Chapter 14
-l-l-l-
Mrs. O'Malley strolled slowly down the corridor glancing inside each room as she passed the open door. She abruptly halted when she notice a man she thought she knew, but was not quiet sure. Quietly Mrs. O'Malley walked into the room pushing the door close.
The confined man had a few cuts and bruised on his face and a black eye. Restraints held his black and blue arms to the hard bed. The man rolled his head to one side, his blonde hair was a sweaty matted mess clunging to his scalp. He tried to lift his head but groaned and dropped his head back to the bed with a thump. The man moaned in his restless sleep like a tormented child.
Mrs. O'Malley reached out to touch the tortured man with her boney wrinkled hand, but suddenly yanked her hand back to her side when Dr. Wills entered the room. She was embarrassed and felt like a student caught cheating on a test.
"Mrs. O'Malley, what are you doing here today?" The doctor questioned. He was surprised to see the elderly woman at the sanatorium on a Tuesday. Her usual visiting days were Sunday and Thursday.
"I am free to come and go when I want to, Doctor," annoyed at the interruption, Mrs. O'Malley snapped. "Is there some law I am breaking by visiting on a Tuesday?"
"Oh no Mrs. O'Malley, you are welcomed to visit any day of the week," the doctor quickly defended his curiosity. He notice the elderly woman looking at his patient, Mr. Smith as if she knew who he was. "Do you know this young man, Mrs. O'Malley?"
Shocked at the question, she could not answer. "Why," was her only response.
"He's a very sick man," he explained. "He arrived not knowing who he was, nor where he comes from."
Mrs. O'Malley hid her evil smile. 'Oh I know him, but I will never tell. Let the doctors do their job. If they never identify this pitiful creature, then let him stay locked away never again to trouble me nor Percy,' she thought sadistic.
"No," she snapped at the doctor. Dr. Wills did not entirely believe her, she answered too quickly and too defensively. He had a gut feeling she knew something about his patient, Mr. Smith, but he did not have the nerve nor any authority to ask her more questions. Mrs. O'Malley quickly turned and shuffled out of the room. Dr. Wills decided to walk with Mrs. O'Malley to her nephew's room.
"How has my sweet Johnny been, Dr. Wills?" Mrs. O'Malley knew the answer but she did not want the doctor to ask her any questions. "I do hope he is not any trouble to you and your sweet nurses."
"Johnny is doing the same,"he replied absently. 'What can a comatose patient do to bother anyone?,' thought Dr. Wills."Are you sure you don't know Mr. Smith?" He finally gathered the courage to ask her.
Mrs. O'Malley stopped and turned to confront the doctor. "I told you, young man, I do not know your half naked, barefooted, obscene man. I have never met him before today. Now leave me alone." She turned with a huff and dashed off to her nephew's room.
She raced so fast down the hall Mrs. O'Malley almost ran into Nurse Swan. To avoid the collision Nurse Swan fell back against the wall dropping the boxes of medical supplies she carried. Mrs. O'Malley did not offer any apology she just pushed passed the stunned nurse.
"Keep your staff out of my way, Dr Will. I should report the lot of you imbeciles," she warned.
Dr. Wills was too shocked to say anything. He was surprised to see the elderly woman move so fast. His mouth was still hanging open when Nurse Swan questioned him. "What? Oh, I'm sorry Sarah. What did you say?" He was still stunned by the brutishness of Mrs. O'Malley.
The staff at Wycombe Hills Sanatorium was used to Mrs. O'Malley's rude abrupt attitude. They excused her callous ways to the many years of teaching. However her actions today were not only rude but abusive.
"What was with Mrs. O'Malley?" questioned Nurse Swan as she picked up the scattered boxes.
"Sometimes I wonder if she needs to be permanent guest here," Dr. Wills joked. "I caught her in Mr. Smith's room. When I asked if she knew him Mrs. O'Malley came unhinged."
With all the boxes back in her arms, Nurse Swan and Dr. Wills walked to his office. "Funny, she said 'Half naked, barefooted, obscene man. How did she know Mr. Smith arrived with no shoes and only wearing boxers?"
"I bet she knows him," said Nurse Swan as she put the medical supplies in the cabinet. She checked each box for any broken vials. "That old bat always seem strange. To me Mrs. O'Malley acts old and other times she is old."
"Oh well," Dr. Wills resigned from trying to figure out old ladies. "Women have always been a big mystery, history has proven that over the years."
Nurse Swan threw and empty box at Dr. Wills' head, "We women might be a mystery, Dr. Wills, but most of us are not old bats fluttering around terrorizing everyone. I wonder if Mrs. O'Malley is on the government's no fly list?"
