“I’ll sit with her; my shift doesn’t start for another half hour.”
No! I scream in my head, but I’m too feeble to move. Finn must know. The doctor told him I saw what they were doing. He wouldn’t kill me, though; not here.
Chloe leaves and I remain in the same position, staring at the floor waiting for the dizziness to subside. The fog edges around the world. I’m aware of him sitting close by, but at least he hasn’t touched me.
Eventually, I lift my head and rake my hair from my eyes. My clammy head cools under the aircon.
“Are you feeling better?” he asks.
I look to Finn, the only person in the room with me. Genuine concern etches his features, a small crease between his eyes. He never looks tired, his pale face and blue eyes always neutral.
“Did you kill someone?” I whisper.
He straightens. “What?”
“What are you?” I hiss.
“Rose... I told you what I was. And I don’t kill people!” There’s an edge to his voice; not irritation but anger.
“Tom... he said things about Reapers...”
Another nurse wanders into the room and retrieves her lunch from the fridge. She sits at the table behind Finn. “Are you okay?” she asks me.
“Yes. Fine,” I say, and she arches an eyebrow at my short tone.
“We need to talk again,” says Finn, standing.
I pick up the glass of water and drink heavily. “I’m not sure I want to.”
The nurse smiles into her lunch. Great, someone else thinks we’re having a domestic. Finn doesn’t respond but leaves the room. The blonde nurse watches him go.
“So you’re the reason he’s so pissed off recently?”
“No.”
“Sure...” She gives another small smile and returns to her lunch.
My phone beeps and I groan. Alek’s incessant texting to check up on me is pissing me off. I pull the phone from my pocket and see the message is from Finn.
<You don’t know what’s going on here. None of you do. Let me explain> Shakily, I shove the phone back into my pocket and slump back in the chair. I stare at the square-tiled ceiling, head pounding from the loss of blood flow a few minutes ago. Confused and unhappy, I swallow down the lump in my throat, the one that comes when I’m attempting not to spill tears.
***
Next stop, Tom Jones and his chocolate. When I get down to his unpleasant area, I take the chocolate bar from his desk and eat it. He watches me.
“What?” I say through a mouthful, “I do eat, you know.”
“You look ill.”
“I nearly fainted. I’m okay now.” He opens his mouth to reply, but he’s not getting any further explanation. “I wanted to tell you the person died, the one I mentioned yesterday.”
“I know.”
“What?”
He tips his head. “Umm. Look at where I work. I process this stuff.”
I shudder. “Nice.”
“Who did it?”
“Did what?”
“Killed him, David Greenwith.”
I don’t want to know names, so I fight against the urge to cover my ears. “Is there anything suspicious about the death?”
“Heart failure, which is useful for your friend, the Dark, don’t you think?”
“There’s a doctor I saw in his room, too. Dr Granger, the heart doctor you mentioned yesterday.”
“Oh! Both of them in the same room?” I nod. “Two Darks...Wow. I knew they were connected! Something’s going on because the hospital rates of death are getting noticed.”
“You think Finn and this guy are killing people? I still can’t believe it of Finn. He seems so gentle...”
“They don’t have to be scary, do they? Otherwise, how else would they suck people in to trusting them?” Tom pulls out his spiral notepad and begins to scrawl. One day, I’d love to see what he writes. “I’m looking into the patterns of the deaths, but there doesn’t seem to be any. Grace is awesome with statistics. We’re going to figure this one out.”
I smile weakly, doubting he will.
“The party we spoke about; we’re going to have it on the weekend. Can you invite this guy Finn?”
“What? No! I don’t want to go near him. Don’t mess with these people,” I whisper. “What if they find out what you’re doing and one of them kills you?”
“Nah, I don’t think they will.”
“I like your confidence.”
“Well, if you don’t ask him, I will because I want to study him.”
“This isn’t a game, Tom.”
He sits back in his chair and laces his hands behind his head. “I know, Rose.”
Tom’s phone rings and before I can answer him, he turns away to his computer, looking up something in a database for the person on the phone. I rest against his desk considering whether to stay or go.
Something catches the corner of my eye, a flicker of colour. The door to the morgue opens and Lizzie walks out. She halts when she sees me and my heart rate picks up. What the hell? She works on the Children’s Ward. Without acknowledging me, she passes and waits for the elevator, back turned.
“Rose? Are you okay? Did you see a ghost or something?” asks Tom.
The chocolate in my stomach urges its way back up and I swallow. “I think I did.”
Chapter 19