Chương 9
She introduced him as hospital counsel.
Daniel whispered, “Fantastic.”
The lawyer ignored him.
He spoke directly to me.
“Mr. Cole, my name is Steven Kline.”
I moved once.
“I need to discuss the circumstances surrounding your earlier declaration of death, but I understand you cannot meaningfully communicate beyond binary responses yet.”
Once.
“Therefore, I am not going to ask substantive questions.”
Daniel looked genuinely shocked.
“A lawyer choosing not to ask questions.”
Kline gave him a tired glance.
“It happens more than television suggests.”
For the first time that day, Daniel smiled.
It disappeared quickly.
Kline continued.
“We have secured all records associated with your emergency care, including monitor data, medication administration, notes, timestamps, and access logs.”
My finger moved once.
“We are also preserving surveillance footage from relevant hospital areas.”
Ortiz nodded.
“Good.”
Kline added, “And access to the record has been restricted.”
Rachel asked, “Already?”
“We detected multiple chart accesses after news circulated internally.”
Karen's expression hardened.
“By whom?”
“Mostly staff with no treatment relationship.”
Daniel said, “People were snooping?”
Kline answered, “Apparently.”
“Can you fire them?”
Karen said, “That is not today's priority.”
“It can be tomorrow's.”
No one argued.
Ortiz's phone vibrated again.
This time, he answered.
“Ortiz.”
He listened.
“Where?”
Another pause.
“Do not approach yet.”
His eyes moved toward me.
“Keep visual contact.”
He ended the call.
Daniel asked, “Mason?”
Ortiz nodded.
“He left the hospital.”
“With Olivia?”
“No.”
That surprised me.
Daniel said, “Where's she?”
“Still downstairs.”
“Then where did he go?”
“Parking garage.”
Ortiz looked at me.
“He is currently standing beside a gray SUV making a phone call.”
My heart monitor sped slightly.
Rachel glanced at it.
Ortiz noticed too.
“Ethan, does Mason drive a gray SUV?”
Once.
“Do you know the make?”
I could not answer.
“Never mind.”
He turned toward Daniel.
“You?”
“Some expensive German thing.”
“That narrows it down beautifully.”
Daniel shrugged.
“I sell restaurant equipment.”
Ortiz's phone buzzed again.
He read the message.
His face remained neutral, but his attention sharpened.
“What?” Daniel asked.
Ortiz did not answer immediately.
Then he looked at me.
“The officers watching Reed say he just removed something from the rear cargo area.”
Daniel stood halfway.
“What?”
“A small black case.”
Every remaining piece of me went cold.
Mason had carried a black medical case into my house dozens of times.
Ortiz continued reading.
“He put it in a trash receptacle near the stairwell.”
Daniel whispered, “Get it.”
Ortiz was already typing.
“They are.”
Ortiz's phone disappeared into his pocket as he moved toward the door.
“I'm going downstairs.”
Daniel stood again.
“So am I.”
“No.”
“You keep saying that like it's becoming more persuasive.”
Ortiz looked at him.
“If Reed sees you, he may know your brother identified him.”
Daniel's mouth opened.
Then closed.
“That matters?”
“It could.”
“Fine.”
He sat again with visible hatred for the chair.
Ortiz pointed at him.
“Stay.”
Daniel gave him a look that should have set fabric on fire.
Ortiz left anyway.
The room settled into an uneasy quiet.
Rachel checked my blood pressure, then adjusted the blanket over my legs.
“Your foot movement is stronger.”
I tried again.
The right ankle flexed maybe half an inch.
Daniel leaned forward.
“Do the left.”
I tried.
Nothing happened.
“Don't coach him like a Labrador,” Rachel said.
Daniel looked offended.
“I wasn't.”
“You absolutely were.”
He looked at me.
“Was I?”
I moved once.
Rachel laughed.
Daniel pointed at my hand.
“That system is flawed.”
It was the first normal thing that had happened since I woke inside the coffin.
For perhaps ten seconds, I was simply a brother being annoyed by his brother.
Then Karen's phone rang.
She stepped into the hall to answer it.
Kline remained near the wall, reading something on his tablet.
Dr. Patel came back to my bedside.
“Ethan, your respiratory effort is improving.”
Once.
“Your oxygen level is stable.”
Once.
“I don't think we're heading toward intubation unless something changes.”
Relief washed through me.
The idea of being unable to speak was bad enough without a tube making it even harder.
He continued.
“The paralysis is still concerning, but the return of movement is encouraging.”
Once.
“Neurology wants repeated exams every fifteen minutes.”
Daniel said, “How long before he can talk?”
Dr. Patel did not answer quickly.
“That depends on what caused this.”
“That is becoming my least favorite sentence.”
“I know.”
“Can he write?”
“Not yet.”
“Blink?”
“No voluntary eyelid movement.”
“Tongue?”
“Minimal.”
Daniel looked toward me.
“What about Morse code?”
Rachel turned.
“With one finger?”
“People do it in movies.”
“This is not a movie.”
“I am aware.”
He rubbed his face.
“I'm trying to find something useful to do.”
That silenced everyone.
His voice had broken on useful.
Dr. Patel said, “Being here is useful.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No, it isn't.”
“It is to him.”
Daniel looked at me.
I moved once.
He swallowed.
“Okay.”
He sat back.
A few minutes later, Karen returned.
Her face had changed.
Not panic.
Something more controlled.
“Detective Ortiz asked me to relay that the case recovered from the trash has been secured.”
Daniel leaned forward again.
“What was in it?”
“He did not provide details.”
“Meaning he wouldn't tell you?”
“Meaning he did not provide details.”
Daniel muttered, “Administrators are incredible.”
Karen ignored him.
“He also said officers are speaking with Mason Reed in the garage.”
“Arresting him?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“We don't know.”
Daniel looked at me.
“This whole lawful society thing is incredibly frustrating when someone tries to kill your family.”
Kline finally spoke.
“That is generally when it matters most.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You practice that line?”
“No.”
“Shame.”
A dull pressure began developing in my throat.
I tried to swallow.
This time the movement was stronger.
Rachel saw it.
“Good.”
She leaned closer.
“Try making a sound.”
I pushed air upward.
Nothing emerged except a faint rasp.
Daniel froze.
“Again.”
Rachel raised one hand.
“Slowly.”
May you like
I tried.
A dry vibration scraped somewhere behind my tongue.
