The hands remained frozen at exactly 6:42 a.m.
Daniel had told the intake nurse that he left the house for an early office meeting at six o’clock.
The stopped watch proved his timeline was a lie.
He tapped the watch face twice with his index finger, a sharp, impatient gesture that made the billing clerk step back.
She did not look at his face; she kept her eyes on her computer screen.
Daniel glanced toward my curtained bay, and I pulled myself back onto the pillow before his eyes could meet mine.
I stared at the small notepad on the tray, my fingers tracing the written timeline.
The door to the corridor clicked, and Dr. Helen Morris walked into the bay.
She adjusted her silver-framed reading glasses and looked down at my chart before looking up at me.
The orthopedist is reviewing the secondary scans now,” she said.
I leaned forward, ignoring the pull in my side.
“I need you to call the neighbor on the east side of our house right now,” I said.
Dr. Morris stopped reading and looked at me over the rims of her glasses.
“His name is Mr. Henderson,” I said, keeping my voice barely above a whisper.
“He has a security camera on his garage,” I said.
I slid the small notepad off the tray and held it out to her.
“The watch my husband is wearing stopped when I fell,” I said. “It proves he was still at the house.”
“The footage on that camera will overwrite itself tomorrow morning,” I added.
Dr. Morris took the notepad, her eyes scanning my handwritten timeline.
She looked toward the curtain, where Daniel’s voice had finally drifted away down the hall.
“He took my phone,” I said. “I have no way to call anyone.”
“Please,” I whispered.
Dr. Morris folded the paper carefully and slid it into her white coat pocket.
My fingers stopped shaking as I handed the folded piece of paper to the doctor, my choice finally made.
Dr. Morris took the folded slip of paper from my hand and slipped it directly into her pocket without unfolding it.
Daniel stepped forward, his leather shoes squeaking on the linoleum.
“We are done here,” he said, his voice flat and professional. “My wife is ready to go home. We will follow up with our own physician tomorrow.”
Dr. Morris adjusted her silver-framed reading glasses and looked at Daniel, her arms crossed.
