Chapter 10 - YES AND NO
Communication began with imagination.
Not fingers.
Not speech.
Two mental tasks representing yes and no.
The process was exhausting.
Slow.
Sometimes unclear.
But it worked.
Dr. Shah asked:
“Is your name Emily?”
Yes response.
“Are you thirty-two?”
Yes.
“Are you in Dallas?”
No.
Daniel cried silently in the corner.
Then questions became more meaningful.
“Do you know Daniel is here?”
Yes.
Daniel covered his face.
Eight months.
She had been somewhere inside all along.
Then:
“Do you remember your accident?”
Long pause.
Signal.
Yes.
Daniel stopped breathing.
Dr. Shah ended the session.
Too much.
Not interrogation.
Neurology first.
Safety.
But detectives now knew Emily might become a witness.
That fact remained confidential.
Only essential medical staff.
Daniel.
His attorney.
Detective Benton.
Not EnviroCore.
Not Halcyon.
Not Sloane.
Someone, however, found out.
Two nights later a nurse discovered the IV pump alarm disabled.
No medication error occurred.
No harm.
It could have been accidental.
Technical inspection found someone had manually changed a setting.
Hospital security reviewed badge logs.
One person entered Room 312 outside routine schedule.
A contract respiratory technician named Evan Markell.
He claimed he went to the wrong room.
Then resigned the next morning.
Police could not immediately locate him.
Daniel stopped sleeping.
Hospital security moved Emily to a restricted floor under a privacy alias.
Dr. Harris looked devastated.
“This may have nothing to do with Riverstone.”
Daniel stared.
“You believe that?”
May you like
Harris answered honestly.
“No.”
