Sounds Part 4 of 5: Swoosh in the Press

'Denver News' - Headline:

Robert T. Ironside is back - as Commissioner ad interim

With Ex-Commissioner Fisette in prison and Chief Edward D. Brown in hospital the Denver police needed a temporary new head. Famous lawman Robert T. Ironside, who is well-known to the residents of Denver, agreed to fill in until things have settled down.

Very early the next morning Ironside went to the hospital for a short visit. He wanted to see Ed before starting his workday.

Sister Bertha, a motherly nurse, was in his room and signaled him to keep quiet.
"You are too early. Chief Brown is still asleep. He needs his rest, so please don't disturb him, will you? I'll get a hot-water bag for him, he's such a cold creature, our dear VIP..."

She looked as if she could hardly restrain herself from patting his cheek. She and Sgt. Hank Riley would have made a wonderful couple: always hovering over Chief Brown!

Yet Ironside was a little disappointed. He had hoped for some information about Fisette and above all about prison governor Harry Granger who had to be involved in the conspiracy against them.
A bruise at the inside of Ed's left arm caught his eye.

The nurse noticed it. "Oh, don't worry, that's absolutely harmless. He has pulled the IV out tonight. It sometimes happens to fidgety patients."

Huh? Was this Ed Brown she was talking about? "Chief Brown isn't a particularly fidgety patient, is he?"

"No, actually not," Bertha answered and left, obviously unperturbed by the lack of logic in her reasoning – a good soul, but not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Ironside would not have been Ironside had he just accepted this flimsy explanation.

"Ed, wake up, I need to talk to you!" He even shook the patient's arm a little. It was too cold to the touch indeed, and apart from the bruise there were a few slight scratches at his forearms, nothing important... but how could Ed have got them in bed? And why was he so hard to wake?

Something wasn't right here, he could smell it.

His friend moved his head and mumbled something incomprehensible.

By spontaneous inspiration Ironside lifted the blanket and stripped back the legs of Ed's pajama pants. At his shins he found some slight abrasions as well. Ironside was now convinced that Ed had been out of bed and stumbled over something, for instance over his IV stand or over his own legs. Had he pulled out the IV at the same time?

Why should he have left the bed? He could have rung the bell if he needed something. He was a stubborn guy all right, but not stubborn enough to risk a fall in his weakened state if he just had to ring for help.
So – why hadn't he rung?

Without any scruple he pressed the button. Nothing happened.
Nothing at all. The bell didn't work.

Ironside rolled closer and inspected the wire. Was there a loose contact?
No – the plug was pulled out of the socket, and so was the one of the cable to the bedside lamp. A coincidence?

Ironside recapitulated: A bell and a lamp not working – Ed probably getting out of bed, taking a fall and pulling his IV out. And then what? Had he just climbed back into bed? Hardly. He would not have managed. If he'd had help somebody would have known about it – but why hadn't the nurse mentioned the incident?

Ironside had posted a police officer in front of Ed's room since the case wasn't entirely solved. There had been a change of shifts half an hour ago. The officer of the nightshift might know more.

He used the phone at Ed's bedside to call headquarters and was told that a certain officer Blacksmith had been on duty in the hospital. He called him. After the fifteenth ringing Blacksmith answered with a sleepy voice.

"Yes, I was on duty, and yes, around four a.m. I heard a clatter in his room. Of course I ran in immediately. He was lying on the ground, unconscious, together with his IV stand. I picked him up and put him back to bed. I rang the bell, but nobody came, so I went to look for the night nurse, who had been busy with another patient. She said that she would take care of the Chief. Ah, and I closed the window because I thought that it was rather cold in his room."

Why in blazes had the night nurse kept this incident secret?!

Who was that nurse? She would have some explaining to do!

Again he called headquarters. Jerry Abbey was in now. "Jerry, find out for me which nurse was on night shift last night on the second floor of the hospital."

Sister Bertha brought the hot-water bag, and Ed still didn't stir.

This was really, really strange...

Ed's mobile phone in Ironside's pocket rang. Meanwhile he had learned how to handle it. It was Jerry already, "Sir, the night nurse is Betty Granger, the daughter of prison governor Granger!"

"Good work, Jerry!" Ironside's thoughts somersaulted. Was the nurse behind these 'coincidences'? Did she want to harm Ed to keep him from testifying against her father? His glance fell on the infusion bag. What in blazes was in that bag?! Without a moment's hesitation he stopped the drip.

Again he shook his friend's arm, more vehemently this time. "Ed, wake up!"

Finally he was successful: Brown opened his eyes – but only for a second.

"Stay with me! I need some information!"

Ed knew this sentence all too well. It was no good not to comply! His eyes focused. Somewhat. "Whatchda matter?" he mumbled.

"How are you? And what happened tonight?"

"Fine. Nothing."

"Oh, stop that nonsense! I want some answers. What happened?"

Ed made an effort to please his former boss. "Too cold. Window open. Lost blanket. Bell and bedside lamp didn't work. Stood up to switch on light. Stumbled. Must have passed out."

Ironside nodded. "That figures. And how are you feeling now? And save your standard answers for your wife. I need to know."

"Honest? I feel like 200 pounds of cotton wool."

It made Ironside smile. "Stop exaggerating. You have no idea what 200 pounds feel like – skin and bones don't weigh that much."

At this stage Ed was used to getting teased for being underweight.

"I suppose you got an overdose of soporifics. I'll have this IV bag analyzed. Did you know that the night nurse is Granger's daughter?"

The thoughtful look in Ed's eyes showed Ironside that his friend was finally starting to think coherently again. "No, I only knew her as 'Nurse Betty'. So you believe that Granger's getting nervous?"

"She left the window open, although she must have known that you are susceptible to cold. And I highly doubt that you lost your blanket and pulled the plugs out of the sockets yourself."

"Wanna set me up to nail her?" Obviously Ed was not in a very patient mood.

"Forget it, you fool! You're in no shape to defend yourself against a fly, let alone against a nurse who is out to kill you. No, I suppose I will have a little talk with her and shake the truth out of her." He didn't like the prospect too much, but risking Ed's life was no option.

"What could she possibly do against her father? I'd rather convict Granger than her."

Oh Ed – always the gentleman, always expecting the woman to be the victim! thought Ironside.

But he gave in to a certain degree, "Listen – it's still early. Granger may still be at home. I will try to meet them both there. Call Jerry. Tell him to get an arrest warrant for Betty and meet me in front of the Grangers' house. Can you manage that or shall I call the officer from outside?"

"I'll manage – but you be careful!"

"And I want Eve to supervise the exchange of your infusion. We don't know who we can trust here."

Ironside filled the glass on the nightstand. "And you drink this! I need you on your feet. You have pulled a sickie long enough!"

Ed couldn't afford closing his eyes. He still had to fight the soporifics in his system. Fortunately Jerry was quick on the uptake and didn't need a lot of explanations and Eve was already on her way to the hospital.