Chapter 9 - THE INTRUDER AT NIGHT
By 11:30 PM, the fourth floor of Saint Leopold Memorial was wrapped in deep, shadowy quiet.
Officer Diaz was stationed at the nurses' station at the end of the corridor, sipping coffee while reviewing paperwork.
Inside Room 408, the room was dark except for the faint green glow of the heart monitor. Nathan was asleep, his breathing deep and even. Clara lay curled up on the small fold-out guest bed beside Ellie, her arm draped protectively over her daughter.
The heavy door to Room 408 clicked open a fraction of an inch.
A figure dressed in a navy nurse's uniform, wearing a surgical mask and rubber gloves, slipped quietly inside. The figure didn't glance at Clara or Ellie. They moved directly toward Nathan's IV pole, reaching into their pocket to pull out a pre-filled syringe.
The intruder raised the syringe, aiming the needle toward the rubber port on Nathan's IV line.
Suddenly, a tiny voice echoed from the dark corner of the room:
"That's Daddy's medicine."
The intruder froze.
Ellie was standing beside the fold-out bed, holding her stuffed rabbit, her big brown eyes fixed unblinkingly on the masked figure.
"You're not the nice nurse," Ellie said, her small voice clear and remarkably loud in the quiet room. "The nice nurse had red shoes."
Clara’s eyes snapped open instantly. "Ellie?"
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She sat up, saw the shadowed figure hovering directly over Nathan's IV line with an raised syringe, and let out a blood-curdling scream:
"HELP! POLICE!"
