Chapter 7. I Gave the Order

Marco started to take the key, then pointed toward the stairs.

“If we clear that area, we'll need more people checking access.”

“Use the west conference room. Receive visitors there. Only send people this way if they're here to see Leo.”

The men moved out beyond the stairwell. When Marco emerged from the vacated bedroom carrying a small chair, Dane stopped him.

“Put that in Leo's room.”

“He used it when he used to sleep in here.”

“I know.”

A child's scribbles still marked the chair legs. Evelyn held the door as Marco carried it through. Leo had once slept peacefully in this corridor too.

Dane's phone rang. A call from the port. The voice carried into the corridor: if he missed today's negotiations, they would give his unloading slot to someone else.

“I'm going to the police this morning.”

The caller added that it was his uncle's wish. Dane walked to the window.

“Then put it in writing as my uncle's proposal. Include the terms you sent the captains.”

His voice lowered after that. Evelyn couldn't make out much, but she heard the person on the other end fall silent first. Dane ended the call and summoned Marco.

“Don't put the next shipment all in one place. Start with boats coming back empty.”

They couldn't recover the unloading fees already paid. Dane asked how much it would cost to pay both sets of fees. Told they couldn't move everything, he selected the perishable cargo first.

“Tell them today if we can't load it. Don't wait until their ship has sailed.”

Evelyn opened the door wider. Dane returned with the same expression he'd worn while giving up his own bedroom and carried out the chair.

***

Even in the brighter room, Leo pulled up his blanket. Evelyn set up a piece of fabric between the bed and the wall, light enough for him to lift himself. Dane held the support.

As she pulled the fabric into place, his fingers brushed the back of her hand. When she shifted her grip, he adjusted the pressure of his. Evelyn looked at his face, so close to hers, then called to the boy first.

Leo lifted and lowered the edge of the fabric. Leaving a gap so the nurse could check on him, they both let go of the support.

Dane moved toward the opening.

Leo's hand stopped. Before calling to Dane, Evelyn looked at the child. Leo lowered the fabric again.

Dane stayed outside it.

“I've changed my clothes.”

He looked down at his shirt. Evelyn watched the curtain the boy had closed.

“Sit where he can see you when he opens it.”

Dane moved the chair. Inside, a little hand lifted the fabric, then let it fall. Dane started to lean forward and stopped himself. After a while, it rose again. This time, he called to Leo from where he sat.

***

While the nurse was out getting water, metal struck something in the corridor.

A guard's holster had caught the doorframe. Then someone called loudly down the stairs. Leo's body went rigid.

As Evelyn called his name, Dane stood.

“Who was that?”

His voice made the boy curl up tighter. Evelyn made a point of closing the door, then sat beside him. Dane handed his own holster to a guard.

“Leave it outside when you come into this corridor. Everyone.”

Word came that the lawyer had arrived. When Dane headed for the stairs, Evelyn followed him out.

“Why me?”

She asked, and his gaze returned to her.

“There are plenty of doctors. He needed other specialists too.”

“Leo kept getting worse. And all anyone would say to my face was that he'd get better.”

“And?”

“I heard there was a doctor at Harwood who refused to alter the records.”

Evelyn's face went still. What had happened at the hospital had reached places she hadn't even known about.

“Then you knew what was happening to me?”

For a moment, Dane didn't answer.

“They said you were about to lose your position.”

“You thought I'd do as I was told if I had nowhere else to go?”

Dane looked down the stairs. The lawyer was waiting with a folder.

“I thought you'd be alone.”

“So you thought I'd be easy to take.”

She went back to the boy's room without waiting for his next words. Dane remained there even after the door closed. Only when Marco called him did he go downstairs. On the first page of the documents for his interview were the orders he had issued in his own name.

Evelyn handed over to the nurse and returned to her room. From the dock came the sound of a boat leaving.

***

Another call from his uncle's side reached Dane in the police station corridor. The captains were being told to sign before they had even confirmed that the terms were the same. He told them to forward exactly what they had received, then entered the interview room.

“I gave the order.”