“He’s been looking for you since you walked out of the quiet room.”

She turned and walked away down the hall, leaving me alone with the hum of the cooling compressor.

Officer Bennett stood near the main nurses’ station, shifting his weight from his left foot to his right.

He held a metal clipboard flat against his chest.

“Mrs.

Palmer,” Bennett said.

“Do you have a minute?”

“Is Lily out of surgery?” I asked.