Sinking Suspicions

Chapter 26

149 Chapter 26 When Sadie arrived at the hospital, the sun had already dropped behind the western treetops, tinting the sky pink. She parked and entered through the main door instead of going back through the emergency room where she had left Buck earlier in the day. Recognizing one of the ladies at the information desk, she approached and decided to make small talk before trying to extract information about Buck. “Hi, Hazel,” she said. The gray-haired woman looked over her glasses at Sadie and smiled. “Well, look at you.” Her southern drawl sounded as if she had just arrived from south Texas. “I haven’t seen you in a coon’s age. How are you doing?” The two women exchanged pleasantries, and before long Sadie had convinced the retired nurse that a Hawaiian vacation was exactly what she needed, and she highly recommended the island of Maui. Besides that, as the town’s newest travel agent, she would be glad to give her a new-customer discount. Hazel laughed and agreed to come by and see her soon. Sadie began to pry. “By the way, Hazel, I came by to check on my neighbor, Buck Skinner. I came in with him through the emergency room earlier today. Can you tell me if he’s in a room yet?” 150 “Oh, my, what happened?” Hazel’s face took on an animated air of concern. “He fell into a sinkhole. Can you believe that?” Sadie exaggerated her words. Hazel’s lips formed a silent “Oh” and then she went to work. Without a blink, she tapped for several seconds on her keyboard with long, red acrylic nails, and then raised her nose so she could look through the bottom part of her glasses at the computer screen. “I can’t tell,” she said. “Hold on and I’ll call back to emergency and see where he is.” She picked up the phone, dialed, and waited. After inquiring , she hung up and looked at Sadie. “They just moved him into a room on the fourth floor.” She wrote on a small slip of paper and handed it to Sadie. “If they give you any trouble, just tell them you’re family. They won’t care.” “Thank you so much, Hazel. I know Buck will appreciate it too.” Hazel winked at Sadie. “You take care of yourself, you hear? And, don’t be falling into any darned sinkholes.” Sadie smiled and was walking toward the elevators when Hazel called after her. “And I’ll be in to see you pretty soon about the new-customer discount on a trip to Maui.” Sadie gave her a thumbs-up, got on the empty elevator, and after a quick ride found herself on the fourth floor. She looked at the paper Hazel had given her and quickly followed the signs to room 410. The door stood ajar, and she could hear the noise of a television coming from inside the room. She quietly knocked and pushed the door slightly open. She could see Buck lying in the far bed next to the window. He had an oxygen tube running to his nose and an IV running from a machine to his arm. Another elderly patient , snoring loudly, occupied the bed closest to the door, grasping a television remote in one hand and the bed railing with the other. Sadie tiptoed into the room and approached Buck’s bed. As she got closer, he opened his eyes, grinned at her, and then closed his eyes again. Sadie came closer and patted his arm. “Is there anything I can get for you, Buck?” Buck raised his head and moved his eyes toward the insulated cup sitting on a nearby rolling table. “Want a drink of water?” she asked as she instinctively reached for the cup and guided the bent straw to his mouth. 151 He sipped and then pushed the straw out of his mouth with his tongue. “I’m going to buy your dog a tube steak,” he said quietly. Sadie smiled at his reference to bologna. “Me, too,” she said. “Do you mind if I stay for a little while, or would you rather sleep?” Buck nodded toward a chair in the corner. “Pull up a chair. Nobody can sleep in a place like this, except him,” he said, nodding toward his roommate . “They come in here every five minutes and poke on...