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“Just do it.”
When he obeyed, she squinted at the person lingering in the area. As they drew closer she realized it was a man clad in whitescrubs, vaping. He watched them pull into a spot. Hayes’s cell sounded, and he parked before looking at the screen. “I’m going to talk to that gentleman.”
Reese collected her purse and opened her door.
“Wait.” He got out and put a hand on her arm to stop her after she rounded the hood. “Do you know him?”
“I’m about to.”
He took his hand away. “More fishing?”
“He might take different bait than Greenley did.”
Hayes hung back as she approached the hospital employee. “Good morning.”
The stranger studied them silently. He had dark hair and eyes, a face that narrowed to an angular jaw, and tats on his forearms. He raised the vape pen to his mouth, drew deeply, and held the vapor for long moments before exhaling it. “You’re in the wrong place. Visitor parking is over there.” He indicated the other side of the drive. He wore an employee badge around his neck with his picture. The text read Kervin Langrath. Certified Nursing Assistant.
“Oh.” Reese feigned surprise. “There were probably obvious signs that we completely missed.”
The man didn’t return her smile. “There are.”
“This is my first time here. Maybe you can tell me what the visiting requirements are.”
“Pretty standard for a place like this. You have to be on a patient’s approved visitor list, which means you have to get permission from his or her assigned doctor. Once you are, you just go up to the front entrance. It’ll be locked. There’s a camera outside it. Someone at the front desk will ask for your name and ID, then look you up to see if you’re approved. If you are, an attendant will let you in and guide you to the patient’s room, or more likely to one of the common areas.”
He brought up the pen and inhaled again, seeming in no hurry to continue, his gaze going past her to study Hayes.
“I guess I was hoping I could pop in and see my brother’s doctor.”
The stranger shook his head. “Waste of time to try. I can tell you right now, you’ll have to call for an appointment and there won’t be any visits until the doc approves you. What’s your brother’s name?”
“Ben Decody.”
Kervin’s hand stilled midmovement in the act of lowering the pen. He recovered quickly, but she’d caught the minuscule reaction. “Do you know him?”
“I’ve worked here ten years. I know most of the patients, at least by sight.”
“He’s been here much longer than that.”
He pulled a narrow case from his back pocket and slipped the pen inside it. “I gotta get back.”
“Let me give you my card.” Reese reached into her purse, palming a business card with two folded one-hundred-dollar bills beneath it, and handed them to the man with a smile. “Sounds like I won’t get a visit for a while, but I’d be interested in whatever you can tell me about Ben and the workings of the facility.”
He shoved the items with the pen in its case into his rear pocket and walked off without saying more. Reese turned and headed for the car. Hayes fell into step next to her. “Nice handoff. Smooth. Wouldn’t have caught it if I wasn’t watching closely. How much did you slip him?”
She should have known he’d pick up on the action. Reese was learning that not much slipped by Hayes Moreland. “Couple hundred. Either I wasted the cash, or he’ll go inside and start thinking about how to earn more. We’ll see.”
They reached the car and got in. Hayes drove out of the lot and down the drive before turning back toward the city. Reese could feel tension seep out of her muscles as they left the property. “If he does call, you’ll have to weigh the veracity of any information he gives you. You probably know that from your journalistic work.”
Insulted, she swiveled her head to face him. “There is literally nothing as offensive as suggesting to a journalist that they pay their sources. I wouldn’t. I never have.”
He held up a hand to stem her protest. “Okay. I didn’t mean to impugn your professional integrity. I’m just saying if he does agree to talk, greed could shade what he tells you. What are you after, anyway?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I’ll call Dr. Sedgewicks’s office today and see about scheduling an appointment.” And while she was at it, she’d set up one with Greenley. “At this point, I’m just gathering background information. Kervin could provide it.” At Hayes’s questioning look, she explained, “That’s the name of the guy I spoke to. Any details I can get to build a picture of what my brother’s needs are, what his life is like inside helps determine my conversation with the doctor.”
“Forewarned is forearmed.”
Reese leaned against the headrest. “Exactly.” Strangers knew far more about Ben than she did. His doctor. The woman Ben did Bible study with, Lorna Eckworth. And maybe the CNA, Kervin. If she hoped to be awarded conservatorship, it’d help to have more of an understanding of her brother’s life here. Of his mental health needs.