“SHHH,” Thomas and Pippa said at once.
“—leave her,” he finished in a whisper.
But even as he spoke, he heard the nurse’s voice through the door.
“What are you doing down here, dearie?” the nurse said. “There’s no visitors allowed in the contagious ward.”
Sam knew how much Max would hate to be called dearie. He only hoped she would restrain herself from sticking a knife in the woman. Then she’d never get out of Bellevue.
Luckily, when Max spoke she sounded very unlike herself: young, and deeply apologetic. “Sorry. I—I got lost, I guess.”
Sam felt a warm rush of admiration for her. She knew how to lie to get herself out of a bad spot. He would probably have gone straight to pudding.
“Oh, you poor thing!” the nurse said. “Let me guess. You’re here for your mommy, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” Max said quickly. “I’m here for my, um, mommy.” On this last word, Max rapidly turned a choking sound into a cough.
Pippa shifted so her shoulder was digging uncomfortably into Sam’s chest. Sam tried to glare at her, but it was too dark. And Thomas was planted directly on his feet, which were starting to go numb.
“Let me take you upstairs, dear,” the nurse said. “I’m sure we can find your mommy.”
“That’s okay—” Max started to say.
But the nurse cut her off. “It’s no trouble at all, dearie. No trouble at all. Come on, this way. Take my hand, like a good girl.”
It might have been Sam’s imagination, but he thought he heard Max mutter something very quiet (and very rude) under her breath. But the nurse kept babbling over her—“There’s a good girl, how frightening to be lost in this big place on your own”—and then Sam heard the squeak, squeak, squeak of the nurse’s shoes against the tile floor. He could no longer feel his feet, and Pippa’s shoulder made every breath painful.
At last, when the nurse’s footsteps had receded, Thomas pushed open the door. Pippa practically shoved Sam out into the hall, gasping.
“You nearly turned me into a pancake,” she said accusatorily.
He rubbed the cavity of his chest, where her shoulder had been digging a hole. “Well, you nearly turned me into a doughnut.” He stamped his feet to try and get the feeling back.
“Come on,” Thomas said. “There’s no time for arguing.” And he started again in the direction of the stairs.
“What about Max?” Sam said. The nurse would surely soon discover she wasn’t a visitor.
“Max can take care of herself, Sam,” Pippa said. “We’ll meet up with her later.”
“But—” Sam started to protest.
“Do you want to help Dumfrey, or not?” Thomas’s eyes were bright like two hard stones. Sam squeezed up his fists. But Pippa was right. If anyone would be okay, it was Max.
That’s why he liked her so much.
“Fine,” he said, and let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “Fine,” he said again.
“This way,” Thomas said.
They hurried in silence down the length of the hall, to the stairs leading into the basement, and the sign pointing the way to the morgue.
The morgue was dark, and colder than Pippa expected. From somewhere in the blackness came the sounds of dripping, as though a faucet had been left on. She took a step forward and Thomas yelped.
“You stepped on my heel,” he said.
“Your heel ran into my toe,” she whispered back.
“What’s that smell?” Thomas said, a little louder.
Pippa inhaled. It smelled a little bit like tub water after someone had just finished bathing or like sweaty feet that had been scrubbed repeatedly with soap.
Suddenly, the electric lights came on with a buzz and a whirr. Sam had found a switch on the wall, and Pippa exhaled a little. She had imagined there would be bodies everywhere. But they were in a large room, very bare, very clean. One wall was fitted with cabinets, each the size of a small refrigerator.
“All right. What now?” Sam said.
They looked instinctively to Thomas, but he shook his head. “I—I’m not sure.”
Pippa took a few steps into the room, lifting her fingers and grazing the wall of large metal cabinets. Immediately, she felt a jolt. She had a sudden vision, like a lightning bolt through her brain: a body, frigid and motionless, and two white feet, bloated as rotten fish. She stumbled backward, holding her head.
“What?” Thomas rushed toward her and grabbed her elbow. “What’s the matter?” It was only then that she realized she’d cried out.