The Silence That Speaks (Forensic Instincts 4)

“Which is high praise, coming from Conrad.” Janet beamed. “He’s a genius.”

Casey tilted her head quizzically. “What exactly is a circulating nurse?” she asked.

“Basically she’s in charge of everything in the operating room, from setup to the surgical procedure, to reorganizing things afterward.” Janet paused, looking a bit embarrassed. “I don’t mean she performs the surgery itself. Obviously that’s the surgeon’s job. But she makes sure everything is running smoothly and that all the necessary instruments are ready. She moves around the O.R. throughout the surgery, overseeing the staff and the procedure.”

“And that’s where the term circulating nurse comes from,” Casey concluded.

“Exactly.”

“That sounds like quite a job.” Casey’s wheels were turning. She didn’t doubt that Diana was outstanding, but that wasn’t what was on her mind now. What was on her mind was Janet. She was someone Casey needed to spend more time with. Her inside knowledge—personal and professional—of everything and everyone at the hospital might shed some light on who would want Madeline eliminated. The question was how to take the next step without arousing Janet’s suspicions.

Janet solved that problem for her.

“Enough about me. I’m boring compared to you.” She turned to Madeline. “How do you know people at Forensic Instincts? You never mentioned having famous friends.”

Madeline played her part well. “Actually, Casey and I just met recently. The person I know is Marc Devereaux.” She pointed in Marc’s direction. “I knew him long before Forensic Instincts even existed. I was his attending nurse during my time in Bethesda. He was a navy SEAL in those days. I ran into him in New York. He’s the one who told me that some of his team members at Forensic Instincts wanted to make a donation to our hospital, so I invited them here today to meet Jacob and our wonderful staff.”

Janet looked enthralled, like a teenager who’d just met a rock star. “I love crime investigation TV shows.”

Casey saw an “in” and grabbed it. “So do I, although they tend to stretch the truth or sometimes distort it. Real-life investigations are very different.”

“How so?” Janet leaned in to hear more.

With a rueful expression, Casey glanced over at Madeline. “I’d love to explain all this to you, but I think Madeline is tiring. She did us a huge favor by letting us share in this day. I don’t want to tax her any more than necessary.”

“Of course.” All Janet’s excitement was extinguished in the blink of an eye.

Casey chewed her lip in alleged contemplation. Then she pulled out her iPhone. “Give me your cell phone number. I’ll text you my contact information. Maybe we can get together for lunch.”

“Really?” That excitement was back.

Casey’s thumb was poised and ready on her keypad. “Of course. As I said, this hospital—and Madeline—have been very good to us. If I can return the favor in any way, I’d be delighted.”

Janet rattled off her cell number in about ten seconds.

Casey added it to her contacts, then forwarded her own information to Janet. A trill of tones told her the text had been received.

“It’s here,” Janet confirmed. She gave Casey a radiant smile. “May I text you later today?”

“No problem. Just give me a sense of your schedule. I’ll look at my calendar. We’ll have lunch either this week or next.”

“Wonderful.”

“Let’s get going, Madeline.” Casey’s concern was real as she saw how peaked Madeline had become. “We’ll drop you off at home so you can rest.”

Madeline nodded. “Thank you.”

“It was great meeting you, Janet.” Casey shook her hand.

“You, too. I can’t wait for our lunch.” The instant Janet released Casey’s grip, she began scanning her electronic calendar. Good. The sooner this lunch happened, the better.

In the meantime, Casey’s work here was done.

She made eye contact with each member of her team. They all got the message and gave quick nods, telling Casey that they were wrapping up whatever they were involved in and then making their way to the van.

Time to get the investigation moving.

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