Gingerbread Man

duty, stepped into the doorway, effectively cutting off the comet's tail. She moved forward into the sea of bodies, closed the door firmly behind her, and crossed her arms over her chest. She was dark skinned, with a cap of gleaming curls that should have softened her harsh expression, but didn't. "Does this
look
like a circus to you?" she asked them.
    Vince was the first one to pull out a badge. "I'm a police officer, and that man needs to be under guard."
    She tipped her head to one side, looked at him as if he were drooling when he talked.
"That man
is having a heart attack. I assure you, he's not going anywhere."
    Beyond her, through the glass in the closed door, Vince saw others: white coats, latex gloves, working over Reggie. He felt responsible and weighed like lead on his shoulders. "Is this the only way in or out?"
    "Umm-hmm," she said.
    "Can I post someone outside the door?"
    She puckered, but finally nodded. "One man. And he'd best stand to the side if he doesn't want to get knocked flat on his fanny." Her frown grew as an orderly pushing a cart had to fight his way through all of them to get into the treatment room. "The rest of you, get your badges and your backsides to the waiting room.
Now."
The nurse pointed. It was ten feet away, around a corner to the right, and it was small. Close enough, though. Vince nodded, and, turning, did his best to herd everyone back there. The chief, his officers, the handful of state cops who'd heard the call and come on their heels, Jerry, Holly, and Amanda...
    Wait a minute, he'd lost Holly and Amanda.
    "Vince?"
    He turned at the sound of her voice, and saw Holly holding Amanda's shoulders. Amanda was bent double, trying to catch the breaths that rushed in and out of her lungs at breakneck speed. That same nurse reached the two at the same moment Vince did. She moved fast, locating a wheelchair, then easing Amanda down into it. She had her seated and breathing into a paper bag within seconds.
    Holly said, "The man we just brought in is her uncle."
    The nurse nodded, addressing Amanda, not Holly. "Well, no wonder you're upset, all this fuss." She gripped the wheelchair from behind, pushing it down the hall, leaning close to speak. "Let's just get you out of all this chaos for starters." She wheeled Amanda into a small room, out of the way.
    Vince slid an arm around Holly's waist as they followed. He glanced down at her. "You all right?"
    Her eyes were steady and clear when they met his. She nodded once. He wasn't sure he believed her. But she
looked
all right
    "What's your name, child?" the nurse asked.
    Amanda didn't answer. "Amanda D'Voe," Holly answered for her, while Amanda continued inflating the paper bag over and over again.
    "I'm Sally," the nurse said. "Now you rest assured, your uncle is in very good hands. And he didn't look all that bad to me when they brought him in. Hell, I've seen 'em come in way worse off than him, and walk out again in a few days."
    Amanda's breathing slowed still more. She lifted her head, moved the bag away from her face. "Really?"
    "Yes. Really."
    "You... you think he's going to be all right?"
    "I’ll bring you out a report just as soon as we know anything, okay?"
    Amanda nodded. Sally glanced up at Vince. "You keep all those cops off her case, you hear me? And you," she said, looking at Holly. "You stay with her. You two ought to be all right in here for a while. Anyone gives you any crap, you tell 'em to take it up with Sally. All right?"
    Amanda nodded. Vince thanked the woman for her help and glanced at the room. It was a break room for the staff, from the looks of it. There was a sofa, a couple of chairs, a large cafeteria-type table with benches attached, a coffee pot, fridge, and some vending machines.
    As Nurse Sally left, Vince glanced through the open door, down the hall to the waiting room, caught the chief's eye. Assured Mallory knew where to find him should he need to, Vince closed the door. Then he went to Amanda, knelt in front of the chair. "Are you better now?"
    She met his eyes. "I will be, when they tell me Uncle Reggie is going to be all right." She licked her lips. "What happened, Detective?"
    He shook his head. He couldn't bring himself to tell Amanda that her beloved uncle was looking more and more like a suspect in a string of brutal child murders. He didn't find it all that believable himself. How the hell could he suggest it to her? "I think it was my fault. I asked him about you, your past I mean, before