The Cold Bite of Autumn (pt.4)

>Daniel sat inside her room like a pensive husband. Most of the staff thought they were married and he didn’t correct them. Not a single soul came to visit.

He checked up on whether anyone had notified next of kin and found that she had none. In fact, the hospital had been unable to trace anything through her driver’s license. This woman had no job, no family and no history. The hospital personnel were unconcerned, especially since he stuck around, but Daniel knew trouble coursed through people with no histories.

Daniel felt a half-smile creep onto his face. A month’s leave from police work lay ahead of him and the first day a near-dead chick crawls up into his yard and pique’s his interest. Big Joe would be pretty pissed off if he knew Daniel paced this woman’s hospital room instead of kicking back a few cold ones on the beach.

He crossed his arms and patted his waist on both sides of his body. The reassuring resistance of his non-issue hardware met his light touches. Daniel repositioned the chair for a strong surveillance view of the parking lot and the door to the room. Instinct told him to expect visitor. That same expectation screamed visitors to her room meant trouble.

If this woman proved to be another rotten peach, Daniel might need more than a month of R&R. The last woman he hooked up with put him on leave in the first place. Her death and his involvement forced Big Joe’s hand. This chick might end up squelching his career.