Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 28: Chapter 28

The disappointment was crushing. I tried to put on a brave face as I straightened. It wasn't Ethan's fault; he'd really tried to find her.
“Hey,” he said as he drew me away from the nurse's desk. “It's okay. This isn't over. It's just a set back.”
“Yeah. You're right,” I nodded. I fought not to cry.
Ethan held open his arms. I stepped closer and he wrapped me in a hug. I wasn't going to cry all over him. But I let him hug me.
“It's not over,” Ethan promised. “I will not stop looking. We will find her.”
I nodded into his shirt. Which I was not crying into.
He looked around the ward over my shoulders. He patted my back and hummed for a moment.
“She was here for a while,” he said. “Maybe one of the other patients saw something. Let's look around. Talk to them. Maybe there's something.”
“Okay,” I whimpered. I straightened up and wiped my eyes. Which were not wet because I wasn't going to cry.
“Okay. Okay, we're gonna do this now,” Ethan said. “You're gonna be fine, Angel, because this isn't over.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. He was right. This wasn't over.
I'd gone this long without seeing her. I could keep going. I was not ever going to give up.
“That's right,” Ethan said, as though I'd spoken out loud. “Now. Let's take a look at this place.”
I managed a smile for him and turned to find the nurse staring at us.
“We need to speak to your other patients,” I said.
“Sure, whatever,” he shrugged. “Don't upset them please, we're low on sedatives.”
I nodded. I tried to hide my concern. Were they just sedating the patients to keep them quiet?
“Can you tell us which ward Ms. Carter was in?” Ethan asked.
“Huh? Oh, sure, I guess it's fine. She was in Ward C, up those stairs to the right.” The nurse paused, and added, “Not sure how many of the patients up there will be up to talking, really.”
Ethan and I followed the nurse's directions. There was a nurse's station in Ward C, but it was unoccupied. The ward consisted of a single long hallway with three rooms on each side and an open recreation room at the end.
Each room held four patients. According to the chart at the nurse's station, my mother had been in the third room on the left, in the corner bed.
Her bed was still empty. There wasn't a new long term patient to take her place yet. The bed had been stripped to the mattress.
Each bed had an IV pole, various vital monitoring devices, and a small dresser table. Three of the beds had patients, all sleeping. The monitors and IV stand next to my mother's bed had been pushed against the wall, out of the way.
Her dresser table top was empty. There was a layer of dust on the top of it.
“Huh. No pictures or flowers or cards,” Ethan muttered.
“What?” I asked.
“The dust is uniform,” he pointed out. “If there had been anything on this surface, a photo frame, a vase of flowers maybe, there would be a mark left.”
“Oh. I guess they figured since she was in a coma, she didn't need flowers,” I muttered.
And of course, no one had let me send her anything.
“Probably. I'm not liking all that dust, though,” Ethan muttered. He wandered around the other patients. I think he was checking their tables for dust.
I opened the drawers. They were as empty as the rest. If she had extra clothing, blankets, or anything at all with her, it had been taken with her.
I'd sent her nightgowns and an extra blanket when my father told me she would have to stay at the hospital for a very long time. Had they been given to her, or just thrown away?
“Find anything?” Ethan asked.
I shook my head, silently.
“Yeah, I don't think anyone in here is going to be able to tell us much.” He nodded to the nearest beds. “This seems to be long term care for anyone comatose or catatonic.”
“Oh,” I whispered, as though I could possibly wake any of them.
“Let's check the patient's recreation room,” Ethan suggested.
The room was empty of patients. There was a janitor haphazardly mopping the room, leaving broad swaths of the floor dry. He didn't look up when we entered.
“Hey there,” Ethan said.
The janitor looked up. “Sir?”
“Do you happen to know anything about the patient that was transferred out the other day? Melinda Carter?” Ethan asked.
“Um. I cleaned the bed.” The janitor shrugged.
“Did you happen to hear where she was being transferred to?” I asked.
The janitor shook his head. “Nah, I was working in another ward when they took her out.”
“Oh. Well, thank you anyway,” I said.
“Quick question, are you the only janitor for this ward?” Ethan asked.
The janitor snorted, “Alpha, I'm the only janitor for this facility.”
“That's a big job,” Ethan said.
“Yeah,” the janitor nodded.
“We'll let you get back to it, then,” Ethan said. “Come on, Angel.”
It was weird being called that, but I hadn't given Ethan my real name. It was better than being called Eva, though.
We went back to the main lobby. Ethan muttered to himself the whole way. I couldn't catch what he was saying, but I could tell he was upset.
There was a commotion at the front door when we reached the bottom of the stairs. The receptionist and a man in a neat suit were talking quickly.
I picked up the words “new donor” and “surprise inspection.” Did they think Ethan was a donor?
No, it turned out we weren't the only visitors to the sanatorium that day. The door opened to admit Leo and Eva. I froze for a moment and then shifted to try to hide behind Ethan.
Leo shook hands with the receptionist and the strange man, who turned out to be the person in charge of the day to day operation of the sanatorium. He introduced himself as Dr. Farron.
I tried to hang back out of sight, but Ethan had other plans. He walked right on over to the group, drawing me along by the hand.
“Hey there, Leo,” Ethan greeted the other alpha with a clap to the back. “Fancy meeting you here!”
“Oh, are you thinking about investing in this facility, too?” Leo asked.
Although he was talking to Ethan, he stared at me. Eva was looking at me too. Her eyes were narrowed in suspicion.
I had to get out of there. If Eva recognized me, it was all over.
“Not exactly,” Ethan replied. “I was just doing an inspection. It's on my territory, if only by a little bit. You know I like to keep on top of the medical facilities.”
“Oh, right, that's a good idea. I should do the same thing,” Leo said. He cleared his throat and pointed at me, “Okay, I have to ask. Who is she, and what is she doing here?”