“This is a strange environment to be working in. It it can play with your mind,” Mattheus pulled his chair closer to Cindy. “But there’s an answer waiting for us, and it’s got to be nearby.”

Cindy was pleased to hear that. She was so grateful to have Mattheus working beside her. When one of them felt low, the other always picked them up again.

The phone rang sharply then, interrupting the quiet that had descended upon them.

“It’s that guy we met at the hospital party, Todd,” said Mattheus, looking at his phone.

“Do you want to take this, or should I? He seemed to want to talk to you.”

“I’ll take it,” said Cindy, propping herself up and reaching for the phone.

“Cindy, this is Todd,” a high, nervous voice greeted her on the other end.

“Hello,” said Cindy, as brightly as she could, “nice to hear from you.”

“You remember me?” Todd sounded pleased.

“Of course,” said Cindy, “you wanted to talk.”

“Precisely,” said Todd. “Can you meet me for lunch tomorrow at Cave River, Rat Bat Hole? It’s a beautiful spot and private! No one will see us there talking.”

“Sure,” said Cindy, “you name the time, and I’ll be there.” When she hung up the phone, Cindy noticed Mattheus watching her. “I’m meeting Todd at Rat Bat Hole for lunch tomorrow,” she said.

“Good,” Mattheus nodded. “I’m going to make an appointment to speak to Dr. Padden next, the one in charge of Tara’s care. We need more facts to ground us now. There are too many possibilities floating around that can just lead us to dead ends.”

Cindy couldn’t have agreed more. She was delighted that Mattheus would meet Dr. Padden while she heard what Todd had to say.

Chapter 10

Rat Bat Hole was a well-known tourist spot in Jamaica, located at the opening of an underground cave system that extended for several miles. Unfortunately, as the name suggested, it was filled with bats. Cindy stood at the entrance of Rat Bat Hole listening to the harrowing sound of bats flapping around inside. Unwilling to step in, she decided to convince Todd to walk with her in the opposite direction. Noisy Water Cave, another attraction, was only a mile away.

As Cindy stood there, shaken by the sound of the bats, she heard footsteps come up from behind.

“Hello, hello, you got here early,” a high, nervous voice exclaimed.

Cindy turned around and saw Todd, looking at her expectantly. He wore a plaid shirt with an open collar and khaki slacks.

“Hi, Todd,” Cindy said relieved as she took some steps away from the underground cave.

“Quite a spot, isn’t it?” Todd grinned, exposing small, perfect teeth.

“Not a place I’d choose myself,” Cindy smiled back.

“Of course we don’t have to go into the cave,” Todd chuckled, reassuring her. “I just wanted to meet you here so no one at the hospital would see us talking. It’s the last place they would come to.”

“I understand completely,” said Cindy, wanting to put him at ease.

“If we walk towards Noisy River Cave, there are a few benches we can sit on,” Todd suggested it himself. “We can watch the water trickle down over the limestone rocks. It’s actually beautiful.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Cindy, as they turned and made their way along thick, lush vegetation and beautiful trees.

“Well, I’m extremely excited to talk to you,” Todd remarked as he and Cindy moved along. “You and Mattheus are famous down here in the Caribbean. I’m impressed that you came down to work with us.”

“Thank you,” said Cindy, waiting to hear more of what he really had on his mind.

“You deserve to get the real scoop,” Todd picked up his pace, half talking to Cindy and half to himself.

“I appreciate that, Todd, I really do,” said Cindy, keeping up. “A man’s life is at stake.”

“Lots of things are at stake, including the hospital itself,” Todd retorted as they approached a bench that waited in the distance under a huge, sheltering tree.

“Let’s sit there,” said Cindy.

“We definitely will,” Todd agreed, pleased at the privacy surrounding them.

“You have a very important job,” Cindy said as they sat down. “Assistant to the hospital administrator is no small matter.”

“It’s not only important, it’s vital,” Todd agreed. “And I do not take it lightly. People come to the hospital sick and suffering and they look to us to get well again.”

“That’s quite a responsibility,” Cindy urged him onward.

“Exactly,” said Todd. “It’s our job to send them home healed.”

Cindy sensed the depth of Todd’s distress. “And I’m sure everyone at the hospital is dedicated to healing their patients,” she remarked.

As Cindy hoped, her comment disturbed Todd. He stopped for a second and began rubbing his face.

“Of course they’re dedicated,” he finally continued walking, “but sometimes dedication is not enough.”

“What do you mean?” asked Cindy, fascinated.”

A muscle in Todd’s jaw clenched. “I’m sure you know there’s lots of drugs in all hospitals,” he started, waiting for Cindy’s response.

“Naturally,” she said, plainly.

“And I’m sure you know that doctors and nurses have easy access to them,” Todd continued, not mincing words.

“Everyone knows that,” Cindy remarked, professionally.

“Yes, they do. It’s a common problem that I’m going to tell you about,” Todd’s voice rose stridently. “Many doctors and nurses happen to be users. They’re drug addicts, to put it plainly. Did you also know that?”

“Not specifically,” Cindy answered quickly. “Which doctors and nurses are you talking about, those at your hospital?”

“It’s easy to understand why they get pulled into using,” Todd bypassed Cindy’s question. “They work long hours, are under terrible stress, the drugs are available, and there’s no one on the lookout, stopping them.”

“Isn’t that the hospital administrator’s job, to be on the watch for something like that?” Cindy was riveted to him.

“Exactly,” Todd grew agitated. “That’s what I’ve told Konrad and what I tell myself, again and again. Do you think Konrad listens to me, though? Do you think he cares a word about what I say? I’ve come to the conclusion that he doesn’t.”

Cindy now understood why Todd was so eager to talk.

“From Konrad’s point of view, I’m laughable,” Todd went on, indignant. “He says to me, give it a break, Todd. Get over it, are you on a mission or something?”

“What kind of mission?” asked Cindy.

“I don’t want doctors and nurses who are using drugs working with patients!” Todd exclaimed, as if it were his single purpose in life to put an end to it.

“That makes sense,” said Cindy, “it’s only right.”

“Of course it’s right, of course it makes sense,” Todd grew more heated. “And it’s only fair to the sick people suffering in our beds.”

“Konrad doesn’t agree?” Cindy was astonished.

Todd practically stood up off the bench. “For all I know he’s using too,” he exclaimed heatedly. “If Konrad’s using his judgment has to be off. And I believe it is. There are all kinds of things he keeps doing that just don’t add up.”

“Like what?” asked Cindy, amazed to be hearing this.

“Well, for starters,” Todd continued, “Konrad was personally responsible for hiring Alana, the nurse in charge of Tara. He did it against my better judgment. I told him not to.”

“Why not?” asked Cindy.

“Have you seen Alana?” Todd shot back.

“Not yet, but soon,” Cindy became alarmed.

“Well, wait until you do,” Todd snapped. “She’s beautiful, charming, sexy as hell and doesn’t think twice about flaunting it. Don’t think Konrad didn’t notice that.”

Cindy’s head started spinning. Alana had a right to be sexy and charming, that wasn’t a reason for denying her a job. Why did that bother Todd so much?

“Did Alana’s charm affect Konrad’s decision to hire her?” Cindy pressed on. Could it be that Todd was jealous of Konrad, or jealous of Alana?