Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(11)

“Hi Devin,” Hannah greeted him, and then she turned to Lonnie. “Did they call you in to help?”

“Yup. We were only a mile from here when I got the call. The dispatcher told me to go straight to the hospital, and I was turning in the driveway before she even finished telling me about the accident.”

Marlene came in just then and walked quickly to Buddy’s side. “You can come with me,” she said. “The other intern, Doctor Matson, wants to have a look at your wrist, and then someone will take you down to X-ray. There’s a little wait, but it’s not that long.”

“I’ll come with you,” Lynnette offered, but Buddy shook his head.

“Stay here and wait for the rest of the band,” he said. “You need to meet up with them when they come in. Devin here can come with me to X-ray ... right, kid?”

“Sure!” Devin jumped up immediately. Then his delighted expression faded somewhat as he turned back to Lonnie. “Is it okay? I mean, do you need me to help you with anything?”

Lonnie shook his head. “Not a thing. We’re here to help the patients. Buddy’s a patient, at least for right now, and you’re helping by keeping him company.”

“Bring the rest of your group and follow me,” Marlene instructed Hannah and Michelle. “We’ll take them all into emergency together. Once they’re cleared, the Rainbow Ladies can arrange for transportation.”

It was only a short walk to the emergency room. Everyone handed over the paperwork they’d completed, and they all took seats in the uncomfortable green plastic chairs that were set aside for patients. Hannah wasn’t sure if the chairs were an attempt to keep people from coming to the emergency room with non-emergency ailments, or an attempt to generate business by causing more complaints like backache, stiffness in the neck and shoulders, and loss of mobility from sitting on such a hard, unyielding surface.

The interior of the emergency room looked different tonight. Two sets of ugly tan curtains that could be drawn to cordon off a cubicle, had been tied back, out of the way. The resulting space was filled with medical personnel who were lined up against the back wall. She recognized three of the nurses, but the rest were strangers to her. They must be the extra nurses from nearby communities that had been called in to augment Doc Knight’s small staff.

Vonnie Blair, Doc’s secretary, was sitting at a desk in the far corner of the room. A copy machine sat next to her desk and once she made copies of a patient’s paperwork, she stapled it to a folder. The doctor in the front of the line came forward to take the folder and call a patient to be seen.

Lonnie watched for a moment or two, and then he turned to Michelle and Devin. “I’m going to make the copies for Vonnie. It’ll go quicker that way.”

When Lonnie had left their little group, Michelle turned to Hannah. “Isn’t that Norman near the back of the line?”

“I don’t see ... oh, yes. It’s Norman. They must have called him in for any dental emergencies. I think I’ll go over and ...” Hannah stopped speaking and gave a little sigh. “No, I won’t. She’s with him.”

“I wasn’t going to mention that. I know how you feel about her. But you probably should do it anyway. Lake Eden’s not that big, and you have to get along with her if you want to stay friends with Norman.” Michelle stopped and frowned. “Unless you don’t want to stay friendly with Norman.”

“Of course I want Norman to be my friend. He’s going to need to come over and see Cuddles.”

“How’s that going anyway?”

Hannah gave a little smile. She’d agreed to take Norman’s cat, Cuddles, when he’d said that he had to find a new home for her, that his fiancée, Doctor Bev, was allergic to cats and she was going to move in with him. Hannah’s cat Moishe, and Cuddles were best friends so it wasn’t an imposition at all. “Moishe’s happy to have Cuddles with him. He really likes her you know. And Cuddles is crazy about Moishe.”

“Does Cuddles miss Norman?”

“I think so. I know my place is the second-best home for Cuddles, but Norman’s house, with Norman, is the best home for her. It’s just a pity that ...” Hannah stopped speaking as tears came to her eyes. She blinked several times and managed to keep them at bay. “Never mind. We can talk about that later tonight. You’re staying with me, aren’t you?”

“Of course. I know I could stay at Mother’s, but she’s never home. She’s either at the hospital with the Rainbow Ladies, or over at Doc’s house. It wouldn’t be as much fun to stay there by myself.”

Hannah blinked, and this time it wasn’t to blink away tears. “Mother stays over at Doc’s house?!”

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean that. I just meant that Mother spends a lot of time with him at his place, at her place, at the hospital, or out doing something. That’s all.”

Hannah gave a relieved sigh. It wasn’t that she was concerned about her mother’s behavior. It was just that she didn’t want the other members of the phone tree they’d unofficially dubbed The Lake Eden Gossip Hotline to gossip about their founding member, Delores herself!

“Buddy Neiman?” a voice broke into Hannah’s thoughts. “The doctor will see you now.”

“Come on, kid.” Buddy got up from his plastic chair with an agility Hannah wished she could emulate, and motioned to Devin. “He’s probably going to send me to X-ray. Let’s go.”