Free Lifeblood by Penny Rudolph Page B

or something.”
    “Okay. Maybe,” Rachel agreed. “But come to think of it, the room I saw had three beds. Three celebrities in a room?”
    “So maybe they have people who stay with them. Secretaries, beauticians, people like that.”
    A truck lumbered by, its tires clicking on the pavement, its exhaust fouling the night air.
    “That’s two weird things about my newest client. Jefferson Medical Center loses track of kids brought to the hospital, and has a mysterious ward that’s in use, but has a sign—of the few signs in the whole damn place, by the way—that says it’s closed.”
    Goldie thought about that. “Okay, there was a sign. But it wasn’t hanging on the door. You said you found it on the floor. Maybe it was meant for somewhere else, fell off a cart or something.”
    Rachel scratched the end of her nose. “Maybe. But area closed means area closed. And the area where the sign was looked like it should have been closed, only it wasn’t.”
    “Maybe it’s closed some of the time,” Goldie said. “Maybe it’s an overflow area.”
    “You’re probably right. That’s what I thought when I first saw it.”
    “I’ve heard of women having babies in the halls of some hospitals. Or maybe it’s some sort of charity ward that they open when they need it.”
    Rachel thought about that. “I guess that’s possible, too.” She leaned forward. “What do you think happened to that boy I took to the emergency room?”
    Goldie pursed her lips and blew out a stream of air that sounded like a punctured tire. “You got me, sweet pea. Maybe he did pass on before they got him admitted to the hospital, like that security guy said.”
    “If that was the case, they’d have to file some kind of report, wouldn’t they? He wouldn’t just disappear. After all, the kid was a victim of criminal neglect, at the very least. Surely the cops would be called in.”
    “Seems like. But that’s probably the very sort of thing that falls between the cracks.”
    “I’d sure like to get a better look at that ward.”
    “You got some fool notion they stashed that kid there?” Goldie drew back. “Don’t you be giving me that look. Nosiree! I am not going to help you nose around that hospital.”
    “Okay. I didn’t ask, did I?”
    “I already did that once for you, over there.” Goldie nodded toward the building across the street. “My heart will never beat normal again.”
    She had sneaked Rachel into InterUrban Water Agency’s headquarters with the cleaning crew so they could search the office of the CEO who had been killed—murdered, as Rachel had suspected. They were caught red-handed by the chairman of the board and Rachel had lied their way out of it.
    “I said okay. I’ll figure out….”
    “I didn’t say I wouldn’t help.” Goldie paused and flashed a grin. “It was kind of awesome.”
    “And I was right.”
    “Yeah, you were right. You sure were.” Goldie grinned. “Hoooooooo-ee! That was exciting.”
    Rachel pulled a wry face. “Maybe you miss that stuff. I sure don’t.”
    “I think that may be a wee bit of a fib.”
    “No way,” Rachel said. “I hated every minute.”
    Goldie was silent for a moment. “You know what? If there are celebrities in that wing, or even if there aren’t, you can be damn sure they aren’t cleaning those rooms themselves.”
    “And?”
    “I might see if I can find out who is cleaning over there and ask what’s up.”
    “Would you?”
    “Uh-huh. I just might do that very thing.”
    One by one, the cleaning crew was leaving the office building across the street and streaming toward them. They were all young. Six of the nine had chubby round faces and rounder cheeks. Rachel had trouble telling the boys from the girls because all had hair about the same length and their nearly identical overalls hid any physical dissimilarities. Most were Down’s Syndrome people. All were earning a living. Most lived at a sort of halfway house named, for some peculiar