"Bats do not use airlines to fly, Sarah, they have their own wings," Dr. Wills laughed. Sarah tossed another box at him as she left his office.
-l-l-l-
Mrs. O'Malley hurried into her nephew's room and quickly closed the door. She opened the door slightly and glanced down the hallway checking to see if anyone followed her. The hallway clear, she once again closed door and locked the door to make sure no one interrupted her visit.
"Johnny?" Mrs. O'Malley put Percy on the bed next to her comatose nephew and settled in the chair next to his bed. "Johnny my dear, you will not believe who I saw today?" Mrs. O'Malley continued her one way conversation. "You remember Jeannie McConnell? Well, she is now Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent. Can you believe she is a police woman after what she did to you? What is this world coming to?"
She scratched through her purse and produced a digital camera. "Here, Johnny, here is a picture of Mean Jean. She still is pretty," Mrs. O'Malley held the camera to Johnny's eyes, eyes that could not focus nor see anything. Eyes that stared blankly at the ceiling.
"She was looking for her young Sargent, my neighbor. You remember him, I told you about my rude neighbor. Well, guess what? I think Mean Jean's Sargent is down the hall from you," she whispered to her nephew.
Percy jumped off the bed and walked around the room sniffing everything and looking for something to eat. He whimpered to his owner, Mrs. O'Malley reached down to pick up her precious dog. He finally settled next to the warm body on the bed. He knew the visit would last a while, bored Percy slept while she gently stroked his fur.
Mrs. O'Malley plotted with her nephew their revenge against Jean McConnell and her missing Sargent. She had to plan a way to hurt Jean the way she hurt Johnny. She sat next to her unresponsive nephew not realizing the time. She was startled when someone tried to open the locked door.
"Mrs. O'Malley?" Nurse Gillpatrick knocked. "Mrs. O'Malley your taxi is here. David is waiting. Please unlock this door." Aisling Gillpatrick rattled the door knob again.
"Keep your pants on. I'm coming," yelled Mrs. O'Malley. She jerked the door opened and glared at the young nurse. "We did not want to be disturbed. Tell David I will be there when I am ready." Mrs. O'Malley slammed the door in the flabbergasted nurse's face.
Nurse Gillpatrick returned to the reception desk. "David, I think you better give Mrs. O'Malley some of Percy's biscuits. She is in a real foul mood."
"She's been in a foul mood since she arrive," informed Nurse Swan. "She snapped at Dr. Wills when he found her in our mysterious patient Mr. Smith's room. He thinks Mrs. O'Malley knows Mr. Smith."
"I'm safe from her, Sarah. I have a new hat to wear in the taxi," he tapped proudly at his new hard hat. "The seat belt lock did not work so, maybe this hat will protect my head."
Sarah, David and Aisling looked up when they herd Mrs. O'Malley bang on the inner security door. "Open this door," Mrs. O'Malley yelled like an insane person.
Aisling hesitated for a moment wondering if Mrs. O'Malley should be in the public when she is in such a foul mood. The old woman banged and kicked the door violently until Aisling finally pressed the button to release the security door lock.
"I am going to report you young lady," the angry old woman fumed at the young nurse. "Why did you not open the door?" She demanded an answer.
"Mrs. O'Malley," David soothed. "If we are to beat the traffic we need to leave for Oxford now." David's soft voice calmed the angry woman. She huffed and walked to the waiting taxi.
"Hurry up David, I want to get home quickly," she ordered.
David quickly kissed Aisling and gave Nurse Swan a quick peck on her cheek. "I'll see you two beauties soon," he said as he winked at the nurses.
"Flirt," Nurse Swan accused as she touched her blushing cheeks.
David waved one final goodbye to his girlfriend as he settled in the driver's seat of his taxi. He quickly place his new construction helmet on his head and gave Percy a special biscuit. Then the taxi left Wycombe Hills Sanatorium.
Surprisingly, Mrs. O'Malley did not criticize David's driving nor hit him once. She sat in the back seat mumbling to herself. David could hear a few words, but none of the words made any since.
He dropped his unusually quiet passengers off at their Cherwell Street house. The narrow street was crowded with several cars parked at Mrs. O'Malley neighbor's house. David started to open the passenger car door for Mrs. O'Malley, but she was all ready out of the car with Percy trailing close behind her. The old woman did not say a word as she stormed into her house slamming the white door behind her.
"Goodbye, Mrs. O'Malley," David said as he counted the money she left in the back seat. "Yep, driving you is better than driving any student." He pocketed the money and drove away.
-l-l-l-