He pulled the bedside tray away from the bed, read what she had written, and then wrote, "Witnessed by Officer Matthew Payne, Badge 3676, Special Operations Division," and the time and date.
And now what?
"Penny, as I said before, someone will be back, probably Detective Washington and a stenographer, and they will take a full statement."
"All right," she said obligingly.
"And I have to go now, to get things rolling."
"All right. Come and see me again, Matt."
He smiled at her and left the room.
Dr. Dotson, the rent-a-cop, and two hospital private security men in policelike uniforms were coming down the corridor.
"I don't know who you think you are, Matt," Dotson said furiously, "or what you think you're doing, but you have absolutely no right to go in Penny's room without my permission and that of the Detweilers."
"I'm finished, Dr. Dotson," Matt said.
"See that he leaves the hospital. He is not to be let back in," Dotson said. "And don't you think, Matt, that this is the end of this."
NINETEEN
"Inspector Wohl's office, Captain Sabara," Sabara said, answering one of the telephones on Wohl's desk.
"This is Commissioner Czernick, Sabara. Let me talk to Wohl."
"Commissioner, I'm sorry, the inspector's not here at the moment. May I take a message? Or have him get back to you?"
"Where is he?"
"Sir, I'm afraid I don't know. We expect him to check in momentarily."
"Yeah, well, he doesn't answer his radio, and you don't know where he is, right?"
"No, sir. I'm afraid I don't know where he is at this moment."
"Have him call me the moment you see him," Commissioner Czernick said, and hung up.
"I wonder what that's all about," Sabara said to Captain David Pekach as he put the phone in its cradle. "That was Czernick, and he's obviously pissed about something. You don't know where the boss is?"
"The last I heard, he was on his way to the mayor's office."
"I felt like a fool, having to tell Czernick I don't know where he is."
"What's Czernick pissed about?"
"I don't know, but he's pissed. Really pissed."
Pekach got up from his upholstered chair and went to the Operations sergeant.
"Have you got any idea where Inspector Wohl might be?"
"Right at this moment he's on his way to see the commissioner," the sergeant said.
"How do you know that?"
"It was on the radio. There was a call for W-William One, and the inspector answered and they told him to report to the commissioner right away, and he acknowledged."