Chapter 74
[ 499 words ]
Chapter 74:
“What are you doing hiding in here, Thompson?” Melanie spat, her voice entirely too loud. “Slacking off again? Do you want me to go get Dr. Cromwell and get you another write-up?”
Caroline didn’t blink. She didn’t slow down.
She walked right up to the bench, leaned forward, and planted both hands flat on the wooden backrest, trapping Melanie between her arms.
Caroline loomed over her, casting a dark shadow across Melanie’s face.
“The patient in bed three just received their IV push,” Caroline said. Her voice was a low, smooth whisper that sent shivers down the spine. “Their heart rate is absolutely perfect.”
The color completely drained from Melanie’s face. Her pupils blew wide open. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she shot a frantic, terrified look at Tammy.
Tammy started to shake. “That… that’s impossible,” she stammered, her voice trembling. “That was…”
Melanie slammed her heel down hard onto Tammy’s foot, cutting her off.
Caroline watched the panic consume them. She slowly stood up straight, reached into the deep pocket of her scrubs, and pulled out a small, clear evidence bag. Inside it, the crushed remnants of a glass vial caught the harsh fluorescent light, fragments of glass and a twisted aluminum seal, collected from the hallway floor.
She held it up, letting it dangle right in front of Melanie’s eyes.
“Do you know what happens when you push high-concentration potassium chloride into a central line?” Caroline asked, her tone entirely conversational, which made it infinitely more terrifying. “The heart muscle seizes. It cramps so violently it feels like the chest is caving in. And then, it just stops.”
р𝘰𝘱𝘂𝗅a𝗋 s𝗍𝗈𝗋𝘪eѕ 𝗈n 𝗴a𝗅𝘯о𝘷еl𝘴.𝖼𝘰𝘮
Melanie’s bottom lip began to tremble. She gripped the edge of the wooden bench so hard her knuckles turned white.
“It’s a shame,” Caroline continued, tilting her head slightly. “Whoever tried to tamper with the aluminum seal on this vial had incredibly sloppy technique. They left evidence behind.”
Melanie couldn’t take the pressure anymore. She jumped up from the bench, her shoulder slamming hard into the metal door of a locker.
Bang.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” Melanie shrieked, pointing a shaking finger at Caroline’s face. “You’re crazy! Stop making up lies!”
Caroline’s hand shot out like a viper, slapping Melanie’s finger away with a sharp, stinging crack.
Caroline stepped directly into Melanie’s personal space, her eyes lethal.
“Don’t treat me like I’m stupid,” Caroline hissed, her voice dropping to a deadly register. “A second vial, the one you used to bring the toxin in, is currently in the hands of a very reliable contact. They are running a full chemical analysis. And they are pulling every single microscopic fingerprint off that glass.”
She was gambling. Julian had the vial, and he would run the tests. But the certainty in her delivery was absolute, honed by years of training that told her a bluff delivered with perfect conviction was indistinguishable from the truth.
Tammy let out a loud, pathetic sob.
“Fingerprints?” she wailed, burying her face in her hands. “Oh my god, Melanie, we’re going to go to federal prison!”
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