[Georgia 03] Fallen

have trouble speaking. “He hurt you.”
    Sara could only nod, but her mind conjured the image she had seen in the bathroom mirror: an oblong, ugly bruise over her right breast where the man had punched her.
    Will cleared his throat. “All right. Thank you for your cooperation, Dr. Linton. I know you probably want to get home.” He turned to leave, but Amanda made no move to follow.
    “Dr. Linton, I noticed a soda machine in the waiting room. Would you like something to drink?”
    Sara was taken off guard. “I’m—”
    “Will, could you get a Diet Sprite for me and—I’m sorry, Dr. Linton. What did you want?”
    Will’s jaw tightened like a ratchet. He wasn’t stupid. He knew that Amanda was trying to get her alone, just like Sara knew that Amanda wouldn’t give up until she got what she wanted. She tried to make this easier for Will, saying, “A Coke would be nice.”
    He didn’t give in that easy. “Are you sure?”
    “Yes. I’m sure.”
    He wasn’t happy, but he left the room.
    Amanda checked the hallway, making sure Will was gone. She turned back to Sara. “I’m rooting for you, you know.”
    Sara didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.
    “Will,” she explained. “He’s got one too many bitches in his life, and I’m not going anywhere.”
    Sara was in no mood to joke. “What do you want, Amanda?”
    She got to the point. “The bodies are still downstairs in the morgue. I need you to examine them and give me your professional opinion.” She added, “A coroner’s opinion.”
    Sara felt a cold chill at the thought of seeing the man again. Every time she blinked, she could see his expressionless face hovering over her. She couldn’t grip her hand without feeling his fingers wrapped around her own. “I can’t cut them open.”
    “No, but you can answer some questions for me.”
    “Such as?”
    “Drug use, gang affiliations, and whether or not one of them has a stomach full of heroin.”
    “Like Ricardo.”
    “Yes, like Ricardo.”
    Sara didn’t give herself time to think about the request. “All right. I’ll do it.”
    “Do what?” Will was back. He must’ve run the entire way. He was out of breath again. He held two sodas in one hand.
    “There you are,” Amanda said, as if she was surprised to see him. “We were about to go down to the morgue.”
    Will looked at Sara. “No.”
    “I want to do this,” Sara insisted, though she was not sure why. For the last three hours, all she could think about was going home. Now that Will was here, the thought of returning to her empty apartment was unimaginable.
    “We don’t need these.” Amanda took the soda cans and dropped them into the trash. “Dr. Linton?”
    Sara led them down the corridor toward the elevators, feeling like a lifetime had passed since she’d made the same walk this morning. A loaded gurney rolled by, EMTs shouting stats, doctors giving orders. Sara held out her arm, guiding Will back against the wall so that the patient could get past. Her hand hovered just in front of his tie. She could feel the silk material sway against her fingertips. He was wearing a suit, his normal work attire, but without the usual vest. His jacket was dark blue, the shirt a lighter shade of the same color.
    The cop. Sara had forgotten the cop. “I didn’t—”
    “Hold that thought,” Amanda said, as if she was afraid the walls had ears.
    Sara fumed at herself as they waited for the elevator. How had she forgotten about the cop? What was wrong with her?
    The doors opened. The elevator was packed. It took an interminable amount of time for the old pulleys and lifts to groan into action. They went down a floor and most of the people exited. Two young orderlies rode with them to the sub-basement. They got off and headed toward the stairwell, probably for an illicit tryst.
    Amanda waited until they were well beyond earshot. “What is it?”
    “There was a man when we came in from the Dumpster. I nearly ran him over. I told him to get out of the way, and he flashed a badge. It looked like a badge. I’m not sure anymore. He acted like a cop.”
    “In what way?”
    “He acted like he had every right to question me, and he was irritated when I didn’t answer immediately.” Sara gave her a meaningful look.
    “Sounds like a cop to me,” Amanda wryly admitted. “What did he want?”
    “To know whether or not the patient was going to make it. I told him maybe, even though it was obvious …” Sara let her voice