Chapter 3 Hanna is the next target
1591 Words
Doctor Pam motioned for Hanna to step into her office and have a seat.
Hanna sat down into the office chair and spun around nervously, looking at the wall.
Adjusting her glasses, she focused on the human breast tissue in the jars and swung back around to face doctor Pam once again.
Doctor Pam, noticing Hanna's reaction, stood up and approached the specimen jars.
Doctor Pam removed one of the jars from the shelf bringing it over to the desk.
She showed it to Hanna.
"I want you to look closely she said, do you see this breast tissue has a dimple in the skin here ?"
Hanna grimaced and nodded yes-she swallowed hard.
She was not used to looking at severed breast tissue.
Wanting to change the subject, Hanna interrupted doctor Pam.
Hanna said that she wanted to talk to her about Amanda Combs, a patient that she believed had been brought into the morgue earlier this evening.
Hanna begin to fill doctor Pam in on the phone conversation that she had with Amanda earlier in the evening as well as the news report that she had heard on the television about a woman being stabbed to death.
When she had said this, she looked away to hide her forming tears.
Doctor Pam nodded at Hanna and looked at her intently.
She worried that Hanna was asking her to do something that she may not be able to let her do.
Going back to the desk, she once again picked up the specimen jar.
She said,"Hanna? you know that we take pride in our work and what you see when you look at the dimple on this breast, well...it represents a missed diagnosis.
I believe...because I've seen it so frequently, that if there is a dimple present her on the breast, it correlates to a cancer diagnosis.
As you are aware, a lot of our clients are low-income and live on the margins.
They don't necessarily get good health care nor an accurate diagnosis.
I know that you work very hard at your job and all that you do for our patients.
I know that Amanda got very good care from you.
However, our policy is clear about this.
Hanna, we can't release any information until the body is identified by the next of kin."
Hanna turned to look at her, trying to avoid the specimen in the jar and emphatically said to doctor Pam,"what you don't realize, is that Amanda didn't have any next of kin.
She was utterly alone. I may be the only one available to identify her.
I'm here right now, let me help you!"
Doctor Pam shook her head and turning to the computer screen, she began to type.
Hanna sat in the chair and moved closer to look at the screen.
Doctor Pam moved the screen away from Hanna's view.
After a while of scrolling, she informed Hanna that Hanna had been mistaken.
"Actually, there is a next of Kin identified in Amanda's record's and the Portland Police have confirmed this with him by phone earlier in the evening.
He is in fact her cousin. He said he would be on his way down from Seattle to Portland, arriving sometime tomorrow to identify her remains."
Doctor Pam did not release the name to Hanna.
Hanna's mouth dropped open in disbelief. She just couldn't believe what she had heard.
Hanna had spent countless hours with Amanda trying to find her resources and family support to help keep her off of the streets of Portland.
In fact, Hanna had helped her get her apartment.
Amanda was becoming independent and developing good interpersonal skills to stay off of the streets.
Doctor Pam saw the steely look of determination on Hanna's face and looking into her deep marbled brown eyes, realized that Hanna would not take no for an answer. Nor did she care at all about any policies.
She was a fierce champion for all of her clients.
Standing up and replacing the specimen on the wall, doctor Pam walked back to her desk and picked up her coffee cup saying to Hanna, "Well-I need to go refill my cup of coffee I'll be gone for 5 minutes." (looking intently at Hanna) "I'll be gone for the next 5 minutes."
It didn't take Hanna long to understand that doctor Pam was giving her a moment alone in the cold morgue.
Dr. Pam was allowing her to confirm her suspicions and help her to find closure of the loss of her client, Amanda.
Doctor Pam lifted her coffee cup and left the room.
Hanna slowly strolled towards the cold storage room as she peered inside, she saw a body lying on a gurney and covered in a plastic sheet.
Stepping inside, she lifted her shaking hand and laid it softly on top of the body saying,"Oh Amanda I'm so-so sorry."
Gaining courage she slowly peeled back the plastic sheet from the body's head and was staring into the face of her barely recognizable client, Amanda.
She had bruises all over her face.
Her mouth was slightly open and her teeth were locked in a horrific grimace as if she had just gone through hell.
Hanna began to weep and moving back, she silently cried, vowing that she would get Justice for Amanda no matter what.
Hanna turned to leave the morgue but before she left, she wrote a message on a sticky note with her phone number for doctor Pam.
She encouraged her to call her if she had any information regarding Amanda's death and thanked her.
Hanna began to move down the poorly lit hallway, making her way back to the elevators.
As she walked, she saw a figure coming towards her.
He looked like a short, lean man wearing a baseball cap.
His head was down so she couldn't see his face, but as she approached she noticed the baseball cap had the Seattle baseball team Logo on the cap.
Coming closer, she began to form words in her head of condolences for the man as she believed he was Amanda's cousin, her next of kin.
The man walked towards her and the closer he got, she recognized him as the man looking for directions to the lab.
She felt bad that she had walked away from him so abruptly.
She tried to make eye contact with him. He slowly raised his head.
His black eyes were squinting and there was a big grin on his face.
In his left hand, she could make out the reflection of a piece of metal.
She soon realizing that this was actually a knife.
Hanna gasped, horrified.
She took an involuntary step backwards.
The crazed looking man continued to approach her.
As he lurched toward her, she heard the faint sound of a motor coming towards her, a sound that she now recognized from her encounter with the robot at the elevator.
It was coming up quickly behind her.
In a split second decision, she was able to jump sideways as the man was lunging towards her.
She slammed her shoulder into the cement wall.
The small, fast moving machine rammed into the man's shins effectively toppling him over, giving Hanna the chance to spring into action.
She straightened up from the wall and sprinted to the elevator.
The man let out a loud scream and began to moan.
Hanna pushed the elevator button with her finger breaking the nail off in half.
She began to slam the button with the palm of her hand, her finger was bleeding.
The man continued to move towards her, she could hear him shuffling in the near darkness.
Just as he approached, she turned around to fight him and the doors of the elevator opened up.
Hanna fell into the elevator and landed hard on her backside.
Glancing to the right she saw doctor Pam was standing in the elevator.
Doctor Pam was horrified to see a man lunging toward Hanna with a large knife in his leg.
Bright red blood was soaking through his pants.
Just as the man began to grab for Hanna, Hanna-still on the floor, picked both of her legs up together and shoved the man with all her might.
She jammed the knife deeper into his thigh.
The sound it made was a moist, sickening noise.
Doctor Pam let out a scream and quickly pushed the elevator buttons, effectively pushing the door closed and the up buttons at the same time.
Doctor Pam then sat down hard next to Hanna not believing what she just witnessed.
After a few moments she took Hanna's arm and asked her if she was okay.
Hanna lost her voice. Dr. Pam persisted.
She said, "who was that man have you ever seen him before?"
Hanna stated no that she had not known him. -she could barely speak for she was shaking so much.
Doctor Pam consoled her as Hanna found her voice.
She said flatly, "doctor Pam, I believe that was Amanda's next of kin."
Dr. Pam rubbed her chin in consternation.
Dr.Pam was deciding if Hanna should know her attackers name.
She decided she should tell her.
"Hanna, the name of Amanda's next of kin is Paul Sicarius. Paul Allen Sicarius actually."
Hanna thought that name somehow sounded very familiar.
Wracking her brain, she tried to remember who Paul Allen Sicarius was.
It was no use, her brain was too frazzled to concentrate.
Hanna let Dr.Pam hold onto her.
That was the only way that seemed to stop the shuddering.
- Writer
