Then again, maybe not; it was hard to be sure.
I poured her some water and watched as she drank it.
“I’m fine. You just take a minute there. Do you want me to go and get someone to help?” I asked. “That’s a good idea. I’ll just ring the buzzer.”
She was looking a little green around the edges.
“Maybe you should lie down on the bed for a minute. What do you think?”
She wouldn’t do it, but she did fold over and put her head between her knees. Maybe that’s why she was on the night shift, so she wouldn’t have to interact with actual live patients.
I shook Friday by the foot when I passed his bed.
“Keep an eye on her, will you?” I said. “I think she might hit the floor any minute now. I’m going to get some help in here.”
As I went down the hall, I heard him sigh, “Oh, Jeez,” and the mattress creak as he got out of bed.
When I got back to the room with another aide in tow, Friday was sitting on my bed and the nurse was sprawled across the chair with a facecloth over her eyes.
“What happened?” I asked as one woman rushed to help the other.
“And what are you doing with that?” I said to Ty. I grabbed my notebook from his hands. “I didn’t give you permission to read this.”
“You left it here, in plain sight,” he said. “I didn’t know what it was, so I just had a little look at it. Now, if you could share some of your fascinating insights with the police department, we might be able to clear this case in a jiffy.”
“Sarcasm does not become you,” I said. “And I was just trying to sort things out. You know, someone is trying to make it look like I was involved with Neville’s death, and I have no idea why that would be. I have an interest in figuring out who did this, too.”
He groaned. “Please, in the name of all that is holy, do not try to help me solve this crime. The last thing I want is an amateur detective mucking around in my evidence.”
He went back over to his side of the room and started digging in the locker for his clothes.
“I think it’s time to check out of here,” he said.
The nurse, walking slowly out the door with the assistance of the aide, stopped and said, “I don’t think so, officer. You have to wait for the doctor to come by in the morning.”
“No, I don’t,” he said.
He pulled out a pair of wrinkled trousers.
“You can keep her as collateral, but I am out of here. I’ll get some rest at home, and if my nose starts to bleed or my vision starts to get blurry, I’ll come back.”
He pulled the pants on over his boxers and then tossed away the johnnie. I caught a glimpse of a nice chest and a well-defined set of abs before he pulled on a shirt.
“In the meantime,” he continued. “You might want to put some restraints on the doc over there to keep her in the bed so she doesn’t scare anyone else half to death.”
I relaxed on the bed, enjoying his display. The two women, heads shaking, left the doorway, promising to return with some papers for him to sign.
“What’s the big rush?” I asked.
He flopped into the chair, rubbing his eyes.
“My head is killing me,” he said.
“So, stay a few more hours. You’re not going to be able to do much right now anyway. In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s the middle of the night.”
He squinted at me.
“Can you turn off that light over your head?”
I reached up and pulled the light chain, putting my side of the room back in shadow. Only the light from the bathroom remained, and it was much better for both of our heads.
“Better?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “So, when you finish your list, will you at least share it with me?”
“Sure,” I said. “I’m not going to do anything heroic, believe me. I was just doodling around.”
“Tell me, why would someone want to set you up for this? Do you have any enemies?” he asked.
“No, that’s what I can’t figure out. So, you know, that’s why I was going through the names of people in the group, jotting down what I know about them and why they might want to kill Neville. Or frame me. Or both.”
“And you came up with?”
“Well, not much, but I really just got started and then boom, all hell broke loose out here. I mean, why didn’t you just tell her I was in the bathroom?”
“I’m not your keeper.”
“As if.”
“Oh, please, don’t talk to me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Can you just shut up? Can we not exchange five sentences without an argument?”
“You shut up,” I said, maturely responding to his provocation.
It was quiet for a few minutes.
“What is all that stuff in the storage unit, anyway? Is that yours?”
I didn’t respond.
He lifted his head and looked at me.
“Are you asleep?”
“No,” I said. “You told me to shut up.”
“Oh my God,” he said. “Fine.”
I think we both fell asleep after a while, because the next time I looked, Friday was reclined in the chair and a light blanket had been draped over most of his body. Sunlight was trying to sneak in around the corners of the window shades, and the smell of bad coffee wafted into the room.
“Friday!” I shouted.
“What?” he groaned. “I’m sleeping here.”
“You have to tell me your first name now,” I said.
“No, I don’t.”
“You do. We spent the night together. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do,” I said.
He pulled the covers firmly over his face.
“All right,” I said. "Don't tell me."
The nurse had returned with his discharge “Against Medical Advice” papers, which she left on the tray table at the foot of the
