“I’m not sure how we can tell that by looking at people’s ages and pictures. I mean, what would she be doing here anyway? And we’re not even sure if these people were here at the same time she was. I mean, if she wanted to talk to someone they would have to be here, right? And she only visited with a few patients. Maybe we can ask Jenkins if he knows—”
“Prisoner,” exclaimed Decker.
He had jumped up and raced out, leaving Jamison sitting holding sheets of paper and looking stunned.
She slumped back in her seat for a few moments before getting up and hustling after him. “I swear to God, one day I’m just going to kill him.”
CHAPTER
54
DECKER STOOD in the darkened doorway and looked down at th
e little boy.
Joey Scott was sound asleep in his bed.
The rain continued to pour down outside.
Decker’s gaze swept the room, taking it all in. Then he saw what he had come here for.
A moment later Jamison came to stand next to him.
“What are you—”
When Jamison saw Joey she fell silent. She looked up at Decker.
He said in a low voice, “He has leukemia. The really bad kind. He’s not going to make it.”
Jamison’s mouth quivered. “How old?” she said in a crackling voice.
“Ten. His name is Joey.”
Jamison’s gaze ran along the lines running to his body from the IV stand. The monitor’s greenish screen was filled with the boy’s weak vitals.
“But why are you here?”
“Because of that.”
He walked over and picked the book off the shelf next to the bed. He looked down at the cover.
The Prisoner of Azkaban.
“Hello?”
Decker turned to see Joey staring up at him.
“Hello, Joey.”
“You’re the Cleveland Brown.”
“That’s right. Amos Decker.”
“What are you doing here?”
Decker looked over his shoulder and said, “I brought my friend Alex to meet you, Joey.”
He eyed Jamison, who still stood in the doorway, and inclined his head toward Joey. She slowly came into the room and drew close to the bed.
“Hi, Joey.”
“Hi, Alex.”
He glanced at Decker’s hand. “Did you come to read to me? Is it morning yet?”
“No, it’s nighttime. We didn’t mean to wake you. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay. I wake up sometimes just because.”
Decker and Jamison together watched the slender chest rise and fall, as Joey seemed to work to catch his breath.
“Do you need us to get help?” asked Jamison nervously.
Joey shook his head. “No. It happens sometimes. It’ll pass.”
They waited another minute or so and Joey’s breathing became normal.
Decker sat down in the chair next to the bed and held up the book. “Anne was reading this to you?”
“Yeah.”
“What bastards!”
“And the world is full of them, Alex.”
“What were you hoping to prove with that book?”
“Just trying to make sense out of something. I was pretty sure, but that goes to show that anybody can be wrong.”
Decker rose and was about to put the book back when Joey opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him.