for that long.” Arthur didn’t think that was actually true, but it seemed like the sort of thing a doctor would say. Arthur glanced at the nurse for confirmation.
“I didn’t think we were getting any new doctors,” the nurse said, eyeing him suspiciously. “When did you start here? Who hired you?”
Arthur called upon all his television-based knowledge of hospital hiring structures. “The chief of medicine hired me.”
“The who?” She raised her eyebrows.
Young was also staring at Arthur with a little too much scrutiny. Well. Perhaps this game was over, but he could still keep Trip from being alone with Brody long enough to kill him.
With a dramatic flair Salvatore would’ve been proud of, Arthur pulled off his mask and discarded it on the floor in what he hoped conveyed the energy of a mic drop.
The nurse didn’t really react, likely unfamiliar with Arthur at all, or his connection to Brody’s case, but Trip Young stepped back and let out a strangled gasp.
“That’s right!” Arthur proclaimed. “It’s me, Dr.Young, and I’m here to keep you from committing another murder!” He kept his dramatic exclamation fairly quiet out of respect for the other patients along the hallway.
Young, however, did no such thing. “Nurse, call the cops!” Young shouted. “This vampire’s here to kill my son!”
Chapter 24
The nurse ranfrom the room before Arthur could stop her. He didn’t dare follow. He wouldn’t leave this room unless Young went first. He was quite literally the last thing standing between Brody and certain death.
“You can drop the act.” Arthur stepped forward, finally relinquishing his poor attempt at a British accent. “We both know why you’re here.”
Now that they were alone, Trip did indeed let go of the false concern and fear on his face. His tightly held expression dissolved into a scowl and he squared his shoulders as if preparing for a fight.
“You should go before the sheriff arrives. Last I heard, you’d been arrested. I’m guessing he didn’t just let you out.”
“No mortal prison can hold a vampire.” It was a lie, but Arthur hoped it sounded sufficiently intimidating. “Why are you doing this, Dr.Young?”
