Who's sorry now?

guess, too.”
    ”Will the town reporter who’s coming to fetch me tomorrow be able to talk to him?”
    ”I don’t know why not. It’s up to the patient, not me. He’ll be sitting up by morning. It’s not good for his circulation to be horizontal for long periods. Anything else you want to ask?”
    ”Will he remember any of what happened to him?”
    ”Probably not.”
    ”Should I tell him?”
    ”Not unless he asks,” Dr. McCoy said. ”I have to go back to work. I suggest you have your breakfast across the street. They do a really good ham and eggs and cinnamon toast.”
    They left the cafeteria and Dr. McCoy went back to work. Parker decided to go for a walk. He’d never been in Poughkeepsie before. He’d ask the nurse at the desk what there was to see within walking distance.
    She gave him a couple of brochures and a map. ”We keep these for out-of-towners like you who are here to visit family members who are patients.”
    There didn’t seem to be much close to the hospital. No museums. A couple of hotels, and a big park a mile away. He headed for the park and watched children feeding the ducks for a while. Then he followed some paths through pretty gardens. He knew nothing about flowers except that they looked pretty this time of year. Especially the many bushes that were blooming.
    Bored, and aware that it would be dark in an hour or two, he strolled back to the hospital and sat on a bench outside for a while. Later, he’d go across the street and see if the restaurant Dr. McCoy told him about had good desserts.
    But he couldn’t take his mind away from the events of the earlier part of the day. It was the worst day of his life, seeing Walker faint, and seeing all that blood running over the dirty floor.
    The next day, Parker was up early. He checked with Nurse Hawkin. ”Dr. McCoy is doing another surgery right now,” she said. ”But he checked on your boss earlier and he’s doing fine. Don’t you worry.”
    Parker went to breakfast across the street and walked around a bit more in the other direction. When he returned, Jack Summer was already waiting for him. ”Are we allowed to see Howard today?”
    ”Yes, close to noon. It’s up to him if he wants to see either of us.”
    ”One of Colling’s guys who went with you said you saved his life.”
    ”I helped to. But it was the doctor who really saved him.” Parker went on to repeat what Dr. McCoy had told him about the artery that was nicked. And the possibility of losing his arm if it had been cut clear through.
    ”But he says Walker is extremely durable and barring an infection he’ll survive.”
    They waited near Nurse Hawkin’s station. ”That’s a good nurse,” Parker told Jack. ”She even cleaned the blood off my uniform and had it pressed. I need to send her some nice flowers when I get back home. Does everybody in Voorburg know about this?”
    ”A lot of them asked me where you two had gone. I reported first to the people at Grace and Favor, of course. Robert was determined to come along and take Walker home in the Duesie right away,” he added with a laugh. ”I also told the greengrocer why you wouldn’t be in your apartment until today. Oh, and Mrs. Gasset got wind of it and came in on one of her breaks to ask about what happened. I told her, truthfully, that I had no idea except that Walker had been stabbed and was still alive. You’re going to have to fill me in more on the way back to Voorburg.”
    ”The doctor also told me something else you should know,” Parker said. ”We’re not to tell Walker anything unless he asks.”
     

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
    Tuesday, May 30
     
    AT EXACTLY NOON, as Dr. McCoy had promised, he came out of Howard’s hospital room and found Deputy Parker and Jack Summer waiting on a bench near the door. Both leaped to their feet.
    ”I’m Jack Summer, the editor of the Voorburg Times,” Jack said, shaking the doctor’s hand.
    ”Your chief of police is eager to see both of you. Go on in. Don’t stay for more than twenty minutes. You are his first visitors and he’ll tire easily. He’s lost a lot of blood and needs a lot of sleep before it builds back up.”
    He opened the door for them and went away.
    Howard Walker was sitting up in the bed. Parker almost got teary at how much better he looked. Howard was smiling. His face wasn’t quite as pale as it was yesterday, and his left arm was in a lightweight sling.
    ”Am I ever glad to see you two. Pull up some chairs and talk to