Chapter 4: The Good Doktor??
The room was spacious. Not as large as the waiting room, but it was one of the biggest doctor’s offices Nathan had ever seen.
On one wall hung a framed picture of a younger Veronica with a man in military gear.
There were two doors on one side of the office. One of them had a glass cutout.
Through the glass, Nathan spotted laboratory equipment. One transparent container held a red liquid.
Nathan’s gaze swept across her desk as he sat down. Every document and book was neatly organized.
Her computer setup sat neatly at the center of the desk.
The woman walked to a table on one corner of the room. She poured a steaming yellow tea into a cup and turned to Nathan.
"Tea?"
"No. Thanks."
She sat down, holding the cup in one hand and navigated her computer with the other.
"So. Nathan Ledger, was it? This is your first time at Stone River."
"First time in prison."
She chuckled. "I see. So what drives a man like you to crime?"
"I didn’t commit any crime."
"Let me guess, you were framed? I’ve heard that before."
"Something like that. But enough about me. What’s a woman like you doing in a place like this," Nathan asked.
The doctor’s lips curved into a smile. "Family ties," she replied and adjusted her seat to look at Nathan.
"So tell me, Nathan. Do you fear death?"
Nathan’s eyes widened at the question. "What?"
A smile played on her lips. "As part of the intake process, I need to ask whether you’ve had any thoughts of harming yourself."
"No, I haven’t," Nathan said, resisting the urge to give her a side eye.
She stood up with a stethoscope and placed it against his chest. As she leaned in, Nathan caught the faint scent of lavender mixed with antiseptic.
Her fair skin looked almost flawless from this distance, untouched by even the slightest blemish.
Nathan’s gaze swept over her, noting the open collar of her blouse before, then snapped back to her eyes.
Satisfied, she removed the stethoscope and hung it around her neck.
"Is your blond hair natural?"
Nathan frowned at the question. "Yes?"
"I see," Veronica murmured, letting her gaze linger for a moment.
Without warning, she ran her fingers through his hair and came up with a few strands.
Nathan’s hand reached for his hair. "Did you just—"
"I was confirming something," she said without any apology, putting both hands in her pocket.
Nathan’s eyes darkened. "Next time ask."
"Hmph"
She asked some more questions and performed a few checks before sliding a drawer open. A pair of gloves, a pack of syringes and other items found their way on her table.
"I’ll be taking a blood sample from you. Are you afraid of needles?"
"A bit," Nathan admitted.
"Don’t worry. I’ll be careful," she offered a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Nathan offered his hand and true to her word, he barely felt the needle when it went in. She drew the blood with steady hands, filling the syringe to the required line.
As she withdrew the needle slowly, her wrist jerked, sending a sharp pain through Nathan’s arm.
He exhaled sharply and gritted his teeth. He pressed a finger against the wound to stop the bleeding.
"My apologies," she said in a voice like silk and handed him a cotton wool. Nathan took it and applied it to the wound, unaware of the satisfied smile on her lips.
She emptied the contents of the syringe into a small plastic vial and turned to Nathan, who was still applying pressure on his arm.
"That is all. You can go now." She opened the door for him. The guards escorted him out and left.
Veronica locked her door and turned her attention to the vial. She held it up against the fluorescent light for several seconds.
Her chest rose with a sharp breath and her eyes gleamed under the lighting of the office.
She set the vial down, labeled it and picked up the phone on her desk.
A few moments later, a nurse entered.
She looked to be in her fifties and her name tag read Matilda.
"You called for me, ma’am?" she asked, approaching the desk where Veronica was turning a vial of blood between her fingers.
"Yes." Veronica held out the vial. "This is the blood sample from the inmate I just examined. Send it to the lab and notify me as soon as the results come back."
"Very well, ma’am."
The nurse accepted the vial and the door clicked shut behind her.
Veronica leaned back in her chair. The memory of Nathan flinching as the needle jerked replayed in her mind.
A faint, satisfied smile tugged at her lips which faded and was replaced with a heavy sigh.
Let’s see if you are the one.