A male doctor told Janelle in a serious and businesslike tone that she had suffered a concussion and had lost consciousness more due to her diabetes and dehydration than anything else.
“It’ll take a week or two, but we're pretty sure we can get you back into shape soon enough.”
"That's good to know."
"We're going to run a series of tests just to be on the safe side. We've also sent blood samples to the lab while you were out of it."
Janelle nodded.
"Any questions before I head out?"
Janelle couldn’t think of any, so the doctor left, leaving her alone with Boris.
Janelle quickly grew uncomfortable with someone always being present in her room. She couldn’t decide if they were there to protect her from anyone who might come in or to keep her from going out. Someone was with her at all times, even when she was taken to other parts of the hospital for testing.
Boris or Rick stayed with her during the day, while other officers guarded her at night.
After a few hours of testing in physical therapy, Janelle returned, more than glad to be back in bed, even if it wasn’t her own bed in a private room. She hadn’t felt this comfortable in a while, and her gut instinct told her to revel in every second of it because it was only temporary.
"Hey," Janelle asked Boris one day as he sat in his chair doing crossword puzzles.
"Yeah?" he asked, not looking up from his game.
"Why do they have you guarding me from the inside out?"
Boris frowned with confusion and momentarily glanced up at her. "What?"
"If you’re supposed to be protecting me from anyone who might come after me, wouldn’t it be better if you sat outside the room instead of inside? That way, you could stop them from getting in here in the first place?"
Janelle didn’t like the slow way Boris smiled, still keeping his eyes on his crossword.
"Something funny about that?"
"No, it’s just the way we do it here."
"I know TV and movies aren’t always an accurate reflection of real life, but I’ve never seen guards inside the room unless it’s for criminals."
"Oh, you’d be surprised. We’re in and out for both criminals and witnesses."
"I like the company, and I do feel safer with others around, but it does seem kind of strange and a bit invasive to always have someone in the room with me. Don’t we all need privacy at times?"
"Yeah, I suppose."
"And could you guys please, please shut up at night? I really need my sleep, you know."
"We do our best."
"Yeah, sneezing and coughing loudly, laughing with the staff, and of course your stupid Game Boy thing."
Just then, a young woman knocked on the door. Boris turned to glance at her and said, "Hey there, meet your future houseguest."
The two exchanged smiles, and then the woman approached Janelle as she sat up in bed. Janelle had been promised a room in a female detective’s home so she could get a job, save for a place of her own, and had commented more than once how strange it seemed that she had never met the woman.
"She’s agreed to this without ever meeting me? That’s really sweet of her, but I’d feel more comfortable meeting her first, and I’m sure she would too."
But the real reason Janelle brought this up was to ease her suspicions, and the others were smart enough to realize that. So they arranged a meeting with her fictitious hostess—a pretty, blue-eyed blonde they knew Janelle would prefer, though they joked among themselves about whether or not they should send in a Black woman instead.
The woman knew what Janelle had done and, despite the horrors of the last few weeks, had very little sympathy for her. She was disgusted by every news report and interview Janelle had ever given. But still, she did her best to appear friendly and professional, as hard as it was.
"Hi there," Janelle said, flashing a phony smile. "So you’re going to be the one I’ll be staying with?"
"I guess I will be if that’s what you want once you’re well enough to be discharged."
"It sure beats the streets, and I thank you very much for volunteering to help me out, even though I don’t know your name," Janelle said with a chuckle.
"No problem," the woman said. She thought Janelle was as ugly on the outside as she was on the inside. "My name is Lynette."
An awkward moment of silence fell over the room, and then Lynette finally said, "Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you soon then."
"Yes," Janelle smiled. "Again, thank you."
Lynette gave a curt nod, exchanged a quick glance with Boris, and then left the room.
Janelle wasn’t sure if the meeting eased her suspicions or not. If anything, the woman seemed a little too impersonal, as if she was in a hurry to get out of the room.
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